Lonestar Mensa News
Group Camping Trip
We have booked the group campsite at
Colorado Bend State Park for Friday night May 12th and Saturday night May 13th. The site has a capacity of 24 and
will be available to us from 2:00 pm Friday until 2:00 pm Sunday. If you plan to participate in the camping weekend please contact Steve Roberts as soon as you can.
For those of you who are not familiar with Colorado Bend State Park it is west of Lampasas near the small community of Bend. The park is largely unimproved. There are no electrical hookups and no showers. There are water standpipes and composting toilets. The group campsite occupies a shady nook at the base of the limestone cliff which forms a canyon for the Colorado River at this point. Between us and the river is a pleasant open area, more trees and the river embankment. Depending upon the level of the river it is usually good to play in. At the southern end of the park is a charming spring fed creek with cool clear water and various swimming holes.
There are a number of hiking trails - several miles along the river or up over the escarpment. Some are moderately rugged. Others are good for a gentle stroll.
The park offers two cave experiences. The walk-in cave tour and the crawl-in cave tour. For those interested in the walk-in cave tour, Steve Roberts will take reservations and make a group booking. If you would like to participate in the walk-in cave tour on Saturday morning please let Steve know as soon as possible as this tour does fill up. During the tour expect to hike around 3 miles round trip to and from the cave with some ascent and descent. The cave has slippery surfaces, pools of water, rocks to scramble over and low ceilings to bump your head on. There is no walkway, handrails, lights or signs. The park service provides helmets but you should bring your own flashlights with spare bulb and batteries. A fee is charged for this tour.
Suggested itinerary:
Friday evening - relax around the campfire. Songs, stories, conversation.
Saturday morning - walk-in cave tour.
Saturday afternoon - hike up to the more remote spring-fed swimming hole.
Saturday evening - pot-luck meal, songs, stories, conversation around the campfire.
Sunday morning - leasurely breakfast, strike camp, eat lunch, hang out.
Saturday afternoon - visit Gorman Falls, head for home.
If you plan to participate in the camping weekend please contact Steve Roberts as soon as you can.
Gulf Coast Mensa's regional gathering is coming soon! Click the logo for more
details and to sign up. Kick off the summer with your old and new Mensa friends.
It's not too early to sign up for American Mensa's largest gathering
- the Annual Gathering. The AG will be held July 4 - 8. If you have not been to an AG
before, you
really should consider attending. Click the logo for more details.
Lonestar Mensa was mentioned in an
Austin Monthly article.
Click here to see the article.
This is a PDF file. You need Adobe Acrobat Reader Software to read it.
If you do not have that software - you can download it free.
Members can access PDF copies of the local newsletter, The Armadillo Literary
Gazette.
You need to know your member number (which is on your newsletter
label) and your password. These are the same ones used to access members only sections
of the National web site.
