Just at the beginning of the winter holidays around Christmas, I was trying to find a place to travel with a limited budget. The flight tickets were expensive, so it had to be near Austin. I opened Google Maps and the Airbnb website and looked at the greener areas around Austin. There was this one little place called “The Bunkhouse” in Kingsland, TX by the Llano River hosted by Laura. This one was close to three state parks, two rivers and two lakes. Looking at the place in Google Maps, I knew this had to be a good one away from city lights to stargaze. I did not book it immediately because it had been raining for few days till 28th December. Once the rains stopped and the weather forecast was clear, we packed our bags and left for Kingsland.I am writing this blog post (or at least starting it) sitting by the beach at Laura’s Home on the fourth day of our visit (2nd January 2025). Now, two swans flew across the river, landed on the water like an airplane and are swimming as I write this blog.
On the first evening, Laura recommended to visit the Slab Bridge that is a granite formation on the river upstream of the Llano River. We were able to reach the place before sunset. You cannot find this place on any recommendations on the internet. It has two reviews on Google Maps, but the river crossing was gorgeous with brown granite rocks and a partially flowing stream. The sunset sky turning from blue to yellow to orange to shades of purple, pink, blue and dark was something that cannot be described in words; it has to be seen with your own eyes. The clear night sky was starting to get visible with Venus brightly above the setting sun. On the way to the Slab Bridge, we saw a lot of deer walking around the homes. I was very careful while driving back to the home-stay. After eating some delicious birthday biriyani that I made, we went back to the river beach where there was a fire pit burning (started by other guests).
By the river beach, surrounded by all five elements of the earth, I loved looking at the stars that we never see in cities. This must be the most number of stars I have ever seen in my life. The stars of Orion were overwhelmed by the millions of other stars on the sky. You can even see the cloud of Orion Nebula here. The seven sisters of Pleaides was the most beautiful among all. I spent a lot of time to identify the Andromeda Galaxy on my phone camera but was able to identify the position only on the second night. Yet, I couldn’t get it bright enough on my phone. As I write this, Laura’s dog Peregerine is digging the soil investigating something. She left the area probably disappointed with her finding.
After a lot of delay on the second day, we went to the Longhorn Caverns State Park for the 3:00 PM caves walking tour. It was my first time in a natural cavern. I saw a real fossil of a Trilobite for the first time in the gift shop at the park. There were a lot of cool rocks like crystals that are commonly found in the Hill Country. The cave tour guide shared a lot of interesting stories about the discovery and history of the Longhorn Caverns. Thankful to the Civil Conservation Corps (CCC) for finding and engineering it for access to the people. These caves used to have rituals performed by Native Americans and were also used as a night club by Texans in the mid-20th century. The stalactites that have formed over several million years and left untouched for their continuous growth were impressive. It was also interesting to learn about the formation of stalactites, stalgmaties and calcite crystals from the rivers that flowed into the caves. One of the highlights of the tour was the rock (granite?) formation in the shape of a dog that was found by the CCC and named as “Rocky”. This cute little dog protects a stalagmite formation called as “Queen’s Throne”; a rightful protector. The group that I was part of got an earful scolding from the guide for being too loud during the tour. She went bonkers at us (rightfully though), which felt like I was in my school. The Longhorn Caverns tour made me appreciate the preservation efforts and disciplined visitors aiding the state park’s work. The day ended with a dinner at Hooper’s Burger Bar after an hour-long wait due to the large crowd. And of course, another session of stargazing at Laura’s Home. This time I could identify the Andromeda Galaxy.
On the third day on New Year’s eve, we visited the Colorado Bend State Park driving through the rural roads for more than an hour. We hiked the Gorman Falls Trail, which was Moderate/Difficult level for just 1.5 mile length. The rocky trail was easy to hike through but the final segment of about 100 ft was the most difficult with steep drops and required handrail support. But what a beauty it was in front of our eyes! The Gorman Falls is one of the best falls I have ever seen, not because of the water but because of the stalagmite formation on the rock and the growth over the plants. This is a billion years old waterfall and has seen the most historic moments of the world. The waterfall is from the Gorman Spring that was also near it. There is another trail that leads to it. I will visit it next time I go to Colorado Bend State Park.
