Pedernales weekend

Jeff wanted to go camping at Pedernales Falls State Park for his birthday. I warned him it would be HOT in June! About a week before the trip I get a text from Jeff "what do you think about taking Adrian's camper to Pedernales?" My thoughts- "it's not really camping, but it's fine by me". Even though my parents own a campground, I had never "camped" in a camper or RV before. But this would be perfect because we could take Connor and Katie (they aren't allowed in the primitive camping area) and we could sleep in air conditioning.

On Friday morning Jeff drove the camper out to Pedernales like a pro, while Connor & Katie sat on the couch and watched out the windows. When we got there I took the dogs down to the scenic overlook. I assumed they would put their front paws on the wall and look over the ledge, but Crazy Katie tried to jump right over the ledge! I had to yank back on her leash to keep her from going over the wall! Yikes!

We drove the camper down to the falls since it's a really long walk from the camping area. We had fun checking out the falls and Connor and Katie loved it! Jeff lost his shoe in the rushing water, a couple with a black lab downstream saw what happened and were going to grab his shoe, but the lab jumped in after it first, then Connor got way excited and jumped in with the black lab and they both swam the shoe to shore!
Connor resting after playing at the falls.
We got the camper set up and decided to go down to the swimming area. Connor and Katie both get blisters on their paws really easily especially on crushed granite trails (like Town Lake), so they had to wear their booties to protect their feet.
Connor in his booties
Katie in her booties
Connor and I hanging out in the water, booties don't stay on when they're wet.
Katie, Jeff, & Connor
Connor didn't like Jeff swimming in the water, he barked and barked until Jeff stood up in shallow water.
Adrian had said "just close the screen door so the dogs can see out" when I went out to start the grill Connor immediately stuck his head out the door handle hole to watch what I was doing.
Dinner Friday night was grilled pork loin and zuchinni and yellow squash- yum!
After dinner we went for a walk, but Connor and Katie were pretty tired so we just went back and watched Atlantis- that's right we were "camping" and watched a movie!

Saturday morning Jeff and I went down to the swimming area while Connor and Katie slept on the couch in the air conditioned camper. Connor was super tired and would barely walk around the campsite so we knew he wasn't hiking anywhere.
Jeff in the wildflowers
Hanging out at the river
The water was rushing pretty fast so we would fight our way upstream and then fly back downstream.
We went back to the camper to have lunch and hang out with the puppies for awhile then left for our long hike to the primitive camping area, the bluffs out there are really beautiful, but it's a long way from the RV camping area.It's about 3 miles to the primitive camping area then another mile to Jeff's favorite spot on the flat rocks. We want to camp there next time we "camp for real" at Pedernales, it's a long way to hike in with packs and everything, but it's so beautiful.
Jeff on the flat rocks our next camping spot
You can't tell in the pictures, but the bluffs are really high above the river bottom and you can sit on the rocks and look over the ledge, very cool! This hike ended up being over 7 miles and it was HOT out there. My throat was sore all weekend (allergies I think) but luckily that made me want to drink a ton of water so I stayed well hydrated and reminded Jeff to drink too. It was really nice to go back to the camper to a shower and air conditioning!

Sunday morning we decided the puppies were recovered enough for a hike to the swimming area. Connor seemed much happier walking around in his booties, I think the sharp rocks on the trails really hurt his feet.
Me and Connor in the river
Jeff laughing because Katie waited to shake until she was right next to him!
me, Connor & KatieJeff put the camera at the water surface and took pictures as Connor & Katie were swimming toward him. Katie decided she had to have something in her mouth to retrieve while she swam so she grabbed her leash
This is my new favorite picture of Connor and Katie!
Connor showing off his booties
Connor says "I'm tired!"
Katie says "my feet hurt!" She lost one of her booties on Friday so she didn't wear hers on Sunday.

We had a great time and it was so much fun to take Connor and Katie with us this time!