Author: townadmin (Page 23 of 45)

Hi all,

There were 8 women today and 3 K9 companions that joined together for the Sunday hike. Effie, Jacque, Lisa, Jenny, Carolyn, Debbie,  guest Maria, and Marsha were joined by Junko, Sheba and Patchy, who is visiting at Camp Grandma this week. 

The weather was perfect with beautiful sunny skies. We were treated to a Great Blue Heron on the greenbelt where there was some water at Sculptured Falls. The dogs were excited to be able to run through the Creek bed as well as the hills, hopefully far away from the coyotes.

However, there was some alarm when we realize that we were not keeping up with the great TOWN tradition of eating after an event.  To ensure that we kept up our reputation I skipped church today and we had a potluck brunch afterwards. I must say that the pressure was on us to keep up the heralded levels of perfection that is a Hallmark of TOWNIES.

 To ensure that no TOWNIE is left without nourishment,  Joan and Kim joined us at the brunch and were in charge of heating up the food.

Kim was able to return for the brunch after her neck surgery and hopefully  she can join us on the trails next week. Knowing that a feast was to come we hiked 5.35 miles today in near perfect conditions. Most importantly we felt that we had carried on the town tradition of excellent meal after an event. We realize that we have been amiss and we’ll be looking at ways in the future to improve our lack of responsibility.

Until next time….

Happy Trails,  Marsha 

There were 10 of us camping at Coleto Creek:  LindaBW, Susan, SandyS, KimF, Flo, Lisa Mc (hubby Ray joined her on Sat), Gloria and a couple from Houston that have floated with his before:  Sheila and her hubby Barry.  They stayed in one of the cabins at the park. 

Newbie to kayaking Flo, took her first trip down the San Antonio River!  What a beautiful day to float, the highs were 50s, low 60s.  Sometimes a cool breeze would hit us and I’d think “on no, I didn’t bring a jacket” and then the wind would stop.  Floating down the river were Flo, LindaBW, KimF, Sleila, Barry, and me.  Following us down the river (or could have been more than one) was a lively kingfisher. (Photo attached). 

We stopped by Goliad Brewery on the way back to the campground (well, truth be told, it wasn’t on the way, but…….) for a quick taste of the local brew.  I hear the local DQ had some TOWNies visit also. 

The weather turned out to be perfect.  Cool at night, but the great campfires kept us warm.  This was a better campground than the state park (not much road noise) although more expensive.  The premium sites (waterfront) were $45/night, but I would pay it again.  We could launch kayaks from any of our waterfront sites.  We should visit again just to kayak and fish.  There is a nice fishing pier and a boat dock, too.

On Sunday morning, one group went into town for breakfast, Lisa & Ray had what looked like a great breakfast with biscuits (what – no gravy?), and a few of us walked around the beach area from one cove to the other. 

I’ve also attached a sunrise photo taken from my campsite.  (Photos are also included in Meetup as well as my FB page.)  Hopefully the photos will come through for you in this email.

Thanks for joining me! It was another great camp out!  (Aren’t they all, though?)

Gloria

Hi all,

 We had a glorious day with perfect weather for a beautiful Sunday hike with Jacque, LisaS, Sarah, Ann and Marsha.  Not to be left behind today, we had 3 canine companions of Bella, Junko and Sheba.  We were able to get 4.3 miles with a nice brisk pace. We crossed to the other side of the Greenbelt and went on the dog trail.

This was a trail that Effie and I had discovered last year. Speaking of Effie, she was unable to join us, but there was some wonderment of how she would be dressed today as it was a little brisk. We were disappointed that Nanook of the North was not with us. Debbie was not with us either, but we are looking forward to her tales of adventure in Peru. I am sure there will be stories of heroic and epic hikes. I wonder which ones will be true…

We were serenaded by a few birds, but since I walk point, I was given the opportunity to see a field rat dash across our path. The mice and rats are coming in now and since I live close to the Greenbelt I have been seeing more rat action. Rat action seems so lame compared to coyote action, but we can live without another dog attack. 

Until next time….

Happy Trails,  Marsha 

Hi all,

We had a nice group of 6 women today as the  3 canine companions. Sheba, Patchy, and Junko were joined by Susie, Lisa, Jacque, Debbie, Carolyn and Marsha as we traveled over an easy 4.1 mile hike with flat terrain. Camp Grandma was back in force today. 

