The route I'm following ambles through the Hill Country from Lake Buchanan to Austin, Bastrop, La Grange, and Schulenburg. In all, the distance covers less than 200 miles. Nature Park perch beside Lake Buchanan. The late-day sun sparkles on Lake Buchanan as I unwind from the day's journey and take a seat on the porch of my cabin at the Canyon of the Eagles Lodge and Nature Park. At the lodge, which perches on a cliff, guests have a soaring view of the lake.
Rooms are rustic but comfortable.
Meals are served in a large dining room reminiscent of a national park lodge. Most activities center around nature programs in the surrounding 940-acre park owned by the Lower Colorado River Authority. After a leisurely breakfast, guests gather at the park's dock to board the Texas Eagle II for a trip up the Colorado River on a Vanishing Texas River Cruise. Bordered by big ranches and rimmed with tall cliffs, the river is a place of solitude. Bald eagles soar the corridor of the canyons in winter, and when the weather warms, the refreshing river is a magnet for wild turkeys, ospreys, foxes, deer, and other wildlife.