Saturday, March 24, 2012

Inks Lake State Park

What a treasure we discovered today! I have a feeling this park will become one of our new favorite camping spots!

My husband has been feeling really stressed with work so we decided to head out of town for a day and do some outdoor activities.  We're both pretty "outdoorsy" people and Mimi definitely enjoys being outdoors as well.

We woke up and packed some water, snacks, our fishing gear, and the camera. We stopped for breakfast at a mexican bakery and then hit the road for Burnet, TX.  If you've followed me for awhile, you might remember when I bought tickets to ride Thomas the Tank Engine thinking it was around the corner on Burnet ROAD here in Austin, but was actually in BURNET TX almost 2 hours away, lol.

We made it to the park shortly before 12 and made our way to one of the fishing peers.  As a fisheries biologist, I find it ironic that I actually don't enjoy fishing, or eating freshwater fish.  My husband really enjoys sitting and fishing and Mimi actually seems to enjoy it as well.  She's been fishing a few times with my friend Kim, who works for a kids fishing program.  I do think that I deserve a gold star for remembering how to tie a proper knot for the hooks.

My husband caught a nice little bluegill.  We showed it to Mimi and encouraged her to give it gentle touches.  She was apprehensive at first, but eventually touched it and was tickled with excitement. One thing I'm passionate about sharing with Mimi is my love for the outdoors and the environment.

After fishing we found a hiking trail along the water sprayed with blue bonnets! So gorgeous.  We tried to do a "forced" photo op but Mimi didn't really cooperate...


The trail eventually split into one rock climbing trail, and one dirt trail down by the water--and wouldn't you know, our little rock climber took off up the "mountain" as she called it.


After our rock climbing, we went to the picnic area and enjoyed our lunches, played on the playground, and hiked one more trail down to the waterfall.  We cut this hike short, as poor Mimi's little legs had grown tired.  Mimi and my husband passed out on the car ride home.

Sorry this post is so photo heavy, I just really love the photos we took today.  We really just had a great
day as a family enjoying the outdoors.


2 comments:

Sascha und Karin said...

I really love the photos. This place looks amazing!

Laura said...

Looks awesome! Can't wait to do some hiking this summer in Ottawa!