New Year’s Eve hike at McKinney Falls
January 01, 2022 Upper Falls pool at McKinney Falls State Park As the second year of the pandemic sputtered to a sour end, with covid rates skyrocketing yet again, I turned to nature for a spirit-soothing New Year’s Eve hike with my family. Around noon we arrived at McKinney Falls ...
Creek Show 2021 lights up spacious new Waterloo Park
November 17, 2021 After a covid hiatus last year, Waterloo Greenway‘s fantastical Creek Show — light-sculpture installations by local designers — has returned, and it’s better than ever. The illuminated art lights up Austin’s newly overhauled Waterloo Park nightly through November 21. We reserved our free tickets weeks ago (it’s ...
Going batty at Bracken Cave, where 20 million bats take flight
September 14, 2021 Austin is justifiably proud of the 1.5-million-strong bat colony that roosts under downtown’s Congress Avenue Bridge. I’ve watched the nightly emergence from the bridge as the bats take flight many times over the years. But when I heard that nearby Bracken Cave contains 15 to 20 million ...
Pease Park after dark
September 08, 2021 I recently returned to Kingsbury Commons at Pease Park to see the Treehouse and other new features after dark. It turns out, nighttime Pease Park may be even better than daytime Pease Park! (Click for my first visit to Pease). I mean, look at the Treehouse, glowing ...
Exploring reimagined Waterloo Park in downtown Austin
August 30, 2021 Shade trees are precious in a hot climate, 200-year-old heritage live oaks even more so. As Waterloo Park in downtown Austin emerges from a massive, 10-year redesign and overhaul, two grand old live oaks on the west side of the park greet visitors as if lovingly presented ...
Cooling off at Wimberley’s Blue Hole
August 27, 2021 Austin is blessed with an abundance of spring-fed swimming holes, including crown jewel Barton Springs Pool. But just an hour away, the small town of Wimberley, Texas, has two spectacular natural swimming holes of its own: Jacob’s Well (which I saw earlier this summer) and Blue Hole, ...
Palo Duro Canyon: We’re Number 2!
August 19, 2021 While nothing compares to the awe-inspiring views at Grand Canyon, Palo Duro Canyon — the 2nd-largest canyon in the U.S. — is also grand (with a little “g”). Striated bands of red and white rock color the canyon walls, which are stubbled with green trees. During the ...
The mysterious allure of Jacob’s Well
July 31, 2021 For years I’ve heard about Jacob’s Well, a cylindrical underwater cavern filled over its brim with chilly (68 F) artesian spring water. Extending beyond the 30-foot-deep well, the cavern’s chambers reach a depth of 137 feet, with narrow passages and silty floors that can cloud the water ...
Abundance tiled artwork near Deep Eddy Pool welcomes visitors
July 22, 2021 Finding a new piece of public art always brightens my day, and Austin adds more and more artworks to its public spaces all the time. This tiled arch gateway to newly renovated Eiler’s Park, next to Deep Eddy Pool, went up in 2020. Created by Ryah Christensen ...
Swimming at Barton Springs Pool, the ultimate summer cool-down
July 16, 2021 You wouldn’t think I’d have a hard time finding someone to go swimming with me in July in Texas. But when I proposed an excursion to Barton Springs Pool recently, most of my family and friends said no way. Why? After all, Barton Springs Pool is considered ...
Playing at revamped Kingsbury Commons in Pease Park
July 12, 2021 I recently rounded up the family to explore the newly redesigned section of Austin’s Pease Park known as Kingsbury Commons. The biggest draw for me was seeing the Treehouse, a rusty orb of rebar and steel beams — less a treehouse than a giant ball of pollen! ...
Exploring Austin’s Sparky Park mosaic wall
March 02, 2021 At Austin’s Sparky Park, craggy, curved walls of karst limestone and blue slag glass display mosaics of seashells, ceramic tile, petrified wood, and other found objects, all fashioned into fantastical trees and solar systems. Rock arches connect turret towers bejeweled with blue and silver gazing globes, creating ...
Octopus joins fantastical creatures at Mueller parks
January 06, 2021 A giant purple octopus wraps its tentacles around the restrooms at brand-new Jessie Andrews Park in Austin’s Mueller development. Like the monsters in 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea or Lord of the Rings, this supersized sea creature menacingly creeps close, ready perhaps to grab someone or wrench ...
Native Texas Park: Rediscovering a lost prairie at George W. Bush Presidential Library
October 23, 2020 Blackland prairie, a sash of Texas grassland across the center of the state, running southwest from the Oklahoma border to San Antonio, is the most endangered ecosystem in the U.S., with less than 1% remaining, according to Austin environmental designer John Hart Asher in a Wildflower article ...
Wildflowers and birding at Montaña de Oro State Park
July 24, 2020 We detoured to San Luis Obispo after Yosemite National Park (click here for the how and why of our socially distanced road trip in June) in order to see our niece, who attends college there. To be safe, we met up outdoors at Spooner’s Cove in scenic ...
Exploring the massive granite dome of Enchanted Rock
February 24, 2020 A bald dome of pinkish granite swells above the live oak scrub along a rolling stretch of Hill Country blacktop 17 miles north of Fredericksburg, Texas. Enchanted Rock has been enchanting nature lovers for as long as there have been people here, at least 11,000 years. Last ...
