Home Care In Rio Frio, TX

Jacob West|Bartlett Tree ExpertsRepresentatives from Bartlett Tree Experts and Texas A&M Forest Service gather around the Rio Frio Oak, which was named state champion Live Oak in 1988 and national champion in 1989.

The following column was written by Gabriela Steinkamp, administrative assistant for Bartlett Tree Experts of San Antonio.

Hundreds of years ago, a tiny oak sprouted less than a mile from what would later be known as the Frio River in Texas.

The beautiful live oak grew strong over the years, surviving and thriving through droughts, storms, nearby settlements and flocking tourists. Now one of the largest live oaks in all of Texas, the tree has a circumference of approximately 295 inches, a height of 52 feet, and a canopy spread of nearly 100 feet. It was named State Champion Live Oak in 1988 and National Champion in 1989. Though it has since been dethroned by another tree, the Rio Frio Oak remains a magnificent, local landmark with a storied history.

Settlers began developing the town of Rio Frio around this tree just after the American Civil War ended. The Lombardy Trading Company constructed an irrigation ditch nearby in 1866, which remains one of the oldest still in operation today in Texas. Due to its large size, the oak became a bearing point for building the entire town. The tree’s broad branches shaded the town’s first schoolhouse, which also served as a community center that hosted elections, religious services, court and various social gatherings.

In 1929, Mr. Leo L. Slover bought the property on which the oak lived. According to a newspaper article from the time announcing the sale, a house and store on site were also thrown in “for good measure.” Three generations later, the same family owns and cares for the property, headed by matriarch Judy Newman. Over 20 years ago, Judy connected with Mark Duff from the Texas Forest Service to understand how to best care for the Rio Frio Landmark Oak.

Mark knew the family would need the best team to provide any pruning and plant health care necessary to maintain the strength and safety of the tree for years to come. He enlisted Bartlett Tree Experts, and we’ve been helping to care for the tree since. Every few years, arborist representatives from the San Antonio office and an elite crew of climbers volunteer their time with the Texas Forest Service to work on the oak. Services have included pruning, bracing, fertilization, deadwood removal and spreading mulch.

Our most recent visit occurred this past February.

A bright day with clear skies and 68-degree weather presented the perfect opportunity for some of our team to get up in that oak. San Antonio arborist crew leaders Chris Maciel, Javier Rivas, Gustavo Rodriguez and Antonio Tovar, worked safely and efficiently to deadwood the tree and prune it away from the roof of the house. Arborist representatives Bobby Hearne and Jacob West along with Mark Kroeze, urban forester from the Texas Forest Service Urban Forester, provided support on the ground, dragging cuts to the chipper. Mark Duff from the Texas Forest Service and arborist representative Tony Villanueva were also on site offering support and supervision.

Throughout the day, neighbors came by to admire the tree and reminisce about growing up in Rio Frio. They told stories about the general store next to the big oak that closed in 1965. They remembered the family that lived in the home under the tree and the bed and breakfast they had once opened next door. It was amazing to hear how this tree has always been part of the fabric of the community.

After our crew completed the tree care, Judy and her family treated us to a barbecue lunch on the property with homemade bread, brisket, salads, corn, cookies, cake and pie. It was the perfect ending to a rewarding day and a way to create new memories under the canopy of this legendary oak tree.

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It was January, just over a decade ago. My wife Deborah and I were at the annual gathering of a writers’ group I’m a member of. It was a small conference, meeting in Texas Hill Country about two hours west of San Antonio. The conference center was in a limestone canyon on the upper reaches of the East Branch of the Rio Frio. It was Deborah’s first time in Texas. Although I’d been on a drive through a corner of the state some 40 years early when I was a middle-schooler, it was only my second trip as an adult.

The setting was beautiful. The water was clear and green. Little panfish, foot-long bass, and catfish up in the four- or five-pound range cruised through the tall weeds in the deep water against the cliffs. Turtles sunned on rocks in the shallower water on the far side of the river. Hawks rode the thermals above us, occasionally casting their shadows on the water below. Now and then wild goats appeared on the steep cliffs across the canyon. Turkeys meandered through the meadow behind us, while cardinals flitted through the trees, sometimes landing on the railings of the outdoor dining area looking for leftovers.

Over the previous 24 hours, we had already started to become enamored with this Hill Country. Flying into the San Antonio airport a day earlier, we had spent the previous night a little further downriver on the Rio Frio at Garner State Park. That morning, before driving the last hour to the Laity Lodge conference center we had taken a hike in the state park, wandering up over the hills in morning light as the sun melted the frost on the ground and the temperature climbed up into the 50s. Arriving at the conference center later that day, our sense of quiet, peace, beauty and mystery had increased even more when the last mile of our drive had taken us right down into the canyon bottom along the rocky river bed.

