An Owl, Some Bats, and a Lady Bird!

April 10-16, 2024

We’ve always heard Austin is a fun place to visit, and I have to say, it lived up to its reputation for us!  Right off the bat, we unloaded our bikes and headed for the Ann and Roy Butler Trail.  This ten-mile loop trail follows the Colorado River (not to be confused with the one that runs through the Grand Canyon), offering scenic skyline views as well as a bit of a break from the hustle-bustle of the city.  At one end of the trail, if you happen to miss the turn to stay on the trail, you run into Barton Springs, which is a popular swimming hole!  Don’t ask me how I happen to know this random fact!  Regardless of how we found out about Barton Springs, it was fun to watch kids young and old swinging from the rope tied to a tree branch and splashing into these natural springs!  The average temperature runs 68-70 degrees year around!  I can only imagine how great this might feel on a hot summer day!  

The skyline is actively growing!  Note the number of cranes working on new high rises!

Along the trail there is a large information sign about the “historic bats of Austin”.  Apparently, in the early 1900’s, Austin had quite a number of cases of malaria.  A doctor had the “batty” idea of attracting bats to the area as a means to help reduce the number of cases.  He built a number of towers that provided good conditions for the bats “to hang around” and, whether it was coincidence or not, the number of malaria cases did decrease!

Only one tower remains today, having been recently restored.  It has, once again, begun attracting bats; however, the main place the bats currently hang out is under the Congress Street Bridge.  In 1980, the city renovated the bridge to include expansion joints on its underside.  It just so happens these joints provide the perfect space for Mexican Freetail Bats to roost!  Most of the bats migrate south for the winter, returning each spring to give birth and watch their babies grow up!  Did you know a pup is typically 1/3 the weight of its mother?  This would be like a 120-pound woman giving birth to a 40-pound baby!  Good grief!  

The crowd begins to gather along Congress Street Bridge ...

... and along the Ann and Roy Butler Trail beneath the bridge!

In lieu of joining the crowd gathered along the bridge or along the banks of the river to view the bats heading out for their dinner, we chose to view the bats via the Batmobile (or maybe just a pontoon boat).  Capital Cruises offers a 90-minute ride along the river.  The last stop of the cruise was under the Congress Street Bridge at prime time to see the bats make their sunset emergence.  It was a bit early in the season and because of that, combined with some wind and threat of rain, the bat show was somewhat diminished the evening we went.  Regardless, we had a great view of the skyline and learned a lot along the way!

Nicknamed the "Jenga Building"!

Nicknamed the "Owl Building"!

All aboard and ready to go find some bats!

The red lights help you see the bats as they emerge without bothering the bats.

“Home” for our stay was Austin Lone Star RV Community, conveniently located just south of downtown (the good news).  Along with the convenience of the location came the “roar” of the southbound I-35 frontage road (not so good news).  The traffic on I-35 is really something not to be ignored!  Regardless of the noise, the swimming pool was the next best thing to Barton Springs (more good news).   

Aviator Pizza and Brewery was close to the campground and had great Google reviews – maybe the best pizza I’ve ever eaten!  Recommended to us as a local, one-of-a-kind spot to enjoy delicious Tex-Mex was Matt’s El Rancho.  For a one-of-a-kind local burger joint we were told to visit Casino El Camino.  All solid choices as far as the quality of food served!  Just a note regarding Casino El Camino:  it’s on 6th Street, which means nothing to visitors but EVERYTHING to locals!  Actually, 6th street was part of the entire experience and I’m glad I went – also glad I got out!

Artichoke Spinach Feta was the bomb!

The historic 6th Street of Austin - once (a very long time ago) this was the farm-to-market street.  

Being the Capital of Texas, we couldn’t resist spending a couple of hours touring the State Capitol building.  We loved the tour and learned so much about Texas history.  A lot of pride went into building this century old edifice!  Even the hinges on the door are amazing!

The flag hanging behind the Speaker’s desk in the House Chamber is the very flag that was carried into the 1836 Battle of San Jacinto!  That’s pretty cool!

A magnolia tree near the Capitol begins to bloom!

If you zoom in, you can see the flag carried into battle to defeat Santa Ana!

The star at the top of the dome is 8' across!

The seals on the floor under the dome represent the 6 countries to which Texas has belonged.

So, we are referring to this trip as the Eclipse/Presidential Library tour and Austin offered the opportunity for us to add another presidential library to the list!  It just so happens the Lyndon B. Johnson Library is located in Austin!  This makes four libraires we’ve been to on this trip!  LBJ was firmly imprinted in my brain for having lied to us regarding the success US was having in the Vietnam War.  It was actually nice to learn how much LBJ struggled with the Vietnam War (not that it justifies his lies!).  He honestly couldn’t figure it out.  The need to support South Vietnam in fighting communism and at the same time get out of a losing situation and bring our military home completely befuddled him.  It was also good to learn a few positive things he accomplished:  being committed to the Civil Rights Movement and the Women’s movement and the strides he made towards equality for all.  LBJ was known for giving people what became known as “The Johnson Treatment”.  This involved a strong lean into the person with a posture and voice one couldn’t refuse.  No comment on what LBJ talked my husband into supporting!

Dick getting the "Johnson treatment"!

An added bonus to LBJ’s library was the temporary "Music of America Exhibit" that we were able to visit!  The amazing iconic objects they had were jaw-dropping!  We saw the shirt Elvis wore when he performed in his home town of Tupelo, MS when he was first getting noticed.  It was especially fun for us to see this, as we were there in Tupelo and walked through the park where he gave this concert!  This and so many other artifacts kept us intrigued for at least as much time as the library did!

Certainly a fun visit was our trip to the Lady Bird Wildflower Center.  There is an owl at the entrance to the center caring for her two owlets!  This alone is fun, but learning this is her 12th year for raising owlets at this location was super fun!  Lady Bird was very much a conservationist, and her Wildflower Center certainly testifies to that.  It is a wonderful spot to take in the native vegetation in its natural setting.  We especially found the trail around the arboretum to be beautiful!  The sculptures throughout the center add charm and character to the beauty of the wildflowers.

Bluebonnets and other wildflowers at Lady Bird's Wildflower Center

Willie Nelson has been a frequent visiting artist to this community and it’s clear Austin loves him!  We found a statue and many murals testifying to this fact!  My favorite was the “Willie for President” mural on the side of a store along Congress Street.  I think I finally figured out who to vote for!  Willie certainly seems to be in the right age category! 

South Congress Street is the place to go if you are in the mood for cruising shops.  You can go to the iconic Allens Boots to find the perfect pair of cowboy boots (yes, I had to at least try a pair on!) and Tacovas to select the exact right cowboy hat!  Although we walked away without hats or boots, we did have some mighty fine ice-cream at Jeni’s!  They even have half-scoops on the menu which is something I thought I made up!  I had a half scoop of lemon and paired it with a half scoop of lavender.  To die for!!  

Austin, you certainly make for a great place to spend a few days!  

Up next: Corpus Christi!