Bob and I went our separate ways this morning. He ran 10 miles on the
Riverwalk, and I hiked five miles at Government Canyon State Natural Area
with Hill Country Hikers. Both of us enjoyed our respective forms of
exercise.

The hiking group started at 8:00 a.m. and we
did five miles in two hours. Quite a few new hikers joined in today. I
think we had about 15 people. Today’s hike was a walk in the park –
mostly level, easy trails with just a few rock and root trippers.

Hiking down into the canyon.

A portion of the canyon floor.

Brown-eyed Susans and blue-star

Bunny frozen in place.

Prairie larkspur and firewheels.

Government Canyon State Natural Area – A path we didn’t take.

Another 2.5 mile hike was next on a different trail in the park. We
could opt out of the shorter hike and three of us did. After 8.8 miles
yesterday, I felt five miles was enough for today. My feet thanked me
profusely for not adding blisters.

Travel Bug out.

It’s time to catch up on this week’s events, now that there’s time to
catch my breath…literally.

The
Hill Country Hikers group I joined on meetup.com is terrific. We have
met so many great people who love to walk, hike, and enjoy being in
nature.

Saturday morning Bob and I got up early to meet
Hill Country Hikers for a day trip to Colorado Bend State Park. The
drive each way was over two hours from San Antonio, Texas, but well worth it. We enjoy hikes in
the parks so much we bought an annual state park pass. But I digress.

We stopped to get a couple of photos on our way to the park…

The morning sun made these firewheel flowers look translucent.

We crossed this on the way into the park.

About 25 people showed up for the walk. Some made a
weekend of it and camped in tents in the group camp area. We met up at
the trailhead for Spicewood Canyon Trail and off we went.

Colorado River

Hill Country Hikers

Our trail environs.

Bob keeping an eye out for rocks.

Fields of brown-eyed Susans

Very rocky terrain

We crossed streams on stepping stones..carefully!

Paul, our leader, taking photos.

As you can see this area is lovely. Tinkling water
kept us company when we reached the bottom of the canyon. We did not see
Spicewood Spring, but we enjoyed the creek that is the result of the
spring. Downriver from where we entered the canyon we came upon a
popular local swimming hole.

Rock on – necessary to watch trail at all times!

Swimmin’ hole on a Saturday afternoon.

At the end of the Spicewood Canyon/Spicewood Springs
Trail, we joined the group campers at their site for lunch. The hikers
had brought their own lunches, but it was nice to share the large picnic
table for family-style conversation…although we were so hungry, it
was quiet while we ate.

When Paul was able to drag us
away from our after-lunch chats, we drove caravan-style in seven
vehicles to the Gorman Falls trailhead for the second part of our day
trip. Again, the trail was rock strewn or just plain rock.

What a day! 81 degrees.

Rock trails in many places.

Prickly pear cactus blooms.

Quite a climb down to the falls. Even worse going back up!

From the Colorado Bend State Park map, copyright 2012 Texas Parks and Wildlife Department:

“Gorman
Falls is a unique geologic formation that supports a sensitive
ecosystem. The mineral rich spring water deposits layers upon layers of
delicate calcite, slowly building up the travertine formations you see
here…”

This is the type of formation you would see
inside a cave, only it is outside; similar to the travertine terraces at
Mammoth in Yellowstone National Park. Seeing the amazing formations was
a highlight of today’s hikes.

Gorman Falls calcite in travertine formations.

Bob soaking in the negative ions from the waterfall.

This tree loves its location by the falls.

Hiking back up the rock wall required strong thighs,
ankles and legs. Our hearts were pumping hard and it helped to step to
the side of the trail and breathe deeply for a few minutes to recover,
then carry on. We were on our way to see Gorman Spring – the source of
Gorman Falls.

Gorman Spring Trail – cool tree

Bob and Susan on Gorman Spring Trail.

Gorman Spring pool

Cottonmouth water moccasin hiding under brush in Gorman Spring pool. Only its tail is visible.

Looking downriver from Gorman Spring.

