Martin Dies, Jr. State Park

— First time heading to East Texas, I decided to make it to Martin Dies, Jr. State Park. I had a cabin reserved for a few days, and three friends also joined me in exploring the park. Located about 5 hours from Austin, the park reminded a bit of Caddo Lake State Park. There are fewer cypress trees than in Caddo Lake SP, but the grounds are just as amazing. I fell in love with the settings and the trails in the park. In the morning, sitting in my cabin porch and sipping coffee was very tranquil. In the evening, chatting with friends and admiring the sunset colors was another highlight. A couple of times we headed over to one of the bridges to catch beautiful sunsets such as the one above. This particular day, for example, we also saw an alligator down near the bridge. It was nearly motionless. The photo above is an HDR edit of three bracketed shots I made that evening. Below is a sunset short video behind my cabin. Listen to the silence of the evening as you watch the Moon and its reflection in the calm lake waters.