Lost Pines Resort, Texas

It is time for my yearly trek to hang out at my favorite Texas resort that is "near" my house, Hyatt Regency Lost Pines Resort.  Lost Pines is not really the town it is located .. . apparently it is Cedar Creek which is close to Bastrop, Texas.  But that doesn't really matter!

It is not really in my budget but thanks to points it is a "free" splurge!  I love walking up to the entrance knowing I am about to do absolutely nothing but relax . . . and eat.  The front is just as pretty as the back!

 

I love to go here before school ends and mid week  . . . the resort is empty except for an occasional conference of adults that attend meetings by day and fancy lawn parties by night.  I swear there were less than 20 people at the pool/lazy river area each day, and I was loving it!  My agenda was float the lazy river . . . round and round and round for hours!

 

. . . staring at blue skies!  

. . . with an occasional snack; that mango refresher drink was amazing!

Oh and who doesn't love a spin down the water slide?

I took breaks to nap in the room and check on the local friends . . . Johnny did not seem interested in visitors today.  I understand because for late May it is already HOT here in Texas.  At least he was smart enough to lay in the shade unlike the other crazy goats!

As night approached, I was in line to grab my free s'mores kit and off to the firepits.

Inks Lake to McKinney Falls to Lost Pines Resort

Summer has been a bit slow. I asked Colin if he wanted to go somewhere, and he said he wanted to go fishing. So, I got busy searching and found a cabin at Inks Lake State Park. I quickly booked it and Colin started packing the car with a ridiculous amount of fishing gear. I have started trying to visit more of the Texas state park. It is Texas and hot but I decided to be a team player and have fun! Inks Lake is beautiful. 

We fished all day and not one single fish! We checked into our cabin . . .

 . . . the positive was it had an air conditioner and the bath house (showers and toilets) was a short walk. This isn’t our normal lodging but we can do anything for one night, right? To make up for a crappy fishing day, we made the drive to Blue Bonnet Cafe in Marble Falls . . . pie makes everything better!

Well around 2am the air conditioner froze up. It was so stinking quiet neither of us could sleep. The AC would thaw out and turn back on but then go off again. It was pretty miserable but at some point, we both managed to fall asleep.

Do you ever get the feeling someone is watching you? Around 8am I had that feeling. I looked up and saw Colin looking down at me from his top bunk. I can’t tell you the last time Colin Sims was up at 8 AM on a vacation that we were not catching a flight. As he saw my eyes open, he muttered, “I hate this place”. We both laughed and agreed to leave asap. He still wanted to fish so we regrouped and headed to the other side of Austin to McKinney Falls State Park. It was a very pretty park in the middle of a busy urban area. We grabbed our gear and found a spot. 

Colin fished for a couple hours and finally had a catch! One single fish in two days!

We called it a day and made the quick drive to one of our favorite Texas hotels, Hyatt Regency Lost Pines Resort. It was a bit of a step up from our cabin!

We love hanging out at this resort . . . lazy river, skeet shooting, fishing, relaxing by the pool, and the best part . . . nightly fires for s'mores!

Day 5 Utah Road Trip

It’s my last full day, and I am just tumble weeding along. I have a plan for the day but no place to stay so hopefully it all works out. My drive is long and out of the way but I really, really wanted to visit Dinosaur National Monument. 

The drive was mainly back roads with one part being extremely tight hairpin turns which was super slow going especially when following a caravan of trailers. And then I realized I would be doing the same drive back to my stop for the night. Great! Anyway, Earl Douglass discovered bones on August 17, 1909. I was amazed at how beautiful this site was for a national monument. 

The visitor's center was nice with great displays. In order to see the bones, you had to take a tram (free) or hike. I decided to take the tram to the bones and hike back since it was downhill. The quarry exhibit hall is where you could see fossils and the work being done.

Then a hike back down the Fossil Discovery Trail was easy with educational signs.

Before I left, I did the auto driving tour to see the rest of the viewpoints which I could have skipped. It was back on the road towards Colorado. I did a quick stop at Colorado National Monument . . .

. . . because I was not sure if I had been here before, but as soon as I started the Rim Rock Drive, I realized I had been there so I just drove the entire road from west to east with a few quick stops. The best view point in Monument Canyon . . .

