Day 3

I have no idea what time the night finally cooled off a little bit but it was enough for us to all sleep without sweating profusely so that was good. The humidity was mostly gone so it was an improvement for sure. I was up before the sun to write and get things organized to drive to a spring I'd been wanting to visit since our first trip. The two kids with me were still sound asleep so I decided to do a quick hike on the nature trail across from the campsite.

The trail was short and had a view of a waterfall quite a bit away. The sun was just pup over the trees lighting everything up like this spiderweb! The spring below was beautiful and it was obvious people had plowed a trail down there to see it better or even swim in it. People weren't respecting this park in the least. I was very proud of myself to be able to identify a Texas persimmon - 4H study with kids paid off!


Brayden was up reading by the time I got back so I grabbed some muffins I'd pulled from the freezer when we left and headed to Grammie's RV to heat them up. By the time they started smelling good Laney and Brayden were knocking on the door trying to find me.

After our bellies were full we headed to the nearby Perdenales Falls trail to explore the rocks and water. You could tell the water was low but it worked for us with more access to all the rocks! There were signs everywhere about flash floods - I could only imagine how crazy this spot gets with one of those heavy pop-up summer storms.

Lola was first to get in the water - it was HOT!

The kids climbed all over trying to find a way to get to the waterfall. They found caves,  giant fish swimming upstream, and lots of fossils embedded in the rock.

We all ended up in the water with Lola to cool off. Laney especially loved the little minnows nibbling on her legs.








We were all hot by this time and ready to swim elsewhere since swimming wasn't allowed here. Lola went to take a nap while we hopped in the car and headed to Hamilton Pool Preserve. About 5 miles from the area we started seeing signs "reservations required". At first I thought it was for camping spots but I didn't remember there being a campground there. We kept seeing more of the same sign so I knew once we pulled in we weren't going to be able to go in today. The lady at the gate told us they were booked into August. Bummer. I'd read about this place but had never gone to the actual park website. We'll just have to leave it on the list for next time because it must be amazing!

The kids asked to head back into Austin for some bookstore time so we got back on the road. I was happy to drive and be out of the heat (at this point my car say 100). My kids devour books so a highly recommended bookstore called "Half Price Books" is a place for us for sure. It was overwhelming at first but the kids finally settled on a couple books each. Patrick also recommended we try his favorite legit Mexican restaurant too so Grammie treated us to an early dinner there. And oh, it was THAT good.

We enjoyed the quiet ride home with kids' noses in books - one of my favorite things. By the time we made it back to the campsite it was well over 100 so there was no question we would head back down to the water. We decided to follow the trail a little further today to a different spot. Within a few seconds the kids were submerged with instant relief on their faces. It felt like bathwater but it was cooler than the air!



We played with the currents awhile then headed down to a calmer pool. Grammie and I became skipping rock suppliers for the kids. I think the highest skips was 8 today! Laney even skipped rocks successfully a few times!

Ryan did handstands and tried out some new hairdos while Laney and I coaxed dragonflies to land on our fingers. Brayden was still searching for the perfect skipping rock. He tried to talk Ryan into swimming across the currents to the opposite shore but she ignored him until he stopped asking. They need each other to feel brave for sure.




Once our fingers were wrinkly again we headed back up the trail to change.








We noticed this strange bush on the way down so I thought someone might be able to identify it for us. A 3-4" yellow tubular flower with these strange green fruit/nuts. The stem is super soft and fuzzy too.

When we got back I saw I needed to readjust the car to be ready to leave in the morning. There's always something to do! I took a little time to edit pictures from the day - one of my least favorite things! It was hot too so once the gnats started buzzine around us I gave up and headed to the RV.

I needed to wash some dishes so it's one more luxury not to have to heat up water. If there are hookups I can just walk over to the RV and have instant super hot water there! I have no idea how, but two kids were still hungry so they ate while we talked about our next few days on the road. They are all long, but the will get us to the west coast faster.

It was getting darker so Ryan, Grammie, and I took Lola for a walk and our dishwater to the sink. It was the perfect time to run into a bunch of deer. We walked slowly and quietly as they noticed us then bolted away after trying to act like statues. When we were almost to the sink Ryan grabbed me as if she'd seen a bear! She pointed into the woods and there was an adorable fox just off the road - a first for us! She was excited to get back to the RV and tell the others after our report of seeing fawn the night before.

We played a game for about 15 minutes until I was ready to sleep. I took the rain fly off in an effort to let what little air there was circulate through our tent. We didn't even say goodnight and were all asleep within seconds.