Garner State Park and Surroundings

In what has become something of an annual tradition, I took advantage of Thanksgiving break to take a short road trip in search of fall scenery.  This year the area west of San Antonio seemed promising -- a couple of state parks, a couple of foliage drives.  Potential!

Garner State Park was my first destination.  Before I even arrived, Ranch Road 1050 offered some nice views just after sunrise despite the overcast conditions.

I'd called the park the day before and asked a ranger about the foliage, who'd informed me that the cypress trees along the Frio River were some of the only things with much color to speak of.  That was confirmed at the first scenic overlook I came to.

The park was pretty full of families camping -- more than I'd expected given the cool, damp weather.  I decided to give the hike to the summit of Old Baldy a shot -- short, but steep.

The summit was ... not completely natural.  Reminded me of that Hugh Grant movie "The Englishman Who Went up a Hill but Came Down a Mountain."

I hear the views from the summit of Old Baldy are nice.  Not this particular day, however.

The much better views were from the Garner Dam, where the low clouds, changing leaves, and reflections off the still water made for exactly the sort of fall scene I had hoped to find.

And then I remembered to turn around, and saw an even better one.  Clear blue skies would have ruined the mood.  The clouds that had originally disappointed me now seemed essential.

Portrait orientation wasn't too shabby, either.

I meandered upriver a bit and found more captivating color and reflections.  I had, indeed, found fall.

After leaving the park I took another recommended foliage drive from Leakey to Camp Wood on Ranch Road 337.  This view of Camp Wood Creek was the only time I stopped along the route.

Once I started heading from Leakey to the Lost Maples State Natural Area, however, I spotted a photographer with a tripod on the side of the road.  It's a moral imperative for me to also stop in that situation, and as always I was treated to a great scene.

Which once again, was also great in portrait orientation.

I'd already gotten the shot I'd hoped for at Garner.  But I still had some hiking I wanted to do, and looked forward to spending the afternoon doing it at Lost Maples!