A few Saturdays ago, I walked 6 miles of the Violet Crown Trail, Austin's newest trail system that once completed will be a 30-mile trail through the urban wildlands. While the city continues to have growing pains, they are not forgetting about green space!
Last week I played hooky for a day and drove 2 hours out to hill country to Enchanted Rock. Legend has it that the Tonkawa Indians named this 425-foot pink granite batholith believing a Spanish conquistador cast a spell on it, making magical ghost fires glow at the top. It was a lovely day of trail hiking at a time when the wildflowers were at their absolute best. On the way home, I also made a stop in the town of Llano, "the deer capital of Texas" (population 3,232).
While I am indeed ready to return to life on the road, my Austin list continues!