Traveling southwest from Inks Lake, the Enchanted Rock Archaeological District is about an hour’s drive and just a short drive up from the historic German town of Fredericksburg.

Enchanted Rock, a massive pink granite dome rising above the Texas hills, is a place of archaeological interest, as well as cultural interest in ancient legends and sacred Native American ceremonial rituals. Click here for a brief video on Enchanted Rock.

In our Shadow Trails tale, we describe Enchanted Rock as a “dome of healing” where our “woman of the true way” guides her young traumatized companion on a journey of spiritual healing.

A billion years ago, Enchanted Rock was part of a huge pool of magma that pushed up and hardened into the solid granite domes that now rise above the surface, forming a small visible part of a huge underground batholith that stretches 62 miles below the surface.

It’s a 425 ft. climb straight up to the summit that sits 1825 ft. above sea level. It’s not an easy climb, but well worth the effort. On our way up we met an EMT service bringing two unfortunate climbers back down after suffering heat stroke and a sprained ankle. We took our time—about 3 hrs.—to reach the summit.

There are 11 miles of trails, at all levels of difficulty, for hikers to explore. Sandy Creek Trail crosses gently flowing streams around the base of the dome.

Streams open up into pools that support a wide variety of plants and animals. The gift shop sells a terrific book by Peter Flawn, Enchanted Rock, that describes the wildlife, history, and geology of the Enchanted Rock State Natural Area.

These nutritious Prickly Pear ‘tunas’ sustained early Spanish explorers, as well as Paleoindians and Native Americans who camped in the area many millennia ago.

The trails below the dome are well-marked, but take hikers through some pretty rugged terrain.

This is the site in our tale of a deadly duel between our hero, Pakohma, and his twisted adversary, Rohanec, as the spirit messengers watch from above ready to remove the carcass of the losing party and return it to its earth home.