Tag Archives: light painting

ENNIS

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AL3_3915

Whew!  What a crazy spring!!!  From SXSW to Fort Hood to President Obama to NBA Playoffs, I’ve been photographing everything I can put my eyes on for two months.  I’ve enjoyed it immensely, but it’s time I get back to traveling on my own terms.

First stop, Ennis – the bluebonnet capitol of Texas.

Bluebonnets are my all-time favorite flower.  Every spring I get giddy when I see them pop up on the sides of the highway, and I thumb through the pages of the wildflower edition of Texas Highways like a little kid looking at a new comic book.  I can’t help it, I’m a Texas girl.

So when deciding where I should go for my first trip back from a longer-than-expected hiatus, my first Google search was “bluebonnets.”

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CEDAR HILL STATE PARK

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Cedar1634

I grew up north of Dallas and we’d go on family camping trips all over the state, but we always traveled outside of the metroplex.  I guess that’s why I was surprised to learn that Cedar Hill State Park was only about an hour from where I went to elementary school.

I had to be in Dallas for work on Saturday, so I drove up a day early to enjoy the park.

I packed my camping gear and borrowed a kayak to paddle Joe Pool Lake, then drove north.  When I got to the park, I was even more surprised to find out about a little gem called Penn Farm.

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GOLIAD

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AL1_1775

It’s 2014 and I’m back to adventuring!

Santa brought me a new tent and some camping gear for Christmas, and I couldn’t wait to try them out.  As soon as the temperature rose above 65 degrees, I hit the road to Goliad State Park.

The town of Goliad is important in Texas history.  It was a key location during the Texas fight for independence.

The Mission Nuestra Señora del Espíritu Santo de Zúñiga and the Presidio La Bahia, which protected the mission, were sites of bloody skirmishes, and they still stand today in and near the state park. Read more →

BALMORHEA STATE PARK

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It’s a true oasis in the middle of the west Texas desert.

When planning my trip out to west, I had a whole list of places I wanted to go.  Balmorhea wasn’t one of them.

I looked at the map, studying small towns along I-10 on the way to Marfa.  I saw Fort Davis and Fort Stockton and a few others on my wish list, but then I saw Balmorhea State Park.

Hmm…how do you even pronounce that?  I looked it up on the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department web site and, much to my surprise, Balmorhea moved up to the top of my list.

It’s a tiny town about an hour north of Marfa in west Texas.  It’s in the middle of the desert, surrounded by mountains, and home to San Solomon Springs and the world’s largest spring-fed swimming pool.  (Among other surprises.)

Balmorhea is the perfect place to make a refreshing stop for the night on your way to or from Big Bend Ranch State Park or Big Bend National Park.

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