Author: townadmin (Page 18 of 45)

TOWNies!  Well, it was certainly a good day to be hiking Turkey Creek – hot, shady, humid, good trails.  Two weeks ago the water level was over my boot top; today, it was up to my ankles – measured by walking the creeks.

Four of us hiked 3.2 miles in about 80 minutes.  Hikers were AnnaE, Dawn, new member Jennilee with her 122 pound Great Dane Florence, and Jacque with 23 pound Italian Greyhound/Black Lab mix Sheba.  Lots of conversations between us.   And lots of dogs and hikers on the trail today.  We met a 145 pound Great Dane that drooled a lot.  (Drool was thick incase you are wondering.  It hit my legs!)

Join me next Wednesday, June 30^th to begin hiking at 8:30.  Jacque

Good morning all,  On our hike this morning we had 7 TOWNies:  Marsha, our amazing fearless leader, who always creates the most interesting hiking paths, followed by Jacque, LisaS, Jody, Debbie, Janice, Effie as well as 2 very sweet canines, Sheba and Junko.

As we hiked, we began to debate best ways to stay cool as temperatures climb this year.  After a very lively discussion, most agreed on a method that involves wetting and refrigerating a smallish towel which you then wear around your neck.  I’ll have to try it!

Until next time… Happy trails,  Effie

Hi all,  We had 8 hikers today,  Lisa S, Lisa F, Jacque,  Effie, Carolyn,  Debbie,  Kim and Marsha, along with Sheba and Junko,  wonder dogs.

We were joined by many TOWNIES-want-to-be’s, err mosquitoes,  but those flying nuisances did not prevent us from going 4.0 miles through hill and vail, taking in scenes of rushing water and lovely flowers.

Until next time.   Happy Trails, Marsha

Turkey Creek was cooking this morning!  What a fun group of six women!  AnnaE, DawnK, EmilyJ (AnnaE’s daughter), GailP-C, Jacque (with mighty pup Sheba), and JudyA met at Turkey Creek at 8:30 to begin completing the TOWN-Austin Sign-in Waiver.  The parking lot was about 75% full, so we suspected lots of folks were hiking.  Actually, we encountered more canines than humans.

There are 12-13 creek crossings in the trail path and we can verify the creek is running high and fast  At least two of us gave up early trying to keep our hiking boots dry.  And several of us opted to use sticks today to help with wet, slippery rocks.  We talked a lot, laughed a bunch, and enjoyed each other’s company.  That’s the most hikers we’ve had on this Wednesday outing in likely a year!  Thanks Anna for leading from the front and I led from the rear keeping our group together.  Jacque

Hiking, Lunch, and Fun at Gail’s Sycamore Creek

We forged ahead with the plans to get together June 5 at Sycamore Creek, despite the changing weather forecast.

We set up for inside and outside just in case. The day was the best!

Once everyone arrived, we met outside for introductions.  So fun to hear from everyone and meet many new members.  We especially enjoyed Kay’s party song and dance!  Thirty-six TOWN-Austin members and Koby’s daughter were present.

It sure was a joyous time to reunite in person and catch up.  We had lunch outside then hiked “Gail’s Trail”.   Some of the group stayed behind to visit under the tarps.  The birders brought their binoculars.

Gail’s husband, Thomas, showed the Top Bar bee hive he built and how it works.  We will buy bees next year.  We looked at the flower garden for the bees, then went to see the Purple Martin babies as the adult Purple Martins flew around us.  Several got to see one of the foxes who came for food.  We did see a few deer, but most of them stayed away.

Then several TOWNies dug up some barrel cactus and hopefully some picked up some rocks for their garden.

A fun time was had by all!  I so enjoyed seeing all the happy faces and being able to hug again.  Thank you all for coming out to the hill country. You all made it a special day!

Gail

Hi all,  We had 6 TOWNies today, LisaS, LisaF, Kim, Jody, Debbie, and Marsha, who braved the heat, humidity and the navigation of creeks.  Junko was the canine companion who saved us from a charging wild animal, that only she could see and hear.  But she was on high alert the entire hike.   I’d like to think of the creeks as “raging”, but honestly, mostly trickling into a mud bath.

