Balcones Canyonlands NWR, TX, Nov. 5 -10, Dec 7-8, 2012

This pond is part of a wonderful nature trail accessible from the Visitor's Center at Balcones Canyonlands National Wildlife Refuge, in the "hill country" of Texas, NW of Austin.

We enjoyed the trail every day during our lunch break. The refuge houses over 240 species of birds, so our daily walks were always entertaining.

Balcones also hosted hundreds of butterflies during our visit. They flocked to bushes all around the refuge and were irresitible to watch and to photograph.

This cave-like structure provided shade and the ability to watch the birds and turtles at the pond and on the grounds around and below. It is part of the nature trail at HQ.

The sunset above and the view below are both taken from the "Flying X", a ranch that is part of the refuge where we stayed during our visit. The house is phenomonal as were the views all around it.

The Flying X Ranch.

Here are some scenes from the office/headquarters of the refuge. The staff provided such wonderful southern hospitality and were incredibly helpful when we had to leave unexpectedly to travel to Indiana to be with my dad, who got really sick. Our schedule went out the window with that departure. My dad is now back home and doing much better and we returned to Balcones to find fewer leaves on the trees and slightly cooler temps. We were still happy to come back.

These photos are from the "Cow Creek Rd", a scenic short cut on the route between the Flying X and the refuge headquarters.

Real live Texas longhorns!

This trail is at the Doe Skin Ranch - a section of the refuge with several trails, just down the road from the Flying X. The entire area is full of trees and hills.

Relaxing at the Flying X. It was a very large and comfortable home. We had many nice, quiet evenings here and cooked some hearty meals. There is a small landscaped pond outside in the backyard that has a constant flow of water. It was soothing to listen to the sound of the flowing water and the evening temps were just perfect while we visited. It all made for great sleeping conditions.

This is the entrance to the Ranch - pretty fancy, huh?