Discover the Ethereal Beauty of Monahans Sandhills State Park

We were headed home from Carlsbad caverns and passed this park, so of course, we had to check it out. We had visited White Sands National Monument two days earlier and I was curious how Monahans Sandhills State Park would compare.

The sand dunes in this park are much smaller than White Sands, but I kinda liked that. The sand is also darker in color.

Monahans Sandhills State Park is located in located in Western Texas near Odessa. It consists of 3,840 acres of sand dunes, some reaching heights of 70 feet.

The park encompasses only a small portion of a dune field that is about 200 miles wide. Most of the dunes within the 200-mile area are stabilized by vegetation. The dunes located in park are still active, changing shape and size constantly from the wind.

It is best to go early in the morning during the summer. The disk and sleds do not slide easily when the sand is hot. Sleds and disk can be rented from the park visitor center.

Monahans Sandhills State Park:

•  is around 6 hours from the Dallas/Fort Worth area
• 6 hours from Austin, Texas
• 4 hours from El Paso, Texas
• less than an hour from the New Mexico border and around 3 hours from the border of Mexico.

Address:

 2500 E Interstate 20 Exit 86
 Monahans, TX 79756

Hours:

8am - 10pm daily

Happy Travels! 

Discovering Pedernales Falls State Park in Johnson City, Texas

The saying " Everything is bigger in Texas"comes to mind when looking at the falls!

Located within the Pedernales Falls State Park, Pedernales Falls is part of the Pedernales River in Blanco County.

The Falls drop about 50 feet in elevation over huge slabs of limestone and Rocks for about 3,000 feet.

The trail to the overlook is an easy walk from the parking area, but the trail from the overlook to the bottom of the falls is pretty steep in places.

Once at the bottom, you can walk out onto the boulders across the falls.

Hours:

Open Daily

*Park closures are possible on weekends and holidays when parking lots are full. Check here for updates or call the park. (830) 868-7304


Entrance Fees:

13 years and older : $6 Daily

Child 12 Years and Under: Free

Address:

2585 Park Road 6026
Johnson City, TX 78636


Happy Travels! 

Discovering Jacob's Well: An Artesian Spring in Wimberley, Texas

I knew from the first photo that I saw of Jacobs well, that I had to go see it for myself. I was intrigued by people jumping from atop a rock outcropping into the deep hole of water.

I am always choosing a destination based on photos alone. I usually don't do a lot of research on the place until get back home. I'm not sure why. Maybe it's because I wan't to explore the place and find things on my own without any preconceived thought about it. I really don't know why. 

Anyway, Jacob's Well was not what I was expecting at all! It was really interesting, but much smaller than I thought. The main area of the hole is about 30 feet deep, but is only about 12 foot in diameter at most. The hole is surrounded by solid rock covered in very shallow water. The hole has many chambers below the main area that descend to approximately 120 foot.

Jumping into the well is prohibited, but there are hundred of videos and photos online of people doing just that. The height of the outcropping from where they jump and the tiny opening surrounded by solid rock was enough to discourage me! 😲

The area is a great place for hiking, climbing, and swimming. It usually is crowded, but it was raining on and off the day we were there, so we pretty much had it to ourselves.

Address:

1699 Mt. Sharp Rd

Wimberley, TX 78676

Entrance Fees:

$9 for adults 

$5 for Hays County residents with a photo ID showing residency 

$5 for children ages 5-12

 Free for children 4 and under

Military service members and veterans, as well as seniors age 60 and better will pay $5

May 1st through Memorial Day:  those wishing to swim must reserve a 2-hour time block on the County’s website. Only 300 people per day total will be allowed swim time.

Check here for other rules and regulations.

Happy Travels! 

Exploring the Natural Beauty of Hamilton Pool Preserve in Texas

Hamilton Pool is one of those places that deserves a spot at the top of your Bucket List! It's hard to believe you are in Texas when you are standing in front off the massive Grotto and pool!

The hike to the pool is 1/4 mile. Areas of the trail are steep and rocky. We did not find it to be a difficult hike though.

 The natural pool is the result of a collapsed cave due to erosion thousands of years ago.

A natural stream of water flowing over a limestone outcropping creates a 50 foot waterfall, which continually adds fresh water to the pool. During dry times, water flow decreases and the waterfall is at a trickle.

The pool water is constantly monitored and will be closed for swimming if the bacteria count is too high. There is currently no swimming at Hamilton Pool due to some swimming related accidents.

Admission Fee:

$15 per vehicle
add $11 if you reserve online


Hours : 9am - 6pm daily

Address:

24300 Hamilton Pool Rd.

Dripping Springs, TX  78620

I have been to Hamilton Pool three times now and continue to be impressed each time. Hope you enjoy it as much as I do!

Happy Travels! 

The Dallas Arboretum (Pumpkin Houses) - Dallas, Texas

The Dallas Arboretum and Botanical Garden is a 66-acre botanical garden located on the shores of White Rock Lake in Dallas, Texas.

The Nationally Acclaimed Pumpkin Village is the biggest autumn attraction at the Arboretum. It is one-acre filled with 90,000 pumpkins, gourds, squash, bales of hay and cornstalks skillfully arranged into houses, walkways, and other fun structures.

The village has been featured in magazines such as SouthernLiving and House Beautiful.

The Village was very cute and the Gardens are beautiful, but there were two things that I didn’t like.

We went at 9am on a Sunday morning thinking that it would be the least crowded time. This was defiantly not the case. There were so many people that it was hard to even walk without getting bumped in to!  I asked the lady at the information desk if there would be a better time to come back that it would not be so crowded. She informed me that it was like that all the time and that there was not a good time. She said that they even have to close the parking lot at times. So, keep that in mind!

The other thing that I didn’t like was that in addition to paying $15 a person to get in, you have to pay $15 to park. That probably would not have bothered me so much if we would not have had such a long walk from the parking lot to the entry and if it would not have been so crowded.

The majority of the crowding was around the pumpkin village, so the other areas of the garden were more relaxing.

Location:

8617 Garland Road

 Dallas, Texas 75218

Admission Fees:

Adult general garden admission (13-64): $15

Seniors general garden admission (65 & over): $12

Children general garden admission (3-12): $10

Children general garden admission (2 & under): Free

On-site self parking or parking garage: $15

The gardens are beautiful and the Pumpkin Village was fun. Hopefully your visit will be less crowded and relaxing!   

Happy Travels! 

Dolphin Connection (Dolphin Interaction) Ingleside, TX

We had our trip planned for 10 am and when we awoke, it was misting rain and windy.  Sonja called us to reschedule, but decided she would take us out anyway since we were leaving the area that day.

The water conditions were not great for interaction with the dolphins.

A sunny day with calm water is preferred. It was cloudy, foggy, with good sized waves!

We knew we were in for an adventure when we first pulled up to the Dolphin Connection!

The building is so colorful and cheerful.

In a distance we could see a small boat headed towards the building. The boat pulls up to the dock and small perky woman jumps out.  She was so full of energy and started cracking jokes right off.

We loaded the boast and headed out to see the dolphin.

Sonja was so much fun and she treated us like she had known us forever.

You can tell the dolphins are her babies by the way she talks to them and calls them by name.

Some of the dolphins came right up to the boat. They will even let you touch them if they are in the right mood!

They love playing in the wake behind the boat.

It was so neat being so close to the dolphins in their environment!

Happy Travels!