This bench delivers the best sunset view at Inks Lake State Park. Pam LeBlanc photo

I first camped at Inks Lake State Park in the 1970s, when my dad pitched a giant blue canvas tent and set up bunkbed cots inside for me and my sisters.

That tent disintegrated long ago, but my fondness for the park, located an hour and 15 minutes northwest of Austin, has stuck around.

I’ve made four overnight trips this summer alone. After all this time, I still discovered something new – the Devils Backbone Nature Trail.

The trail starts near the Devils Waterhole, where people launch themselves off 30-foot granite cliffs into Inks Lake.

The Devils Backbone Trail leads past interesting granite formations. Chris LeBlanc photo

It’s a bit of a scramble to get up and over the rock formations at the start of the trail. Just follow the small paint markings strategically located along the route, which weaves through patches of prickly pear and ash around some cool granite towers. The trail curves down and leads toward Spring Creek, crossing the dry creek bed just before Park Road 4. From there it curves back toward the lake and into the woods.

Our destination? A wooden bench high on a ridge that we’d spotted from the other side of the cove. We finally found the overlook at about the 1-mile point.

Read more: Leap into a spring-fed river at Pedernales Falls State Park

Front row for the sunset

Take my word: It’s the best spot in the park to take in the sunset. And even though the campground was full the day we made the hike, we didn’t encounter a single other person.

Inks Lake State Park is one of the most popular parks in the Texas State Park system, drawing nearly 230,000 visitors in 2023.

The State Parks Board first acquired 1,200 acres along the Colorado River in 1940. The Civilian Conservation Corps, which had just completed work on nearby Longhorn Cavern State Park, went to work turning the plot into a public park shortly thereafter. Funding dried up in 1942, though, and work was temporarily abandoned. The State Parks Board finally completed the project, and Inks Lake State Park opened in 1950. 

Today, the park offers ample opportunities for hiking, birding, camping, picnicking, boating, fishing and swimming. It’s spliced with “islands” of pink granite-like rock called “gneiss” (sounds like “nice”), and visitors go for family reunions, camping, nature watching and recreating on the lake.  

I love it as a swimming destination. It’s got a huge no-wake zone, and I can swim alongside my husband as he paddles his standup paddleboard around the zigzagging shoreline.

Inks Lake State Park recently opened new restroom and shower faciltiies. Pam LeBlanc photo

Another reason to love the park? New infrastructure. The park opened four new restroom facilities in the last few years and will unveil a new headquarters building in the next few months.

Visit the Alamo at night to see it illuminated under soft white lights. Pam LeBlanc photo

​Now and then, it’s fun to play tourist in your home state. I zipped down to San Antonio last week with my husband for an overnight stay on the Riverwalk.

Touristy? Sure. But also, enjoyable. From Austin, it takes less than two hours to get to San Antonio.

The Westin Riverwalk is located on a quiet stretch of the San Antonio Riverwalk. Pam LeBlanc photo

We checked into a sweet corner suite at the Westin Riverwalk San Antonio that overlooked a quiet stretch of the river, flung down our bags and headed out to reacquaint ourselves with the Alamo City.

Visit the Riverwalk

A tour boat putters along the San Antonio Riverwalk. Pam LeBlanc photo

Sure, you can walk the Riverwalk – and you should. Some of the original stone bridges that arch over the river date to 1941, and people have been eating Mexican food beneath umbrellas and floating the waterway in colorful tour boats for decades. But on weekends, you can also kayak the passage with Mission Adventure Tours. I tried it a few years ago (read more here) and loved the new perspective.

Read more: Snorkeling with sharks at the Texas State Aquarium

Vendors sell aguas frescas at Historic Market Square in San Antonio. Pam LeBlanc

Stroll the market

From the Westin Riverwalk, it takes about 15 minutes to walk to Historic Market Square, where venders sell everything from glassware to trinkets and musicians perform on indoor and outdoor stages. Twenty years ago, I bought a hand-made nativity scene that I still display every Christmas.

Grab a margarita

Mi Tierra, 218 Produce Row, first swung open its doors to serve workers and farmers at the San Antonio Mercado back in 1941. I love sipping margaritas in the bar, where mariachis serenade couples beneath twinkling lights, then lining up in front of the pastry case in the adjoining bakery to pick out pig-shaped cinnamon cookies and coconut bars in the colors of a Mexican flag.

Read more: Craving cold? ICE! Debuts at JW Marriott San Antonio Hill Country this winter

Walk to Alamo

Visitors stroll Historic Market Square in San Antonio. Pam LeBlanc photo

We skipped the guided tour ($45 adults, $35 children) and self-guided audio tour ($20 adults, $18 children), but still wanted to visit the iconic site. You can walk through the church for free (but book a ticket online here to make sure you get in) during the day, or drop by at night like we did to see it from the outside, glowing in white lights. 

