#235 - Don't Like Being Turned Away

No Enchanted Rock for Us

Enchanted Rock State Park is an hour from our cabin. The "Rock" is a massive pink granite mountain, known for its magical and spiritual powers.

Don and I took a picnic yesterday. It seemed like the perfect peaceful thing to do, during a pandemic.  But, now the park limits the guests and requires reservations, even on a Monday. We were turned away.

Cross Mountain

The ranger suggested Cross Mountain Park, down the road.

It wasn't exactly the same. The "mountain" was more of hill. But we had our picnic at a brand new table and then we took a "hike".

It wasn't bad. It just didn't offer the challenge or the beauty, of Enchanted Rock.

The Cross

As we neared the top of the hill, it was clear why the park was named, "Cross Mountain".  At first I felt like we were intruding on a private Christian church camp or something.

It seemed odd to have this giant cross on top of public park, overlooking the town of Fredericksburg. 

I posed like a tourist and then we had a closer look at the concrete and metal structure.

The side facing the town, looked even more bizarre. Wiring and lightbulbs, underneath a protective cage.

Then we spotted the plaque, honoring the man who'd found the original timber cross on this "mountain", in 1847! 

Heading Down

A sign near the parking lot gave lots more info. It's amazing that this simple little park, is actually packed with history.

This hilltop was once a signal point, for Native Americans... Spanish Missionaries visited... "Easter Fires" were set here... and in 1946, the permanent metal cross, was wired up and lit. 

So we didn't climb Enchanted Rock, but we discovered a curious bit of history. This makes me wonder why we haven't explored more, during these Covid months!
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