Hey TOWNies!
The TOWN Austin women so enjoyed being at Guadalupe River State Park earlier this month. Seems like there was plenty for everyone to do. Eighteen women and three dogs made the trip: BarbaraW, DianeN, EffieK, JacqueA, JaniceB, JuneA (with Dolly), KarenK, KatelynB, KathleenC, KathyR, KatyK, MarieW, MaryVE (with Rosie & Speck), StephanieN, StephanieS, TracyP, and WillowD. Four of the women who attended are new members!
Interestingly, we had more tenters this trip than members driving vans or pulling RVs which surprised me. The tent pads are exceptionally large. But the slots for parking cars, RVs, and vans are surprisingly short. We all stayed in the Cedar Sage Camping Area. And several of us wondered later if the Turkey Sink Camping area had longer parking slots. The restroom in our area had been redone and had separate shower rooms which were quite nice.
Several campers arrived Wednesday, April 13, and immediately we began talking about our dogs and pizza.
Thursday morning, four of us hiked to the Discovery Center area and enjoyed the bird blind (where we saw doves, hummingbirds, wrens, goldfinches, cowbirds, and cardinals) and the Guadalupe River. Interestingly, the Guadalupe River is a true Texas river, flowing entirely within our state. DianeN had organized kayaking for Saturday morning, but it was obvious why she had to cancel the activity. The water level didn’t even come up to the knees of small kids. Lunch time of course meant pizza and two of us headed for Boerne and selected Inferno’s Wood Fired Oven & Spirits which was a good choice – tasty pepperoni pizza, a generous Caesar salad, and soda for less than $10. In the afternoon, four of us went geocaching and located two. That evening most of us met at DianeN and StephanieS’s site 24 to sit, visit, and enjoy a well-made campfire. Their site was large and had a particularly nice view. Some heard a howling animal which certainly got their attention.
Friday morning twelve of us met at the Rust House and Honey Creek State Natural Area for a private hike arranged by DianeN and led by three volunteers, two of whom were from the Alamo Master Naturalists group. We first were introduced to the Rust House which was owned by the family who ranched the area and encouraged to tour the house and pay our $2 donation. From there our 2.5-mile hike began. Honey Creek Preserve is described as pristine, spring-fed, and fragile. We were introduced to the local culture and Texas natural history as we viewed grasslands, Ashe juniper woodlands, bald cypress trees, red buckeyes, sycamores, wildflowers, Antelope Horn Milkweeds which we coveted (!), and birds such as Field Sparrows, Summer Tanagers, Northern Cardinals, White-eyed Vireos, and Brown-headed Cowbirds in a trap. (What problems do cowbirds cause? Their spread has represented bad news for other songbirds: Cowbirds lay their eggs in nests of other birds. Heavy parasitism by cowbirds has pushed some species to the status of ‘endangered’ and has probably hurt populations of some others. The trap designed to catch cowbirds was interesting in that those birds are eventually killed. The cowbird females lay their eggs in the nests of other birds. The cowbird babies kill other birds’ babies. The trap attracts the cowbirds in with seeds and water, but the birds cannot exit.) Saturday and Sunday hikes are also offered to campers in the park. Reservations are made in the park office. A $2 donation is requested. Friday night, six of us drove to El Jalisco’s Mexican Restaurant for dinner (yes to eat again). It’s located on hwy. 46 enroute to Spring Branch, TX. The music was loud even outside and food good. No many leftovers!
Friday night a thunderstorm rolled through complete with lightning and rain. A few of the tent campers discovered their tents leaked a bit, but everyone made it safely through the night. The rain caused most of the hiking trails to be closed, so the Saturday morning hike had to be cancelled. The trails to the river and the overlook remained open, so many TOWNies visited the river and the bird blind. Saturday afternoon was warm, but not quite warm enough for swimming!
Both Friday and Saturday evening TOWNies enjoyed the hike to the overlook to watch the sunset.
Saturday morning six members managed to hike Honey Creek Preserve fortunately due to cancelations. And I joined them for a replay. They each seemed to enjoy the hike and the presentations from our two hosts. That evening at site 32 we held our potluck. BarbaraW and KathleenC did a good job building the campfire. We had plenty of wood, dryer lint, and newspaper to build the fire. At least 6 – 8 members had donated wood. The leftover wood was left for the next camper. And we had plenty of food: mixed fruits, homemade cookies, vegetarian chili and hot dogs, beef hot dogs, potato hot dog buns, sauerkraut, a variety of chips, broccoli salad, grated cheese, mustard, mayo, ketchup, Cole slaw, potato salad, diced onions, and smores. And after dinner, six of us played dominoes using double 15’s.
Sunday morning, KathleenC led a hike for six of us. DianeN and StephanieS wanted to hike six miles, MarieW 2 miles, and KathleenC, and Jacque 3 miles. So, we walked portions of the Barred Owl, Painted Bunting, and Live Oak Trails and separated at various points. After hooking up the Casita, I headed to the dump station and encountered another camper who knows Susie Aguirre. She noticed the TOWN magnetic bumper sticker and said she knew a member! On the way back to Austin, one of us received an (undeserved?) speeding ticket in Bulverde, so avoid that town!!
Thank you to Diane Nunez for her time and effort spent reserving our private hike and making the arrangements for kayaking despite having to cancel.
And thanks to Kathleen Coyle for volunteering to co-lead this outing at rather late notice.
KathleenC and JacqueA