Lost Maples State Natural Area

Medina Highpoint Resort
Medina, TX
November 6, 2017

Lost Maples covers 2,174 acres on the Sabinal River.  Texas purchased the property in 1973-74 and it opened to the public on Sept. 1, 1979.  In 1980, it became a National Natural Landmark.  

Known for its showy bigtooth maple trees, the park offers about 10 miles of easy to difficult hiking trails. Trails wander through limestone canyons and scenic woodlands. 

Once when Texas was wetter and less hot, bigtooth maples were widespread.  Now they only survive in a few sheltered canyons that protect a moist microclimate.

Today, Lost Maples hosts several groves of these beautiful trees which are relics from trees that flourished during the last glacial period...c.110,000-c.11,700 years ago.  These trees were the reason for our visit...it is fall after all !



The park is designated a natural area rather than a state park which means the primary focus is the maintenance and protection of the property's natural state.  

Canyon walls boast the area's limestone bedrock.    The kiosk below explains the process of how new limestone, called travertine, is formed. 

 

 Our morning started off cool under cloudy skies...

...which eventually gave way to blue skies and sunshine.

Wild grape vines...

 

A side hike to Monkey Rock...

Vines of these red leaves were common.  Maybe poison ivy as some had three leaves, but a lot had four or five leaves.

The water was crystal clear.  

We enjoyed meandering over and around the rocks on the trail.

The water dripping from the wall was like a sprinkle of rain...so cool !

Until next time...

HAPPY TRAILS !

Moab Highlights...our last few weeks

Gopher Flats
Moab. UT
Sept. 21 - Oct. 30

Our last few weeks in Moab were fun and busy.  Just the way we like it ! 

Sept. 21 - Joe and I joined Dee to help transport Graham and Kelsey, scientists with the BLM, and all their equipment out to an area off Kane Creek Trail.  Shirley, our good friend and a BLM employee, also rode with Dee.  Because of the drop-off spot, we drove the trail backwards.   

Dee leads the way with passengers Graham, Kelsey, and Shirley

Graham and Kelsey  

And they are off to do some water quality testing...

 Sept. 26 - We had the great pleasure of spending two days with Jodee and Bill.  This was their first visit to Moab and what a treat to experience it with them.  Our first day, we decided on Potash Road, and Shafer Trail switchbacks. 

Potash Road (Hwy 279) winds along as it follows the Colorado River.  We stopped to check out the petroglyphs along the south-facing cliffs in the canyon walls.





















Shafer Trail, an old cattle trail constructed by John Shafer in 1917, is home to iconic last scene in Thelma and Louise when they plunged their 1966 Thunderbird right off the cliff. 

Eventually Shafer Trail meets the White Rim area (a part of Canyonlands NP) where we made a right hand turn.  This is where the trail gets exciting with a steep climb and cliffs on the side of the road. 

Amazing...

 Sept. 28 - We headed out towards Hurrah Pass with Jodee and Bill hoping to reach the wind caves, but partly cloudy skies turned dark so we had to shorten our day.  


A beautiful drive takes you through easy parts of Kane Creek Canyon.  We stopped along the way to check out Birthing Rock.

 Next, we drove out onto one of the cliff points...

And our last stop was Hurrah Pass...a 4780 ft mountain pass which overlooks the Colorado River.

Exporing at the pass...

It wasn't long after Hurrah Pass we decided to turn around.  We didn't quite make it to the wind caves...next time !  Dark clouds were moving in...

 It was great seeing Jodee and Bill...I'm sure our paths will cross again !

Oct. 13 through 29 - Libby and Corky came to Moab and the best part is that they rented the home right next door !  Libby loves to cook and served up some mighty tasty food while she was here.  Both Libby and Corky are from Louisiana (but they now reside in Hot Springs Village, AK) and one night we had gumbo served with white rice and potato salad...a first for me !  It was yummy and yes, like other folks from Louisiana, I dumped a spoonful of the potato salad right on top of the gumbo.  We got a lot of riding in with them and Dee while they were here. Hell's Revenge, Cliffhanger, Behind the Rocks, and  Rusty Nail.  

Dropping down the entrance to Hell's Gate...

 Cliffhanger...

Corky climbing High Dive...

 ...and following Dee up the Chute on Behind the Rocks.

 And last, Golden Spike with the Golden Crack... 

and Rusty Nail with No Left Turn...

and lots of flex !

One last trail was a leaf peek on Kane Creek Trail.  



We enjoyed one "WOW" after another.

We pulled out of Moab on Oct. 30 headed south to Texas Hill Country.  We are now all settled in at Medina Highpoint Resort for November.  More on that later.

Big hugs to Dee...

Cleo and Jules...

and our sweet buddy Sam !

 Until next time...

HAPPY TRAILS !