Today we headed northwest of Austin, an area that borders the Llano and Colorado Rivers. (The Colorado in Texas is a different river from that which created the Grand Canyon.) The Colorado used to be a huge problem in Texas, as heavy rains would cause the river to rise and flood the surrounding countryside. It was a catch-22 for the people living around here: the river is one of the few consistent sources of water in a very dry area, yet it could cause horrible floods. In the 1930s, as part of the national works programs, a number of dams were built along the river to provide flood control and generate power.

We first drove up to the town of Llano where we had lunch. Then our first tourist stop of the day was a Dam at Lake Buchanan. It’s a very long dam, at over 2 miles, and is designed in an unusual way: it’s a series of many arches (versus one big arch, like Hoover Dam). The sucky part is that post-911 you can’t walk on the dam, like you used to be able to do. Too bad.

Next up, we headed south toward the Inks Lake State Park. This is a very pretty area. On one side you have Inks lake and the river. On the other side you have red cliffs and hills (this area is quite hilly–reminds me very much of PR–except drier). At the top of a ridge is a picnic area with a very unusual sight: a castle! Yep, believe it or not, but there is a giant castle in Hill Country. It is amazingly cool to see in the distance. You can learn more about it here.

We drove down the road a bit more and stopped at Longhorn Cavern State Park. Here you can tour one of the largest caves in the area. While the rooms aren’t as big as those in PR, it does have some really cool sights. Plus, it has a a very “cavey” feeling–there are a lot of low places that you need to really hunch down to make it through. The cave also has some interesting history: It was used by the Confederates as a storage area for gunpowder (made from bat guano, was a speakeasy during the 1920s, and is now used for weddings, concerts, and movies (both filmed there and shown there). In fact, it was used for the cave movie, The Descent.

After that we headed back to Austin and had dinner. Now we’re just resting and getting ready for our departure. Tomorrow we head out to Fort Smith Arkansas to visit with one of our old friends who just moved down there.