Hiking in Bastrop

Tuesday was Tim's day off, and the weather was gorgeous.  So we drove out to Bastrop State Park for a little hiking.  As surely everyone who's reading this knows, while we were in Italy, large portions of Central Texas were devastated by wildfires.  Bastrop State Park, unfortunately, was one of those areas.  The fire clearly ripped through the forests here in the park VERY quickly.  There is still a LOT of work to be done (and clearly many people working tirelessly) to get the park cleaned up and the hiking and recreation areas safe for visitors again.  However, in early December, a fair portion of the hiking trails in the park were reopened, so we wanted to go and see for ourselves.  It was beautiful in its own way, obviously sobering, and also hopeful.  And it was a great learning experience for the entire family, it turns out.  And it was a great way to spend such a beautiful Texas winter day.  We followed our hike with lunch on the deck of a nearby burger joint.