The details of the events are posted on Meetup. If you would like to join an event as a non-member, please contact us to RSVP and get details.
Our monthly meetings are every 4th Tuesday of every month. Anyone is welcome to attend. We offer both in person and Zoom options based on the current health advisories.
We welcome speakers on various outdoor related topics at every monthly meeting. If you have expertise on a topic or know of someone who does, please contact us.
Monthly meetings are held on the 4th Tuesday of the month. The location is the Northwest Recreation Center at 2913 Northland Dr, 78757. Enter the front doors, look left, and you will see and hear us.
Visiting begins at 6 pm with our business meeting following at 6:30. Our speaker begins at 7.
Our agenda is typically the following: bring your brown-bag dinner or a snack; we gather at 6 pm & socialize; 6:30-7:00 greetings, introductions, business, outings reports and planning; 7- 8 speaker; 8 – 8:15 adjournment and cleanup.
Our speaker is Lt. Jack Frost of the Westlake Fire Department. Lt. Frost will discuss Your Fire Extinguishers and Their Best Use. Have you ever deployed a fire extinguisher? Do you know which type you need to have on hand for different types of fire? Come hear Lt. Frost provide tips for extinguishing indoor and outdoor fires that will save your property.
Lt. Frost switched careers from being a Physical Education teacher to becoming a professional EMT-Firefighter and progressed up the ranks to be a lieutenant in the Westlake Fire Department, where she is an investigator/inspector.
Join us and bring a friend!
Texas Rollergirls Bout, Sat., March 31, 2018
Who: For TOWN members, their guests and kids.
What: Meet for optional early dinner first, then get ticket at the door or online in advance for the Mar. 31 bout of Texas Roller Girls (exacts bouts to be announced). If we have a group of 10 we can get special rates and reserved seats, so let me know as soon as you know you’ll be coming.
Where: Meet for dinner at 4:15 PM at Bamboo Garden Chinese Restaurant, then carpool or drive your car to the Roller Derby Bout. Free parking is available on-site. See below for addresses.
When: March 31, 4:15 PM for early dinner or meet at the door at 5:00 PM.
Why: These family-friendly events are funny and empowering, costumes are encouraged, and pranks are expected from the skaters. Last year we saw Hell Mary vs. The Hustlers (I think).
Texas Rollergirls bouts are held at the Austin Sports Center located at:
425 Woodward St, Austin, TX 78704
Bamboo Garden Restaurant
625 W Ben White Blvd, Austin, TX 78704
Canceled for this date only; will resume April 8th.
Leader: MarshaK
Distance: 4 -5 miles at a very brisk pace
Difficulty: moderate to difficult; these hikes are not for beginners and are fast paced.
Meet at Marsha’s house before 7:30 am and will depart promptly at 7:30. Late arrivals will be left behind.
Group will finish before 9:30 as Marsha needs time to prep for church.
Water is required as well as good walking shoes. Sticks are also helpful.
Dogs must be on leash. Prepare to pick up your dog’s poop. Furnish water for your dog.
Contact MarshaK via email by Saturday evening if you wish to walk with her.
Steve Seskin & Allen Shamblin
Contact GailP-C for more details.
Sycamore Creek House Concerts
Dripping Springs, Texas
Saturday, April 7, 2018
Doors open at 6 pm, music begins about 7:00 and concludes about 9.
$20/person suggested minimum donation
Leader: MarshaK
Distance: 4 -5 miles at a very brisk pace
Difficulty: moderate to difficult; these hikes are not for beginners and are fast paced.
Meet at Marsha’s house before 7:30 am and will depart promptly at 7:30. Late arrivals will be left behind.
Group will finish before 9:30 as Marsha needs time to prep for church.
Water is required as well as good walking shoes. Sticks are also helpful.
Dogs must be on leash. Prepare to pick up your dog’s poop. Furnish water for your dog.
Contact MarshaK via email by Saturday evening if you wish to walk with her.
Time for kayaking!
Lifejackets/PFDs are mandatory for this outing!
We meet at the Rowing Dock on the s. shore of Lady Bird Lake, behind Zilker Park (www.rowingdock.com) between 5:30 and 6, planning to be on the water by 6 pm in the sleek new boats with great seats and working footpegs. $15 (cash preferred) will rent your boat, paddle, and lifejacket as we head upstream toward Tom Miller Dam, or downstream to admire the skyline and downtown buildings.
If you are new to TOWN or haven’t been out with us in a while or have an afternoon open, you can’t find a better way to enjoy the heart of Austin than on a cool, leisurely paddle on Lady Bird Lake. Two hours of scenery, sights, and enjoyable chatting to your fellow-TOWNies and their guests, followed by a social hour enjoyment on dry land at venues such as Shady Grove, Maudie’s, Rudy’s Barbecue . . . and the Four Seasons. Not kidding, but not usual, either.
If you have your own boat, you can put in behind the Rowing Dock at no charge. We will help you tote it from your car to the small dock.
Upper Barton Creek Hike – Saturday, April 14, 2018
Outing Leaders: JanB & JennyF
RSVP on MeetUp please
What: Upper Barton Creek hike including ‘The Hill of Life’
When: Saturday, April 14, 2018 @ 9:00 a.m.
