Enchanted Rock

In an effort to explore our new state, we looked at a map and picked a location for a day trip. We picked further West in the Hill Country. One morning, we loaded up the family wagon, aka: the Caddy, and headed west towards Fredericksburg. We enjoyed our drive on winding, hilly roads that were surrounded by bursts of wildflowers. We were also serenaded by Lily in the backseat who sang “I Want a Hippopotamus For Christmas” on a loop. Our first stop was Enchanted Rock. We read it was a family friendly climb up the 425 foot pink granite uplift.

I was a little nervous to take the girls hiking. More specifically, I was worried to take Lily hiking. She would opt to be held at all times, if she were in charge. Even better, she prefers that I hold her. There was NO way I wanted to carry her up a 425 foot chunk of granite. However, much like our hike to Wild Basin Wilderness Preserve, both girls suddenly had strong legs and lots of energy. Hooray! The girls could not wait to get scrambling up the rock.

The hike was pretty easy, and luckily, it was overcast. While we went early in the morning, we had read that the granite could get mighty toasty in the sun. As we got further up the rock, the rough footholds gave way to smooth granite, a little more tricky. But then, it started to rain. The light rain turned that smooth granite into a slick incline/decline.

We were close to the top, but made the decision to turn around, not wanting to risk someone slipping and falling down the rock. We slowly crept down the smooth area trying to reach the rougher rock. People behind us were falling left and right, it was a little unnerving. But, we made it to the rough rock and gravel. We were still able to enjoy the views.

Once we were on level ground, we trooped through the drizzle and explored a bit more.

Ironically, once we were on flat ground, the girls became whiny and wanted to be held. They were forced encouraged to walk, which they did begrudgingly. I dangled the carrot of fruit snacks back at the car to keep them going.

Once at the car, quieted by fruit snacks, the Hippopotamus chorus began as we travelled on to Fredericksburg. What an adorable town! If we hadn’t had the girls with us, I would have explored stores a bit more, but we were playing with borrowed time. We knew they needed lunch, and soon. We walked almost the length of the main street on our way to a pizza place. There was a lot to see without stepping foot inside a store.

The girls really wanted to stop in the candy store. We did squish ourselves into the very small, packed store and of course, we’d made our way to the back of the store when a child announced they needed to use the bathroom. Typical. We then squished our way back out of the store without a purchase in search of the bathrooms. Of course, they thought we would return to the candy store, and we knew there was no way we were marching several blocks back to the busy store to buy a Dum Dum sucker. Once we loaded the girls into the car, the lack of candy melt-down began. Loran and his quick thinking found the local dollar store and we satiated their sugar cravings with giant bags of cheap sugar. Whoo!

Fredericksburg and Enchanted Rock will definitely be visited again!