So There Is Nature in Texas!

This morning I found out something shocking, that there are beautiful natural areas in Texas!  It's not that I thought there couldn't be.  In truth, I was fairly certain that there must be nature around here somewhere, and that it had to be as beautiful as the natural areas back home in some way or another.  I was certain that there had to be somewhere I could take the kids for a hike.  I jut didn't want to have to drive several hours to get there!

All of this started with a photo shoot for my job as a dancer.  We were going to get some new photos to put up beside a workshop I'm teaching.  I had contacted a friend of mine, a local photographer, and we were all set up.  He was going to be doing pictures of another model today at a local park and he thought we could make use of the time and his travel and use the same location.  I thought that would be lovely.  There's something beautiful about dance costumes in nature.  We decided we were going to do it.

Aside from the freezing temperature this morning, the whole trip was beautiful.  Our first stop was at this lovely little waterfall with steam rising off it in the morning light.  The sun hadn't yet descended to the water yet so we were still immersed in shadow.  I was assured that while the day was quite cold, the water was actually rather warm.  I didn't have the guts to find out.  We went on to walk through some of the different paths.  It was quite lovely.  I couldn't imagine what it must have looked like before the dam was set into place.  You could see where it appeared that years ago water had worn away the the landscape.  There were even shells hidden in a pile of rocks.  The whole thing was truly an adventure, so much more so than our little trip out to take a few photos.

We're going to have to go back to that lovely little spot some time, but next time I'm bringing the kids (and not getting up at the crack of dawn!) so they can enjoy a nice walk in nature.  It's been too long since we've really been able to enjoy the world around us.  I can't wait until we can go out there as a family!  It may have to wait until warmer weather, or at least a warmer day, but I think it will be fun!