Stephen F. Austin SP, 10/5 - 10/7/ 2019

72.  We camped in Scampsite #37, with our friends the J's and G.  This was our annual camping trip for J's birthday and this year it was HOT!  When we arrived on Saturday, it was 102, Sunday was a cooler 99 and Monday started off with a cold front and was in the 70's when we left.
We hiked the perimeter of the park, about 4.5 miles total, by cobbling together multiple trails, and spent a lot of time sitting and staying as cool as possible.
This park was part of the Stephen F. Austin State Historic Site, which has a statue of Stephen F. Austin, an old well from the original Austin's Colony, and an old dog-run style log cabin.  The Historic Site also has a new museum building which we didn't go into because we had the dogs with us.  We also tried to access the Brazos River from the Historic Site, but the path looked like it had a lot of poison ivy, so we stayed above.
The park is beautiful - lots of Spanish Moss draping the trees, lots of hiking on mostly flat trails, a bird-watching area (that looks like it hadn't been stocked in a while), and nice shady campsites.  It is undergoing some renovations after recent floods, but was fully functioning while we were there.

Scampsite 37.

Stephen F. Austin statue at the Stephen F. Austin State Historic Site.

Dog-run style log cabin. 

One of the hiking trails.

Brazos River, currently not accessible from the park due to flood damage. 

Stephen F. Austin State Park is near Columbus, county seat of Colorado County, which has a gorgeous restored historic courthouse.   There are lots of restaurants, hotels, and amenities in Columbus as well.  

It is closest to Sealy, which is where Sealy mattresses were once made!  

The park is also close to the Attwater Prairie Chicken National Wildlife Refuge, where one can see Attwater's prairie-chickens, which are an endangered species.  Spring is the time to see them doing their courtship rituals.