Day 187: Lost Maples Natural Area, TX

We looked ahead at the elevation profiles along our route and decided we needed to swap days, in order to give Alea's knee a break from some of the longest hills that we've seen since New England.  Alea had ridden on Wednesday, and it was supposed to be my turn to ride on Thursday (Day 187).  Instead, we opted to split Thursday's riding: I rode the first 22 miles and Alea rode the final 28 miles.

Cowboy boots cap a row of fence posts near Hunt, TX.

The irony of our decision was that the steepest hill of the day was just beyond the point where Alea took over.  But after that, the hills were short and the grades were much less intimidating.

We were once again on quiet Ranch Roads for much of the day, giving Lana and I the chance to pass the time playing ball while waiting for Alea to come riding along.

"Hurry up and take the picture - I can't hold this pose forever!"

Much of the day's ride was on very rough chip seal, which slowed our progress considerably.  At one point, I was waiting for Alea when I heard an odd rattling sound coming down the road.  It was her bike that was making all the noise!

We camped at Lost Maples Natural Area ($20, power, water, covered picnic table and adjustable showers), which is part of the Texas State Park system.  In addition to the picnic shelter, we had shade from some small trees, so we were quite comfortable with the high temperature in the upper 80s.  Things have cooled down enough the past few days that we no longer need to run the air conditioner at night.  Without the AC noise it is much easier to get a good night's sleep.

Sunrise at Lost Maples.

We didn't get the full story of why there are "lost maples" here, but we suspect it is similar to the story of the lost pines at Bastrop State Park.  Those pines were once connected to the pines in Louisiana, but as the climate and terrain changed they became isolated by considerable distance.

We have been seeing cactus for days now, and figured
we needed to include the obligatory cactus picture...

A preview of coming attractions:  I can only imagine looking up and seeing a live one of these strolling through camp some day soon...

Una tarántula muerta.