Shop at La Villita

Just above the main Riverwalk, you can visit higher-end boutiques in La Villita Historic Arts Village, 418 Villita Street. The “Little Village” is listed on the National Register of Historic Places, and markers provide information about the history of its buildings.

Check out the Briscoe Western Art Museum

Don’t miss the Briscoe Western Art Museum, located a 3-minute walk from the Westin. Exhibits at the museum, housed in what once served as the city’s original public library, include a replica of a Wells Fargo stagecoach, a life-size metal sculpture depicting John Wayne as Marshall Rooster Cogburn, and a collection of saddles, bridles and spurs.

Try Italian for dinner

We know San Antonio is know for Tex-Mex, but we opted for Italian at the Westin’s in-house eatery, Zocca Cuisine D’Italia. One highlight? The antipasti tray, featuring a beautiful array of sliced meats and cheese. The braised mushroom ravioli hit the spot, too, as did the lemon ricotta cake – and you can watch people stroll past outside as you dine.

Sleep in

We headed back to our suite, with a king bed and a separate sitting room, and sacked out. The next morning, we put on robes and tiptoed out onto the balcony for breakfast – leftovers from the antipasti tray, plus coffee and tea, all consumed while watching the Riverwalk come alive.

Guide Jake Bredeson makes his way through Hells Canyon while rafting the Snake River in Idaho. Pam LeBlanc photo

I popped off a five-day rafting trip through Hells Canyon on the Snake River in Idaho last week with sand between my toes, a little poison ivy rash on my knees, and a duffle bag full of damp clothes.

How’d it stack up to other rafting trips? Nothing compares to the two weeks I spent on a self-guided trip with friends down the Grand Canyon two years ago. But my trip with ROW Adventures delivered spectacular wildlife encounters, gorgeous scenery and glorious camping.

Read more: The Ten Best Things About a Summer Trip to the Upper Peninsula of Michigan

Here are 10 of the most memorable moments:

A wild microburst while rafting the Snake River

Normally intense storms wouldn’t make my hit parade on a camping trip. But the 10-minute wind tempest that blew down half our tents and surprised a fellow camper who happened to be in the toilet tent that first night helped our band of merry revelers bond.

Overgrown kids

The 13 guests on our trip included seven men from Philadelphia, now in their mid-60s, who had known each other since childhood. They poked fun at each other, told stories, sang songs, and bickered like kids. I felt like I’d time traveled back to seventh grade, in a good way.

That one rapid

Water flows were just high enough for us to hit the Green Room, a section of Class 4 Granite Rapids that’s runnable only at specific flow levels. Straight up, straight down, a wall of green, a moment of terror and bliss.

A black bear walks along the Snake River in Idaho. Pam LeBlanc photo

A curious bear

One day, a black bear followed us from shore as we floated downstream. That was cool for about ten minutes, until he eased into the river and started to swim after us. That’s when we skedaddled.

The history

Each day we hiked to a historic old ranch or the ruins of places where indigenous people or miners once lived. But it was the visit to the site of the Chinese Massacre of 1887 that stuck with me. A gang of local men and boys killed 34 Chinese miners and fled with their gold. No one was punished for the crime.

Read more: A River Adventure to Reset Your Life: Rafting the Grand Canyon

That one hike

I was nervous about hiking to Suicide Point, high above the river, because I’m afraid of heights. But a fellow guest encouraged me, and I followed her to the highpoint, where we looked down at a bend in the river like the Grinch looking down on Who-ville. (But without the mean streak.)

Inflatable kayaks

Each day we could help paddle a big rubber raft, ride on the front of a boat rowed by a guide, or grab one of the inflatable kayaks to play in the smaller rapids on our own. Steering into those waves on the kayak felt like riding a bucking horse down an undulating ribbon of green while someone threw buckets of ice water in my face. Yeehaw!

A wildfire fighting helicopter fills its tank from the Snake River in Idaho. Pam LeBlanc photo

Nearby wildfires

Parts of Idaho and Oregon were ablaze during my rafting trip, which made for some hazy days. One afternoon several helicopters dropped down to the river near our camp to fill their tanks with water to fight the fires. They were so close they blasted us with wind and water spray.

Easy camping

There’s nothing like arriving in camp each afternoon to find camp – including all our tents and the dining area – already set up.

The toilet tent was situated to take in an incredible view. Pam LeBlanc photo

A loo with a view

Why just poop in the wilderness when you can contemplate the beauty of nature while you do your business? Each night, the crew set up our small portable toilet so we could take in an incredible view.

Marquette artist Amber Dohrenwend uses castoff cardboard to create large-scale scuptures. Pam LeBlanc photo

For artist Amber Dohrenwend, discarded cardboard boxes and a stash of staples add up to community and art.

The artist recently used 5,000 long skinny strips cut from shipping boxes for bicycles and 37,500 staples to build a temporary, large-scale art installation called “Bending Trees of Future Past.” Volunteers helped her put it together for an exhibit last month at Lake Effect Community Arts Center in Manistique, in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. I caught up with Dohrenwend at Graci Gallery in nearby Marquette, where she displays some of her smaller works.

