Devil's Hole

It was the summer of 1978 and I had just moved to Burnet County. I was working for  a private publisher at a company called Eakin Press. As I mentioned in earlier posts, I am quite the aquaphile (one who loves water features). Asking around to some of the locals, I asked where one goes swimming on a hot day. As Burnet (the city!) is based in the center of the Highland Lakes, I figured something was going to be close and easily accessible.
The young high school student working for me said the quickest place to go was 'Devils Hole' out at Inks Lake State Park. So loading up my  black Labrador Retriever named 'Travis' (after the boy from Old Yeller not the Hero), we headed to 'Devils Hole'. So off we go to try out the new swimming hole.

Now folks not familiar with this part of Texas probably have not heard of the Burnet-Llano Uplift. This is a geological feature that covers over 4 counties in the Hill Country. Significant to this geological feature is the prevalance of granite, marble, gneiss, and other ancient rock strata.
So 'Devils Waterhole' is at the nexus of a creek out of the hills to the Inks Lake. At this junction is weathered granite outcroppings and cliffs galore. Cliffs, did I mention cliffs? Having jumped my first cliff when I was 12 years old at Lake Ouachita in the Ozarks, I was ready for some cliff jumping. As Inks Lake is for the most part a constant level lake there is an awesome 20+ foot jump into the "hole". I was jumping off as fast as I could climb up, and Travis (the dog) was running up and down as fast as he could. You see, there was no way that Travis was going to make that kind of jump. He would follow me up to top, watch me jump and then run down and jump in with me at the bottom.
There were and are dozens of swimming holes around and in Burnet County. With names like Bees Bluffs, Hubbard Falls, Smithwick, Krause Springs, and spring fed tanks on the ranchs like Wilson's Ranch on Shady Grove Road. I hope to relive and illuminate the fine times that I had and that can still be had to this day. That is if the developers haven't ruined the opportunities for everyone.
Shalom Ya'll