We went to Garner State Park for the day. We went on a Sunday in hopes to avoid the crowds. Many people do leave on Sunday afternoon because the checkout time is 2pm for campers.

It was a gorgeous day – not too hot; but, still a little too cool to go swimming. At least, it was too cool for us. There were still people swimming and tubing the river though. I think if it hadn’t been for the cool breeze, I might have braved the river water to go swimming. Next time for sure.

We arrived early in the day and searched for a good picnic spot along the river. We didn’t want to be in old Garner as it’s usually crowded. So, we went looking in the New Garner area.


This is the place we picnicked – isn’t it pretty? We parked ourselves here and watched the people (and a dog) for a couple of hours and had our lunches. It was so peaceful and quiet. After we finished with our picnic, we decided to head to Old Garner to explore.

{photo by Dan}

The Dam. Usually, it’s a trickle. But, with all the rains the hill country recently, it is flowing. According to Garner’s facebook page, it hasn’t been like this for several years. I’m not surprised because of the droughts we’ve had in the area.


{photo by Lee Ann}

I noticed this tree further up along the river (from the Dam). It was fascinating because one can see the long root exposed. By the way, I’m disappointed with the “progress” going on. The land across from Garner was bought out several years ago and turned into an RV/campground site. They totally leveled the land and practically destroyed the bank of the river. I wish Garner had bought the land – I think the park may have treated the land (and river) with a little more respect. At least, my heart wants to believe that. I wonder if I'm the only one who feels this way...

{photo by Lee Ann}

Yes, there are Geese in Garner. Usually, they are on the other side of the bank way above the dam. (We had walked quite a ways). Humans on both sides of the river are crowding them out though. It used to be they were practically free on the other side; but, with the recent influx of the visitors due to new campers on the other side of the river, I think they have to find new spots to roost and/or live. Sad.


{photos by Dan}

The Pavilion. In the beginning there was Garner State Park and then there was the dance. This has been around since the early 1940s and is practically famous just for the nightly dances. I never was really interested. But, tons of youth and adults alike went just to dance and to meet new people. It’s ritual thing that’s been going on for eons.

The Pavilion has recently been shored up because it was being cut out from underneath by the river especially during floods. They had to try to save it – it’s practically an icon of Garner.

I believe that the Friends of Garner ultimately ended up saving The Pavilion because the park did not have enough funds. Whoever was responsible for the repairs managed to succeed. The Pavilion is awesome now. The steps leading to below have been somewhat restored and are open once again. It’s absolutely gorgeous in spite of the alterations they had to do to the river itself in order to repair the Pavilion. Hopefully, this historic icon will survive in the years to come.

{photo by Lee Ann}

Scenic Overlook. It used to be you could see the river snake down below. But, the trees have grown up astronomically. So, you can barely see the river itself…


{photos by Lee Ann}

Washed out bridge area. The first one is above is upstream view. The last one is downstream (toward the dam).

{photo by Dan}

I wish I could snap pictures of fast moving critters like these. I love this picture. We went to the old Ranger station located in Old Garner. That is where the feeders are located, along with some barn swallows nesting underneath the roof of the porch.

After this, we decided to focus on the wildflowers blooming in Garner. The following are near where the old Ranger station is located.


{photo by Dan}
{photo by Lee Ann}


{photo by Dan}
{photo by Dan}

And, then we went back to New Garner, which is where the following are located…
{photo by Dan}
{photo by Dan}

That is me way back in the field, hunting butterflies to shoot…



I’m surprised at how well a few came out because these buggers were really moving their wings fast! By the way, I believe that these are known as Pipevine Swallowtails.

{My pictures were taken with a Kodak EasyShare DX4530. Dan’s pictures were taken with a Cannon Rebel EOS with a 70-200 2.8L lens. All pictures within this blog are resized, which sometimes doesn’t do the pictures justice.}

Wildseed Farms is a nice place to go for taking pictures during the height of Wildflower season.


They have all kinds of little places like this scattered about the grounds along with stuff for sale that a gardener might want.


This is the first field we encountered. There are tons of wildflowers in the foreground with paths to walk about on. All that red in the background is another field that is primarily composed of Red Corn Poppies.

I think Dan thought he was in photographer’s heaven when we walked into the wildflower field. Why? Because…


Here he is sitting or kneeling down. I walked further along the path and…


caught him lying down. I walked even further along the path and…


caught him standing up.

My camera takes decent pictures. I took these close-up shots while we were in the Wildflower field.



Paintbrushes


Bluebonnets and Prairie Verbena


Alamo Fire aka Maroon Bluebonnets

However, Dan’s pictures... Oh my! They are wonderful!



Paintbrushes


Bluebonnets with a lone Red Corn Poppy



Alamo Fire and Bluebonnets


Clueless as to what these are! :-)

Before we left the wildflower field, an old lady asked Dan to take her picture in front of some wildflowers – shamelessly flirted with him. Hmmppffhh!!!


Oh wait, that old lady is me! I don’t think I look like that. I still picture myself as 25 years old. Where in the heck did time go?

Anyway, we moved on and explored the rest of the farm. There were fields in sort of a U-shape and most of the fields were roped off. In the middle of that U-shape, they were growing various flowers in rows. As I mentioned before, a field of Poppies followed the wildflower field.

(picture by me)

This field, to me, is so beautiful. And, it never fails to remind me of a poem called In Flanders Fields. It always seems to bring on a reflective mood.

Anyway, I gazed upon flowers being grown in rows while we wandered. We came upon some that just brought memories of Maine, my Gram, and my Mother. I was thrilled and begged Dan to take some pictures because my camera would not be able to do justice.


We know them as Johnny Jump-ups. And, they’re called the same at the farms. Supposedly, they can be grown in our zone. But, we’ve never had any success. According to the sign they had in front of the rows of plants, I found out that the soil needs to be “rich and well-drained”, grown in “partial shade to full sun” and that they’re “drought tolerant”. I need to try growing them again someday. At least, I know where I can get seeds when I’m ready to try.

Something caught Dan’s attention along the inside of roped off fields. Or, is that outside? It’s where we can walk anyway.


I think this is the best shot I took so far, don’t you? :-)

Anyway, I believe that it was this that caught his attention.


It’s a very interesting white strain of the bluebonnet.

And then, I think the tables turned on me. Dan wanted me to lie down in the sandy dry dirt so that he could take pictures of me.

I actually didn’t mind. I am a very willing model most of the time. However, this picture of me… Ugh! How can he think I’m beautiful? I don’t get it. This is not me. Where is the 25 year woman I once knew?

Anyway, We came across another field of poppies -- a variety of them.


I shot some pictures from different angles and I really liked how this one turned out.

We were soon finished with the place and took a drive north of Fredricksburg – along Willow City Loop. This particular drive is absolutely spectacular. If any of you happen to be in this area in the peak of wildflower season, it’s a must see thing to do.

Dan let me have his camera while he drove. He gave me a few pointers and then let me loose. It wasn’t easy because we were moving constantly and technically, we’re not supposed to stop or pull over. Many people did this anyway against the owners of the private properties wishes.

The last few pictures here are the ones I shot using his camera through an open window. The bottoms of most tended to be blurry. That is because we were moving. And, it was a bumpy road! It was NOT easy. I quit after awhile, hoped I got a few good shots, and just enjoyed the scenery.





Whoa! How did this last one get into the group of pictures? A strange lady having fun taking pictures of herself in a truck’s side mirror. How weird can she be? Oh wait. That is me again. Sheesh. :-)