About an hour and a half north of San Antonio (17 miles north of Fredericksburg, Texas) is the Enchanted Rock State Natural Area. Now that we are unpacked and somewhat organized, we want to devote some time to exploring things to see and do in the Texas Hill Country. I had been to Enchanted Rock once before with my sister on one of our trips to Fredericksburg. We didn’t stay long because she wanted to walk up the Summit Trail to the top of the Enchanted Rock. This was not the peaceful hike I was imagining. Especially as she was wearing cowboy boots with no tread and slipping along on the granite.
On a recent Sunday afternoon my husband and I packed a picnic and went for an afternoon drive to check out the site. We found a picnic table in the shade of a tree beside a patch of prickly pear cactus.
It didn’t take long to set up “camp”. As we weren’t planning on hiking that day I brought along some table cloths, vintage napkins, and picnic dishes. I like to pack our picnic in a little cooler with a net in the lid and ice in the base so everything stays cool and you have ice for your sparkling water! When we’re finished eating I wipe off the dishes and pack them back in a straw basket with the cloths. Later, when we are home, I wash everything and pack it away for the next adventure.
For this picnic I made what has become one of my favorite sandwiches. I found the idea in Giada’s Italy: My Recipes for La Dolce Vita by Giada de Laurentis. I have another of her cookbooks, Everyday Italian. Both have provided me with great recipes and ideas for cooking, eating, and getting the most out of the experience. She had several sandwich recipes called Tramezzini (Italian Tea Sandwiches). I picked the Tomato and Mozarella sandwich (kind of like a caprese salad on bread) and adapted the bread so I could make it on the multi-grain bakery bread we usually use and toast the bread. I packed a plastic bag of toasted bread, and others for sliced Campari tomatoes and mozzarella cheese. I made my own basil pesto and simply packed the container in our basket.
Once we were settled, I brought out a small cutting board and assembled the sandwiches.
I wouldn’t ordinarily have a fancy dessert at a picnic, but we had slices of a cheesecake and raspberry compote left over from a birthday dessert we made for our niece, so I brought them along. This was the first time I had ever tried to slice pieces of cheesecake and put them in freezer bags. I wrapped each piece in some plastic cling wrap before putting it in the freezer bag and packed 2 pieces of cheesecake in each bag, enough for one slice for each of us. It turns out this works wonderfully for a picnic because the cheesecake is thawed and ready to eat when you are ready!
Enchanted Rock is a pink granite mountain surrounded by outcrops of pink granite. The natural area on and around the mountain covers 1,644 acres. Day passes are $8.00 a person and you can pick up a free trail map in the office when you check in. There are 8 trails in the area ranging from easy to challenging with average time to hike from 20 minutes to 2.5 hours. The person who checked us in recommended the Loop Trail hike for the overlook and outcrop views. I would say the average time to hike may be longer if you are anything like me and feel you need to stop and look at interesting plants, trees, butterflies, and to take photos of a great number of the granite formations. There are also stops to enjoy the trail mix and to stay hydrated as you drink the water. I like taking photos because you can better remember and re-live the experience. Taking a photo also gives me time to stop and consider the area and fully appreciate the experience.
Many years ago when my husband and I were dating he would sometimes surprise me with a gift related to what we were going to do on the date. For example, we were going to cook dinner for friends at his apartment and he gave me some pretty napkins to put on the table.
My mom told me not to have too many dinner parties or he would realize I knew nothing about cooking. I was fortunate to have a fabulous recipe for Party Chicken Supreme from Mrs. Durden who was a gourmet cook as well as a librarian! My husband and I made the dinner together and had a great time doing it.
To prepare for this, our first official hike, he bought a light-weight day pack to carry our water and some trail mix and a pair of walking or trekking poles for each of us. Our poles came with different tips including some for snow. We decided to use the small rubber tip as we would be hiking on granite for some of the trail and wanted to go softly. It took a few minutes to get used to the rhythm of using my poles, but I came to appreciate them quickly. I felt more stable, as if I had two additional legs. My arms and hands felt good throughout the hike. I liked the shaped, cork handles and the strap to keep the poles around my wrists when I stopped to take a picture or look at the map. The cork enabled me to keep my grip even when my palms grew moist.
If you have not been to Enchanted State Natural Area, I would highly recommend it! The day we went the weather was sunny and cool. It was a Thursday and there were hikers on the trail, but not so many you couldn’t feel as if you were alone in nature most of the time.
It is absolutely breathtaking to see gigantic granite outcrops; some split in half, others smooth domes with thin layers of rock that look as if it popped off and slid down the surface in large, broken sheets to the bottom of the dome.
Some of the granite boulders look as if they tumbled downhill and landed, staying still and gradually becoming covered in moss.
It’s hard to decide which is more beautiful, the land, or the Texas skies!
I was particularly interested in the native plant life. Here are a few photos of unknown succulents and pink and yellow grasses unlike what we have growing on our land. I tried to photograph the numerous butterflies in the yellow grass, but it was tough to get the image in the wind.
We took the Loop Trail for our first official hike. In our excitement we didn’t note the distance of 4.6 miles written on the map. The trail was, for the most part, smooth and wide, with well- maintained surfaces of crushed granite. The signage was clear and helpful at all but one point where I thought we should go in one direction which turned out to be a dry, sandy creek bed rather than the trail. There were actually restrooms along the trail at various points near what is called the “primitive” camping areas. The last third of the trail was a bit more difficult for us as the trail narrowed and grew steeper. Granite rocks and boulders on the trail required us to do some low-level scrambling! We decided we would start at this end next time and take on the slightly more difficult part of the trail when we were fresh. It could be that most people felt this way as many of those we encountered were hiking in the opposite direction from us!
When we got back to our car we had a picnic of tuna salad sandwiches with mini bell peppers and cucumbers on the side. We were a little shaky after four hours of walking, but exhilarated and enthralled. We will be back! Jerry says there are many places in the Texas Hill Country where we can continue to hike and explore. Looking forward to it!