“It’s about connection,” she says of her large-scale sculptures.

Read more: Ten best things about a summer trip to Michigan’s Upper Peninsula

She uses castoff materials from consumerism to make sculptures and says that each staple is a metaphor for a stitch that connects people.

“For me the challenge is getting people to see the tree inside the cardboard,” says Dohrenwend, who grew up in Marquette and lived in Japan before moving back to Michigan a few years ago.

She uses sustainable materials to create her artwork and began working with cardboard while living overseas. She gathered sheets of cardboard that neighbors had thrown away to make furniture for her children.

“I realized this was my medium,” the former teacher says.

Gradually she moved toward large-scale installations, including the one in Manistique, which was the size of a four-car garage.

Some of her smaller cardboard pieces, which look remarkably like fabric quilts, are displayed at Graci Gallery, opened by wood wall sculpture artist Joe Graci in 2020. The gallery carries paintings, sculptures, jewelry and ceramics by about 30 artists, most of whom are from the Upper Peninsula of Michigan.

“For such a small, out of the way place, we do have a lot of artists per capita,” Dohrenwend says.

The sun rises at Isle Royale National Park located off the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. Pam LeBlanc photo

I just spent six days wading beneath waterfalls, hiking through deep green forests, and plopping into the chilly waters of the world’s largest freshwater lake in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan.

As a Texan, I’m used to losing my will to spend afternoons outdoors during the summer. But when I landed in the UP, I felt like I’d stepped in front of Mother Nature’s version of an air conditioning vent.

I stayed in Marquette, Houghton and Isle Royale, and already want to go back.

Read more: When in Northern Michigan, hit the pasty trail

The highlights? Read on …

Chris LeBlanc paddles a canoe at Isle Royale National Park in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula. Pam LeBlanc photo

1. Canoeing around Isle Royale National Park. Isle Royale National Park ranked as the fifth least visited national park in the United States in 2023, and you have to take a ferry or a seaplane to get there. I rented a canoe at the marina in Rock Harbor and loved paddling among the pine-covered scattering of islands.
2. Swimming in Lake Superior. You thought Barton Springs was cold? Try taking a flying leap off a dock into the largest freshwater lake in the world (by surface area). It’ll take your breath away – in a good way.

Some of the old growth pine trees at Estivant Pines Wilderness Nature Preserve are more than 400 years old. Pam LeBlanc photo

3. Hiking through the big trees. Some of the trees at Estivant Pines Wilderness Nature Preserve in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan sprouted more than 400 years ago. A walk through the old growth forest, where shafts of light filter through 125-foot trees and moss grows on nearly everything, just feels different.

4. Trying a pasty. Cornish miners who worked in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan in the 1850s imported the tradition of meat and vegetable-filled pies called pasties (that’s pronounced “PAST-ees”). They made the fist-sized pies with wide crimped edges so if they ate them with dirty hands down in the mines, they could just toss the crusts away.

Miners Falls cascades over boulders in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula. Pam LeBlanc photo

5.Hiking to waterfalls. Rivers and streams all over the Upper Peninsula splash down rock slabs, through rocky gorges and into glinting pools. Of the Upper Peninsula’s more than 300 falls, I saw five – Yellow Dog Falls, Pinnacle Falls, Canyon Falls, Manganese Falls, and Miners Falls, each the culmination of a glorious walk through the woods.

6. Learning about the mining history. The Keweenaw National Historical Park, a collection of more than two dozen sites, celebrates the copper mining heritage of the area. You can tour a mine where temperatures hover in the 40s even in the summer, or drive through downtown Calumet, headquarters of one of the mining operations.

Rocky cliffs line the shore at Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula. Pam LeBlanc photo

7. Visiting Pictured Rocks National Seashore. The park runs for 42 miles along Lake Superior, and for 15 miles of that, colorful, layered cliffs rise from the shoreline like a gigantic layer cake.

Visitors swim at Presque Isle in Marquette, Michigan. Pam LeBlanc photo

8. Biking around Presque Isle. Rent a bicycle in Marquette and pedal to this 323-acre forested park, where you can stop for a swim in a rocky cove, buy a scoop of gelato, or settle on a bench and take in the views.

9. Eating the local catch. The Upper Peninsula is known for white fish and lake trout, and I tried both. The Vierling in downtown Marquette makes a perfectly seasoned grilled whitefish, and I lucked out on Isle Royale, where the family at the next table offered me some of the trout they’d just caught that day. It was the best fish I’ve ever eaten.

10. Sampling fresh berries. Wild blueberries, thimbleberries, strawberries and raspberries all grow in the Upper Peninsula and ripen in late July and August. Or stop by the Copper Country Strawberry Festival in Chassell and get strawberry shortcake for breakfast, like we did.