Week trip to see 4/8 eclipse starting from Houston. Recs?!

Hey Texas people! Wondering if you might be able to give some recommendations for an upcoming eclipse trip. Any tips are much appreciated.

A friend and I are going to be visiting Texas for our first times in the days surrounding the 4/8 total solar eclipse. We’ll arrive in Houston Hobby airport and be making our way towards Austin since we may be able to couch surf at friends’ places there. The trip will go Houston->Austin/surrounding areas->Houston due to having to return a rental car.

We will be bringing camping equipment because we expect hotels/motels to be filled up or expensive. Haven’t looked yet, but do you expect we may be able to find open rooms in even non-large cities around Austin? Should we expect campgrounds to be filled up too? Is there BLM land or similar that allows us to car camp?

We’re big fans of being outdoors, music, and generally trying new things. In your opinion, what are the must-see nature locations or hikes along the Houston-Austin path, or even any “reach” locations reachable in a day? I’m vaguely aware of festivals happening related to the eclipse, but for the day of the eclipse and into the night I’d really like to camp on a hill or good visibility location, stay the night, and dodge the horrific eclipse traffic I’ve been hearing about.

In my brief looking, Enchanted Rock sounds like a fantastic place to experience the eclipse, though I’m anticipating everyone else in the world is thinking the same thing and that it’ll be super crowded. Is there a place with good hills (to experience the “360deg sunset/sunrise”) and the ability to camp?

I should also say this will be our first times experiencing an eclipse. Very excited. Hoping to see you out there, and thank you for any tips you can give!