I had a great day. I hiked the West Trail and West Loop Trails (around 7 miles), and got a private tour and a private performance from a storyteller / “friend of lost maples” / trail guide (around 3 miles). I saw a golden-cheeked warbler (huge deal for the birders), I saw a raven and her babies in her nest (with Lee’s high-powered binoculars), and some straight-up beautiful Texas hill country landscape.
Lee said this eco-system is unique because the canyons and water provide enough shade for maples to thrive here, but it also contains the central Texas hills, the west Texas desert – it’s got everything.
I did all the big thinking on the hike today. And I had all the big feelings. I’ve fallen out of love with everything, myself included. I’m struggling with my weight – and have been for a year. I’ve made some huge changes in the past couple of years that have fundamentally changed who I think I am. I quit smoking – that was a habit that really defined me. And I started following a vegan diet (but not vegan lifestyle). I was already vegetarian before that. I’ve taken up camping and it’s all I want to do / talk about. These were big changes for me, but they also had kind of big impacts on my friends. Another big change is… I’ve entered perimenopause. Good times.
I’m having a funny time dodging and then being dodged by the camp host. We just have a feeling about each other, I guess. I love her trailer and her whole set up. What is a park host, exactly? How can I do that job?
The Park Manager came down from her house (I want to live there – I passed the road to it on my hike today) with her beautiful fluffy white dog. I talked to her for a bit because we had a weird little scare this evening. It was storming for a bit, so I was in my tent, but I could hear some of the old men shouting about something. I came out and they were pointing to what they decided was a smoke signal on the hill. The Park Manager said that lightening had struck a cedar. She and the ranger hiked out there to check it out and make sure there wasn’t any fire danger. There wasn’t. She said they could actually tell that by looking with binoculars, but because the old guys reported it, they had to hike out there (in the pouring rain). She was not grumpy about it at all.