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Three Days, Two Nights, about a Trillion Bluebonnets

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tshelfer

tshelfer

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Centennial, CO
First Name
Tim
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Shelfer
I just spent three days enjoying some camping at Inks Lake, and an absolutely spectacular wildflower show. I rode down Sunday after church - down Hwy 287 - and enjoyed fields of flowers all the way.

Reaching the park around 3pm, I got lucky and got this primo site - well shaded with oak and cedar trees, and right next to a little cove.
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Once camp was pitched, I did a little walking tour. You really don't have to leave the park to see the show.
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It was a long day, the weather down there was hot and humid, and I was ready for for day's end.
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Peaceful Easy Feeling - I snapped this about 9pm. The camp was quiet, and I sat outside & enjoyed Wagner & Beethoven on the MP3 player.
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Unfortunately, the quiet didn't last. About 10pm, the drunks in the next site got tuned up, and the radio in their pickup truck joined in. About 1am, I had enough. I walked into their campsite and pointed a flashlight in their faces while explaining how far sound carries at night. They got the message and turned it down. Finally some sleep.
 
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Apparently some other people didn't like the noise either. About 9am, the park superintendent tossed the drunks out of bed, read them the riot act, handed them a few tickets, and summarily kicked them out of the park. Hooray for a little justice!

I hit the road about 9:30. First I went north on the park road, back to Hwy 29.
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Then I ran west along 29 to Llano. This was one of the best areas I saw all day, for viewing wildflowers.
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Close to Llano, I spotted this old relic, a Porsche 914. I always wanted one of these. Instead, like most of us, I got married and bought a hatchback. But I still love the look of these old girls.
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From Llano, I took FM 2323 south and eventually to Fredericksburg. Surprisingly, there weren't a lot of flowers along that road. Then I headed south toward Luckenbach and the flower show simply ended. But I stopped and had my picture taken. Unfortunately, Willie, Waylon and the boys had stepped out for lunch, so didn't get to be in the picture.
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Several times, I crossed paths with a big white BMW - couldn't get the model, but it was fully faired. A 1200GT maybe? It looked like one I'd seen in a picture on TWT one time. Does it ring a bell to anybody?

Back to Fredericksburg and north on Hwy 16, I spotted this field of asters.
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I turned east on FM 1323 - a great MC road, by the way - and cut over to Hwy 281. This was another extraordinarily good road for viewing wildflowers. Also for viewing cattle. Surprise, open grazing. I didn't get a pic of the cow that surprised me in the middle of the road. But I got these big fellows.
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From here, the views along 1323 just got better and better.
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From Hwy 281, I went north up 281 and had lunch in Marble Falls. Heading north again, I turned west onto Park Road 4 just before Burnet, and followed it back to Inks Lake. More great photo ops along the way.
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This was the largest field of bluebonnets I saw - probably 40 or more acres of solid flowers.
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And then I spotted this place along Park Road 4, obviously loosely copied after the Neuschwahnstein Castle in Fuessen, Germany. What the heck is this? Does anybody know the story?
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I saw hundreds and hundreds of bikers and wore my left hand out waving at them all. This couple visited with me in the campsite before moving on.
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The park was bird-crazy in morning and evening. Mockingbirds and cardinals were everywhere. This little guy was bolder than most.
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And apparently, he took a liking to my VStrom. Maybe the color?
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Late in the afternoon, I caught this Canada goose watching the sunset.
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The fishermen were winding down their day.
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Here's the sun setting over the cove behind my campsite.
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The ducks settled in for the evening.
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And here was the last gasp of daylight in what thankfully remained a quiet camp.
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.
 
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The campground being devoid of loud drunks, I got a good night's sleep. I was up early this morning and made a quick trip home. One little surprise, though. It was cool and overcast, and I didn't have enough layers - just my mesh jacket and a fleece to wear underneath. I quit shivering somewhere north of Hamilton.

Great trip. But also, good to be home with wifey and doggie.
 
Woo-hoo! Thanks for sharing. Lots of flowers out that way! :clap:
 
You may be right. Those aren't stock 914 wheels for sure. Most of them had a 5-spoke wheel.
 
They built this place just for weddings??? Wow, that's kind of over the top. Yeah, I saw Willow City Loop. The name was intriguing, but hey, you can't go everywhere. At least, not in one day you can't.

When I was an Army brat living in Bavaria, I was about 30 miles from the real thing. It's a bit more ornate. Also a bit more over the top. King Ludwig nearly bankrupted the Bavarian nation building his playhouses.
 
Great pictures and report Tim. Thanks for the incentives to get out west and see the fields of wildflowers before they're gone.

My weekend Porsche sighting was a group of eight or so 356's out on a run coming at me on Oil Field Rd just NE of Bellville right about here. No time to stop and take a photo. :(
 
Come to think of it, on the way down on Sunday, I met a northbound Porsche club on 281. It's been a long time since I saw so many vintage 911s. That was a nice little bonus.

Never really cared for Ferraris and their ilk, except as eye candy. But a Porsche? Now that's a world class car that's also a great daily driver.
 
Very nice. Inks Lake SP is one of my favorites. May take my daughter there this weekend for Saturday night if we can get a spot.

Was the food trailer open there? Had a nice chat with that guy last time we were there and he said he was taking off February or March - can't remember which now.
 
I didn't see a food trailer, Thomas. At other parks I frequent (i.e. Daingerfield), the amenities tend to show up when school is out. Then again, there was a surprising amount of traffic on Monday afternoon.
 
1323 has always been a favorite of mine this time of year. Willow City loop is nice, but traffic can be a nightmare!
 
Great pictures!! I was in the same area Saturday and enjoyed seeing the fields of flowers. I think the peak will be in 1 to 2 weeks.
When I left Llano on 16, going south, the flowers started to disappear.
 
@Tourmeister - No traffic problems where I was, for sure. 1323 was downright lonely, although I did see a number of friendly riders.

@japako - Yeah, I was surprised at how quickly the flowers dropped off south of Llano. There was a good burst just east of Fredericksburg, but nothing south toward Boerne. I expected it to be better down there. :scratch:
 
If you were there on a weekday, traffic would not be a problem generally. If you were on Willow City Loop on a nice Sat/Sun, it could be a parking lot!
 
In your post on 03-27-2012, 08:28 PM it looks like shot 2 and 3 are the same. I think. Did you mean to have a different photo in there somewhere?
 
Thanks, Tim!

Wow!! Great Pics! Loved the pics! I'm going to show my wife your pics and maybe both of us will head to Inks Lake this weekend! (she does not do 2 wheels; only 2). I have an annual pass to state parks. A great deal!

John
 
Yeah, I noticed that too, Jason. I went back & checked my PhotoBucket stash & don't see anything missing. I just got my copying & pasting out of sync for a second.
 
Great report. I think you went down 281, not 287. Correct?
 
Did I say 287? Yeah, that would have put me somewhere over in east Texas. But hey, Ennis has one of the great bluebonnet shows anywhere.

Yup, I meant 281.
 
gixxerjasen said:
In your post on 03-27-2012, 08:28 PM it looks like shot 2 and 3 are the same. I think. Did you mean to have a different photo in there somewhere?
Click to expand...

Oops, I DID miss a picture, Jason. I just caught it & edited it in, in place of the dup'ed picture. But to save you the trouble of going back, here it is:
2012-0325InksLake43.jpg
 
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