Good weekend!
Saturday started with Emily working an early half-day shift; I slept in with the dog. We had an evening commitment for dinner at her bosses, so we didn't do too much. The dinner was good, with a large attendance. Emily's pecan pie went over well, as usual.

Sunday was much busier. We initially planned to go to Saltillo or to the Cola de Caballo (Horsetail Falls). We eventually decided upon the Falls. We looked up some basic directions; it looked simple enough. We drove down the Carreterra Nacional until we saw a sign for Santiago, which also mentioned Cola de Caballo and turned there. We drove around the scenic village of Santiago and didn't see any further signs. We ended up going to the nearby lake and walking around there for a bit, then tried again. Failed again.

Stopped for gas, asked for directions. Apparently we didn't properly comprehend directions, failed again.

We decided just to drive on down the Carreterra a little further before heading home. Guess what we found? A bigger sign pointing to Cola de Caballo. Turning here, we had a straight shot all the way to the falls. There were some blind curves and one scary moment when a young idiot on a dirt bike passed a car coming the other way.

The falls reminded me a great deal of a state or regional park in the US: nice enough, fairly safe, attractive enough, lots of places for picnics or cookouts. This is not an adventure park or a hiker's dream, and the falls are NOT Niagara! I think it's a good place to take young kids or the mobile elderly.

Above the falls is a sign warning you to proceed at your own risk. With an invitation like that, how could we refuse? All the other cool kids were doing it! So, we squeezed through a hole in the fence and began a scramble over slick dirt, rocks, and tree roots. After a bit you get to some cliffs, with evidence of earlier erosion leaving small pits and caves. Some good views can be had up there. I didn't go all the way to the top. Emily was having a bit of trouble with the terrain, so we'll try for the top on a drier day (we've had a lot of rain in the last month).

The falls weren't as nice as they should have been, given the rain. Apparently a local landowner has dammed part of the stream that feeds the falls. I don't know if it's made it to court, but I suspect a State-run park will trump a guy trying to water his goats.

I will try and get pictures up Monday.