I got a bit mad at myself because I thought I had been to the Black Gunnison National Park and realized I had not and it was so close but time was not on my side. I mixed up Colorado NM and Black Gunnison NP which annoyed me . . . I should have planned better so guess I will be making a trip back to the area. When I got back to the land of internet, I made a hotel reservation for a hotel near the airport. My flight was late and was going to try and fly earlier since I was ready to go home.

Driving Map Day 5

Day 4 Utah Road Trip

Do you know what happens when you go to bed by 8pm? You wake up at 3am! I had a reserved slot to enter Arches National Park at 11am but did not want to wait for 8 hours so decided to get up and be there for sunrise. Reservations are not needed if you arrive before 7am so off I went. There were only a few cars out and about this early. I have been here before but could not imagine not at least stopping by for a short hike. As I drove, the sun started coming out and it was gloriously beautiful!

I did a quick stop and walk at Balanced Rock

Then on to Sand Dune Arch. I had it all to myself which was nice. I am realizing that not only does the early bird get the worm but the solitude and beauty of nature. 

It has to be the shortest and easiest hike in the park even though towards the end it was a bit tough hiking in the sand!

It was so dark when I entered that I missed the sign but caught it on the way out.

The roads were packed with people trying to beat the 7am entry before required reservations! I was so glad I came early and canceled my 11am time slot! I decided to head back into Moab for breakfast at Jailhouse Café. While the eggs benedict may be famous, I can confirm that they are not the best in my opinion. It was still too early to call it a day so off to Canyonlands National Park to do another short hike. Here is one of the open range roads with cows.

The drive to Canyonlands National Park was easy and not much traffic. I had read people who don't plan ahead to go to Arches National Park end up here so be prepared for crowds.

A quick hike to Mesa Arch. I wanted a photo with no people which was not possible when I arrived so I sat down on a big rock and ate some pistachios. I enjoyed people watching and some people forget they are not the only ones that exist. I swear one family took photos, wandered off, back they came for more photos, and then proceeded to stand in the way of other people’s photos.

I made a quick stop at the grocery store to pick up some food and fill up the car before tomorrows early morning getaway. I enjoyed the afternoon lounging by the pool!

Driving Map Day 4

Day 3 Utah Road Trip

Well good morning Monument Valley! The sun was so bright at 645am. I am not a huge breakfast person but since I was going on a three hour tour decided to go grab a light snack. I was there as it opened and I have never seen grown adults fight over a prepackaged muffin or rubbery pancake! The free continental breakfast was a herd of people who seemed to not have eaten in days. I have never seen grown adults be so pushy for subpar food that was not anything to get excited about that is for sure. I grabbed a bagel and brewed me some fresh tea and headed back to my room. I have two hours until my tour so I took my hot tea to my room and made it iced tea. Perfect! One thing I miss when I travel is brewed iced tea . . . none of that Gold Peak or Arizona fake stuff for me; I want the fresh stuff which means that I often make my own hot tea and find an ice machine to make it iced. I checked out of the hotel and made my way to the tour waiting area. So anyway . . . I decided to take a guided tour of Monument Valley so I could enjoy and not have to drive! I booked a three hour tour with Tribal Tours and the guide Jameson was excellent! He was a great storyteller and his musical skills were amazing. The tour went off the beaten path to areas only allowed with guided tours so I did not have to drive the entire loop which was fine. Our guide told great stories and many related to music and weather. I learned the 

flute=wind            drum=thunder        rattle=rain  

The guide took a fun photo with time lapse . . . I don't know how to do all that but appreciated him taking the photo.

It was back on the road and I was a bit hungry. Of course I stopped at Twin Rocks Café because it was so good yesterday. I love a good Navajo Taco and well it is Tuesday so Taco Tuesday it was!

I had one last detour to visit Newspaper Rock Petroglyphs. It was a bit far off my travel path but glad I made the effort. There was only one other family there so it was nice.

This was probably one of the best preserved site I have ever seen. When  I make random detours like this it makes me wonder what else is out there that has yet to be discovered? This was literally in the middle of nowhere on a  backroad to a national park but if not for this road, would this have ever been discovered? It has been a long couple of days driving. I am so excited to be at the same hotel the next two nights! I have been to Moab before but I am amazed at how much it has changed and grown . . . a bit too much actually as it was busy with traffic! I was in bed super early which was fine by me.

Driving Map Day 3