Wild Basin and Rosie's

I've been meaning to go to Wild Basin Wilderness Preserve for years and years, and finally we made it out there yesterday! It is very cool. We hiked down to the falls (a trickle this weekend) and along Bee Creek, then back up. These are what I would call "easy" trails, which is fine in my book. It does have a fairly steep incline in some areas, but not anything like Enchanted Rock. The trails are all well-maintained, with mostly steps dug out along the steep areas.

We didn't see any wildlife. I'm OK with that. Just being among the trees and by a stream is enough for me to connect with nature. I don't need to meet a snake or raccoon to make me feel like I've bonded with Mother Earth. There were plenty of birds.

I had read that there are not usually a lot of people at Wild Basin. That was our experience. Good thing, because there isn't much parking. Hikers complain that you can hear the traffic from 360- which you can from the western parts of the trail- but to me that is just a clue of where to go, should I get lost.

It was 96 degrees and sunny, but in the trees, it is shady most of the way. There was also a breeze at the higher elevations. Very nice. There are plenty of options for hiking, some as short as maybe 15 minutes round trip. We spent about an hour and a half walking most of the area, about 2 miles total. There is one other trail which we didn't take this time, that misses the creek and would have added about .6 miles.

Definitely hit this one if you are looking for a fun hike some afternoon!

Also wanted to mention Rosie's Tamale House, where Jeff and I had dinner on Saturday night. It was fajita night (Tuesdays and Saturdays) and the fajitas were simply amazing. The tortillas were slightly crispy and SO good, and the steak was melt-in-your-mouth tender. Jeff had chicken and said it was wonderful as well. I'm going to say these are at least as good, if not better than the Hyatt's fajitas. And of course the price is a whole lot better.