Over 4th of July weekend we decided to get out of the city for a while and check out a couple of state parks we’d never visited before.  Inks Lake and Longhorn Cavern State Parks are located only a few miles apart in the hill country west of Austin.

We took the last available campsite, which turned out to be a very lucky break.  It was shady, large, and right on the water.

We had some visitors while we were out touring the cave: a pair of wrens attempted to build a nest in a pair of Caiti’s shorts that were drying on the clothesline!

We could launch our kayak from the campsite.

Longhorn Cavern State Park is a fantastic example of Civilian Conservation Corps architecture.

The cavern was once used as a fallout shelter.  The barrels are still used as trashcans.  We weren't all that impressed with the cave itself, but a few hours out of the July heat was enough to keep us happy.

The yucca outside the cavern were fruiting.  Do these fruits have any practical use?

We saw a very large lizard at the campsite.