2024-9-22 Inks Lake State Park

 I left a little early and spent a weekend at Inks Lake State Park on my way to a rsally.

It was beautiful and flowers were blooming throughout the park.

I arrived on Friday after reserving my site about 5 months ago. Inks Lake is one of the most popular state parks in Texas. It's a very nice park but, another reason is that it may be the only lake in texas that doesn't fluctuate in water level during droughts. The Colorado River is dammed up at both ends of the lake so water levels can be controlled.

Harley had a nice soft bed next to my chair but he likes to assert his independence.

The park store with kayaks, canoes, and paddle boats was very busy over the weekend.

There are two fishing piers in the park at opposite ends.

The swimming beach provided a great sunset view after the swimmers left.

There were a number of Reserved sites that didn't hold occupants. I don't know whether this was the park rangers doing or people who were too selfish to cancel when they were unable to come. Either way is a shame since so many would love to get a site here. Empty spots were not an issue in my circle. And I have to say I was really surprised to see the huge number of tents throughout the park. While there were a couple of scout groups, there were many families with several tents to a site. All was quiet and serene all weekend.

It was a real surprise to step out of my RV at 10AM on Sunday to see the whole area empty except for one other RV and me. I never heard them pack up, nice neighbors all.

One thought I had while here was this. The areas with water and electricity at each site were very popular with tenters. You can't blame them for wanting power for a fan, electric cooler, or frying pan. One area of the park is equally beautiful with many waterfront sites but only a water connection at each site. It would seem to be a big benefit for campers if just 110 electric was added to each site. That is what tenters use, not the 30 or 50 amp plugs. Instead I noted the big new Visitors Entrance Checkin station with fancy paved routes around it that has been built but not yet opened. Just seems like more useful sites would benefit campers a lot more than a new Checkin center and cost less money as well.

Fantastic Inks Lake State Park

Late Monday morning, Steve and I packed up and headed north to Burnet and Inks Lake State Park. Inks Lake is probably the most popular state park in Texas so it is really difficult to get reservations.....especially in light of the policy allowing reservations to be made almost a year in advance. A lot of people book every weekend for the year and then cancel a day or two before if they decide not to come. Even weekdays are booked up all summer but we lucked out and were able to get Monday through Thursday night before Memorial Day. My brother-in-law and sister-in-law also got a site for the same time.

Our site was really nice and BIL and SIL got the site to the left of us, not quite as nice because the picnic table was on the opposite side of the RV from their door, but still good. Check in at the park was a series of screw-ups because the young girl on duty booked us in under the wrong reservations, overcharged us each for an extra day, and charged me day fees for an extra person. We both had to go up the next morning. The older lady on the desk took one look at the mess and called the head ranger in to fix all the errors. I hate to think of what happened when that young lady was actually busy with a crowd checking in for the Memorial Day weekend. Bottom line, really scrutinize your check in paperwork to make sure it is correct.

The lake view was very nice. One thing that is really great about Inks Lake is that there is a dam at each end of it so the water level can be controlled. Even when other lakes are really low due to drought, Inks Lake always has the same amount of water.

The lake wasn't crowded but all kinds of families were there enjoying it including these Canadian geese. 

They came right up into the campsite to show off the little ones. I am always very conscientious about picking up weenie dog poo but it gets kind of hilarious when the goose poo is bigger than the weenie poo. Enough said.

We saw lots of flowers while we were out and about.

Lots of nice views too.

I'm happy to say that both my dachsies, Willy and Harley, as well as Angus the Am Staff are very well behaved around wildlife.....it doesn't phase them in the least to share the campsite.

 

Lots of ducks out and about too.

Other large birds were enjoying the water too.

And the sunsets were spectacular. It was really great spending time with family doing something we all really enjoy.

Inks Lake State Park

Shortly after our tire trials in Marble Falls, we arrived in Burnet TX and took Hwy 29 over to Park Road 4 on our way to Inks Lake.  If you come up Hwy 281 from the south, you will see a cut-off to Longhorn Caverns State Park and Inks Lake State Park but I recommend going on to Burnet and out Hwy 29.  Arriving from the Longhorn Cavern/Inks Lake cutoff will send you across some very exciting hill country drops......great fun on a motorcycle or car but not so much in an RV.  I've done it both ways and Moby Dick (my F250 diesel) laughs at the hill but there are also a lot more branches sticking out along the road as you get closer to Inks Lake from this direction.  And we all know that branches and RV roofs are not good companions.  Last year it really needed trimming when I went that route (state cut-backs, park road, etc) so I just recommend approaching from Burnet which is also the closest town and has a decent HEB for groceries.   It rained on us a couple of times earlier in the day then cleared up.  We checked in to the park and headed to our site.  We got all backed in but were still unhooking and setting up when a huge deluge hit us.  I jumped in the truck with the kids and dogs and Steve jumped in the 5th wheel since he was closer to that door.  It really came down hard.  Once it quit, Steve and I finished setting up outside.

