Mother Neff State Park

Yesterday I texted Brendon while he was at work and was like, "can I take you on a date tonight, or what?" and he was like, "okay." That's basically how it went. Boom, surprise date. I packed us a picnic dinner and we went to the nearest State Park, Mother Neff. Which happened to have gotten flooded this spring and half of it is closed. The half with, you know, the river in it. WHOOPS. My bad! The entrance was closed for the day too, so we had to pay via envelope/drop box. We were going to renew our State Parks pass, but I guess we'll wait until next time!

Thankfully most of the hiking trails were still open, so we parked near one and found a "cave" to have dinner in. It was pretty cool! Then we hiked around a bit. I think we were the only people hiking, and maybe one of five people in the park. It was dead! I guess that makes sense, since half the park is closed and all.

Mother Neff State Park is one of the oldest state parks in Texas, and many of the buildings were built as public works projects during the great depression. There were lots of fun little "landmarks" along the trails and the hiking was fairly easy, which was perfect for us since nightfall was quickly approaching!

There was this neat little "Rock Tower" that provided some excellent views! I love me some green trees!

The sun setting was kind of brutal up there, thus squinty faces. And I turn into a ginger in direct sunlight. My inner Weasley.

This was the last thing we saw before we headed home, it's a little pool! Apparently it was once spring fed but the spring dried up and now it just fills whenever it rains. It used to be eight feet deep but so much silt has settled in it that when it's full, it's only four feet. Time does crazy things!

It was a fun little date! Even if we didn't get to see the whole park. Hopefully they open it back up soon, it's the closest State Park to us. We haven't been to a State Park since the beginning of summer, because life and I thought I was going to have nausea for the rest of my days. We need to get back into the park hopping habit! Texas has so many cool parks, and they're everywhere!

Also, more picnic dates! Everyone needs more picnics.