Town Lake, Austin

30 May 2011--Left San Antonio to spend a few days in Austin, just for something different to do. We are staying at this RV Park, about 12 miles from downtown. Pretty nice, lots of trees, and a nice pool area...although I can't use it, it looks nice anyway!



We didn't get to Austin and fully set up till around 2:30 PM, so we decided to head out to Town Lake, a lake in downtown Austin, for a bike ride. Our friend Donna works in Austin and told us it was a very pretty area, and she didn't disappoint. This 1st pic is downtown, with the capitol building at the end of the pic (and 2nd pic). We are going to the capitol tomorrow. There are lots of bridges going over the lake, so as you cross this bridge you can see Town Lake below.



Town Lake used to be called Lady Bird Johnson Lake, but has recently been re-named (I don't know why). The city has developed a 10-mile hiking/biking trail that completely encircles the lake and is heavily used by the people of Austin. It is a really nice area, with people hiking, biking, walking, running, playing with their dogs and fishing for their supper. Certain spots reminded me somewhat of the Charles River in Boston.



Cathy and I got a little lost a couple times, so we know we biked at least 10 miles, but think it was probably closer to about 13 miles before we were thru. A couple times we took the wrong trail and had to double back. And once we saw the 5 mile marker, then the 7.5 mile marker, and a while later we saw the 5 mile marker again. That was a bit discouraging (haha) as we were fairly tired at that point. But after asking a handful of people for directions we found our way back after 2 3/4 hours on the trails.



This bridge actually holds anywhere from 750,000 to 1.5 million bats...yes, I said bats!!! Mexican bats come up from Mexico to this spot, have their babies in June, and reach their peak numbers in late July and August. We are going to come back later in the summer to see them leave from under/inside the bridge at dusk to go hunting for bugs. Stay Tuned!!!



Most people on the water were canoeing, but I liked these sort of surfboards being paddled by these kids. It was really windy out there, so I think they were finding they needed a little more effort than they bargained for. haha



A couple of swans and a Green Heron. I wish I could have gotten a better pic of the black swan.