Enchanted Rock

Half of our reason of going to Fredericksburg was to hike Enchanted Rock. We actually thought about camping there instead of staying at a bed and breakfast in Fredericksburg, but since it is February in Texas we thought we'd be taking too much of a chance of the weather being bad. I'm glad we didn't camp since it was cold and rainy Saturday! We went up to Enchanted Rock Sunday and thankfully the weather was better. Not warm and sunny by any means, but at least there were patches of blue sky and it wasn't raining!

Although we did check the weather before we left, we didn't plan on it being as cold as it was (thanks Texas weather!). So we had  to make an impromptu Walmart run for long johns and a tacky sweatshirt for me (which is actually incredibly comfortable for being $5). We were obviously the most stylish hikers there.

We had never been to Enchanted Rock before, and I really had no idea what to expect. I knew it was a big rock but that was about it. Y'all, it is a BIG ROCK. Actually a couple giant rocks. When we were driving in we came up over a hill and BOOM there it was. It was beautiful.

The hike up was pretty easy, although it is steep at some points (all depending on the route you go of course, I was following Bear Grylls Jr, so we went the hard way I'm sure), but the views... sheesh! I wish the weather had been a little less muggy so the photos would have come out better because you could see for MILES up there!

I apologize in advance for the sheer number of photos I'm about to post. It was really pretty, okay?

One of the perks of being there right after it rained was that there were little streams coming down the rock everywhere! So many little rivers and waterfalls of the clearest water that I'm certain we wouldn't have seen without the recent rain.

Enchanted rock's most fashionable couple award goes to...

It was so pretty. My sister said the same thing, but I'm kind of surprised I'd never been before. My dad used to take us camping all over Texas, and this place is pretty close to home. But I'm glad I hadn't been before because it was so much fun to explore this new place with Brendon! Yet another adventure for the Hogans. We need to go on more! I always forget how much I love hiking and exploring and being outside. I've become such a city slicker (HA)! It is something we should do more often.

And because there's no better time than the present, allow me to introduce the most recent addition to the Hogan family:

My new car. Although this deserves a separate post on its own, one that I'm not quite ready to write yet, the Xterra has unfortunately been forced into retirement. It's a sad thing. But this baby has helped ease the pain a little. She's fancy and new and comes with all sorts of gadgets. We have been calling her the Bat Car or that Bruce Wayne. She's a Nissan Altima, the Xterra's younger, smaller, and more fuel efficient cousin. We love her and it was fun taking her on her first road trip across a little part of Texas. Welcome to the family!

This weekend was perfect and I wish that Brendon and I could spend every weekend going on adventures together. Even small ones. It was a little peek into what life might be like after pharmacy school. Having free time and doing whatever we'd like with it. I am counting down the days.

The rest of our weekend is here and we stayed here.

Arkansas - part 2

Okay, here we go, Hot Springs round two! Round one is here. So as I mentioned at the end of my last post, our sunny day was interrupted by rain as soon as we set up our tent. And it continued to rain on and off for the majority of our trip. We have awesome luck like that. But I am thankful. Arkansas was experiencing record breaking heat wave and drought before the rain rolled in, so I am glad that it did. And the temperature was great, nice and mellow. I doubt it got above 90 the whole trip, and I sported a sweater quite a bit!

The campground was not at all what we expected. It was in a little valley with a creek running through it. It was very very very small and the camp sites were squished together. Seriously squished. Our neighbors were extra close. Like we could throw roll a stone to them. And what interesting neighbors we had! A few of them were actually living there I think. Very interesting characters, I'm not going to lie, we were a little scared of some of them at first. But regardless of their oddness, everyone was incredibly nice. There was an older lady next to us from Florida that was traveling/camping across the country (I'm assuming) with just her dog. She was so sweet. And a family across from us had a cat, a kitten, and a snake (in a terrarium) traveling with them! Too cool. There was also this terrifying dog next to us who would lunge and bark whenever anyone came near. Not so cool.

Our humble abode:

 Hiding out during one of the frequent rain showers. 

 This creek was right next to our tent. So pretty.

Camping in the rain is interesting. We stayed relatively dry the first night but by the second night all our blankets and pillows were fairly damp just from the constant humidity. We were sticky and pretty stinky by day three. And there were no showers. None.

 Sleepy heads after our first rainy night.

Our second day at Hot Springs we continued exploring. We walked "the promenade" downtown which is a paved path that's kind of on the side of the mountain and was full of hot spring fountains and one pretty legit waterfall. I can't say enough how beautiful it was here. So many trees, and even though they were in a drought everything was so green!

The water coming down this waterfall was so hot there was steam in the air. You could feel the heat radiating off of it just by standing near it!

In a brief lapse of rain, we cooked out for lunch. We had all kinds of plans for grilling all our meals, but unfortunately the rain had other ideas. We did manage a chicken fajita lunch with roasted marshmallows for dessert though!

 Hungry Marie is grumpy.

 Marie with dessert is happy!

Oh, and Brendon brought an axe? And threw it into a tree?

After our grilled lunch we went for a little hike in the drizzle. The creek was so pretty. Nature is amazing.

We also went for a longer hike along the side of a mountain and once again I was blown away by how beautiful everything was. I get why they call Arkansas "the natural state".

 Don't tell the hippies, but we carved our initials into a tree. 'Cause we're corny like that.

Once we got to the end of the trail, it started raining. Big time. We had our camera with us, that we weren't too keen on getting wet, and we still had to turn around and go all the way back. So we ran, on a trail, on the side of a mountain, in the rain. Brendon carried the camera wrapped up in his shirt. It was so fun. I missed running, and running on a trail in the woods is far more interesting than running on the sidewalk in the city. But we were soaked when we got back. I guess we took a natural shower. We were seriously in need of a real one.

This was my hair at the end of the night. I have pretty dang straight hair. It doesn't do much of anything ever, except hang there and get bushy. BUT LOOK AT THOSE WAVES. My hair has never gotten that wavy before. Ever. That's how humid it was.

After sleeping in a seriously damp tent our second night, we were extra ready to head to civilization. We stayed at a hotel our last night and checked in early so we could shower. Because we needed it. Badly.

The Xterra helping our tent, sleeping bags, and tarps dry off. Everything was soggy. Us included.

Next, we return to civilization and do a little more exploring in the town. And man I cannot stress enough to you how good it felt to shower.