Pedernales State Park

We caught a lucky break this week - kiddo was sick. Thankfully he didn't really understand he was supposed to be sick, so even though he missed his class, he was ready for an adventure. We packed our drinks, snacks and sunblock and hit the road!

We navigated through morning rush hour and quickly made our way into the picturesque hill country and on to Pedernales State Park. It had been several years since I'd visited, and the munchkin hadn't been at all. As we entered the park we were welcomed with our first wild life sighting when munchkin spotted a deer. He'd also spotted curvy roads, hills, and construction, but I took the deer as a positive sign.

The clear day gave us spectacular views overlooking the hill country, and our short hike took us right down to the Pedernales River. Munchkin has always been a little particular about sand and I was worried he might put a stop to our fun when we had to cross a sandy area to get to the rock, but he surprised me and didn't even pause. We both loved exploring the slabs of limestone in the river, and since it had rained a few days earlier we had numerous puddles to discover.

Munchkin and I were excited to climb through the rocks, pointing out moss, minnows, and even a tiny cave. We found a spring and had a great conversation about the water cycle. We let our imagination run wild as we thought of what unseen animals lived in the park. Perhaps a bear lives in the cave, and was a friend of this tiny creature!

After exploring the river for a while we enjoyed the views with our snacks and water. Then we decided it was time to explore the woods a bit. Staying on trail we heard several birds and bugs, and dreamed of elephants and giraffes hiding just out of sight. He hasn't quite mastered reading a map, but munchkin was insistent that he knew where we were headed. He led us by cacti and evergreen trees. We had the opportunity to rest on "mysterious benches" and trail map inspired us to learn about snakes, dragonflies and even penguins. 

It could have been an ordinary sick day, with snuggles, books and a little television time. Instead we chose to make memories, visit a new place and learn even more about our world. I'll take this kind of sick day any time.