Author: townadmin (Page 15 of 45)

Hi all,  There was a nice group of 7 hikers today,  Leigh, Jacque, Lisa, Debbie, Carolyn,  Janice and Marsha,  all protected by Sheba and Junko, the amazing dogs, who let neither ragweed,  slippery rocks nor mud stop us from our appointed round of 3.8 mile hike.  We stopped to rave about the beautiful crop of ragweed this year,  reaching heights of 7 feet.  We were each tempted to pick a nice bouquet and bring home for our neighbors to admire, but then remembered the adage of “take only photos”.  We dutifully left it there to pollinate for decades to come.   We had a slightly slower pace today due to the pesky mud that was determined to cling on our boots, adding several pounds to all.  The creek was flowing after the past week’s rain but we stayed far away so the Canine Patrol would not be tempted to take the plunge in the creek since there is still a bacteria concern.

Until next time….. Happy Trails,  Marsha  There will not a Sunday Hike,  October 24th.

What a good turnout today!  And such pleasant cool weather!  Five canines and their six humans (AnnaE, FionaC – Saffy & Pepper, Jacque – Sheba, Kathleen – Baby & Mamie, KimW, and PegG) gathered to talk, hike, pee, poop, pick up poop, and laugh.

The conversations varied from:  bike styles, bike trips, locations of local bike trails, Mexico and the Monarch butterflies, the sad deaths of 75 dogs in Georgetown, dog agility training and what’s involved, how green and healthy the trail looks with our summer rains, what it’s like being the first to arrive, camping in a tent versus glamping, completely hiking the Appalachian Trail or not completely, hiking the Camino de Santiago or not and what’s involved, to backpack or not to backpack, riding a bike at the Circuit of Americas last night and the rather high hill, allergies – sneezing and coughing, wet dogs, the Kerrville city park for camping, birding trips and where to travel in the US, Covid vaccines, flu vaccines, who is camping at Pedernales Falls SP in October, dog treats, how to travel and stay safe from Covid, international food sections at HEB and Central Market which take the place of traveling internationally and eating – I think not personally, cooking and eating outside, and the habits of our quirky dogs.

Bet you wish you’d been there!  We’ll hike next Wednesday!  Jacque and Sheba

It was an overcast day on Thursday morning Sept 30 which made for a beautiful time to be on the water!  The sun came out as we ended our morning kayak.  Perfect timing.  We had 5 TOWN Austin members, Jacque A, Peg G, Karen K, Phyllis, me and a guest that Phyllis invited.  We only passed a few people on the water.  The water was calm and the paddling peaceful as we visited and leisurely made our way around Red Bud Island.  The island was quiet.  Dogs are still discouraged to be in the water.  We saw several Blue Heron birds or was it the same one that followed us?!  He stood very still so we could take a few pictures.  We saw several turtles hanging out and a few swimming.  Afterwards, Peg G, Karen K, Jacque A and I went to Maudies on Lake Austin Blvd for lunch outside.  Jacque was able to secure an outside table for us.  We enjoyed a good lunch, shared stories and laughs.  The next kayak on Lady Bird Lake will be Thursday Oct 7 at 9:30am.  MariaV will lead.  Hope you can join us then!         Gail P-C

Ten TOWNies hiked a little over 4 miles in 2 hours

The hike began on the Pecan Flats Trail and wound around on the connecting trail to the Woodland Trail and finally connected to the Lake Trail returning us to the parking lot. Three visiting Dallas members joined us.

Lots of chatting getting to know visitors and catching up with other members not seen for awhile. This hike was scarce of wildlife but some scat and unfortunately, a noticeable amount of dog droppings.

The weather started out cooler than usual though it warmed up quickly.

Until next time, Jenny

Inks Lake (Sept 23-26, 2021) Trip Report

Twenty seven TOWN members* attended this campout plus four Dallas TOWN members; a foreign exchange student, Xenia, sponsored by Beverly Travis; Carrie’ son, Aaron; Joan’s sister, Ann; Carolyn’s sister, Krissy; Stephanie’s friend, Mindy; Maria’s friend, Corina and her daughter, Xiamara and four furry friends: Dolly, Chico, Sheba and Abby The weather cooperated for us with sunny days and slightly cooler nights.  Some members arrived on Thursday, but the bulk of the group came on Friday with some day trippers arriving on Saturday.

Thursday, Bev T, Kim F, Sheila F, June A, Phyllis P, and I had a lovely evening paddle and were treated to a fantastic sunset.  That night we also discovered that there was a family of skunks patrolling the vicinity; thankfully no one got sprayed.

Friday morning June A, Phyllis P, Tracy P and I set out on a morning paddle to Devil’s Cove; a favorite destination.  We were joined by a gaggle of ducks, turtles popping their heads up here and there and a Great Blue Heron.  As the day went on more members trickled in and that afternoon a few of us went for a refreshing swim.  A group went to dinner at Hoover’s Valley Café & Store and that evening we all gathered for a meet and greet.  It was nice to see everyone and to meet the Dallas members as well as Beverley’s foreign exchange student from Germany, Xenia.  After a while a group took our traditional “walk around the loop” and called it a night.

We had a few day trippers on Saturday: Sheila Mc; Lyn S; Carrie L and her son, Aaron; Carolyn D and her sister Krissy, and Jenny F who led an early morning hike with 8 other TOWN members joining her while the kayakers, June A, Linda BW, Sheila F, Kim F, Carol S, Bev T, Xenia B, Tracy P, Lisa Mc and myself, set out towards Stumpy Hollow.  It was another beautiful morning, the lake still as glass.  Afterwards, some of us picked up lunch at the on-site food trailer and enjoyed visiting.  That evening we gathered for some snacks and visiting.  Maria V served up a delicious treat: carne guisada, and Lisa Mc had a surprise cake for a belated Happy 70th Birthday to Linda BW.  Before long the kayakers were back on the lake for one last paddle after which we gathered around the fire for a final evening of camaraderie.  As Linda BW and I headed back to our site, we were startled by the group of skunks and were thankful to get past them without a problem.