From the spring we hiked back to a maintenance road
then on to our cars. That was the end of our group hikes. Bob and I said
our good-byes.

We made one stop at Dairy Queen in
Llano for Blizzards, then headed off to the Willow Wildflower Loop Drive
to see if wildflowers were blooming in May. We found some. In fact, it
looked like there was a new crop of bluebonnets coming up.

Verbena

Silver-leaf nightshade

Willow wildflower loop drive.

Roadrunner

Turtle

Firewheels

It was time to head for home – tired, but energized from 8.8 miles hiking.

Movie review:
“The Incredible Journey of Mary Bryant,” starring Sam Neill and Alex
O’Laughlin (of Hawaii 5-0 fame). The movie came out in 2005. This is a
historic period piece, based on actual events, that takes place in 1788. A
young Englishwoman is accused of petty theft. Her punishment: to be
banished to Australia, on one of the first 11 ships, to start construction
of penal colonies to house criminals from England. The  movie is over
three hours, but is so interesting it doesn’t feel that long. The living
conditions on the ships and in Australia are deplorable. You wonder how
anyone could live that way. Escape plans are hatched and carried out. I
give this movie four out of five stars. We rented it from Netflix.

Travel Bug out.

Part 2: Bob joined me for our San Antonio Hill Country Hikers Urban
Walk in the King William District and along the south Riverwalk to
Roosevelt Park. We started at 7:00 p.m. and headed south from the Blue
Star Brewery area along the south Riverwalk to Roosevelt Park. Eighteen people
walked this evening.

Crossing the San Antonio river.

You never know what you will see. I like the way the following homeowners think. See photo below.

San Antonio River

Most of the people walked past the heron below. He
was as still as a statue about
four feet from the path.

Yellow-crowned night heron.

San Antonio River Flood Control Tunnel outlet.

Snowy egret

Urban hikers crossing the San Antonio River.

Yellow-crowned night heron.

Where our walk went.

San Antonio River south.

Lighted gazebo in an estate’s backyard.

Snowy egret at night. Still fishing.

The Hill Country Hikers walked at a moderate pace
tonight, not the “fitness hike” pace of last Friday night. I still had
to run to catch up when I stopped to take a photo. Wait a minute! I
don’t want to be a runner, but I’ll sacrifice for a good photo. Jasmine
bloomed along the trail so we had pockets of sweet jasmine perfume as we
walked.

The temperature was just right at 72
degrees, but it was rather humid. The good news is there was a very nice
breeze blowing so we didn’t get too sticky. Total miles for this hike:
4.5.

Total miles I hiked today: 10.7.

Our
hike finished at 8:25 p.m. Bob and I walked across the street to La Tuna Grill where we had fish and chips for dinner.
I had a Corona with lime and Bob had a Modelo beer. The grill had the
Spurs play-off game on HDTV. Very good.

Travel Bug out.

What a day I had! I was busy from sun up ’til sundown. Bob made sure I was up and at ’em at 6:00 a.m.

My
first event was a 10K (6.2 mi.) walk for American Volkssporting
Association’s (AVA’s) World Walking Day. The local volkssport club
staffed registration at Crownridge Canyon Natural Area starting at 7:30
a.m. Because of heavy rush hour traffic, I got there at 8:10 a.m.

The
first 5K of today’s walk followed the loop hike through Crownridge
Canyon and the second 5K went through The Heights residential area in
the hills northwest of San Antonio. I love walking through the woods.
You never know what you’re going to see. Today’s prize sighting was a
pair of painted buntings. I also saw four wild hen turkeys. Not bad.

Unusual flowers on this vine. Anyone know what it is?

Rain lily with pale green spider on the lower left petal.

Beautiful red seed pods.

Yes, the volksmarch took us on the Level 4 part of the natural area – the Upper Canyon Trail.

Upper Canyon Trail

Upper Canyon Trail

I’d like to mention that San Antonio is very focused
on putting in parks and greenways. It’s a good thing they provide
natural areas. You can see in the photo below how the new homes are
coming right up to the edge of the natural area. Many of the hill tops
have active home construction projects.

Painted bunting.

