Category: Uncategorized (Page 7 of 46)

Hi TOWNies!  Well, it was a fun day to be hiking Turkey Creek Trail.  Yes, it was warm, but there was a pleasant breeze and good company:  AnnaE, KathleenC with Mamie who danced in the water and Baby who kept a close eye on us, PegG, and Jacque with Sheba the Diva.  Sadly, there were fewer tiny frogs to see, and the creeks have even less water which was to be expected.  Fewer hikers too.  And our discussion topics included:  traveling of course – Peru, Spain, Greece, Tanzania, Serengeti National Park, New Mexico, Argentina, Antarctica, Spain, and Arizona; where to purchase comfortable pillows for traveling, black pillowcases, blow up pillows, and camping pillows; travel insurance – Squaremouth & Tin Leg; travel companies – Overseas Adventures, Sierra Club, and Road Scholar; drinking coffee – when pregnant & breast feeding, taste and smell – yukky for some of us, and broccoli ice cream that was supposed to taste like coffee; abortions and Roe versus Wade and opinions galore; whether to learn to swim; and traveling of course.  Did I remember to mention Spain?

Come join us next Wednesday, Aug. 10^th.  Bet it will be cold!  Baby, Mamie, and Sheba

Hi all, We had a nice group of 7 TOWNies today, Kim, Effie, Leigh, Jenny, Janice, Carolyn and Marsha, who braved 4.6 miles on the greenbelt.  We crossed to the other side and hiked on the north side of the creek. It was still hot and dry on that side of the creek, too. We were hoping that since we traveled north, albeit only 5o yards farther north, it would be cooler. Alas, it was not.

Until next time….. Happy Trails, Marsha

Maria V and I enjoyed an absolutely lovely evening floating around the gloriously  refreshing waters of Lake Austin. And we had a sweet beach area all to ourselves!  In time we retreated from the water to have our dinner and just enjoy the view.  We had fun watching the boaters and young men on remote controlled hover boards; very neat.   We will definitely do this again; come join us!  MarieW

At 5:45pm on  Wednesday, July 27th, 4 of us launched kayaks onto the calm, cool waters of Lady Bird Lake:  Cindy S, Lori T, Stephanie N, and myself.  There was a little breeze as we leisurely paddled toward Redbud Isle.  We checked out the cool, clear waters of the spring that still has a good water flow into the lake in spite of the drought. 😀 Saw the usual turtles and fish and heron.  As we rounded the isle, the wind picked up, and we had to paddle hard to make it back to the dock.  It had clouded up some too, and we wouldn’t have minded if we’d gotten rained on.  But, alas, we didn’t get wet from rain; only sweat.   Gloria W.

Slightly more women canceled for our outing on Wednesday 13 July than those who pushed off from the Rowing Dock.   However, those were TOWNies who remembered that Lady Bird Lake is quite a bit cooler than the temperatures being blared that day on the news outlets.  Most in need of a cool outing was intrepid outing-leader herself, Jacque A, who had been at Turkey Creek in the morning, was looking a little pink, and who wisely stuck to the shady side of the Lake.  Stephanie N, Gloria W, and Linda N, leading from behind, all headed toward Redbud Island.  Without crowds and noise we were free to proceed at our own pace and enjoyed the sounds from the wildlife on either side of the Lake.   Having a Master Naturalist along was an unusual privilege.  I don’t recall we saw any neon skimmers, but thanks to Jacque and Stephanie, we have an official wildlife  count.  One Great Blue Heron allowed us the unusual view of him from nearly underneath as he stood on a branch, and another was further along.  There were two Vultures, and one Great Egret, male and female Mallards, and a Northern Cardinal.  We had a lovely cruise, sliding through the green tree-lined waterway two by two, under the bridge and around to the wide area in front of the dam.  And on our return, admiring the roots of the cypress trees on Redbud Island, and the towering cliffs below the houses  along Stratford Drive.  Hula Hut is too raucous, we are looking for some new ideas for our suppers.  Surely Shady Grove will be the Most Missed Restaurant in the Chronicle’s current poll.  Our next evening outing is with Gloria on the 27th of July, and this week our nearly Gone Girl Gail is leading on Thursday the 21st at 9:30 am.  In August, we are considering  starting daytime outings a little earlier.  LindaF

