The Magical Trifecta in One Day! - Hiking, Kayaking, and Dancing

Even though we hadn't done our usual research on our new home town, we headed out early on our first morning near Canyon Lake with nothing planned. With high temperatures predicted in the 80s, we wanted to get some exercise before it got hot. Mark found the Madrone Trail a few miles away, and we dug out our hiking boots.

After a two month hiatus, it feels good to be on the trail again!

We've been driving by fields of wildflowers, but it's nice to be walking now so we can enjoy the tiny wonders at our feet.

The delicate details make for a slower hike, as Denisa must stop to take pictures as we wander among God's wonders this spring.

This is an interesting trail that meanders through Corp of Engineer land near the lake. We see some less beautiful signs of spring on the prickly pears. Those odd green growths will become new cactus pads.

We kept seeing the infrastructure that was built into this park. We found wide boat ramps and large parking lots that have been taken over by grass. We found hundreds of neglected picnic tables as we hiked deeper down this peninsula of land. It has obviously been a long time since anyone picnicked here. Situated between San Antonio and Austin, we wondered why no one came to use this pretty park area with good facilities.

We found the answer to our mystery when we talked to the gate guard. It seems the problem was that too many people came. At one time the corp had 900 camping spots with those cement picnic tables. On summer weekends they would all be filled, and it was just too much to control. Contrary to what we had assumed, the Corp of Engineers had to close most of those sites because they were too popular. (In the meantime, notice how Denisa snuck in another wildflower picture. They are everywhere!)

That same gate guard also gave us some good advice on other ways to enjoy this now carefully controlled lake. He shared a map with us, and pointed out the public boat ramps. Then we headed towards a ramp on the river that flows into Canyon Lake.

Even though we hadn't planned a boat trip today, the weather was too nice not to get the kayak out after we saw the view from that boat ramp on Rebecca Creek.

Just like our hiking boots, our kayak has been gathering dust for the last several months. It felt good to be back on the water!

Just like on our hike, it was nice to see the wildflowers at a slower speed today.

Rebecca's Creek ends about a half mile from the boat ramp, so we rowed to the very end to see it for ourselves.

Then we rowed back the other direction, where these two dead trees signaled that we were leaving Rebecca Creek and were about to enter the Guadalupe River.

The canyon walls got taller as we started paddling against the current on this larger river.

That's when we were treated to a wildlife show! An osprey flew right over our heads with a sizable fish in her claws. That scared up a blue heron, who took flight beside us, frightening a train of four turtles so they all jumped off their log. It all happened so fast that we didn't catch any of it with the camera. So we were glad that the deer watching us on the ledge ahead stood still for a picture.

The clouds finally cleared, and we enjoyed blue skies as we rowed back to our boat ramp.

Even though the rest of the river turtles were skittish today, we managed to sneak up on these guys that were also enjoying the sunshine.

On a beautiful day in April, it's sure nice to be enjoying the clear water of the Guadalupe River!

After we loaded up our inflatable kayak, we headed back towards the motor home. Denisa just had to stop for a picture of those signature bluebonnets in the foreground with Rebecca Creek behind them.

After hiking and kayaking, you might think that our unplanned day was finished. But we found out that the Brookshire Brothers grocery store just a mile from our campground has a special evening. Where else but Texas can you eat a rib-eye steak at a grocery store, and then dance to a live band? Welcome to Texas Hill Country! Those tables soon filled up as more people came to the grocery store patio for the music. We were the only dancers this evening, and the musicians on the stage kept calling us "Bobby and Cissy." For those that weren't fans, Bobby and Cissy are the dancers from the Lawrence Welk Show.

So even though we didn't have anything planned today, we felt blessed with a magical trifecta. We enjoyed a nice hike, a relaxing kayak, and ended the day with a steak and some dancing at our local grocery store. We are enjoying our time at Canyon Lake!