Day 184: Pedernales Falls State Park, TX

Yesterday marked 6 straight months for us camping on the road (at least for this trip).  So we've passed a milestone that I set for myself in 1985 and 1986, when I had lived on the road both years for one week short of a full six months.

Alea did the honors in leading us out of Austin.  We abandoned the Adventure Cycling route, which would have taken us through downtown Austin.  We opted instead to create our own route based upon cycling maps created by the City of Austin.  For the most part our escape from this heavily urbanized area was easy and stress free, but once we had reached the outskirts Alea had five different obnoxious "Bubba Trucks" fishtail their pickups beside her.  (It is so reassuring to know that there is no shortage of imbeciles on the planet.  It is no wonder that one of them is running for president.)

We were on roads that often would warn of low crossings that could flood.  All were culverted, except the one in the pictures below.  It is probably unusual that water is flowing over it, which is due to the fairly heavy rains in the area over the weekend.

Water spills over the ford.

Taken from the ford, looking downstream.

The deeper we got into Hill Country, the lighter the traffic became on the Texas State Ranch Roads that make up the bulk of our route, and the more scenic and relaxing it became.  It helped tremendously that the high temperature dropped below 80 degrees for the first time in about three months, giving us nearly ideal cycling weather, despite having off-and-on light rain.  Alea had many more hills than we've experienced since leaving Tennessee, but she made it the 44 miles to our day's destination with plenty of energy, even though she didn't stop riding until mid-afternoon (we got a late start, opting to wait for the morning commute to end).

We camped at Pedernales Falls State Park ($20, power, water, adjustable showers), opting to hike down to the falls before setting up camp.  It is a very interesting and scenic area, where the main channel of the river has cut a channel through a layer of limestone over the centuries.

Pedernales Falls.

We actually got some TV reception there, so we watched the Clinton/Trump debate.  The new fact of the day that Donald taught me was that Hillary Clinton has failed to stop ISIS for the last three decades.  But I guess that is understandable, since ISIS hasn't been around nearly that long (it is hard to stop what doesn't exist).  (I had thought perhaps Donald was above using hyperbole, but maybe I'm wrong?)  It was refreshing to learn that Donald has the temperament to be our president, though I really wish he had demonstrated that for us, but I suppose he is saving that for the next debate.

The armadillos are much larger in West Texas...