Cedar Hill State Park




On Tuesday, I took out on the open road to Cedar Hill State Park.  From where I live, the park is on Interstate 20 heading East past Arlington and Grand Prairie; in fact, I saw the very southern edge of the Dallas city limits while travelling.  Thank goodness for the map app on my phone, or I may have had difficulty locating this gem nestled in the Metroplex.  A hidden treasure it is!  Unfortunately, I didn't find out till my arrival that the beach area and surrounding grounds were closed due to restoration efforts.  In addition, a portion of the main road was down to one lane for construction.  Still undettered, I resolved to get the most experience out of my adventure.  First on the list was visiting Penn Farm.  The entrance sign suggested the tour would take an hour.  That was spot on, but it sure didn't seem like that long as yours truly was enthralled with the history of the buildings and grounds.  I was equally impressed with the upkeep of what I was seeing.  Kudos to the staff of the park...great job!  Then I discovered the Talala Trail and promptly set out to unknown horizons.  The scenic overlook did not disappoint!  Thinking the trail would circle back to where I began, I started to get nervous when the surroundings failed to look familiar.  I knew the trail would eventually have to dump me out somewhere on the other end, so I kept hiking.  Finally, I made it to the blacktop.  What a welcomed relief!  Thankfully, I wasn't very far from the start of the trail where my vehicle was parked.  After almost three hours communing with nature, I called it a day.  For my very first excursion to this park, I am wondering why it took so long for me to visit.  As soon as I get another day off, I'll definitely come back out here to explore more of the park.  Hope to see you out there soon.




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