Go-Go-Go to Goliad!

We booked a three-day stay here in Goliad, Texas, and we've already used up a couple of those days with our Covid shot and its after-effects. But in the time before and after that vaccination, we really enjoyed this little central Texas town and its state park. The town of Goliad and the Goliad State Park have a nice reciprocal arrangement. For example, we enjoyed the 2.5-mile biking trail that connects the two.

Denisa likes it that the trail is mostly flat, with an occasional set of wooden switch-backs that she can walk her bike up.

That bike trail includes long wooden sections that veer out over the San Antonio River far below.

That bike trail also allowed us to do a nice river kayak trip. We started at the large red dot on the map below. That red dot is inside the city limits of Goliad, and our kayak trip ended at the blue dot inside Goliad State Park.

We first dropped one bicycle off at the take-out spot in the state park, then drove the pickup back to this put-in spot at the end of Ferry Street in town. They have built a new kayak launch that would have been great for getting a plastic boat into the water.

But our inflatable kayak didn't roll down those plastic runners. We still appreciated a sturdy set of steps to get us down the last steep descent to the river's edge.

It was a beautiful day in the 70's when we got on the water. We were thinking that this was the first time the kayak has gotten wet for many months.

We paddled upstream against the current for a little ways, before we turned around to do a lazy float down the river.

We were the only boat on the river this beautiful day!

It's 1.6 miles and about an hour in floating time to get back to where we left the bicycle. That was just the right length for a couple of wanderers just getting over the effects of the Covid vaccine. We got the kayak out of the water so that Denisa could be drying it off while Mark rode his bike along the 2.5 mile bike trail to get the pickup. It was another successful river float made possible by using creative transportation options.

The bike path takes riders right to the historic center of the town of Goliad. Since this is the Goliad county seat, we found another beautiful Texas court house at the center of town. 

We love little Texas towns with their beautiful court houses! Many of them are surrounded by businesses that form a city square. We have to say that Goliad's historic square seems to be doing well. We noticed that most of these structures that were built in the 1800s are still housing thriving businesses.

While remodeling one of those old buildings, the new owners removed a layer of paneling that had been covering what was once an exterior wall. They uncovered an antique hidden there for many years. Back in the 1800s, the Durham Tobacco Company paid businesses in little towns all over the country for the right to paint one of their advertisement on an exterior wall. This wall had been perfectly preserved when that exterior wall became an interior wall and was paneled over. Now this artwork is a registered historic place because it is a rare original example of early advertising. And it's right here in Goliad!

Around the time that the tobacco advertisement was painted, trees were planted around town. When wider, straighter roads were paved around town, no one wanted to cut down those beautiful trees. So we found several places where the pavement goes around and between trees with yellow arrows to remind drivers to wind their way down the streets of Goliad.

In an earlier blog we also mentioned the mission that we toured inside the state park, as well as the Fanning Memorial and the Presidio Mission/Fort. For a little town, Goliad certainly houses lots of history! That would include being the birthplace of the General that won the battle of Puebla against the French on May 5, 1862. Most of us recognize that as the reason Cinco de Mayo is celebrated.

Another interesting walk-through is the El Camino Real visitor center, in a restored building that the CCC constructed in the 1930s. It included an interesting stair case up to the second floor. 

Early April is a great time to visit this part of Texas, because the wildflowers are at their peak bloom. We didn't see many bluebonnets in Goliad State Park, but the yellow flowers are thick in the fields.

Accented with some bright red phlox, they made a lovely combination. 

We hiked all the trails at Goliad State Park, including the longest one that parallels the San Antonio River.

We would normally be camping inside the state park, but every camp site was reserved this weekend. We saw that the rangers had posted signs for campers and hikers to be cautious of some of the wildlife. We have seen a lot of reptiles, but we had never heard of a voldemort snake. We were just getting ready to google it to see what we should be cautious of when a ranger with a sense of humor noticed our interest in the sign. It seems that this is a ranger's version of an April Fool's Day joke, and we fell for it!

Voldemort Snakes are found only in Harry Potter novels, not in Texas State Parks. Happy April Fools (a little late), as we continue to wander. We're glad we got to Go-Go-Go to Goliad!