The humidity made the hike seem longer and we started at a different entrance and took a trail I had not ever climbed before.  It was nice and beautifu,l but we totaled a climb of 32 flights of stairs.  Debbie was hoping that the good memories would remain after the hike and the pain would disappear, much like childbirth.  Hence, that trail will be forever known as Childbirth Trail.

We were entertained by slips and slides in the mud and serenaded by a mourning dove, perhaps a harbinger of our trail-to be.

Until next time….  Happy Trails, Marsha

Five lovely ladies:  June, Tara, Phyllis, Jennifer, Marie and I took a sun-soaked leisurely paddle among the turtles and wildflower covered meadows at Brushy Creek Lake park.  A warm welcome to our two new club members Phyllis & Jennifer!  Brushy Creek was running very high, due to the prior day’s monsoon, the water was so high we could not go under the foot bridge to paddle all the way up the creek!

After 1.5 hours of yak-time, we found a shady picnic table to do another form of yacking (LOL) while eating our lunch and catching-up.

Thank you, ladies for a lovely day!  LisaM

Hi all, we had 7 hikers today, Kim, Carolyn,  Effie,  Jody, Lisa, Janice and Marsha.  Junko the wonder dog protected us from dragons and beasts.

Junko was able to swim in the creek! That was nice to see.  The rains brought flowers,  mosquitoes and broken branches.

We were able to get 3.85 miles in, as we are hiking a little less due to church times Hopefully,  we will have a quicker pace and get our usual 4(+)  miles.

Happy Trails, Marsha

Seven lively ladies bringing boats met Wednesday,  April 7th at the north shore of Lady Bird Lake at the Rendon boat launch ready for the challenge of being filmed having a wonderful time on the water.

Maria’s granddaughter and her “beau” Pablo were filming from a drone.  They were waiting as the group headed west toward the Congress Avenue Bridge.  He is sharing with us some of the pictures he took and Maria will see if she can show the video in the next virtual meeting, and we have some photos below.

In the early morning light, with the lake smooth and reflective, in the company of new and old friends, having a wonderful time turned out to be a snap  And locating a flotilla of boats of different sizes and configurations spread across the width of the lake turned out to be easy for the drone pilot.

The trip all the way to the First St. bridge took about 40 minutes.  The return trip, past the Boardwalk and toward the Oracle building on the south shore seemed shorter., there was some discussion about the current, which in my experience always goes the way you aren’t..  The lure of barbecue or tacos at Papalote was enough to inspire Linda BW, Christine F., Dawn K., or Nancy L to prolong their trip.  However, in true TOWN spirit Linda F. and new member Phyllis P. had some great tacos at Papalote on S. Congress, while Maria and her camera crew ordered a big tray of fabulous barbecue.

Surely we can do that next time!  Watch this space for kayaking news.

LindaF

Dear TOWNies,

We had wonderful weather, great good and the best of company this year at GOLIAD!  Just to mention a few names, Sandy S., Gloria, Flo, June, Marsha, Susan, Linda B., Beverly, Kim, Linda K., Jill and friends, Koby, Stephanie, Lisa and Ray.  (Sorry if I missed your name, I didn’t write them down for unofficial reasons, lol).

Saturday was so beautiful!  Some kayaked on the creek at Coleto Creek Reservoir and some did the traditional Flotilla on the San Antonio River.  We met a new friend, Nora Kelly, who was taking her kayak out on its maiden voyage.  She is interested in joining our group and doing more things with TOWN. It was a lot of fun.

When we returned to camp, we began preparing for our pot luck dinner.  Ray successfully fried us up a turkey that was absolutely delicious!  All the sides were delicious also.  Linda provided us with an awesome camp fire and Gloria provided us with, yes, you guessed it, some marvelous Margaritas!  Gloria’s Margaritas are always so very tasty.

Thanks to all who made this weekend fun!  I am very thankful for all your friendship and always looking forward to our next outing.

Sincerely, LisaMcM