This Roadrunner made an appearance and was running along the road within the park. Isn't that appropriate? - a Roadrunner on the road? Ha! Not very punny, huh? Oh well. Dan had heard the commotion about the bird and quickly snapped a picture of the critter.
Wild White Petunia
Unidentified flower
Tufted Titmouse. "Whatcha looking at?"
Humongous Fly . Actually, this is probably an ordinary house fly. It had landed on my leg and I decided to practice with my Macro lens. I was shocked at the details that popped up within this picture. Can you believe this bugger has stripes?!? And, hair?!? These details are usually undetected by human eye. It is awesome!
Cardinal
We spotted a Woodpecker several times and tried to take pictures of them. This was the only halfway decent picture that we captured. I believe it is a Ladder-backed Woodpecker and a male one at that.
Our friendly "killer" rabbit, the Eastern Cottontail, with the red-eye removed. Not bad.
These Caroline Wrens are flighty creatures - they're constantly moving and flittering about in the woods. I was shocked when I managed to snap this picture at the right moment. Poor Dan, he hunted and stalked them trying to capture one with his camera and never succeeded. I was just lucky.
A Lark Sparrow visited us briefly. I was shocked with this also. You don't see many of these around.
We headed out on the road again, probably for ice, when we spied a flock of wild Turkeys. I grabbed my camera, hopped out the truck and snapped this picture. I think it's rather cool looking...
A dragonfly. This one was leary of me; but, I was patient and he got to be trusting of me and just sat there for the most part. I absolutely love the dragonflies along with the damselflies. You see them all the time down at the river. it's because of them that I have a dragonfly charm on my James Avery charm bracelet in honor of Garner State Park.
Okay, I have a question for you all. What happens when you leave your campsite to go down to the river, go hiking, go to the camp store or go anywhere else? Here is some evidence of what happens.
Vultures will swoop into your site to check things out. Actually, they are scavenging for garbage. I've seen trash bags left on the ground ripped open from these creatures. So, best thing to do is to hang up your garbage during the day and throw them into dumpsters at night.
Camping at Garner: Day 5
One of the very first things we saw was this critter – a Roadrunner. He showed up the very first day we were at camp and made appearances every so often using a path between two campsites. Dan snapped this cool shot of him with a bug in his beak.
I spied this damselfly the very first morning on the “trail” down to the river. I had decided to explore the area behind our campsite and shoot things. This became a routine of mine every morning while at Garner. I would grab my camera after breakfast and go exploring.
I wouldn’t have known this little critter existed if it hadn’t moved. I am not sure what this is. It is either a moth or it is a part of the family of skippers (a group of butterflies). I do know that he/she is one tired (worn out) little thing.
Flame Acanthus
I think most people do not realize that wildflowers that grow throughout the year – it’s not just springtime when the popular bluebonnets, paintbrushes, and others bloom here in Texas. In case you don’t know it, I love wildflowers of all kinds.
I accidentally flushed the Eastern Cottontail out from hiding. He was behind the Prickly Pear. He scared me half to death. But, once I realized he was a harmless thing, I quickly tried to get pictures of the critter.
Tropical Sage
Common Wild Petunia
Meadow Pink
These are some of the wildflowers I spied on the very first morning while exploring. Pretty cool, huh?
And then, we’d settle down back at camp and watched the birds. We had set up a platform feeder along with a bell feeder to attract them. I had also spread bird feed on the ground to attract the ground feeders. The first bird to show up was the Cardinal. Dan snapped the one on the ground.
We went riding somewhere (I forget where) when we spied this Roadrunner with a lizard in his beak. I got out of the truck to try to snap a picture. It’s not a very good picture; but, it captured what we saw. It was a pretty darn big lizard.
Sticker Burrs-- the bane of our existence. These things kept catching on the shoelaces of my sneakers. I decided to forgo the sneakers in favor of sandals. I rarely had a problem with sticker burrs after I tossed my sneaks. I was more comfortable in sandals anyway.
I spied this Funnel Spider’s web at the base of a tree near our tent. I shifted to point the camera inside to see if anyone was home…
Holy Hannah! A Funnel Spider is home. I have to admit that it scared me when I first saw it through the lens - it looked so close! By the way, I am loving my macro lens. I still have a lot to learn about depth of field, lighting and more…
A Hackleberry Emperor landed on a tree nearby and I immediately got up to snap a picture of it. Surprisingly, it was very cooperative. I stalked it until I managed to get the second picture which pleased me to no end.
A view of the Frio river near our campsite. We always ate lunch and then we would go down to the river to cool off as it was blazing hot during the late mornings and afternoons.
Camping at Garner: Day 3 & 4
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.