West Texas 2012 - Part 1

We left for our mostly annual West Texas adventure early Friday afternoon. We stopped in Johnson City for a yummy lunch at a hidden little cafe and then again in Stonewall for our peach ice cream. It was a good year for peaches, and Brian loaded up with fresh peaches and plums.
  We arrived at the River Haven Cabins in Leakey just in time to get a quick swim in before it got dark. The Frio was beautiful and clear, and it was fun to experience a new place. Everyone did some exploring with their goggles, rock throwing, etc. The cabins were full of extended families on vacation, and it really made me miss my cousins... We made a late dinner and crashed out around 11, after Autry had a nice long freak out.

  The next morning we got up, ate some cinnamon rolls, and headed out to Kickapoo State park, about two hours away. It's a new state park, pretty much in the middle of nowhere, and Brian had signed us up for some spelunkering. I was hesitant about the idea because it was a lot of driving, but it ended up being a really cool experience. The cave was awesome and huge, and the guided tour was way more relaxed than any we had been on before. It was a lot of scrambling around and more freedom to explore rather than just stay on a small trail following a guide. The kids did great, we were in there for an hour or so and even Autry hung in there until the end. We spotted a Painted Bunting and a Vermillion Flycatcher at the state park, and Brian was excited to finally get to eat some berries off a bush that someone told him were ok to eat.
We got back to Leakey in time for a little more swimming, made dinner, and crashed. We got up the next morning, packed, said goodbye to the Frio and were off to Balmorhea.