Sunday morning was filled with goodbyes and safe travel wishes.  It was down to Marilyn F, June A and me.  We had an adventurous morning when a squirrel decided to get into my van.  We enlisted the help of Dolly, June’s dog, and had a very kind park ranger, named Parker, scour the van.  Somehow the squirrel must have gotten passed us because it was nowhere to be found.  We said our final goodbyes (Marilyn was staying an extra night.) hoping that the squirrel was truly reunited with his family and not going to jump out during my drive home!  Thanks June, Marilyn, and Dolly for hanging in there with me. You can always count on TOWN members to support you!

Thanks, ladies for joining me on another memorable TOWN adventure.  Thank you, June, for sharing your site with us and to all the ladies that helped make this a fun and safe weekend.

*(Lisa S, Joan B, Jacque A, Debbie B, Phyllis P, Marilyn F, Janice B, Effie K, Cindy S, June A, Bev T, Kim F, Sheila F, Susan A, Lisa Mc, Maria V, Carol S, Janet FB, Linda BW, Tracy P, Stephanie N, Jenny F, Sheila Mc, Lynn S, Carolyn D, Carrie L, Marie W)

Hi all!  We had 5 hikers today, Lisa,  Effie,  Kim, Jody and Marsha, along with  Wonder Dog Junko, who braved 3.9 miles as we skipped along the Greenbelt,  gazing at the fall flowers of butcher bloom and Gay Feather.  We discovered some bizarre trails, unsure of purpose, along with a Bobcat front-end grader and loader.  No keys in the Bobcat although I did look.  One of my life bucket’s dream is to drive a front-end loader.  This is so strange that we are sending Jody undercover this week to see if she can fathom the reason for this disturbance of our trails.  We all spoke fondly of pumpkin pie spice and decided that since fall is only slowly trudging toward us, we may start adding pumpkin pie spice to our water bottles for the hike.

Until next time….. Happy Trails, Marsha

Hard to believe, but I got to the Rowing Dock EARLY.  I was parking my truck around 9:05 am and two ladies were already there, unloading their kayaks.  They were JillR and BethM.  Their faces were new to me and since it was so early we had time to get acquainted before the others came in.  So, they are relatively new members – this was the first time that they joined the Lady Bird Lake paddling – but they happen to be avid kayakers and know of so many places to go paddling!  MarshaK, EffieK, and GloriaW came in around 9:30 and we did introductions.  Jill and Beth started to put in their kayaks while the rest waited for one more participant who came in shortly before ten:  KendellB.  She just joined TOWN two days before and drove all the way from Georgetown to meet us.  We all wore masks as we visited, signed the waivers, and boarded our kayaks.

We decided to paddle west, towards the Red Bud Bridge staying close to the north shore and sheltering from the sun by remaining under the shade of the trees.    I could grasp the autumn colors beginning to show.  You could see the shades of orange-yellow and lime green in the canopy.  A new home is being built on top of the lake cliff and someone placed a sign with huge white letters:  VOTE .  As we returned to the Rowing Dock, the skyline of downtown Austin was on the horizon, amazing view.  Once again we dawned our masks since we were in closer contact.

Thanks to Marsha and Gloria for sharing pictures!  MariaV

Hey TOWNies!  Well, we had an enjoyable hike/trek today.  It varied in speed depending on the location and activity of the dogs and the other groups we encountered.  AnnaE, FionaC (with Saffy & Pepper), Jacque (with Sheba), new member KathleenC (with Baby & Mamie), KimW, and PegG walked and talked, enjoying the shade and breeze for just about 3.3 miles.  Topics today varied from creek water depth, coughing & sneezing with allergies, wet shoes, hair styles, the flu shot, the Austin Butterfly Forum, freezing caterpillars, how to grow milkweed plants successfully (as opposed to letting them die), Monarchs & Queens & Gulf Fritillaries – all butterflies, how to use bird cages to allow female & male Cecropia moths to mate and produce eggs – and the answer is pheromones, Luna moths, excessive dog poop on the trail and what keeps owners from cleaning, geocaching and why they’re so difficult to find, geocache sizes – nano & micro – all the way to large, to Peg’s little book library & why Pokemon seekers stop there.

Bet you wish you’d been with us!  KathleenC joined us late and now she’s wondering what all she missed.  Hope to see you next Wednesday! Jacque

Hi all,  Six TOWNIES, Effie,  Debbie,  Lisa, Kim, Leigh and Marsha, braved 4.1 miles today in what started as cooler than normal but ended up just as hot hike.  We gazed, with great respect,  at the ragweed and dry creek bed.  Nary a drop of water in the creek bed, except for what we shed in sweat.  Junko, the wonder dog, protected us from a green heron, a few toads and a few chirping birds. She reminded us that she protects us from big game and not ragweed,  so we were left to our own resources in the allergy producer.

Until next time….. Happy Trails,  Marsha

We had 5 very brave women today,  Kim, Janice, Jenny, Effie and Marsha,  who braved the wilds without canine protection.  We were able to complete 4.1 miles today, ending our Tour De Woods near my neighbor’s house so we could gather pears.  He had so many fallen pears that we had few that we could gather as the fallen pears where fermenting.  Just inhaling the fermented pears was enough for us to tipsily make it home, rumored to be singing beer drinking songs as we made it safely back.

Until next time…. Happy Trails, Marsha