Photos

Yesterday my wife and I finally decided to get out of our house and explore the great state that is Texas. I'm a mountain person myself, and my wife is a beach lover. Neither is to be found a short drive from Dallas, so we've been reluctant to go exploring. But we both love lakes and lush forest, and Tyler State Park has both.

Tyler State Park is about a two-hour drive east of Dallas, near the edge of what's known as the Pineywoods region of Texas. The Pineywoods are so called because of the mixture of pine and deciduous forests found here. Texas isn't known for forests, but this area is beautiful by any definition. Tyler State Park is centered around a small but beautiful and clear lake, with rolling hills, hiking and biking trails, and acre upon acre of mixed forest. It was lovely.

I wanted to be here for sunrise because I guessed (rightly) that with all the recent rain and cold weather, there would be a good deal of mist on the lake. We weren't disappointed; the mist was beautiful. We didn't get there right at sunrise, however. As we were driving along, the sun came up over the trees along I-20, and just then U2's song "Beautiful Day" came on the radio. I thought it was a good omen, and a fitting title for this scene.