BBE 12 - Finding Lost Maples

I have a clear picture from an evening newscast in years past, of people in Texas being plucked from trees by a helicopter, floodwaters rushing around them. The people had been driving and were caught in the flood. I had visions of a flash flood; of someone driving along peacefully and suddenly water came from nowhere, picked up the car and floated it away, Luckily there were nearby trees with branches at a convenient height.

Well, now I know how those folks got into the trees. They made a bad decision.

On our way to Lost Maples State Natural Area, we drove along the scenic and peaceful Guadalupe River. The river winds back and forth, crossing under the highway at several points. But there are few real bridges to speak of. The river crossings are raised concrete corridors, maybe 4 or 5 feet above the river level. There are large pipes that let the river flow under the road, which is probably all but a few days a year. When there is a flood, the river goes over the top of the road. There are signs to warn drivers.


This is a raised concrete crossing. At the end of it, on the left, is a measuring gauge to show how deep the water is at the crossing.


The assumption is that given a warning and some factual information, Texans are bright enough to figure out when they shouldn’t cross the road. It’s really a great system, it cuts down the initial cost of building a road and minimizes damage from a flood.

I’m guessing those people in the trees were Californians who hadn’t been in Texas very long.

Remember the fish heads on the fence? Well, here’s a scene along the Guadalupe river. There’s quite a long stretch of fence with boots stuck on the ends of the posts. Merlene says they have been there for at least 30 years, though there are more now.


A lot of the fences in Texas are stake fences like this one. Without the boots.

Lost Maples State Natural Area is a lovely little park. It’s only about 2000 acres and was part of a working ranch until 1979, when it was purchased by the state. The park was named after the grove of Canadian bigtooth maples that inhabit the deep limestone canyons. They are leftovers from the last ice age, when Texas was cooler and moister. The canyons create a microclimate that has allowed the maples to continue growing here.

The park is especially popular in the fall, when the maple leaves are at their best. This picture is from an internet site. It shows how lovely the trees can be.


This is my picture. This is how the trees look in winter.


Another interesting thing in this area is Ball Moss (Tillandsia recurvata). We’d seen some in a tree in Johnson City. It looks like this:


At Lost Maples we got a closer look at Ball Moss.


I think they sell this stuff at Home Depot as an “Air Plant.” It’s usually attached to some kind of ceramic doodad like a small parrot, or a Bambi deer. You can supposedly hang it on the wall and it will grow there. It would be great stuff to use in Capn Picard’s landscapes, but I didn’t dare bring any home. We already have trouble with mistletoe in our trees.

Ball Moss is not a parasite like mistletoe, though. It’s an epiphyte.

There’s a small state park office at Lost Maples. I found a t-shirt there that I loved, but couldn’t find it in my size. On the way out Merlene stopped and looked again and found one! She’s such a pushy broad, I love people like that.

And I love my shirt. I wore it to work one day, though, and as I was standing at the counter holding some papers in front of it, one of my coworkers looked at the shirt and blushed. Cover half the M and the A in this picture.


She said, “Lost Nipples? What does that mean?”