While we were on our Labor Day Weekend Trip to the Bastrop area, we were able to mark off five more Texas State Parks: Bastrop State Park, Buescher State Park, Goliad State Park/State Historic Site (Zaragosa Birthplace State Historic Site), Monument Hill – Kreische Brewery State Historic Site, and Washington-on-the-Brazos State Historic Site. We were not expecting to pick up Goliad, Monument Hill or Washington-on-the-Brazos, but something unexpected happened on Saturday, but that’s another post.

Friday we went with our friends John and Faye Cobb to Bastrop and Buescher State Parks. John and Faye are part of the Friends of the Lost Pines group and they LOVE these two parks. True Bastrop has been through a lot of major changes over the past five years between a huge forest fire in 2011 and the loss of their CCC built dam in 2015, but it is a very, very nice park with so much history. While we drove the along State Park Road 1A, B, and C, they told us stories about the building of the parks, visiting the populous, and the violence of Mother Nature.

When we drove through the CCC built entryway, I could see why John and Faye loved this park; it was beautiful. The drive towards the headquarters building meandered lazily past loblolly pines and a mix of late summer wildflowers. Before you arrive at the office, there is a large spring fed pond. This pond is where many El Camino Real Travelers had stopped along their travels to San Antonio; portions of the historic road running through the park. Bastrop State Park is part of the El Camino Real de Los Tejas National Historic Trail.

We stopped at the office the park to get paid up and introduce me as a representative of Texans for State Parks and Stitchntravel.com. It is always nice to go inside to check-in instead of just stopping at the gate. Scott and I have found we love meeting the park staff and volunteers. I honestly can’t say we have ever met anyone working for/volunteering for the parks that we don’t enjoy meeting. When you visit one of the Texas State Parks, stop in at the office and visit with them. You will also find, as many of the parks, a Park Store where you can pick up patches, t-shirts, and other souvenirs. Most of the time these stores are run by the park’s Friends group.

Once checked-in and all the “technical” stuff was finished, we hopped back in the truck and headed further into Bastrop. John drove us to the rectory which is a CCC-built building. This building is definitely a work of art and craftsmanship. Arthur Fehr was the architect for this part and he wanted to make sure that it did not distract from the rolling hills and pine forests that surrounded this building. He required the use of native materials in the construction of the rectory, cabins, bridges, and dam.

Because of the history of this park and the importance the CCC, there was a huge fear during the 2011 fire that these would be destroyed. Looking to the north of this building you can see just how close the fire came. Fortunately, the buildings escaped the danger, and it is here for future generations to cherish and enjoy.

We continued to drive through the park and see the destructions of the 2011 fire. I was just stunned at how much of a loss this park had and how so many of their beloved pines had been affected. How often do we hear about forest fires but yet never truly think of the damaged landscape? Scott and I were faced with this damaged sight and were completely speechless.

Fortunately, Scott and I try very hard to find the beauty in all places, including places that have been ravaged by disaster. Because Faye and John were giving us a tour, we learned about all the things the park, conservationists, and friends group were doing to help the park heal. All throughout the park, you could see signs of life and the land working at healing. I will save the details for a future post but know that the success of this park is due to the volunteers and staff working hard to care for this land by planting trees and disaster clean up. Their efforts are definitely noticeable.

We really loved the campsites at this park. Those sites that were for RV use were nicely situated and had some amazing views.

Since we are tent campers still, we seem to really take notice of the areas where tents can be placed so they are flat and in a good position. Not only this but, since each site can have up to four tents, there is room for more than one and no crowding. This camping area was very well set up for just this type of situation.

One thing Bastrop State Park is known for is her cabins. These were all made by the CCC and are all unique from each other. Each cabin has a sitting area and fire pit as well as bathroom and kitchen. I so want to stay in one of them eventually.

As we continued, John took us to the failed dam. The water that rushed from the downed dam was said to be 40-feet in height and tore down trees and destroyed camping areas. You can see here the damage from that failure. Keep in mind this dam was built in the 1930s and the area was receiving more rain than they had. It didn’t fail because of the construction, it was just overwhelmed from the amount of rain over the past year.

John wanted us to enjoy one of the best views of the park so he took us up to one of the overlooks that survived the fire. This is another CCC built building and it has so much character. The cement used to make the foundation was made with the local pebbles, the stones to build the structure are from the area, and the wood used to create the interesting interior of the space was from the area as well.

We neared the 1A road loop, we noticed we were heading out of Bastrop State Park. The road we were on would connect us to the back of Buescher State Park.

The road we would take to Buescher State Park was Park Road 1C. It was an eleven-mile drive and it would take us up hills, down into valleys, and through the original loblolly pine forest. It was beautiful. The road was only wide enough for two vehicles and was very twisty, turny. With every turn we took, Scott wanted to stop and take photos while all I could say was, “Oh, wow…”

We finally arrived through the back “door” of Buescher and were greeted by a small sign telling us we were entering the park. There was a definite difference between these two parks. While Bastrop was a park in the middle of a loblolly pine forest, Buescher had no loblolly pines that I could see. Here the majority of trees I saw was Post Oaks with other varieties mixed about.

Because we arrived through the back entry, our first encounter was the CCC built group pavilion. There are an outdoor fireplace and plenty of picnic tables inside. Across the way, you will find the bathrooms and plenty of locations to enjoy a day outside.

This park had another one of those twisty, turny roads that traveled through a canopy of moss-covered trees and past a small waterfall of water coming off Buescher “lake”.

As we turned one of the turns, we were completely surrounded by the trees on either side of the road. It was literally a tunnel and I felt as if I were in a dream or storybook. I have always loved these types of drives, surrounded by trees and mysterious turns. Because of the efforts of those who fought for the park system we are able to have a small glimpse into the world our ancestors traveled through.

If you find yourself in the Austin, Texas, area, you really should go about 30 miles east to the city of Bastrop and visit these two state parks. You will not regret your time there and you will view a world where nature has taken the destruction of a forest fire and use it to make something of even more beauty.