Cedar Breaks and Live Oak Ridge C.O.E.s

April 9 –

We arrived in Kerrille on Wednesday Morning, and stayed 3 days to visit with good friends, Donna and Glenn.

Saturday morning found us on the road again, through the scenic Hill Country. Texas is famous for its spring wildflowers, especially the bluebonnets, and the roadsides were alive with color.

The price of diesel fuel continues to alarm us. Since leaving Yuma, we paid $4.09 per gallon once, our first time to pay over $4.00. As we passed through Marble Falls on Saturday, we spotted this gas station price of $4.15, the highest we’ve seen yet.

We like to stay at Corps of Engineer parks (C.O.E.) and have found some beautiful parks throughout the U.S. The next three nights were spent at Cedar Breaks Park on Lake Georgetown. Aptly named, the cedar grove provided a welcome respite from the wind.

A 28 mile hiking trail surrounds Lake Georgetown and the community of Georgetown. While not in shape for a hike of that length, we did enjoy a 2.5 mile hike along the trail while at the park.

It wound through a wooded area, with an occasional glimpse of the lake.

On Tuesday, we moved a short 35 miles or so northward to Live Oak Ridge C.O.E., a small, but attractive, park on Belton Lake.

Here we were pleasantly surprised to find they are offering wireless internet access on a trial basis, which is enabling me to make this update.

The first thing you notice on arriving at Belton Lake is its mural, the largest we have seen. (Texas doesn’t do anything small).

Painted on the dam walls, the impressive mural stretches over 800 feet on its east side.

Depicting scenes from Belton’s history, the panels cover everything from covered wagons to its military installation.

Painted in the late 70’s by the local art students of University of Mary Hardin-Baylor, it provided an attractive solution to a growing graffiti problem on the wall.

Although not quite as impressive, a colorful mural also decorates the west side of the dam

Although Live Oak Ridge boasts no hiking trails of its own, just across the street is Miller Springs, an arboretum, with several winding trails. We hiked on one leading to the edge of the mural wall.

The trail also looked out over the canyons once cut by the Leon River, before the creation of Belton Lake.

We’ll enjoy another day here, then move on tomorrow.