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Pedernales Falls for Three
Date: Sunday, October 19, 1997 Weather: Temperatures in the mid 60's, with a high of 82; 15mph wind, and a cloudless blue sky Activities: Hiking, birding, photography Submitted by: Shannon Moore Pedernales Falls is a favorite park of Justin's and mine, and we are fairly familiar with its trails, wildlife, and accompanying photographic opportunities. As such, it was a natural choice when my brother, Tom, expressed an interest in accompanying us on a hike. After several years living vicariously through our hiking adventures, I think Tom enjoyed experiencing one of "our" parks first-hand. Since this was Tom's first hike with us, and his first visit to a Texas State Park, we opted to explore the limestone gorge carved by the Pedernales River--one of the highlight's of the park. After arriving around 9 AM, we hiked and scrambled over the exposed rock to the various rapids and waterfalls. Tom is an artist, so he staked out a prime vantage point and made sketches and notes while Justin took photographs of the waterfalls. While the guys were occupied, I set my sights on observing some of the birds and wildlife in the area: eastern phoebe, red-tailed hawk, turkey and black vultures, eastern cottontail, Monarch butterflies, and a garter snake. We hiked the equivalent of 2 miles while exploring the floodwater-carved gorge. We left the park around noon and headed back to San Antonio with our newly indoctrinated hiking partner. Thanks to Tom's presence, Justin and I gained a newfound appreciation for the park, seeing it through the eye's of a new visitor once more.
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