Hamilton Pool Preserve - Dripping Springs, Texas
Steve and I have lived in our temporary home now for a couple weeks. We finally have a contract on a house and cannot wait to move in. In the meantime, we have been filling our time doing things that the two of us WANT to do while exploring a new city.
Last week we spent the morning at the Hamilton Pool Preserve in Dripping Springs, Texas. I saw a picture of this beautiful waterfall and canyon and had to go see it. Formed by thousands of years of water erosion, Hamilton Pool is made up of a collapsed grotto and canyon. They have found cultural remains that date back over 8,000 years!
I read that it was only a quarter-mile hike from the parking lot and that it would be a bit rocky and steep at times and that it would only take 15 minutes or so each way.
Well, for anyone who knows me knows that hiking is not one of my choices of things I would do voluntarily, but the image really resonated with me and I had to press through my insecurity of doing something so physical (I've lived completely without any kind of exercise in my life since COVID-19 began a year and a half ago). I decided that a 30 minute walk would be doable.
Although the waterfall was only a trickle when we were there we learned that it actually never stops dripping. The pool below is about 25 feet deep and so clear you could see the catfish swimming nearby. Unfortunately the pool and the pathway under the falls are closed until further notice because of falling rocks. They are working with geologists to see how it can be made safer.
The hike was full of lush plants and trees.We walked along a creek that was very still. This is something that you just don't see everyday while living in Houston! I really appreciated nature's beauty.
Once we were down there we spent some time just sitting in on the rocks, eating our picnic lunch, and listening to the waterfall trickle behind the tree. Steve brought his proof copy of his new book "The Corporate Introvert" and made some edits while I created a plein air landscape using my watercolor travel set.
While I was there I experimented with the panorama photo option on my iPhone, trying to capture the essence of this magical place. And by the time I got home I had already decided that I would make a torn paper collage using magazine images I had collected. I printed out my image, created a grid system so that I could accurately place each of the elements on my canvas (arches cold press 300-lb watercolor paper). It only took me 3 days to complete and I'm so thrilled with the way it turned out. The waterfall bits were from the photo in the Dripping Springs magazine that we picked up. I used my exacto blade to cut it out, as well as some other elements, including a bicyclist, the words "inspire", "life journey", and "memories" just to name a few. There are 2 teeny-tiny people walking in the picture just to the left of the tree. What else can you find hidden?
Here is a bonus closeup video of the collage.
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