Mission Tejas State Park

We are quickly realizing that we are not prepared for any big hikes with lots of elevation change.

Mission Tejas State Park is more than just nature, it is a State Historical Site. On the grounds there is an old log cabin that was built in the 1830s on the El Camino Real which was the main road that connected all of Spain’s settlements in the New World from Mexico City through present-day Louisiana. In the Depression Era, the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) had a company stationed in the park grounds before Texas Parks and Wildlife ever made it into a state park. Some of the creations that the CCC left behind can still be seen, to this day. For Kaylee and I, it was a long day for some nature walks and some history.

Altogether, we spent close to 4 hours in the park. Considering it was a two hour drive from College Station to the park, we split our time right down the middle with driving and exploring the state park. We had gotten to the park just a little bit later than we wanted to (forgot my keys) and immediately hit a short trail to one of the ‘Points of Interest’ depicted by the Parks and Wildlife. The old Rice family log cabin had been restored and moved to its current home in the park by the Parks and Wildlife Department in the 1970s. It was interesting to see this bit of history since it was the original log cabin, only renovated to ensure structural integrity. We took a hop, skip, and a jump to the next ‘Point of Interest’ which was a land feature deemed Fire Tower Hill because in the 1920s, a small watchtower occupied this high ground for the occupants to spot wildfires before they could get out of hand. The fire tower was eventually taken down in the ‘40s since planes became the forest service’s preferred method of watching for wildfires. As mentioned earlier, this park doubles as a State Historic Site, so all of the historical items within the park boundary have information boards with explanations. Kaylee snapped some pictures from the top of Fire Tower Hill, and we also got a few self timer pictures of us on one of the cement platforms that used to support a leg of the fire watchtower.

The only reason we hadn’t eaten first was because two attractions were very close to the entrance and park headquarters. After we had visited these spots, we knew what time it was. Our signature sack lunches were eaten, close to the next trail we would be walking, at a picnic table underneath a veil of pine trees. Costas on and (unnecessary) masks at the ready we started a hike that soon would prove our demise.

Just three days out from our journey through Huntsville State Park, we took a trail that would total to be around 3 miles roundtrip. No biggie. We tackled a near 7 mile trail earlier in the week, how hard could this 3 mile trail be? It was tougher than we realized. While Huntsville is relatively flat, Mission Tejas has some elevation change. The trail we took was extremely alluring to the nature lover. You started by walking up to the top of a hill and the trail shifted gears. It wound its way ever so slightly down to the bottom of the forest floor. All the while, you passed by ravines and runoffs as you zig-zagged your way through the piney woods making your way around these ravines to the next runoff area. It was as if walking on a mountainside trail with one side to the mountain and the other looking down as the mountain plummeted down to the ground below. Of course this is very exaggerated, but it was a different kind of walk than what Kaylee and I are used to. We had yet to get any ring pictures, so Kaylee had this great idea of using a fallen pine cone to encapsulate the natural view. I think they turned out quite well. We continued down the trail that would link up with another trail that would hit a different trail that would then lead us back to where our journey started. We even got to see some deer on the way! The only problem was that we actually took the wrong trail. But that wasn’t the worst part. The worst part was that it was my fault. I had tried to go off of memory instead of consulting the map (classic guy), and we ended up taking a different loop back to the original trail we were on. So not the worst thing that could’ve happened, just wasn’t what we wanted to do. But nonetheless, we still had to get back to the car, so we trudged on with our legs beginning to feel the burn, our bodies working up a sweat, and me yelling “SNAKE!!” every once in a while to give Kaylee a bit of a scare (I’ve said it once and I will say it again, boyfriend of the year right here).

Once we got back to the car, we turned it on to feel the air conditioning and laughed about how bad we are at being outdoorsmen. A couple of half joke-half truths were thrown around about how we won’t survive the bigger parks (both state and national) that have long hikes with large elevation changes. For the meantime, however, we could focus on Mission Tejas. The next ‘Point of Interest’ was the El Camino Real. It was decently close to where we were parked so we got a few more drinks of water, worked up our might to turn the air conditioning off, and headed down the trail. We made the executive decision to just hike to the next few ‘Points of Interest’ and straight back, no extracurricular hiking. We got to where the actual road of the El Camino Real went when it was used back in the 1600s. It was an experience being in the very spot where thousands of settlers traveled by both foot and horse and buggy to get from Mexico to present-day Louisiana. Truly incredible, and we got pictures to capture the moment.

The next attraction we visited was called the Sentry Pine. It is one of the largest and oldest pine trees in that area of east Texas. Kaylee and I had been in this situation before, where there was a specific tree in the ‘Points of Interest’ and that last time we never found the dang tree. We did better this time when we were able to identify a pine tree that stood out from the rest. It’s trunk was massive compared to all of the other pine trees around. I am sure that the others feel inferior. We took some cute photos including one of Kaylee peeping around from the backside of the huge pine. How could I forget to talk about the bridges we walked on? Because Kaylee really likes those bridges (have I ever mentioned that?).

The last thing on the checklist was a bit of history made by the CCC. It required quite an effortful hike to get up to it. There was one trail in particular called the Steep Step Trail that lived up to its name. We made it to these pieces of history, and I was utterly disappointed based on the amount of energy I had put in to get up there. They are dubbed the CCC Bathtubs. They aren’t actual bathtubs, but just a collection of rocks made into small pools fed by a natural spring that resides just beneath the earth’s surface. The only interesting part about the so called bathtubs is that they remain an architectural mystery to this day. No one really knows what they are, why the CCC built them, or what purpose they serve. It is kind of creepy if you think about it. Anything that has been a mystery for 90 years is probably creepy.

The rest of the trip was just a couple of pictures of the tubs, some pictures along the trail back with masks on (even though masks are no longer required in Texas State Parks, just highly recommended), and a short hike back to the car so we could call it a day at Mission Tejas State Park. Our feet were aching and legs sore from the constant uphill battle. I was thankful that I had driven us up to the park, so Kaylee had to drive us back. The one thing left lingering in our minds was, “how the heck are we going to survive the bigger parks?”

NOTE: Kaylee and I have finally caught up on writing these blog posts! Starting with this one on Mission Tejas State Park, the entries will now be written soon after the conclusion of the trip. Not over a month after the fact. WHOOP!