We've lived in the Texas hill country since 1999. One big difference between our hometowns and the hill country is the soil. We were raised atop lots of dirt and clay. However, the hill country sits on limestone. I've always believed that's why it's so prone to bouts of flash flooding when the rain totals start racking up.
In 2022, we purchased a lovely home on 25 acres with almost 1100 feet of Guadalupe River frontage just west of Hunt, Texas, on the northern arm of the river. We enjoyed weekends up there, swimming, paddling, floating and catching the sunsets off our back porch. In the summertime, we'd see the kids at Camps Stewart and Waldemar as we drove the route to our place on FM 1340 off of Hwy 39 at the split in Hunt. I almost immediately dubbed this place Cliff House because it sits about 75 feet above the river. When we initially purchased the place and did a bit of updating, that included reinforcing and replacing boards on the stairs that led down to the water. I can't help but wonder how they fared in the raging waters.
Though we loved this quiet stretch of the river, it just wasn't convenient for our girls to visit and so we sold it after a couple years to invest that money back into our current lakefront home in northeast Texas. If we had been at that river house for the July 4th holiday weekend, we would have ended up trapped between several low water crossings and unable to evacuate since the road was washed out with debris piled a couple dozen feet high. And undoubtedly scared witless as the water rose to historic heights from our vantage point as it inundated the lower lying structures around us. It's a horrific thought, and I can't imagine what our neighbors down at the water's edge across from our Cliff House suffered when that tremendous wall of water came barreling through. There but for the grace of God, y'all. Our hearts are broken for all of the folks who are dealing with the horrors of the flood's aftermath. May the God of all that is good grant them comfort and peace through this tragedy.
It's hard to see the pictures and hear the stories. I cannot imagine the terror and join you in praying God brings peace and comfort into this sea of pain.
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