Wildflower Weekend

National Wildflower Research Center in Austin

Copyright © Justin W. Moore See more photos at OutdoorPhoto.com

In late March, the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) issued a press release predicting a "banner wildflower season" this year. Enticed by the prospect of hills and fields brimming with bluebonnets, Indian paintbrush, winecups, and primroses, Justin and I began planning our "wildflower weekend" for April 3-6. Had our schedules permitted, we would have postponed our visit until Easter weekend (April 10-12) to coincide with the 15th annual Bluebonnet Festival in Burnet; call (512)756-4297 for more information. Hotel reservations were a challenge to secure, as the wildflowers create peak visitation in cities such as Marble Falls, Llano, and Burnet.

We arrived in Marble Falls, TX--our "basecamp" for this trip--around midday. After checking into our hotel, we headed to Longhorn Caverns State Park and took the cave tour ($7/person; $6/TX Conservation Passport holders). The tour lasts one hour and twenty-five minutes and was quite enjoyable. At a constant temperature of 65 degrees, the cave tour would be especially welcome during the height of summer.

We left Longhorn Caverns by 3:30 PM and drove Park Road 4 which services Inks Lake State Park and Longhorn Caverns State Park, linking Highway 29 with Highway 281. Some of the lushest stands of wildflowers we viewed during the entire trip were along this stretch of roadway. We parked on the roadside to photograph some of the most striking wildflower displays before heading to Inks Lake.

As the second busiest park in the Texas State Park system, Inks Lake was brimming with activity. Reminiscent of the lines we have seen at Garner State Park (the state's busiest park) during the summer, the waiting line at Inks Lake's ranger station extended out the door when we arrived. Our purchase of the Texas Conservation Passport has more than paid for itself by allowing us to forego such lines unless we are camping overnight. We drove through the park scouting out potential photo opportunities and then headed back to some impressive wildflower stands along Park Road 4 just outside the park. The combined effect of the park's pink granite outcrops and spring's wildflower spectacle hopefully made for some good photographs; we shall see when the film is developed!

Saturday, April 4, we awoke early and visited Lyndon B. Johnson State Historical Park. Having visited the park last year, we found the wildflower showing somewhat disappointing. The birding opportunities, however, were anything but lacking. While Justin composed some promising wildflower images, I wandered the grounds with binoculars in hand. In addition to the usual sightings of Northern mockingbird, Northern cardinal, and great-tailed grackle, I observed purple martin, blue jay, and scissortail flycatcher. The flycatcher was particularly entertaining as I observed it chase, catch, and consume a Monarch butterfly. During a short hike Justin and I took along the Pedernales River within the park, we also observed eastern cottontail, eastern fox squirrel, and chipmunk. Leaving LBJ State Park, we spent the rest of the day scouting for wildflowers. Park Road 4 remained the best viewing site, but we also added the following to our list:

• Highway 29, W. of Burnet and S. of Lake Buchanan
• Junction of FM 1431 and Highway 29, large field in front of Llano National Bank

Bluebonnet field at McKinney Falls SP Copyright © Justin Moore

We spent our last full day (April 5) primarily at McKinney Falls State Park relaxing and taking photographs. Each spring, the field near the Smith Visitor Center becomes flooded with bluebonnets, as do the roadsides within the park. This year, the bluebonnets were competing with grasses and several other (taller) wildflower varieties, making the visual impact not quite as stunning as in years past. Nevertheless, the scent of the bluebonnets was heavenly and we enjoyed the visit. We were treated to the sight of a greater roadrunner, complete with a lizard lunch in its beak, shortly before leaving the park.

In the afternoon, we returned to Inks Lake State Park and walked down to the Devil's Waterhole. Like the rest of the park, the Waterhole was crowded with plenty of young men and women. In the span of twenty minutes, we watched several daring (crazy?) souls dive from the tallest rock outcrop--a good forty feet above the water. We left shortly after one young man, with a cast on his forearm, complete such a jump and surfaced with the comment, "I hit [the] bottom on that one!" While we should renew our Red Cross CPR certification, we did not necessarily want a crash course in it during our visit!

SUMMARY: Although the wildflowers were beautiful, they were not quite as abundant as many visitors (including ourselves) had expected. Texas had an extremely mild winter followed by a late season freeze that seems to have stunted some of the wildflower growth. We Texans are a bit spoiled by the fantastic job the TxDOT does at wildflower seeding our roadsides, though. I highly recommend taking a daytrip or a weekend to appreciate the beauty that is present. One fellow we bumped into commented the drive from Port Aransas to Marble Falls offered the best wildflower viewing of all.

To request your free guide to the Wildflowers of Texas, write to:

Texas Department of Transportation
P.O. Box 5064
Austin, TX 78763

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