The second part of the third day was the most unbelievable experience for me. I booked an intermediate level cave tour in the park. The description was that you will get an introduction to real wild caving taking deeper into the cave by crawling and getting dirty. Just the entrance of the cave made me question my decisions. It was a narrow slit through the rocks where you had to squeeze in and go down. This slit was apparently made due to an earthquake and there are several such fissures in the rocks due to earthquakes. Once our group of four people reached the bottom of the slit which was about 15 to 20 ft depth, we had to crawl inside the rock cavities left by the river water flow. We crawled on our knees with our helmets hitting the ceiling at every second crawl. Once you crawl further, the cave becomes roomier with amazing stalactites and stalagmites on the ceiling and floor. This cave is inhabited by a species of bats that prefer to live alone. The first bat that the guide was expecting was not in its home (a hole in the ceiling) but we got to see “Rocky Sand”, another bat that lives next to a stalagmite formation named as “Turtle Shell”. There was another bat nearby which even the guide did not know that it lived there, probably a new resident. The Turtle Shell formation was more than 3 ft in diameter protected by chains around it so that cavers do not come in contact with it. Just touching with our fingers can transfer our skin oil on the stalagmite and they will stop growing further. These formations grow about an inch in a century, so they very well deserve our precaution. We got to touch a broken stalactite and struck it with our fingers to hear the tingling high pitch sound. Holding a stalactite that took several years to form was an unbelievable experience for me. The cave guide allowed us to explore the cave by ourselves by crawling through the nooks and crevices to find living things in the cave or find a space where we can also stand up on our legs. One of the group members found a baby scorpion under a stone. The scorpion glowed in a bright turquoise blue color on showing a UV slight on it. We got to experience how total darkness feels like by switching off all our lights for two minutes. The pitch darkness confuses our human brains and makes us hallucinate things that we cannot see. This explains how dreams, prophecies, and visions are reported by religious people, usually in dark places. We saw a lot of cave crickets that apparently do not have eyes as they are useless in the dark caves. Still, there were are also few invasive fire ants that do not belong in that environment. Then we crawled out of the cave sometimes crawling on our bellies almost like how the people in the military get training. Climbing out of the cave, I was in awe of what I accomplished that was not even on my wish list.
Before heading out to Kingsland, we stopped by The Bend Store, a rustic country-style restaurant/bar/store. This was recommended by Laura and we were glad that we got the chance to eat here, though they didn’t have their famous burgers on New Year’s eve. The decor of this place screams Texas in each and every element. You won’t be bored of noticing the details in this place. The message board outside the store welcomed us, “This is country, start being nice!’. True to its message, the people were very nice to us. Very good chicken fajitas tacos too!
We celebrated the new year with a mid-night hike at the Inks Lake State Park with Laura and her friends. Hiking in the dark with torch lights was a new experience. After a few poems and messages of hope, the group of 145 people celebrated new year in the dark at the highest point of the Lake Trail.
On the next day morning, we wanted to spend more time at Laura’s home and her beach. So we extended the stay by one more day. We decided to try kayaking which was again a first time for both of us. Although I was nervous about balancing the kayak, my swim lessons gave me some confidence to handle if something bad happens. Being in the middle of the river in the kayak looking the river and the hills around was fearful and exciting. After an hour of kayaking, we left for Inks Lake State Park again but this time just to hike. We hiked the Devil’s Hole Trail, Valley of Spring Trail, and the Lower Angler’s Trail. The lake looked so beautiful at the Devil’s Hole. The granite formations and the view from the top of the Valley of Spring Trail was amazing. The Lower Angler’s Trail is along the lake shore facing the setting sun. It was calming to observe the families of geese/swans swim through the lake and arguing with each other like human families. At the end of the trail, we got to see a deer with a calf, both unbothered by our presence after looking at us. What do these deer eat all day long? They don’t seem to stop at any time. We also saw a lot of deer around the residences of Kingsland. We finished the day with burgers at the Boat Town Bar near Lake LBJ. This town does not have a car showroom but has one for boats.
Laura’s home was more of a picnic spot than a place to stay. We sat by the beach and enjoyed the view of the hills on a cloudy day. We kayaked again for longer time. We were more confident and better at it this time. We kayaked to the Moss Creek which was in the downstream of Llano River. The creek was a peaceful hangout spot for different species of birds. I have never experienced calmness like that in the middle of a natural spot that too sitting on a kayak with no one around. I was glad that we were able to find a perfect place on Airbnb and fortunate to try exciting fun activities during this trip. We left the place taking memories and few polaroid photos with us. Finally, we had a dinner at Alfredo’s Mexican Restaurant and headed back to Austin.
I wish I could have my own home by the river and hills away from all the lights and glamor of the city, being closer to the dark sky and nature. Till then, I hope to find more such staycations and explore the world! Wish you all a happy new year!
P.S: It took me almost 9 months to post this 😀
Bhushan Raj Selvaraj 
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