Follow Hamilton Creek for about 3/4 of a mile from Hamilton Pool and you will get to the spot where it joins the Pedernales River. This is a nice, easy hike and you will probably see turtles, birds, and fish along the way. The water is typically clear and a beautiful emerald color.
Hamilton Pool is less than an hour outside of Austin, and a very popular swimming hole and hiking spot. A short quarter mile hike down some steps from the parking lot and you will be greeted with a nice view of the collapsed grotto and 50 foot waterfall. Take the trail around the grotto and enjoy the scenery. The beach there is a great spot to throw out a blanket and have a picnic lunch.
Yes, I have become sort of a regular customer at Pinballz since my first visit in September. I don’t know whether to curse or to thank Elaut Amusement Games – the creator of the Wizard of Oz Coin Pusher Game. It is addictively fun for some strange reason. I have collected most all of the player cards that fall off the edge including Dorothy, Tin Man, Scarecrow, Cowardly Lion, Glinda the Good Witch, and the Wicked Witch of the West. The one card that continues to elude me is Toto. I’m pretty sure Toto has special powers in this game.
Glinda, the Good Witch of the North: Are you a good witch, or a bad witch?
Dorothy: I’m not a witch at all. I’m Dorothy Gale from Kansas.
Glinda, the Good Witch of the North: Oh. Well, is that the witch?
Dorothy: Who, Toto? Toto’s my dog!
On the way back from my walk, I took a few photos of the Frost Bank Tower. It was an overcast day with a high of 52 degrees in Downtown Austin.
Due to the cold, wet weather and the late start for my hike, I kept it fairly short (a little over 3 miles round trip). Once you reach the 6.25 mile marker, you will begin to hear the splashing water of Sculpture Falls. Follow your ears, and you will be rewarded with one of Austin’s best free swimming holes. If we have had a recent rain, the water will be clear, cool, and inviting. This is a great picnic spot on a nice warm day (unlike the day we experienced today). 🙂
After work today, I drove over to the Barton Creek Greenbelt to hike the Hill of Life. Conditions were less than grand, with the temperature at 37 degrees and an overcast sky with intermittent sprinkles. The good news was that there were only a few people on the trail. The Hill of Life is a great workout – I climbed 551 feet on the trail according to the GPS on my phone. Despite the cold weather, I had to shed my jacket before I got back to the top of the Hill. It was awesome!
Here are some scenes from the La Belle Exhibit at the Bullock Texas State History Museum. The La Belle is a shipwreck found in 1995 just off of the Texas coast. If you get a chance, check out this very informative and interesting exhibit which includes many items found on the ship.
It turns out that the first Sunday of each month is free admission day at the Bullock Texas State History Museum. I’ve been wanting to go and see the exhibit for the La Belle. It is a shipwreck that was discovered in Matagorda Bay in the Gulf of Mexico. From the website, “Setting sail from King Louis XIV’s France in 1684, La Salle intended to land at the mouth of the Mississippi River. Instead, he sailed into Matagorda Bay. By 1686, bad weather and human incompetence had left the expedition’s one remaining ship, La Belle, listing and abandoned in the bay’s shallow waters. It eventually sank into the mud and took all of its stories with it. Until 1995.”
Happy New Year!!! I went to Kingdom and Matthew Dear did a great job as tonight’s primary DJ. Check him out if you ever get the chance.
earthrobert 