Hi all, We had a hot and sweaty hike today that is so typical of Texas, but perhaps a little worse this year.  Brave souls included Kim, Effie, Jacque with Sheba, Jenny, Carolyn, Janice, Kathleen and Marsha.  We traveled 4.4 miles over parched land that bore no resemblance to the spring fling of months ago when we were treated to raindrops.  There were some hills, but fewer this time as we tried to maintain our fading energy in the heat.  It must have been a hot day as we stopped for many water breaks, but no potty breaks!  Time was spent catching up on vacations and reports of cool weather in the lands far away and now only in our dreams.  There was no water in the creek and very few birds, only hawks, and no chatty squirrels.  Dust was our constant companion as our shoes created a curtain of dust as we walked, hiding some mischievous branches and rocks that we mostly avoided, except for a few that lunged at us and tripped us.  No injuries except for our pride.

Until next time…  Happy Trails, Marsha

What a beautiful morning we had kayaking on Lady Bird Lake, Thursday July 21.  There were four TownAustin women, Judy A, Gloria W, Stephanie N and me.  We had mostly overcast sky, nice breeze which provided some waves as we rounded Red Bud Island.  Gloria showed us some springs hidden behind low hanging branches.  Who knew!  It was tempting to soak in the cold water, but we carried on.  We saw an egret, turtles and blue herons.  We visited along the way and enjoyed sharing the lake with few other boaters.  Stephanie demonstrated her Thule kayak rack.  It is so cool and easy to get her kayak on top of her vehicle!  Judy A and I went to Las Palomas for lunch.  Gloria and Stephanie could not make lunch.  Hope you can make it to the next kayak date on Lady Bird Lake.  Stay cool and hydrated!  Gail P-C

Hi TOWNies!  Despite the heat, KimW, PegG, AnnaE, and Jacque with Sheba, met to visit and enjoy the trail.  Still warm and less water in the creek, but hey, we are TOWN women, and we hike hard!  Lots of talking going on:  travels to Taos, Santa Fe, Red Woods; travels upcoming – Colorado and New York; tiny frogs jumping in the rocks in and around the creek water; vacationing with husbands; to pick up or not to pick up the Snapping Turtle with the claws; watching for Coral snakes; ferns turning brown; and that’s about it.

Come join us July 27^th.  I’m certain it will be cold and rainy!  Jacque

Hi all.  It was nice to be back hiking on the Sunday Hike after missing a week due to travel.  We had a small group today, Debbie, Kim, Carolyn and Marsha, that traveled 4.2 miles over dusty looping trails.  Some of the regular group were recovering from COVID and unable to join us, but that did  not stop us from enjoying the miles as we chatted about most things, calmly solving all of the world’s problems in under two hours.  The trails were dusty and the plants struggling with the heat and lack of water.  Few animals were out, but we did hear the crashing in the bush by a squirrel.  Hopefully, we will be able to have more next week as we courageously tackle all of the world’s problems once again.

Until next time….. Happy Trails, Marsha

We had another lovely paddle on Lady Bird Lake yesterday…5 of us (Diane N, Stephanie N., Gloria W., Jacque A. and myself) headed out on the water to enjoy the morning before temperatures got too hot. We saw quite a few green herons, some great blue herons, a cormorant, a loon and some wood ducks throughout the paddle, along with the usual 1.5 million turtles basking on logs.  Things were pretty peaceful until we got to Red Bud Island, when Gloria announced that her boat was taking on water, so we pulled ashore and emptied it….which provided us with a good little team-building activity!  With the water mostly emptied out of the boat, we headed back downstream to the Rowing Dock, then extended our outing in typical TOWN fashion by heading to lunch at Maudie’s.  Another fine excursion with fun people, with lots of good conversation throughout the morning.  Attached are photos of emptying the boat, and the loon (which is a bit unusual to see on this lake).