Among the writers who had gathered from across the country were a few from Texas. My wife sheepishly approached one of them. “I have a confession to make,” she said. “I always imagined that Texas was ugly. But this is really beautiful.”

Our writer friend laughed. “Most of Texas is pretty ugly,” she said. “This Hill Country and the eastern pine forests near the corner of Arkansas and Louisiana are the exceptions.”

The previous year when I had come alone to the conference, I had felt the same way as my wife — though I hadn’t said so to any of the Texas writers. I’m spoiled by the beauty of my home state of Vermont; by our green and rolling landscapes, and our myriad rivers, gorges and waterfalls; by our constantly changing seasons with the fresh yellow greens of early May, all the way through the famous fall foliage highlighted by our maples; by snow-covered farm fields and the green ice of the gorges that cut down out of our national forest into the broad Champlain Valley; and even by the stark beauty of stick season. Though admittedly, I don’t often boast to out-of-staters about mud season beauty, I do boast about the maple harvest that comes from it. That there was so much beauty in Texas was a surprise.

Not much time passed before we had fallen in love with our little retreat in the Texas Hill Country and began to look forward to our annual gathering for the location as well as for the wonderful people we got to spend time with. And as the date of the conference changed from year to year — ranging from mid-January all the way through early April — we came to enjoy many other seasons as well.

Each was different. One year we were there during the mating season of the cliff swallows, and got to watch them swarm by the hundreds just off the deck of the dining area doing their in-air rendezvous. Another year it was turtle mating season. Instead of lone turtles here and there on the rocks, a dozen of them congregated on one big flat rock, stacked up on top of each other in their own self-made biological cairns. Other years vultures are common. Deer sometimes join the turkeys on the lawns. One year taking a pre-breakfast hike along the canyon rim, we were startled by a pair of javelinas. Equally startled by our presence, they grunted and snorted at us before disappearing into the misty shadows.

Having been forced to meet only virtually for the past two years, I realized just how much I had missed the beauty of that place, so altogether different from our Vermont landscape, until our rental car dropped down into the canyon for the final mile of our drive, and we started across the rocks through four inches of river. Meeting the latest in the year we’ve ever met, there were no turkeys this year, nor any javelinas or wild goats. But for the first time we saw a Texas spiny soft-shelled turtle — as big as a snapping turtle in Vermont, but with an almost impossibly long neck and feet that looked more like a duck’s than a turtle’s except for the claws. We also saw a long plain-bellied water snake sitting in standing water at the bottom of a narrow box canyon.

It was a good reminder of just how much beauty there is in creation, and how much diversity.

The Frio River is one of the more well-known locales for holidays, family trips, and great tubing times and continues to draw many a Texan to the Hill Country to this spring-fed symbol of summer freedom. Winding through some of the most magnificent countryside, its crystal-clear water will leave you feeling refreshed, floating down a river of freedom, prepped for the days ahead when the hot Texas sun seems like nothing compared to the hot glare of your teachers, bosses, or significant others that you’ve failed to deliver on whatever promises to. So, pack your bags in preparation for the quintessential Texas summer vacation.

Photo: Facebook/River Run, Concan, Texas

Preparing yourself for a visit to the Frio requires some necessary pre-planning. You may be only thinking of a lazy, lounging day of drinking beer and floating mindlessly along when instead you need to consider the effects of the hot Texas sun as you idle in some low-current areas. You may also mistakenly think that there aren’t any rapids or small waterfalls along the way, so read ahead, call local tubing places as well as possible accommodations, and find out what to expect.

Photo: Facebook/Neals Lodges

Cool, deep water does, in fact, await and be it a Texas Hill Country float trip, a fun-filled family vacation, or even Rio Frio Fest, the Frio can provide plenty of opportunities, both in the water and along its banks, for vacation enjoyment. Trail rides on horseback, countryside accommodations, great Texas barbecue and even exotic animals await. Neals Lodges can help provide these things with a visit to Concan, complete with giraffes, zebras, and even deer and goats in a small petting zoo, as well as a number of riverside activities you won’t know where to begin!

Joe Jimmy’s on Neals’ property can also provide the adults in your party some much-needed nightlife, which is all on-site! With an arcade for the children and a bar for the adults, an outdoor dance floor, and a large stage that regularly features live country music, you won’t want to miss out on some two-stepping in the Texas Hill Country (so don’t forget to pack your dancing shoes!) And when it’s all said-and-done, and you’re about to put head to pillow, Neals also offers some great accommodation options ranging from cabins to condos, and RV sites to tent camping, suiting your trip and your budget. What are you waiting for? Book your time at the Frio River and plan for the downtime you deserve on the quintessential Texas summer vacation in the Hill Country.

