Enchanted

Jeff and I went hiking at Enchanted Rock State Natural Area today. We had been wanting to do something beyond the around-town walking we'd been doing during the break, and Jeff had never been to Enchanted Rock. We tried to go years ago, but we picked a date when it was closed for hunting(!) I suspect that has something to do with this place being labeled a "State Natural Area" rather than a "State Park." We took a windy route, heading out to Johnson City and then taking Ranch Roads and county roads through places like Willow City and Crabapple. I lost count of the cattle guards we crossed.

It was lovely today, if a bit windy. And by "a bit windy," I mean gale-force winds that nearly knocked us down and did some very goofy things to our floppy hats. We both had to chase our hats at various times -- luckily, they never landed in any prickly pears. We started by hiking around the park on the 4 mile loop trail, and then we went up to the top.





I first visited Enchanted Rock nearly 30 years ago, when it was still in private hands. I remember the way to the top was indicated by spray-painted arrows directly on the rock. Times change -- no more spray-paint, and it took me a little more huffing and puffing to get to the top. Still, we beat some teenagers, which did my (figurative) heart good. My actual heart took a bit of a beating. Afterwards we headed to Fredericksburg and grabbed some lunch and a Cowboy Cookie from Rather Sweet Bakery, then headed home.





Oh yeah, this is a knitting blog. The Kohle Socks are still underway. They are about 75% done, but I'll save any pictures for when they are completed. And yesterday I got a bee in my bonnet to work on a Koolhaas Hat. I've had one in mind since I got a copy of the Holiday Special Interweave Knits last winter. I picked a slightly thicker and cheaper yarn than the yak (yes, yak) that the pattern calls for, so I'm going to have to do some modifying. Mostly, I'm going to make the ribbing a little shorter than called for and will perhaps repeat the pattern one less time than instructed. We'll see. There is lots of cabling, but since it's only one stitch held either forward or back, I can handle it without a cable needle. And all the knit stitches are knit through the back of the loop to make the cables pop more.

I'm using Mission Falls 1824 Wool (superwash merino) for this. I've always admired this when I've seen it in shops. Love the colors. It would make an awesome, if a bit pricey, sweater. I seriously need to do a color check with my camera. This is very ashy-grey looking, whereas the actual color (Heath) is a deep, dark green. Green and blue seem to be screwed up on my camera.

This is a really neat design. And it warms my still-rapidly-beating heart to think that the design of this hat was inspired by a library.