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Friday, October 29, 2004

More Texas photos: Enchanted Rock



Since I'm still on the couch napping and obsessively watching CNN through the flu-haze, here are some photos for you.



These are from our hike up to Enchanted Rock, right outside of Fredericksburg, TX. The dome is one of the largest batholiths in the United States--basically a giant bubble of pink granite (a favorite stone for architecture in Texas, along with native limestone) that floated to the surface and then was gradually uncovered by erosion. It has been a sacred place for Tonkawas and others for 11,000 years. Pretty freaking impressive. Shawn and I camped out here once, back when we first got together, but hadn't been back. You can read more about the geology and history of the area here.





This is a view of the dome from outside the park, with some very lucky rancher's house in the foreground.





At the top of the dome, there's one scrubby tree.





A close-up of moss on a live oak. Most of the trees in these pictures are live oak, cedar, or mesquite.





A prickly pear cactus with fruit.





The top of the dome is pocked with vernal pools--indentations that collect rain water and minerals. Over decades, they gather enough soil to host sedge grasses and worts, and eventually that determined single tree. The ones with standing water also provide homes for fairy shrimp that go dormant when the pools dry out, hatch a new batch when the rain comes again.





Another vernal pool--younger--resembling a golf green and scattered with white lily-family flowers. The views from up there are amazing. That's a hawk in the right midground.

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