Guadalupe River State Park
Told by Kuma & Written by Lorraine Bossé-Smith
We recently celebrated my dad’s birthday by going to San Marcos and staying in a hotel. I love going on the road because that means I get human food! I am a stinker and don’t eat my own food when we travel. Maybe I get a little anxious, but I’m not admitting anything. The upside is that my mom feeds me burgers, steaks, and chicken. Wholly molley! Yum. Staying at a hotel also means an adventure of the Kuma kind!
We headed to the Guadalupe River State Park this time to enjoy some hiking, picnicking, and cooling off in the river. The park isn’t too far from San Marcos off highway 46, which brings you to Park Road 31. Follow it until it ends at the park. Once again, humans must pay a fee or show their pass to get in. Doggies are welcome and free!
The trails at this park are shared with bicycles and horses, although we didn’t see any. Just keep your eyes peeled. The park is about 1,938 acres with four miles along the Guadalupe River, which is a cold and clear stream perfect for tubing, floating, or swimming. I’m getting ahead of myself, though.
The trails are numbered, and we opted to do Loop 3 and Loop 2, for a total of about four miles. This was just right for a warm day. The paths are well marked, but you will have to cross some roads and even walk along side one for a bit. Stay close to your humans and behave. You’ll weave through a nice forest, grasslands, and some rocks. Supposedly, deer live in the forest, but we didn’t see any during our outing. I’m always on guard for any animal! That’s what makes hiking such an adventure; you never know what you’ll see!
You’ll only have a view of the river for a short while, so we opted to find a picnic spot after our enjoyable hike so we could have lunch and then cool off in the river. The park is laid out well with tons of tables under the shade of Cypress trees. Plenty of humans of all ages were splashing around in the river with no fear of gators. We took a stroll along the river bank so I could jump in at any time. You can follow it for most of the four miles, I think. Some people had lawn chairs and beach blankets on the shore. It is truly a great place to spend a summer’s day.
Kumaito (Kuma for short) is a multi-tan Shiba Inu, an ancient breed from Japan, who moved from the Rocky Mountains of Colorado to Friendswood, Texas. He enjoys running almost every day with his mom, chasing squirrels out of his yard, playing with toys, pestering his brother Edmond, eating, napping … well, Kuma loves about everything and everyone! His mom, Lorraine Bossé-Smith, is kind enough to help him tell his story. She is the author of seven published books, writes for magazines on assignment, has been seen on national television, and inspires people to live healthy, balanced lives through personal training, life coaching, and workshops. You can reach Kuma through Lorraine’s website. Be sure to visit Kuma Dog’s Facebook page. You never know what he’ll be up to next!