There were a few grumblings as we climbed down an embankment to “cross to the other side” with such exclamations as “We have to go down THERE?”.  Mutiny. The dogs were let off  leash to cross to the other side and we tried to learn from their example on how to cross the embankment. However, each lady chose her own unique style from using poles, going down sideways, or the most common, scooting -on- the -seat -of-the -pants method.

The leaves are turning and dropping and the trails are becoming more scattered with leaves as the temperatures are beginning to cool off. Oh, no, wait. The leaves are dropping because of heat stress.

Fall really is coming and the game trails are a little more evident now with trambled grass and coyote scat. There was enough scat at times that there were a few dances around the trail barriers.  It was rumored that an upcoming movie may be entitled “Dances with Coyotes”.

I went on an additional hike yesterday and did see coyotes running  openly. Today, during our hike, I heard a domestic dog being answered by the plaintive yips of the coyote crowd. As usual, the trails beckon with the promise of fun and adventure, but the words in the wind remind us to travel the trails with respect for the wild. 

Until next time…..

Happy Trails,  Marsha 

Hello all,

We had a small hike today as many of the usual hikers were missing, either to parts unknown or recovering from injuries. I didn’t hurt them! We had one new hiker, LisaT who is also a new TOWNIE and started her TOWNIE career with a Sunday hike. She joined LisaS, Susie and Marsha along with the faithful canine companion Junko who was reported wanting to sue me for lack of rain and swimming holes. The youth of today and their desire to be so litigious in life is so disheartening. 

We traveled a large loop today covering a nice 4.2 miles. It is not my favorite hike, but one that takes us by the back of Specs in case we need libations on the trail, although they are closed on Sundays. We were able to identify new plants for LisaT who hails from the great state of New Hampshire and moved to Texas in June. She reported what many of the Texans have known for years…… summers are hot. We did have “cooler” weather than norma,l but it was still humid leaving us sweating and counting the hours until the next cool front arrives. 

Although we had a small group, we were able to have a nice pace and even nicer conversation as we shared upcoming events this week, like a 60th birthday, an adoption of a child, the promise of cool weather, etc. The miles traveled by quickly as our steps kicked up dust on the trail. Many plants are struggling with the lack of water leaving the wanderer seeing nature and it beauty in a different light and reminding us all that beauty for everyone exists all the time.

Until next time……

Happy Trails, Marsha

Hi all, 

It was perfect weather today with cool temperatures as Effie, Jenny, Carolyn,  LisaF, and Marsha joined together for a nice 4.4 mile hike on the Greenbelt.  Sadly, we had no canine companions as Junko and Sheba sent texts the day before,  declaring much better plans than hiking with TOWNIES,  as if that is possible. 

Debbie is scaling mountains in Peru so to honor her daring, we challenged some mountains,  well hills, okay, inclines, ourselves today, conquering a mile in elevation today. 

It is rumored that Carolyn may have been a scout in a prior life and she came prepared today with delicious, beautifully decorated sugar cookies.  After our first climb, we quickly gobbled our cookies, ensuring energy for the return  home. We had wanted to compare the decorations but the cookies were eaten too fast to see who had the most beautiful  cookie. All were beautiful.  If you have never seen a Carolyn  Cookie,  then you are missing a show!

Until next time……

Happy Trails, Marsha 

Hi all,

We had a nice group of 12 women today who conquered the heat and humidity today at Inks Lake and completed either 1.2 or 3.2 or 4.1 miles with the morning hike. There were three options of the distance offered and we had everyone complete some length of hike. For those of us that had wanted the 5.1 distance, it really was only 4.1 miles so we were left with sense of bewilderment as to how we could sweat so much and come up a mile short, according to the parks map. Jenny had made excellent arrangements for hiking, with hikes offered of different lengths. 

But it did not stop Darlene, Kay, Carolyn, Lisa, Joan, Susan, Bev, Kim Melanie, Marie, Jenny or Marsha from enjoying the trails and seeing a  display of grasshoppers, lizards,  butterflies, and odd looking plants that were confirmed in identification by the master naturalist on the hike as being “viney plant with big red berries” or the much-sought-after plant “pretty plant with purple flowers”. We believe that these are the accepted scientific names. We were cooled down by an unexpected 10 drops of rain, resulting in shouts of glee.

The hike started with Susan regaling us with tales of her previous night fishing expedition and her fish that she caught that was any where in length from 4 to 24 inches depending on who told the story. The trails were well marked except for one short stretch that led the last five hikers contemplating how to survive in the wild on grasshoppers. Fortunately, we all found our way back. Or, I think we did.

