Category: Uncategorized (Page 33 of 46)

Surprise!

An earlier than usual trip report.  AND Your Correspondent had a bracing half hour of trying to keep up with Diane N. and so for once was not dead last in the TOWN string of kayaks on Wednesday.

It was a short string, though; we kept our fingers crossed for errant TOWNies and friends, but the traffic is ferocious AND it was a Blues on the Green evening, so only four of us were able to enjoy the perfect evening’s paddle.  We had cool temps on the water, and a fresh breeze as we looked from Redbud Island toward the traffic crowded together on the Mopac bridge.

Peg G, with her pair of binoculars gave us a bird update; a black vulture was flying overhead, and she had seen three great blue herons. We saw a duck and a mama duck (a ‘pen?’) with five little fuzzy heads following her, larger turtles than usual sunning on a rock, and a pink Mimosa tree in bloom that made the bend where the Emmett Shelton Bridge crosses the Lake look like a Japanese painting.  Water was being released from the Tom Miller Dam, and the conversations, as we skimmed along turned to the sobering Climate Change discussion of the TOWN meeting the night before.

TOWN’s Lady Bird Lake paddles are perfect for beginners and anyone who needs a break, yet there is another kayak world that Gail P-C and her husband belonged to for many years, the descriptions of destinations and different kayaks, portages, and white water adventures lasted as far as the Rowing Dock.  Our remaining minutes were filled in watching the kayak-polo going on under the MoPac bridge.  If anyone is interested in participating, it is only necessary to show! up at the right time, Diane N. says that there IS a woman who is playing, helmets and lifejackets are provided.  Gail and I suggested bringing goggles and a mouth guard.

Although supper at Maudie’s was more raucous than usual, we enjoyed each other’s company, and talked about Next Time.  That will be June 13, enough time to get a new dry-bag.

Be sure to  mark you calendar and join us.

What a beautiful evening to kayak on Lady Bird Lake! Six women Anna E, Janis K, Christina O, Linda F, Bonnie J and Gail P-C kayaked. Janis K brought her brand new kayak, (that fit in her car!) and she loves it. This was the first time Christina O ever kayaked. After a bit of instruction she did great! She is interested to join TownAustin. We had a good time visiting along the way. Several women witnessed a swan going after a boat. I told the story of the time Jacque A fought off an attacking swan, on Lady Bird Lake, with her paddle. Sorry I didn’t get a picture of that!. We saw a crane and a few ducks. The water was calm and it was a bit breezy. We all had a good workout. Got back to the Rowing Dock by 8:00pm then we all went to Shady Grove to eat and visit some more. Janis and Christine found out they live in the same neighborhood! Anna and Janis shared some pictures of the quilts they have made. Such talented women! A fun time was had by all!
Our next kayak date on Lady Bird Lake is Wed April 25. Linda Foss will be leading. Hope you can be there.
Gail P-C

Trip Report: Witte Museum, San Antonio

People of the Pecos Gallery

Carrie L and Marilyn F escorted Mary Ann B, Janis K, and Cindy S to the Witte Museum in San Antonio to gain deeper knowledge of the prehistoric People of the Pecos River in Texas. This gallery is complete with collections of found objects, including picture stones, baskets, rabbit leather vests, musical instruments (like flutes made from the leg bones of cranes!), and life-size models of families living in rockshelters.

The draw for us TOWNies is our members’ explorations of the West Texas region around Del Rio and Comstock; there the Shumla Archaeological School provides research opportunities for scientists around the world who are piecing together the culture and belief systems of our ancient Texans.

Our June TOWN meeting speaker will be a board member of the Shumla School, and you will get a glimpse of their techniques and interpretive insights into the mysterious iconography found at Seminole, Devils River, and tens of other sites in the Lower Pecos region, sites that are rapidly deteriorating due to inundation and weathering. By scientific analysis of pigments, layers, and creation stories, the Shumla School and archaeologists are uncovering the lifestyles of Texas’ First Peoples.

The People of the Pecos Gallery has an innovative digital exhibit of 5 Texas rock art sites projected onto a stone-like wall, with the figures explained and revealed.

Our June TOWN speaker, Lacy Finley, arranged for the Curator of Anthropology, Dr. Bryan Bayles, to meet us at the Witte and tell us about the exhibit and deepen our understanding. He pointed us toward some additional resources, as well.

We don’t want to “scoop” Lacy’s talk, so we won’t tell everything in this exhibit, but, in a nutshell, it’s a model of the universal experience of humans explaining and passing on essential stories to their descendants (like us): Where did we come from? Where are we going? How do we get there? [credit: Dan Brown]

Outstanding Museum! Three hours was not near long enough, but almost long enough for the one Pecos gallery.

Marilyn and hubby ate at the restaurant at 4:15, hoping we could all group up there.

A potential new member came to the restaurant after we left for the roller rink.

Larry and I arrived right at doors-open, got hand stamps for our tickets, and went to the upstairs viewing

balcony. There was a line of chairs along the railing, so we took 2 of them.

Soon a text confirmed that potential member wasn’t coming on to the sports center, but Marie joined us

around 5:30pm, bringing two of her friends! They chose seats on the bleachers at the edge of the arena.

The bout itself was the Honky Tonk Heartbreakers vs The Hustlers. The goal of the game is for a team to

collect more points than the other, points earned as a skater circles the rink, breaking through blockers

of the other team’s skaters.

Halfway through the game I realized that I was out of my league, literally.

