Kallison Ranch History Hike 11-25-2023

I had the pleasure of attending a guided hike to the Kallison unit of Government Canyon State Natural Area. The hike was led by newly graduated AAMN member, Roger Tinder, and another AAMN member, Marian Collins. Roger did an amazing job telling us the history of the ranch. I have hiked up there many many times during the cowbird trapping, but learning about the history of the place was fascinating. Even the rain couldn't dampen the mood of the large group (38 people). I hope to attend the same hike again in December. Hopefully the weather will be better and I will get more beautiful nature shots.

Toothleaf Goldeneye

This is the start of the hike, just after you go through the locked gate by the parking lot. It is a long flat part that in the spring is covered in wildflowers and other beautiful things to take photos of. It can take me about 30 minutes on this short stretch, if I am going photo-crazy. It is really only about a 5-minute walk from the gate to the turn that takes you on up to the ranch.

If you follow this blog, you probably recognize Lindheimer's Senna. I love seeing it in the wild.

I didn't capture this as well as I wanted. The seed pods on these mallow plants were very interesting. I am going to check the wildzone at my house. Maybe mine do the same thing.

I couldn't get a good ID on this. I think it might be King Ranch Blue Stem, which is an invasive. I took the shot because, invasive or not, it was beautiful.

This is either Small Palafox or Rosy Palafox. They look almost exactly alike. I am leaning towards Rosy, because the stems are reddish. All I know is that these little flowers are very pretty.

The end of the trail up to the ranch compound is at the top of a hill. Roger stopped here to tell us about the history of the area going back as far as how the land was formed. This was exactly when the first rain hit us. I got my gallon-sized baggie (AKA Jim's Frugal Camera Protection Case) out of my backpack and put it over my camera.

This is the view from the top of the hill. It is not a hard climb, but you do notice that it is uphill.

I am fascinated by old decaying structures of any kind. These were just some old sheds.

Roger did not let the rain phase him. He told us the history in such an exciting way that most of us were really engaged. I was walking around getting my shots in, but I was hearing every word.

Y'all, when I see these beautiful colonies of lichen my heart races and I hear heavenly choirs in my head. This stuff is probably the most beautiful of God's creations, and most of us never even spare it a glance. I attended a session on the lichens of Texas during the Texas Master Naturalist Annual Meeting back in October, but I have no idea what kind these are. iNaturalist gives to many choices.

Wouldn't this be a great design for silverware. You know, the tops of the handles on spoons and forks.

I could have spent an hour studying and shooting pictures of the lichen on this one tree.

38 is a very large group for a hike of this type. Roger and Marian handled it really well. Roger's lovely wife was also along to support them. I enjoyed talking with her occasionally on the hike.

Roger told us that this structure is what revolutionized ranching in Texas. With a windmill, it was now possible to store water. He told us that this had a wooden part on the top originally.

This is a good shot of Roger in action. I learned in interpretive guide training that, "If the presenter is not excited about the subject, nobody else will be either!" Roger's excitement was addictive. I had volunteered with him before working with 5th grade classes from Northside. I was always blown away by the way he "performed" with the kids. Some folks have got it. Some of us don't.

This is another view of part of the group at that first stop at the top of the hill. That's Marian on the far right. She had a book with visual aids that she showed for Roger. They made a great team. I believe this was his first time giving this tour. She was able to help him out with some of the information.

We were very near the back of the barn.

This is the back of the barn. It is the first structure you see as you get to the top of the hill.

Have I told you about my photo fetish for old fences?

Well, now you know. It is a real thing with me. I basically like any kind of "ruins".

At this point the rain got even heavier. I had now pulled my little umbrella out of my backpack. I wasn't trying to keep myself dry. I was protecting the camera while still being able to use it, albeit one-handed!

I am not the only one fascinated by the ruins. I saw several instances where folks walked closer to get a good view of something.

Roger took the crowd into the barn out of the rain. I joined them eventually, but I was still looking around the barn yard. I was able to hear the talk from afar.

There is a lot of Lantana at the Ranch. Unfortunately, none of it is the Texas native.

Talk about cool. I loved seeing the inside of this tank.

Look at all the color contrasts. That rusty pipe really makes this photo pop!

That is the old ranch foreman's house. I walked through it the first time I came up here. It was pretty nicely designed. Unfortunately some vandals got to it and they had to board it completely up to protect it.

At this point, I have now come into the barn. It is just a huge covered area with some interesting stacks of stuff.

I had high hopes for this shot. Seeing it live and in person, it is a stunning view. That simply does not come through in the photo.

The view again, but still not as good as what you really see when standing there.

Roger led us over to the first house built on the property. It was raining again, but not as heavy. Other folks were starting to use slickers and umbrellas. Most were just getting wet.

The house is in pretty good condition for not being maintained for decades. I walked through it the first time I was up there, but the sound of a rattlesnake close to me, got me backtracking out of there pretty quick.

I'm trying hard to avoid saying too much about the place. You need to go on one of these hikes to hear it all and hear it right. There is one coming up on December 17th.

You can see my umbrella in the top right corner. I tried to keep it out of my shots, but I am not used to taking one-handed photos. Remember, i shoot totally on manual, so I am holding the camera, focusing, adjusting the light, etc.

Here we are about to pass the old gate. I never knew that this was not the main gate to the property. There is another one closer to the farm fields.

We are walking up a slight incline to get back to the buildings. The area where the buildings are is like a little plateau or backbone.

That's one side of the gate. I love the stonework.

This is another view of the ranch foreman's house.

Roger was telling us more history. We were probably up to the 1950s at this point.

The first time I came up here by to check the cowbird traps was in the spring of 2018. I sat on the porch were the ladies are sitting in this shot. That was only six years ago. There was absolutely nothing to see but miles of empty spaces from that porch. I watched urban sprawl take place before my eyes over the subsequent years. Kallison High School and several subdivisions are all you can see in the distance now. The same thing is happening to McKinney Falls State Park in Austin. There are houses right across the park fence lines.

This is the ruin of a very modern house. The roof burned and is completely gone. When I first walked through it, there was a lot of rubble on the inside floors. They must have cleaned it out. You can tell by the remains that it must have been a beautiful house.The people are standing on what would have been a huge covered patio.

This is the biggest bedroom. You can't see in this shot, but the house had modern electrical outlets. The windows had those old-fashioned hand cranks that sent them out like doors. And, let me tell you... This house had a lot of windows in every room.

This is a good shot to show the size of the patio.

This room is connected to that big one from before. You can see that it had two closets. Notice the ceiling fan hanging from the rafters.

This is the huge living room. The focal point is a huge fireplace you'll see below.

The door from the living room leads to a hall that goes to all the bedrooms.

This is the fireplace on the outside of the living room for the patio. The windows look into the living room.

This is the indoor fireplace in the living room. The windows look out onto the patio.

This is the main bathroom. There is another little tiny one with a tiny shower in the back of the house right off the back patio.

Another of the bedrooms

I was standing on the overgrown back patio looking into the living room. The man on the right is about to go into a door that leads to the bedrooms. If he takes an immediate left, he'll be in the living room.

Oh... Here is that other little bathroom. See the tiny pre-fab shower in the corner? I didn't take pictures of the laundry room, kitchen, and office. It was time to go.