Turning off of the easy Loop Trail for the more challenging, but still not difficult, Base Trail, turned me directly into the sun and started me on a climb. This trail runs alongside the back of Enchanted Rock, for views that most visitors don’t see. I think the majority of people are here for the hike up the summit, and may not realize how much fun the rest of the trails are at Enchanted Rock.
My plan this trip was to take the Loop Trail to the northeast side of the Park. From there, I would meet up with the Base Trail, then to the Echo Canyon Trail and up to the Summit. This section of the Loop Trail is just over a mile long, is mostly sandy, and crosses the Sandy Creek a few times. It is a beautiful hike on sunny, cool days.
Enchanted Rock is getting so popular, that they run out of parking spots and close the Park for hours at a time. Make sure you check the website or Twitter account before making the drive out there. I was lucky and the Park was reopened shortly after my afternoon arrival. Here is a trail map to ponder along with some photos of the pink granite dome to give you an idea of the size of things.
At the Bass Concert Hall they still had a few last minute Friday night tickets for Mamma Mia. The musical was great and the music of ABBA is always cool.
When you are on campus, you have to stop for a few moments and admire the University of Texas Tower.
After a day of exploring and hiking in Waco, and since I was still missing Las Vegas, I found the Vegas Buffet for some Chinese Food.
I think this is why I like hiking so much. In the span of a few hours on the Cotton Belt Trail, I went from feeling good in the cool cloudy weather, to miserable and soaking wet in a downpour, to a state of awe at seeing a magnificent rainbow at the end of the trail.
The Carleen Bright Arboretum is located close to Waco in Woodway Texas. The gardens weren’t hopping today, but I did find a Nature Trail, a Creek, and a Cedar Teahouse.
Hopdoddy is celebrating a year of serving great food and drinks in Round Rock. For a very limited time, they are offering the Code 7. It consists of “angus beef, Tillamook cheddar, applewood smoked bacon and fried egg between two Round Rock Donuts.” Trust me, this is a yummy burger from the great minds at Hopdoddy Burger Bar.
My destination was Cooper’s Bar-B-Que, but along the way, I stopped to admire the sights in Downtown Austin. The Contemporary has an interesting rooftop display of Art. There was construction going on. And I made it to Cooper’s just before the heavy rains came down.
earthrobert 