Category: Uncategorized (Page 17 of 46)

Good morning TOWNies!  I was joined on the bike ride this morning by Jennilee one of our newer members.  We rode the 45 SW Trail out and back covering about 10 miles.  It turned out to be a beautiful breezy morning not at all typical for August!  There were very few other walkers and riders so we were able to chat the whole time while enjoying the park like surroundings and getting to know each other.

Until next time, Effie

Hey Ladies!  Well, we certainly had a fun walk and visit today on Turkey Creek.  We agreed the water is higher than we have ever seen it in August.  Four of us:  Dawn (back from vacation), Fiona (with Pepper and Saffy), Julieanne (with Sunny and getting ready for vacation), and Sheba with me (who is not vacationing) walked and talked for just over 3 miles.  It was Big Dog Day on the trail in both size and numbers.

Dawn kept us entertained with her story of hiking in Colorado and sitting down to rest a minute.  Then happened to turn and spot a deer haunch/buttock with leg attached.  And that was all.  It was sufficiently fresh to spot some blood.  Then Dawn looked casually(!) around her to see if there might be a live animal looking at her.  Then she turned and walked casually downhill and away from the haunch.  We failed to ask if she started running.  Jacque

Hi All,  We had a nice group of five women today who braved the wilds without canine support.  Effie,  LisaF,  Debbie,  Janice, and Marsha traversed the Greenbelt to be met with toads, herons and horse flies.  No one got mosquito bites despite the area having 1.2 inches of rain yesterday.   The four-mile trek was filled with good camaraderie and  time passed quickly.  If anyone would like to join a Sunday Hike, that is indeed a vigorous outing, please text, call or email me the night before.

Until next time….. Happy Trails, Marsha

I cannot compete with LindaF’s poetic description of our paddling outings at Lady Bird Lake, that is why I am including several pictures to embellish my narrative.  GloriaW was so kind to take some pictures and send them to me.  She was at the Rowing Dock with DebbieB  when I arrived, a few minutes past 9:30am.  Gloria and Debbie have  been participating in TOWN events for about four years, but did not meet until the party at Gail’s ranch.  I believe that this was the first time that they were going to paddle together.

Nicole W. met us a few moments later.  She drove all the way from Cedar Park to try out her first adventure with us – the Amazing Townies.  She had just bought an inflatable kayak and was anxious to see how her new toy felt on the water.  We put in and headed  towards the downtown, aiming to get to the Barton Springs creek.  With all the rain from the day before, the lake seemed tranquil and the water cleared up so that we could see all the way to the bottom in some areas, specially once we got to the spring channel.  Suddenly I realized that the anxiety that I felt  earlier has been replaced by a feeling of wellbeing and wholeness that only nature affords.  When I looked around to check on the others, I could see in their expression that they were experiencing the same.  MariaV

Hi all, We had 9 hikers, Sarah, Jacque,  Kim, Effie,  Debbie,  Janice,  Jenny, Carolyn and Marsha,  protected by doggie wonders, Bella and Sheba.  We hiked 4.2 miles and were spurred on by watermelon dreams.  My brother and his wife delivered several watermelons yesterday,  the largest at 49 lbs. Under the threat of never hiking again,  they all had containers and were loaded up with watermelon to take home.

The dreams of watermelon almost took precedent over running creek, baby toads and flowers showcasing summer beauty.  It was a fine  morning.

Until next time.. Happy Trails, Marsha

Attendees:  DawnK, StephanieN, JulieanneA and MariaV.  CindyS came around eleven and painted the view from 

the park to the east side, where the low bridge is.

Altogether the trip was about 7 miles.  The weather was incredibly pleasant for a July mid-morning in Austin.  Not that many houses  have been built in this section of the river as have been further south; so for about two-thirds of the trip, we were surrounded by sheer nature:  birds singing, fish leaping, and clear water.  Half way through we took a swim at a sandy beach; the water was as cold as it is in Barton Creek.  We saw a dozen Herons.

Upon returning to the park, Cindy joined us for a quick bite.  We were ready to go home at 2:00 pm

Hi Ladies!  Such a fun gathering this morning!  Eight members gathered (AnnaE, DawnK, GailP-C, Jacque with Sheba Diva, KimW, JulieanneA with Sunny, MaryVE, and ValarieW) to hike, talk, laugh, and wade the creek crossings.  JulieanneA and ValarieW are new members and we were certainly glad to have them join us.  We pretended to be on our best behavior which seemed to work well.  Sunny and Sheba played with bunches of other dogs along the trail and kept us busy.  Sunny easily ran twice the distance we walked as she ran from the front of our hike back and forth to Mom Julieanne.

Thanks everyone for coming and enjoying the great twisted tree!  Jacque

Play Day at Emma Long Metropolitan Park, Tues, June 29^th

MariaV and PegG joined me for a relaxing day at this Austin gem.  Despite the weather predictions, it was a lovely day.  We floated in the lake, which was a perfect temperature, visited, had lunch and just enjoyed each other’s company.  We did see two beautiful white swans and Maria fed the ducks.

After Maria and Peg left, I drove down to the campsites.  It sure looked refreshing to have a site right on the lake in this summer heat.  There is a lot of construction going on at this time as they are renovating the rest rooms and making some much needed upgrades.  Despite that, we were not disturbed by it.

Till next time… Marie

Led by Gail P-C, nine Town members, gathered together on Thursday July 1st for the official start of our season of paddling on Lady Bird Lake., and what a wonderful morning we had kayaking again.  EffieK, PegG, JudyA, LindaF,  MarshaK, MariaV, PhyllisP, and AngieB kayaked. Phyllis and Angie are our two newest members.  This was Angie’s second time in a kayak and she did great!  Everyone was quite excited to be together on the water!

The Rowing Dock was busy for a Thursday morning.  But staff were ready for us and were so helpful in getting us in our kayaks.  The water was calm, we had a nice breeze and not much traffic toward Red Bud Island.  As we  paddled around Red Bud Island, we saw lots of turtles sunning, and a lot of skimmers, including the eye-catching red neon skimmers, controlling their territories.  Everyone had a good chance to visit as we leisurely paddled.

We gathered for a few pictures at the Rowing Dock, then headed to Las Palomas on Bee Cave Rd for lunch.  Our new custom is for each of us spent a few minutes sharing something about ourselves; what  is going on in our lives, kids, and most popular subject, pets.  We learned more about each other and had some good laughs!!

Our next date on the lake is an evening outing on Wednesday, July 14.  We will meet at 5:30pm at the picnic tables behind the snow cone truck, and we’ll put on the water by 6:00pm.  We have to be off the water by 7:45 pm as the Rowing Dock has an event. Linda Foss is leading ().

Hope you can be there!  Gail P-C

Hi all,  We had 5 hikers, Peg, Jody, Kim, Janice and Marsha,  who braved heat and humidity to conquer 4.1 miles, with visions of watermelon dancing through their heads.   We had no canine friends to protect us and we were left to the mercy of the wild,  as we gazed upon flowing water, spider webs and some flowers.

Until next time…. Happy Trails, Marsha