Until next time…..

Happy Trails, Marsha

Hello all,

 There were only 3 TOWNIES today who completed a very hot and humid hike on the Greenbelt.  Our canine friends had enough sense and stayed home. Despite the heat,  Debbie, Kim and Marsha were able to traverse 4.4 miles over rain-marked trails that reflected the 0.1 rain that had fallen the night before.  The rain was so enticing when it did fall that both Debbie and Marsha woke up to actually listen to something so foreign to us as of late.

 The rain did not really help the drought as the land was still parched, the soil  still cracks, and the Creek had no water. We passed a few cyclist and a few hikers but really we had the area to ourselves today.

It was more hot and humid than normal, so as a lark I weighed myself when I came home and had lost 2.8 pounds in sweat,  or maybe extreme glowing.  I would not recommend this for weight loss. We did do an extra looping trail today and tried to get some hills for Debbie who is still planning her hike to Peru.

 I like to think of this as the TOWNIE cross fit program.

Until next time…..

Happy Trails,  Marsha 

The weekend at Inks Lake was clear and sunny, with daytime temperatures in the mid-to-upper 90’s. Lovely Inks Lake was full of ducks and geese and gentle afternoon breezes.

Attendees included Lisa Mc, PamS, JuneA, BarbaraW, CherylC, CarrieL, MarieW, MelanieA, MarilynF, KimF, BevT, MariaV, SusanW, CarolP, JacqueA, JudieT, Lisa S, JoanB, Gloria, FloM, MarshaK, JennyF, SandyB,  NancyL, PattyN, Kay, Dar-Dar, and several others.

Many campers pulled into Inks Lake State Park Thursday, some Friday and many day visitors came Saturday for Jenny and Marsha’s hike and attended the pot luck.

Despite the hot temperatures we had a lot of fun. Many kept cool floating in the water, kayaking, or fishing. Others went birding, hiking, biking, geocaching, eating at Blue Bonnet Cafe, touring the Tiny Houses (https://granitelakerentals.com/), or joining the Star Party.

Because of construction near the pavilion, Ranger Sue graciously let us use the back porch/deck of the Park Store after it closed at 5:00 pm on Saturday. It was perfect with shade and tables for TOWNies and their guests, for a total of approximately 33 people attending over the weekend. There were first time guests and kayakers, too.

As a result of her first-ever paddling experience, Flo now wants to purchase a kayak and knows exactly what kind she wants; and our newest TOWNie, Patty, plans to purchase a bike – that’s what TOWNies are all about! Try and learn, and go for the gear! It was great to see our traveling nurse, Nancy, back in Austin for the fall.

Thanks to Marsha and Jenny for leading the hike and to Marie for taking some on the tiny house tour.

Until next time, Marilyn and June

It had to happen sometime, a non-raucous paddle on the LBL:  short and sweaty, but still restorative, with a new sighting and ending with the Tom Miller Dam at sunset. 

Gloria W, Debbie W and I had extra scenery on this paddle, thanks to the loading-in for ACL blocking our normal access:  a trip through Rollingwood to the southbound route on Stratford to the Rowing Dock, and the northbound drive on Stratford for supper at the Hula Hut, above the dam. 

The green algae which has poisoned dogs who drank the water, has reduced the numbers of kayakers.  The Rowing Dock is laying off staff and closing early.

In our one hour of watery delight, we managed a leisurely and chatty paddle toward the mouth of the Springs.  We took so long that we didn’t even get a glimpse at the lovely bridges crossing on Barton Springs Road before heading back to the dock.  True to form, the wind that was in our faces heading east had died, we had a nice cardio segment of the paddle on our return.  Noted: Two great blue herons, the wood ducks photographed by Gloria, and, for the first time I have seen them:  raccoons at the south edge of the lake. 

You will be reading this trip report in October.  It is our last month of our regular Lady Bird Lake paddles:  We will have the daytime paddle on Thursday Dec 10th (2 hours: come at 9:30), Wednesday evening the 16th (come at 5:30), and our FINAL NIGHT the 23rd. As we were out for only an hour, we paid $10.  So, if you had been thinking of coming out for this beginner-friendly activity, maybe these shortened hours and reduced rates  are attractive.  And if you are in the area, you are welcome to join the paddlers for lunch or supper afterward; enjoying each other’s company is an important part of all our TOWN activities, you don’t need a wet bottom to be part of the group!

See you next month,  Linda