I Spy an Armadillo (or three!)

So my sister and I decided it was time to get our butts off the couch and go exploring. We've been taking a walk every Sunday with my dog Olive to local parks but we wanted to find new an exciting places. So we were off! I had purchased a Best Hikes with Your Dog book so I picked out a hike in the Highland Lakes area.

After our 1.75 hour drive (a little longer than expected especially since we didn't leave our apartment til after 11am...eekk!), we arrived to find the park gate open but no one around to accept our entrance fee or hand out maps. We decided to drive on in since the gate was open and start out hike.

The hike combined two loops up a small hill (or mountain if you live on the east coast - 1300 feet). It was pretty. We hiked first through a sort-of cactus-field and then up a rocky slope through the trees. We never really reached a summit but there was a great view of Lake Buchanan below. Sadly most of the lake seemed to be dried up as this is one of the driest years the Austin area has had in a long long time.

The best part of the hike was the wildlife though. The book said to watch for wild pigs, deer, armadillos, bald eagles and numerous amounts on poisonous snakes. Luckily we saw no snakes. Whew! We did however see three armadillos.

Now this is very important because Texas's official state mammal is the armadillo and the only armadillos I had seen thus far were roadkill ones. I took a picture. SEE BELOW. We also saw a couple deer. It was amazing!

Extra Bonus: We drove thru this cute little town called Bertrum on the way out that was just adorable even though it was only comprised of maybe 5 buildings.