The beauty and peacefulness of the Concan, Texas area never ceases to amaze us. Just over a three-hour drive from Austin, this area offers a gorgeous natural setting for hiking in the scenic Hill Country terrain, camping, stargazing, bird watching, and of course enjoying a swim, tube ride or paddle down the clear waters of the Frio River.

Our editor’s family took a fall weekend trip to Concan, and we’re sharing some thoughts and photos below to help inspire you to put this area of Texas on your travel bucket list. In the fall you can typically expect some color changes in the foliage, the winter offers cooler temps to help make challenging hikes a little more comfortable, and spring is the perfect time to make a splash in the river. (Note that summer water levels vary depending on rainfall, as with any local bodies of water. It’s best to check before you visit.)

Concan is a small community in Uvalde County in the southwestern portion of the Hill Country. It sits along the Frio River close to Garner State Park. Other nearby destinations include Leakey, Utopia, Lost Maples, Hill Country and Devil’s Sinkhole State Natural Areas. You’ll find that Concan is a very popular summer vacation spot with lots of private cabin rentals along the Frio. You’ll find a few quaint shops, kayak rentals, private river access points offering day-use passes, and guided nature tours. For a best overview of lodging, dining, and rental options in this area, we suggest visiting www.visituvaldecounty.com

Garner State Park: When we weren’t swimming in the river at our waterside rental cabin, we were spending our time hiking around Garner State Park. Garner is one of the most popular state parks for a good reason! It features 1,774 acres of beautiful land with 2.9 miles of the Frio River winding through it. If you are savvy enough to plan far in advance, you can book one of the park’s cute cabins or opt to camp in a screened shelter or campsites. It’s a lovely place for beginning campers because there is so much to do on this park land!

Swim or float in the Frio, rent a paddle boat, fish, canoe or kayak, geocahce, picnic or you can even play a round of mini golf on site or pop into the sweet shop for an ice cream cone. The park includes concession shops selling meals and snacks during the busy season as well as a gift shop at the visitors center.

Of course, you can do plenty of hiking! There are 16 miles of trails in Garner State Park. Some of the trails are very steep and challenging for little ones, so read through this helpful trail outline before you pick which paths to try. Even though it was listed as “challenging” we could not resist a journey to the Crystal Cave. A rocky trail leads to one of the park’s natural wonders, a small cave that you can enter freely. It was slick getting in and out of the cave, but we did spy a bat and used our flashlight to find the crystals, which made for a very exciting adventure! We continued on hiking for pretty views of Old Baldy and had such a great day enjoying the natural surroundings.

Because Garner State Park is such a popular spot, it’s best to book your day-use or campsite reservations far in advance. Visit the Garner section of the Texas Parks & Wildlife website for plenty of details and reservation info.

We hope you enjoy exploring this beautiful area of Texas!

As the heatwave and drought in Texas continues, the water level in the Frio River west of San Antonio is dwindling down to its rocky base.

The river’s flow in Concan, a community roughly 80 miles from Bexar County, has dropped to zero cubic feet per second, according to the U.S. Geological Survey. At Garner State Park, which sits along three miles of the Frio River, visitors cannot enjoy tubing due to the low levels and can swim only in certain parts of the river.

“We’ve had a pretty steep drop off of water flow,” said Aaron Johnston, assistant superintendent of operations at Garner State Park. “Since last Tuesday, the water (flow) has dropped about a foot per cubic second. It’s pretty much a trickle.”

On ExpressNews.com: Low flow in Guadalupe River enough for aquatic recreation, ecosystems … for now

The main swimming area of the river at the park, which is connected to a dam, still has some water flowing through, so people can swim with water to about their chests. But that flow could also be in jeopardy in the next few weeks as drought conditions persist.

Garner State Park issued a park alert for the public to conserve water, citing extremely dry conditions and urging visitors to use water wisely and bring their own drinking water. The use of showers may also be limited.

Also, extremely low river flows can lead to stagnant pools of water, which can cause algae blooms or harmful bacteria, so people recreating should be careful in such areas of the Frio River. Next week, the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality will conduct water testing in the Frio River to check for harmful bacteria and will publish its findings.

On ExpressNews.com: Edwards Aquifer the lowest it’s been in four years

Nevertheless, Johnston said the park remains open for all other recreational use, such as hiking, camping and the summer dances at the park pavilion from 8:30 to 11 p.m.

“We’ll be open this summer, and there’s still lots to do,” Johnston said.

Elena Bruess writes for the Express-News through Report for America, a national service program that places journalists in local newsrooms. ReportforAmerica.org. [email protected]