Enchanted Rock…or was it Disney World?

Bill and I are not touristy type people. We prefer our hikes to be in secluded areas and to be more like survival marches. We have a history of pushing things to the very limits of our endurance. Like sailing in a sailboat race during a hurricane, because, God knows how fast we might go if we throw up the spinnaker in 80mph winds!! Or biking slick rock in August and the Colorado trail backwards in September. If we are choosing a trail, we usually pick the most technical one available, because what is a day of exercise if you do not almost die while doing it???

Our past experiences with Enchanted Rock have been such that we were usually the only people in the park. We hiked up the Rocks with our son and have pictures at the top with not a soul, building, or telephone pole in sight.

So, imagine our dismay when we pulled into the park and had to be directed to a parking space in much the same way you would expect to be parking at Disney World.

Upon enterring the park on foot, we encountered this

Hot dog stand at Enchanted rock

That’s right. A hot dog/snack shack right at the base of the trail.

Hiking to the top was like a pilgramage to Lourdes. I was very certain that when we got to the top, I would be greeted by the Virgin herself. Or people selling balloons and cotton candy.

Pool at the top of Enchanted Rock

The number of people was staggering. And the dogs….good Gordon the dogs….they were everywhere. Yipping poodles, yorkies and I spied an ancient looking chihuahua. The dog was shaking and looked like it needed some serious anit-anxiety meds. WTF? Why would anyone take a chihuahua up Enchanted Rock? Why would anyone take a dog for that matter. It is certainly not a technical hike, but it is no stroll in the park either.

People were decked out in Bling of all sorts, and I saw several kids with Bling flip flops. Let me remind you of where and what this place is. It is a gigantic uplift of granite, and there are no railings to keep you from falling off the damn thing if you happen to trip over your decrepit chihuahua or your !!Bling!! flip flops. There be cliffs in that there park.

Chihuahau country

And boulders and caves

Caves at Enchanted Rock

And steep inclines

Flip Flops would be great here

The views were still stunning, although there is now a huge parking lot on one side, outbuildings and telephone lines everywhere.

None-the-less, it was beautiful.

Bill and Mia at the Rock

Mom, Dad and Mia bringing up the rear

Cory and Quinn taking in the view

The kids found some tadpoles, caught them and wanted to take them home, but it is not legal to take wildlife out of the park, so they settled for a picture.

Tadpole

The boys also found a crawfish.

Crawfish at Enchanted Rock

We took some pictures of it, then started to move on. Cory turned around and saw a little Bling Flip Flop twit of a girl throwing rocks at it. So, he went back, caught it and hiked downstream and released it in a safe area.

All in all, Enchanted Rock is not the same place it was 10 years ago. It is still a challenging hike up for your thighs. It still makes me cry out “Get away from that cliff right this instant!!!” There are still boulders to climb, animals to see, amazing plant life growing right out of the rock, and the need to stop and huff and puff…it is all the same. Just add way, way too many tourists. Granted, we hit it at Spring Break and the rangers assured us that this was NOT what it was like at any other time.

Me, I will take Bill’s survival marches any day. But, we will bring our own food, because there are no hot dog stands where he leads me.