Cactus Jack, Fort Griffin State Park, TX

One Texas State Park, hoards of beautiful cacti & one full day of adventure!

Another continuing saga in the diary of Tom & Sky…

The weather was decent for the first weekend in a long while. The winds were calm, the sky was baby blue and cloudless, and the morning air was perfect for wearing shorts and a T-shirt. The evening before I had slyly planned for a fantastic day of adventure. Tom had gone to bed before me and later when I had crept into the bedroom I took advantage of setting the clock up a couple of hours. It was an ingenious plan. Tom wouldn't know what had hit him until we were well on the road, and that two hours would give us a great early start.

Our bedroom lies on the eastern side of the house and there's no escaping that morning sun. It's convenient for work days but it makes it difficult to sleep-in on the weekends. At least for me; Tom is usually able to catch a few extra winks. Like I said, Tom would never knew what had hit him…

Generally, we rarely plan our weekend adventures until the last moment. Today, something was telling us, "Go West, Little Couple, to Fort Griffin". At 145 miles it was a reasonable drive from our home, perfect for a one-day adventure trip.

A half a dozen cups of heavily caffinated coffee and a few donuts later we were on the road to Fort Griffin State Park. We had never visited this park and we both were filled with excited anticipation. As Tom dodged the morning traffic I read the description of the park to him from the Texas State Travel Guide. We had both donned our oversized sunshades so we looked like two giant beetles riding down the road. Happy ones.

According to the travel guide, Fort Griffin was home of the state-maintained Texas Longhorn herd. In addition, we could expect to see the ruins of several old fort buildings. Another thing that we knew we could count on was the wonderful trails threaded throughout the park. State parks are notorious for trails.

We stopped to purchase a few dollars of gas, thinking it would be cheaper further from the city. Generally, it is. However, not this ride.

Once we were past the outskirts of the city the scenery shifted to a deeper green. It had rained the night before and everything looked so clean and vivid. The sky was still cloudless and we found ourselves examining it from time-to-time, looking for signs of the promised rain showers.

When the filling affects of our donuts started running low we stopped for some famous Popeye's spicy chicken. I had never eaten at Popeye's and it was a tasty treat. We had a 9-minute wait on the spicy variety and it was worth every second. Their biscuits are to die for and they serve crawfish baskets that are at least 2-feet high. As we returned to our car we noted that gas prices had climbed about ten cents.

When we were about an hour out of the big city the landscape took on that 'west Texas flair'. If you've ever headed west in Texas, you know the look. Oddly enough there were a few prominent hills along the drive. There was a last dusting of the spring wildflowers covering them; red wine cups, yellow Mexican Hats, milkweed, purple thistles and prickly pear cactus in full bloom. Our hearts practically stopped when we spied the cactus flowers and the deeper west we ventured, the denser the cacti patches.

Using caution we pulled off the side of the road and broke out the camera gear. We had spied a thicket of cacti in full bloom. Blasts of yellow lunged out all along the bank of the hill with intermittent shades of deep peach peeking through the yellow. We had just missed the little rain shower that had left tiny water droplets on the cactus roses. Tom began setting up his tripod and snapping off one fabulous shot after another. A pair of peach-colored cactus roses was posed in a perfect composition. Tiny beads of raindrops were nestled inside the roses lending them an almost romantic flair. This was such a beautiful spot; the air was crisp and smelled like rain and there were hundreds of butterflies skirting through the air, visiting flower after flower.

Finally, we headed back to the car. After all my parading through the wet grass, my hiking boots were saturated. Tom suggested that we hang my socks out the window and allow them to dry along the way. Other than looking 'hick' it was an ingenious idea.

At the beginning of our trip we had calculated a two-hour drive. That drive had now bled into five hours and with it an almost twenty-cent hike in gas. However, sometimes the best part of a trip is getting there. I regret not stopping along one strip where a rather crafty person had placed a scarecrow in the driver's seat of an ancient flatbed truck. That scene deserved a picture for prosperity's sake.

The way to Fort Griffin State Park was clearly marked and we found it without incident, which is rare for Tom and me. The road to the headquarters began at the base of a hill that spiraled to the top of a breathtaking scenic overlook. Joy! It was covered with prickly pear cactus in full bloom! We decided to inspect the entirety of the park then return to take some memorable pictures.

A few clouds had crept in and their was a light breeze from the south. The cool of the morning had vanished and the water nestled in the ice chest we'd packed felt mighty good to our parched throats. We had stopped to admire a patch of beautiful blue wildflowers that were nestled in the valley.

When we returned to the car to continue our inspection of the park, something long and wiggly flew off the bottom of my hiking boot onto the floorboard. My first instinct was to scream then rear back three feet. Once I realized it was caterpillar rather than a snake I felt a bit ridiculous. Tom's been schooling me on the misunderstood snake for years now. Yes, they are lovely critters but no matter how much I've learned to admire them, they still manage to squeeze a scream out of me.

Fortunately, the caterpillar was undamaged but he needed to be returned to the wild outdoors. Aiding and abetting wild creatures is second nature to us. We've been known to backtrack five miles to rescue a wandering and confused turtle from roadkill. Amid our rescue efforts we discovered that the hillside was almost quilted with these lovely caterpillars. Tom broke out his camera gear and began searching the 'host' plants, trying to find the prettiest subject for his photo. They weren't the most cooperative little buggers and it took some time and patience to click off a few good shots.

Next, we decided to investigate the ruins of the fort. The bakery was interesting and we imagined that it was also very hot during its hay-day. Sometimes we don't appreciate modern conveniences and never imagine being without them. Being in this bakery in the middle of a Texas-August seems an almost unbearable thought. Ovens lined one wall and there was a pot-bellied stove vented through one side of the bakery. Lot's of heat in here.

On down a winding trail rested the forty-five foot cistern that was hand-dug by the soldiers at Fort Griffin. It's a site that will stick in your memory. They probably would have killed for an auger. There is an iron grate over the face of the cistern preventing anyone from falling into the pit such as the hard-headed child that you've decided needed to go hiking with you. Forty-five feet is a long drop.

We stopped back by the bakery and took a few shots of the stately building then headed back to the scenic overlook for more pictures of the cactus.

Tom was lodged in his own little world, obsessed in seizing that 'perfect' picture. In the meantime I enjoyed the beautiful scenery, meandering down the hillside discovering all sorts of gifts from nature. There was a beautiful green bush coated in red berries and thousands and thousands of cacti were interwoven throughout the area, the majority clothed in yellow blooms. All this was mixed with hundreds of colorful butterflies. It looked and felt like spring.

Later than night as the lights of the big city loomed into view over the once-dark horizon, Tom and I decided that it had been a wonderful day, an unforgettable day. This was one of those special times when we would have liked to stay a bit longer. Well, at least we were back to cheaper fuel prices.

One more thing. Remember all that conniving with the clock? Tom never noticed….

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