Hamilton Pool

Our next trip was to see Hamilton Pool. It was a destination we weren't sure we would be able to see. There is a maximum of 75 cars allowed into the park each day, starting at 9am. Wait times last several hours if you don't get in the first group.  Our first morning though, we were all up and dressed around 8, so we gave it a shot. Driving there we were stopped and a park employee let about 30 cars in front of us... We were scared we wouldn't be part of the first group, but when we got to the entrance we found out we were one of the lucky ones. Hooray! The hike down was longer than McKinney Falls, but the three big kids did it easily.

The pool, and small waterfalls into the pool, were gorgeous. I bet, with more rainfall, they are even more spectacular. And Solace, of course, got busy eating sand.

A really nice family asked to take our family picture, so thoughtful! They later saw us as we were trying to leave and gave us TONS of their picnic food, since they knew we were camping, and they were heading back home. Seriously, you cannot beat southern hospitality.

You could walk behind the boulders and look out into the pool from all the way around, so here are some pics of that.  It was really crowded, but I guess that's why they have a cutoff limit.

The boys played in the small waterfall on the other side. They are so adventurous. Lullaby swam across with Paul and they stayed with Solace on the beach warming back up. The water was pretty cold that early in the morning.

At the trailhead there was a large piece of wood, asking visitors to leave their mark on it, instead of anything else. I thought that was a good idea. Paul carved "B6" for the six members of our Berg family. So fun!

Then on the way out, we got a flat tire. Great. Paul changed it (thank you hubby!!) and the nice family gave us lots of snacks and we were on our way again. We spent a loooong time there, and loved it. Another favorite!