Who: everyone, including guests and well behaved dogs on a leash
Distance: approx. 6 miles roundtrip (out and back)
Difficulty: mostly moderate (rocky, roots) to moderately difficult (rocky Hill of Life incline)
Time: approx. 2.5- 3 hours
Scenery: Barton Creek, waterfalls if the water is flowing
Cost: free
How to reach trailhead: From MoPac, take Loop 360 exit and head west on Loop 360. Turn left at the light at the intersection of 360 and Scottish Woods Trail. The road on the other side of 360 from Scottish Woods is called Westbank. Drive down Scottish Woods Trail until you get to a T in the road. Park along the road on Scottish Woods Trail because the other roads in this area are much narrower. The entrance to the Barton Creek Greenbelt is just to the right of the T intersection of Scottish Woods Trail and Camp Craft Road on Camp Craft Road.
Please be advised this is a residential area and respond accordingly.
Bring: water, suitable shoes (rough terrain), snacks, sun protection and possibly trekking poles.
Trail map: www.texasoutside.com/bartongreenbelt.htm!
Please sign up on Meetup.
Thanks and hope to see you on the trail!
The J Team
Leader: MarshaK
Distance: 4 -5 miles at a very brisk pace
Difficulty: moderate to difficult; these hikes are not for beginners and are fast paced.
Meet at Marsha’s house before 7:30 am and will depart promptly at 7:30. Late arrivals will be left behind.
Group will finish before 9:30 as Marsha needs time to prep for church.
Water is required as well as good walking shoes. Sticks are also helpful.
Dogs must be on leash. Prepare to pick up your dog’s poop. Furnish water for your dog.
Contact MarshaK via email by Saturday evening if you wish to walk with her.
“PEOPLE OF THE PECOS” GALLERY AT THE WITTE MUSEUM
Day Trip to San Antonio
Friday, April 20
RSVP by midnight, Monday, April 16, and tell *where you will meet our group for this trip* and if any other people will accompany you to Marilyn or Carrie to participate in this outing.
Overview: Lacy Finley, member of the Board of Directors of Shumla Foundation, will be the speaker at our June 26 TOWN meeting. Shumla is the research and education organization dedicated to preserving and studying the Lower Pecos Indian Rock Art in West Texas. In this day trip carpool to the Witte Museum in San Antonio, which now houses the collections and research on those prehistoric stories in stone that are “unmatched in North America.” If she’s available to accompany us as she intends, Ms. Finley herself will enhance your learning experience with stories of Shumla’s work and latest insights.
We’ll spend about 3 hours at the museum. Then we’ll drive to the Japanese Tea Garden (3853 N. St. Mary’s Street), have lunch at their cafe (Jingu House), and walk the paths of the Garden. Departing from the Japanese Garden as your driver decides, probably by 3PM.
What: Day Trip to the Witte Museum in San Antonio, followed by lunch and a walk through the Japanese Gardens
When: All day Friday, April 20
Where: When you RSVP let us know at *which place* (below) you’d like to meet for carpooling & how many people: 8:30 AM at the Walmart in Buda on Old San Antonio Rd., SW side of parking lot near Jaliscos (Walmart is behind the HEB on Main St. & IH35)
OR
—> 8:30 AM Southpark Meadows shopping center (9500 IH-35 South Austin, TX 78748) in front of Super Target
OR
—> 10 AM at the Witte Museum, (3801 Broadway in Brackenridge Park, San Antonio; Free parking is available in the Brackenridge Park Parking Garage on Avenue B).
Who: TOWN members and guests are invited
What to Bring: $11-$12 museum admission, your lunch money ($7-20), your share of gasoline cost to be offered to your driver, plus personal snacks as desired, a hat for midday walking in the sun, sunscreen, sunglasses.
Why: On June 26 Lacy Finley with the Shumla Foundation will be speaking at our monthly meeting on their latest findings and methods of investigation on the Pecos Indian Rock Art. The Foundation has revealed scientific insights on the people who painted their stories on rock. If you have been to Seminole Canyon or one of the Paint Rock Preserves, you know the importance those sites bring to our understanding of first nations and their lifestyles.
About the exhibit:
Kittie West Nelson Ferguson People of the Pecos Gallery – (the main focus of our visit)
You will travel back in time thousands of years in this gallery where the focus is on the prehistoric hunter-gatherers of Texas who embraced their bountiful natural environment.
Spanning the entire second floor of the New Witte, the gallery provides a unique look at a fascinating culture. Explore the sheltered overhangs in the Lower Pecos Canyonlands that provided a way of life for more than 9,000 years and an artistic record unmatched in North America. See projected images of rock art that span nearly 4,000 years of artistic expression and visual narratives of ancient stories.
Two labs, Lifeways and Nancy Smith Hurd Rock Art, will provide interactive opportunities for families to experience ancient lifeways.
To read about the other exhibits, check out their website: https://www.wittemuseum.org
Leader: MarshaK
Distance: 4 -5 miles at a very brisk pace
Difficulty: moderate to difficult; these hikes are not for beginners and are fast paced.
Meet at Marsha’s house before 7:30 am and will depart promptly at 7:30. Late arrivals will be left behind.
Group will finish before 9:30 as Marsha needs time to prep for church.
Water is required as well as good walking shoes. Sticks are also helpful.
Dogs must be on leash. Prepare to pick up your dog’s poop. Furnish water for your dog.
Contact MarshaK via email by Saturday evening if you wish to walk with her.