Nine Years Old

The girl turns 9 tomorrow. So today we are headed out to MO-Ranch. It is a local Presbyterian Camp that is a famous stop here in the Hill Country. Dad created a new map of the place for them and he just traded out for a season pass for us. Thanks Pops! The wife and kids have gone out a few times this summer this will be my first time to join them.

As a teenager we used to drive out and swim and hang out all day for nada. Now they make you pay to get in. I guess they are trying to keep teenagers like me out ;~) We used to get kicked out on a regular basis for jumping of the bridge that crosses the Guadalupe there. It is probably thirty feet off the water a buddy of mine used to do backflips off of it. I never had the balls to try that. I stuck to cannonballs.

It should be a fun trip for the kids. Even thought they have been a few times this summer already this trip will be interesting. The kids recieved their Joe Diver America snorkel and fin sets in the mail the other day and are anxious to try them out, and this is the perfect place. The water is crystal clear even with the natural green hue you can still see to the bottom. This is the headwaters of the North Fork of the Guadalupe. It is spring fed from upstream and most of the water here is over 20 feet deep. Great snorkeling! Big fish! While they admire them from above I'm gonna try and catch one of them sumbitches.

Here is a picture from the bridge. I can't believe I used to jump off from that height!


The slide. The only bad thing about the slide is having to carry the cart that you ride down on, up the stairs to the top.


From the top.


Up the river. This area is what they refer to as the hot tubs the water runs shallow from up river and flows into birdbaths that have eroded over time. It is fun for the kids here. It is like a natural water slide.


Y'all have a great Sunday. We're out the door in about an hour. I have to get my fishing shit together and load the ice chest and the car. Pictures later.

UPDATE: We must have snorkeled for 4 hours today. I am not much of a water person. Give me a snorkle and a mask and that all changes. I love to float and check out the life below. I have pictures of the trip with video goodness of the kids going down the slide. Right now I am sunburned, beat and half drunk. Pictures sometime this week, more than likely next week with blownstar and all. But there will be pictures and video. Promise. Thank all of you for the well wishes. I will pass them on.