Inks Lake is a beautiful small lake between Buchanan Lake and Lake LBJ.  While Buchanan Lake is really impacted by the drought, they keep Inks Lake full using the dams since it is such a small lake.  It is also one of the most popular Texas State Parks so be sure you have reservations for the weekends in the summer or you won't get a spot.

We stayed Wednesday and Thursday night and had a great time swimming in the lake, walking around the park, etc.  The ranger said I could come in Friday morning at 0800 and get on a list for any cancellations for the weekend.  That was our plan until Steve talked to another camper near us.  He told Steve that people start lining up at dawn or before and 0800 is just when the office opens.  He said he had gone over once at 4AM and found people already waiting.  Obviously it was time for plan B.

They also have some small cabins with A/C for those without RVs.  Oh, and we could have gotten a spot if we had been a "primitive camper" wanting a tent site in that area.

So I made a phone call Friday morning to another place I like and we packed up and headed out after a leisurely breakfast.

We'll definitely be back here some day soon.

On the Road to Inks Lake, TX

Finally, we packed up the RV and headed north towards Inks Lake State Park.  The anticipation level is running high.  Everyone is psyched.  We stopped for lunch in Marble Falls.  Kids get hungry on a real regular basis whether they are 7 and 9 or 42.  lol.  Back on the road......Steve has such good eyes....he noticed a tire problem that wasn't there when we left San Antonio this morning.  A quick check shows that a belt has let loose.  I do carry a spare and I even have a jack rated for the RV thanks to my husband who added that after had the same problem on the way back from Florida last summer. (I also have coverage that would send someone out to change the tire for me.)   I replaced the second tire in April before I headed to the Rio Grande valley.  So this makes the third tire.  We bought the RV new in 2009 but the tires were 2008 so five years old.....kept covered while parked, no crazing or cracking, belt issues each time.  Tires were checked before each trip and looked fine.  Very fortunately....no actual blowouts or RV damage any time.  We were just going to pull over and check the Internet for a Discount Tire.  I thought the closest one would be back in San Antonio when I spotted the sign a block up the road.  They just opened last November.

We pulled in and they had the right tire.  I thought about it and decided to replace the fourth tire as well if I could negotiate a good enough price.  Deal negotiated......shouldn't have to worry about tires again for quite some time barring road damage.

The dogs got walked and we all waited inside in the A/C.

Somebody worked real hard on these topiaries next door to Discount Tire in Marble Falls.

Back rolling on down the road again........see you at Inks Lake.

The Devil's Waterhole and Longhorn Caverns, TX

On our last day at Inks Lake, we headed out the Valley Spring Trail to check out the Devil's Waterhole which is right above the little hiking guy and the "you are here" symbol on the poster below.  It is clearly marked to warn you that jumping in from the rocks above may be hazardous due to rocks in the water so be warned if you go.

Here are Birdie and Harley heading down the trail.  Willy, Gretchen, and I were right behind her.  She is toting her camera and binoculars as there are lots of birds.

View from the trail.

Here are a couple of more intrepid hikers above us.  We went about halfway up before we decided that three doxies pulling us pell mell down the hill might not be the smartest move on our part.  The furkids had a ball on the trail and on the rock.

The waterhole is around to the right.

Of course, we encountered some wildlife on the trail.  Look closer...it's in the lower middle of the picture doing it's best to camouflage with the rock

Some more wildlife enjoying the lake.

This rock looks ready to totter right on over but there a couple of smaller rocks wedged under it.

It was a beautiful day.

Next it was back to the RV so the doxies could take their afternoon nap while Birdie and I set out for Longhorn Caverns.

I might as well admit that we got there about 15 minutes after the tour left and the next one was two hours away so we just toured the grounds.  We weren't late....we just didn't know what time the tours would be.
This is another place where the CCC (Civilian Conservation Corps) did some great work.

There was obviously some work to be done in through the door on the left but there were stairs up to the little parapets above.

The opening to the Cavern is around this path and then down the steps into the open bowl area.

Here you can see the land bridge above the opening.

This opening is actually a lot bigger than it appears in the photo.  You go through here and then into the cavern but you can only go in with the guide.

As we headed back to the lake, we passed this humble Texas abode.

And took this picture of the valley from up on a hill at a small rest stop.

Another wonderful day.  I'm almost caught up with posting and then I will catch up on the 250 blog posts from friends that I missed while I was gone.  I almost forgot.  If you want a thrill, be sure you come to Longhorn Cavern and Inks Lake via Park Road 4 which begins about halfway between Marble Falls and Burnett.  There are two hills with a very short valley between them.  If you want less of a thrill, take 29 west out of Burnett and go south on Park Road 4 from there.  Less trees sticking out over the road and less exciting hills.