Kerrville, Texas

We hiked the wonderful Enchanted Rock today. We were lucky to get into the park after being turned away on our first attempt because the parking lot was full (the state limits the number of concurrent visitors). Less than 20 miles from Fredericksburg, this is a very popular park to visit. The climb is short but vigorous and the views are very rewarding. The girls did great heading up the steep dome. Rose was drawn to the sporadic water features and enjoyed most of the hike in bare feet so she could enjoy splashing in the puddles trapped in small indentations along the way. As we learned:

• "The Rock is a huge, pink granite exfoliation dome, that rises 425 feet above ground, 1825 feet above sea level, and covers 640 acres. It is one of the largest batholiths (underground rock formation uncovered by erosion) in the United States."

It's not near as big as Ayers Rock (Uluru) in Australia but it is a fine feature inside a great park that draws enthusiastic visitors from afar. The day was all the more pleasant for the bright, warm sunshine that accompanied us all day. After hiking we headed south, closer to San Antonio, ending up in Kerrville tonight at a very nice county park right next to the Guadalupe River. Tomorrow, St Patrick's Day, we head to San Antonio where Doug has some work commitments and the girls get to hang out downtown in Crockett Hotel (yes, that Davy Crockett) next to the Alamo and the famous San Antonio Riverwalk. In honor of St Patrick and our Irish friends everywhere, the adults are planning to wear green tomorrow. But the kids want to wear purple so they'll get pinched by leprechauns and hopefully get to see them...