Leaving on a jet plane...

Hello again! Wow, it's been eons since I posted anything, I know! But that's what happens when you're in prettier places with more cool stuff to see and do and the weather's better for being outside! C'mon, I mean, which would you rather be doing?! So, anyways, let's see if we can catch up a little...

So way back on March 8th, the Bartons moved to the New Life RV Park on the outskirts of Georgetown, just a bit north of Austin. Still in hill country but new scenery and setting. On the 9th, Bill flew home for a few days to attend a board meeting, a dental, and a dermatologist, appt. In the meantime, I took dogs out to pee, walked cats, and did some sightseeing.

The first sight to see? McKinney Falls.

With two dogs in tow (or them towing me...!), this is a point & shoot outing!

I can see nine turtles sunning on the rock across the creek, but I'm sure there are more in the water (we scared them off)!

Cool rock/water forms.

Water-pocked rock.

One of the falls. Not too stunning in size but pretty nonetheless.

One of the few flowers to show up so early in the season.

Another early bloomer.

Ouray's not sure just how he feels about this miniature horse, or his candidate (not being familiar with Texas politicans). Both these poor critters were at a DIY dog wash in Austin.

Seneca went first, and Ouray suffered through second. Needless to say, he was thrilled once he was down those green steps!!! And Momma was thrilled to finally get all of Ouray's fluffy, downy fur off her nose, eyes, and mouth and see/breath freely once again!

The Best of Blanco

Blanco is the town just south of Johnson City and it has a lovely state park...

The kitties enjoyed walking on the X-Long concrete tables.

Yes, juggling the two dogs and a camera AND getting everyone in the picture is a challenge!!

Pretty scene.

Trees, trees, trees!

High-steppin'!

Pooped cat, energized dog!

One of the mini-dams along the Blanco River.

Another pretty, moody scene.

And look! Live entertainment!!!!!

The Blanco courthouse. The Texas courthouses are so cool - one of our Texan friends said he'd often thought he should put together a book of TX courthouse photos...and then found someone already had! Some of them are really ornate- I didn't get a chance to photograph some of the ones on our route to Corpus Christi, but they were extraordinary, to say the least!

Afterwards, we drove on to see New Braunfels and San Marcos, places Bill once considered small, pretty towns. I didn't take any photos there (other than this one of our cute critters sharing the back of the cab) - there may be pretty parts left, but there's only big city there now as far as I could see! Yuck!!!!!!!!! We're getting so spoiled, getting to spend so much time in small towns and beautiful back country!

And one more unspoiled view...

Johnson City - Home of LBJ

Johson City was actually named after James Polk Johnson (see here: http://www.johnsoncity-texas.com/history/index.html), but it was Lyndon B. Johnson that it will be remembered for! Everything there is NOW named after LBJ! While we were in the area, we visited one of the many LBJ historical sites (http://www.tpwd.state.tx.us/spdest/findadest/parks/lyndon_b_johnson/), although we really only toured the Sauer-Beckmann Ranch...

Beautiful old barn/stable.

Just like Little House on the Prairie! Can't you just hear Ma scolding Laura for something or other? (OK, maybe that's just me...)

Definitely a window into the past...

Now the sleep of ghosts.

Bill admires the old engineering marvel of a windmill with its water pumping/storing mechanisms.

Still beautiful, after all these years...

The Bartons visit Barton Springs, again!

A few of the Bartons at Barton Creek's edge.

Many, many years ago, on a trip to Texas, Bill took me to see Barton Springs (I don't think THESE Bartons had anything to do with the naming, but it's still a fun thing! Although apparently the first anglos that settled there were a William Barton and his family! Hmm, I wonder if they had a Scratty too?!). A refuge in the hot Austin summers, this popular spring-fed swimming hole formed when Barton Creek was dammed up. Like Balmorhea, Barton Springs just has the original, natural rock and gravel for its bottom and sides (way cooler than plaster! and speaking of cool, the water stays about 68 degrees all year - amazing that my coldwater-weenie husband could ever swim in such "frigid waters," but he did!). Also like its western cousin, you will be swimming with other entities in this pool, even if you're the only person there! All sorts of fish, eels, and turtles (including snapping turtles - oh my!) live there!

Unfortunately, this time the pool was closed for the season and being cleaned - we were just a few days too early! So the water level's lower than normal in this photo, and there are a lot fewer people than normal!!!!!!!!!

Barton Creek (below the dam).

Turtles ABOUND here!!!!!!! (Red-eared sliders in this photo)

Looking back upriver. If you were to look way down the other way, you'd see the skyscrapers of downtown Austin.

Nice walking trails on both sides of the creek.

Cruising through Zilker Park, which is where Barton Springs is located.

After our creek stop, we just mosied around Austin. There are some neat houses, with beautiful yards. I just like the look of ones like this.

And this.

Austin city streets, with the gorgeous capitol building in the background (more of that to come later...).

Taking a leak in Leakey....

On March 3rd we took a long drive, passing through Fredericksburg, Kerrville, Leakey, Rio Frio, Utopia, Bandera, and back. One of the things we saw a lot of was native and exotic hunting ranches, which had critters like: axis, whitetail, fallow, mule, and sika deer, black buck antelope, ibex, oryx, eland, yak, special rams & sheep, wild boar, elk, and turkeys. I'm not too sure about the history of this or how it all began, but it is certainly popular and has been going on since Bill was a boy. Another thing we saw a lot of was water, at least in the form of rivers and creeks - and flood gauges, which makes the title of this piece even more relevant, don't you think?

The Guadalupe River.

The Rio Frio. This has to be one of the neatest rivers we've ever seen. The clear water, weird rock texturing beneath, interesting trees and coloring... So this is why you're going to see so many photos of it (and to you they will probably all look the same!), but it was such a cool river, it deserves the space and recognition! I recommend clicking on the photos so you can see them larger.

And now on to the Rio Caliente.

(no, just kidding!)

More water near Utopia.

The Pedernales

On March 2, we visited the Pedernales State Park. It was very cool! I just love the rock formations and clear water you find at so many central Texas rivers!!

Bill & Ouray beat me down to the river - "Hey Mom! Hurry up!!"

The boys do some rock climbing.

Nice dramatic light on the Pedernales.

A little further downstream.

A nice sandy beach makes Ouray feel young at heart again!!!

What a playboy!!!!

Bill by the river.

Making the dog take a break from all the fun for a photo!

Pretty Pedernales.