I had thought I was seeing the Texas Roller Derby, which is a separate league from Rollergirls. If you have

a chance to go to a roller derby bout, you might prefer the Roller Derby League’s Palmer venue and the

available parking and theater capacity.

Sixteen TOWNies gathered Sat. morning, March 10, to hike the 5.5 mile round trip Good Water Trail to Crockett Gardens and Falls.  The weather was sunny and warm. The trail was rocky and worn.  The hikers spirits were high and happy.  The scenery was beautiful as you looked across the lake to the bluffs.

Several ladies frolicked in and under the falls to cool off and take pictures. There was one iris in bloom at the spring and lots of greenery. We were kept company by a half a dozen or so Texas Longhorn Cattle in the corral!

Gloria took a picture that I have tried to include in this email, but have not been successful. Therefore, I will just forward her email.

Thanks ladies for making this a fun, accident free event!  Look forward to seeing you on another TOWN Austin hike soon!

The J Team

The good weather brought 19 members, 6 pets and 1 guest out to Lake Georgetown for a weekend of fun and food….or was it food and fun? We enjoyed a roaring fire every night in addition to happy hour including adult beverages. There were 24 in attendance for the delicious potluck on Sat.

Attendees also enjoyed hiking, kayaking, biking, birding, geocaching and some gaming, though less than usual. There was a lot of visiting and sharing, especially around the camp fire each evening.

Two new members were acquired over this campout.  The 1 weekend guest joined plus a lady traveling around the country joined so that she could participate in our outings during her time in Texas:)

As usual when TOWNies get together, there was event talking……about both past events and future events. It’s always fun to reminisce as well as look forward to new adventures.

Jan and I would like to thank you all for making this such a fun and successful outing and look forward to seeing you at another TOWN Austin outing soon.

Cheers,

The J Team

__._,_.___

The annual Leader Thank You Outing is an opportunity for the Board to show appreciation to the members of TOWN-Austin who have led at least 2 outings during the past year.

In 2017, we had 23 members who qualified to attend this outing and 15 members were able to attend.

Our event this year was a scavenger hunt organized by board members CarolynH and MarshaK.   All eligible members met at Brodie Oaks shopping center and teamed up to scavenge the shopping center for items on the list.  At the appropriate time all teams reported to Freebird’s and turned in their lists to the judges, Carolyn and Marsha. The judges declared teammates Janet FB, SandyO, and Kay the winners.

The entire group then enjoyed a meal at Freebird’s.  Lots of fun and a great time was had by all.

Lead two or more outings during 2018  and you can enjoy this free outing.

Susan

In anticipation of the annual TOWN Holiday Party on Saturday, about 15 TOWNies started arriving on Thursday for our annual Holiday Party weekend campout.  This campout is by far the closest site we meet as some only traveled 7 miles to reach the campground!

Friday night some of the campers ventured into downtown Austin to eat at Hut’s Hamburgers.  CarrieL told us the story of how her parents met at this restaurants many years ago.  She also took us by a grand old house near 6^th and Lamar where her grandparents once lived.  What wonderful memories for her from that area.

Saturday was spent hiking, playing games in the dining hall, visitation with out of town members and preparing for our evening festivities which included a potluck dinner and a rousing White Elephant gift exchange.

Sunday morning a group of ladies went for breakfast at Denny’s before packing up and heading home wishing for more time for visiting and camping.  Be sure to reserve a campsite or a cabin if you would like to camp during the Annual Holiday Party weekend.  This park is very popular and has been totally booked the last two years.

Looking forward to next year.  Susan

What a wonderful day for a Holiday Party at McKinney Falls State Park Dining Hall!

The Dining Hall doors were opened at 9:00 am and TOWNies and guests started arriving soon after bringing all sorts of food, snacks, desserts, drinks and of course the all-important White Elephant gift.

By 10:00 am, hiking leader Jenny Falkenburg was ready to lead 23 women into the wilds of McKinney Falls.  Check out her trip report on our website for all the details.

As the day progressed, members and guests came and went from the dining hall.  Some came to play games and others left to prepare their dish for the potluck dinner.  At 6:00 PM we all gathered to enjoy the sumptuous and plentiful offerings of all who contributed to the dinner.  By 7:00 pm we were ready to start the highly anticipated gift exchange. Thirty-eight gifts of all shapes and sizes waited to be carefully chosen by 38 participants.  Some gifts were popular and stolen often.  A good time was had by all and soon the fun ended but not before everyone pitched and assisted with the cleanup.  Until next year…..Susan

What a great outing with great women!  Palmetto is such a quiet and beautiful park that we always have a good experience regardless of changing weather patterns. We had cold, rain, humidity and even occasion to use the a/c but the sunshine seemed to grace us when most needed!

We made our yearly trek to the Gonzales Historical Jail, Gonzales Museum (to see the “Come and Take It” cannon), did lots of hiking, visited some pottery shops and chowed down on some awesome food for our Saturday evening potluck.

Camping included JudyD, SharonR, GailW, GloriaB, SusanW, JudyL, MarilynF, BeverlyT, SandyO, JoanC, SuzanneH and KarenV.  SandyB, CarolC and NancyL stayed at the only cabin and JuneA and DonnaB joined us for the day Saturday.

There were so very many laughs and stories around the fire and on the trails!  We missed SandyS and her rum cake, but Gloria picked up the slack by providing the libations!

As always I remain humbly grateful that TOWN-Austin is such a wonderful organization. My thanks to the Board (past and present) for keeping us rolling and to all the attendees at Palmetto.

See you outdoors soon!
LindaBW