Painted bunting. I had to zoom in to get these shots.

Painted bunting’s back colors.

Fields of firewheels (Indian blankets).

That ended the first 5K of this morning’s walk. From
the natural area, the walk followed city streets up into a very nice
neighborhood (at the top of the hills).

Exiting the natural area on foot.

Hen turkeys.

Magnolias in bloom.

Cacti in bloom.

Beautiful snapdragons!

Coral bean plant.

The Heights neighborhood.

Beautiful pottery on the porch.

Honeysuckle in bloom all over!

This blog is long enough. I will continue my walk-about two-fer in another blog.

Travel Bug out.

Such an exciting day today! And it’s all good.

Yesterday
I joined four meetup.com groups and this evening Bob and I went on our
first walk with Hill Country Hikers. We met at Robert Tobin Park where
we started our four-mile round trip at a moderate-fast pace. We walked
15-minute miles, so we finished in one hour! Fourteen walkers showed up.
What a nice group of people. One lady, Vanessa, brought her Husky,
Amanda.

The park sign behind me is faux bois. See explanation below.

At
exactly 6:45 p.m. we started south on the trail through the Salado
Creek Greenway. This is a beautiful trail with lots of trees and the
wildflowers are still blooming. Because of the recent rain, everything
was green and growing. Paul, our leader, told us the south trail from
the main parking area is excellent for summer hiking because the trail
is shaded…a very good thing when temperatures hover around 100 degrees
F.

Paul, our walk leader.

Before we started the walk we had time to
read the plaques. Robert L.B. Tobin, after whom the park is named, was
born in 1934, educated in the Alamo Heights (San Antonio) School
District and attended the University of Texas. His father died in an air
crash in 1954. Robert took over leadership of the family business,
Tobin Surveys, Inc. He built the business into the nation’s largest
mapmaker for the oil industry.

Also on the park entry signboard was information about faux bois
(false wood) or “trabejo rustico.” At the parking picnic area all the
tables, benches, the park entry sign, and support for the signs are faux bois. What is faux bois?
It is a craft that was popular in the late 19th century to the 1940s
which is experiencing a resurgence. Natural elements such as wood,
thatch, vines and branches are recreated in concrete. The faux bois pieces
in Tobin Park are the work of Carlos Cortes, a third-generation artisan
whose great uncle Domingo Rodriguez brought the skill to Texas from
Mexico in the 1920s. Other Cortes family creations around San Antonio
can be seen along the Riverwalk (especially The Grotto on the north
Riverwalk), at Brackenridge Park, and some bus stops.

Faux bois picnic table.

Faux bois bench.

Here are photos. I took only a few because if I stopped, I had to run to catch up. Some photos were taken while walking.

Salado Creek Greenway trail.

Mexican hat wildflowers.

Walkers on the trail.

Coming up to our turn-around point with Paul in the lead.

Great egret in Salado Creek.

Salado Creek Falls (ha ha)

Salado Creek

A very large, old pecan tree.

Honeysuckle growing along the trail. Smelled wonderful!

Rain lily. Only bloom for three to four days after rainstorms.

Bluebonnets – some going to seed.

The sun was out, birds were active, the air was fresh
and clean after our recent rains. The temperature this afternoon was
perfect at 72 and very low humidity. At the end of our walk we felt
great.

Travel Bug out.

What do you call a group of people who love to hike, make silly puns,
sing a few bars of whatever song happens to pop into their heads, and
play pranks on each other? Hiking fools (AKA San Antonio Hill Country
Hikers).

Sunday morning I dragged myself out of bed to
make the 8:45 a.m. start time at O.P. Schnabel Park Trailhead in
northwest San Antonio. The park is part of the Leon Creek Greenway.

Meanwhile, Bob did a ten-mile run on the Riverwalk from our RV park into downtown San Antonio and back.

Once
again our hike leader, Paul, took us on a mostly shaded hike. Did he
stick to paved trails? Nooooo. He must know the park like a truck driver
knows interstates. He had us traipsing through the woods on deer
trails, gravel and rocky paths, over the “river” and through the mud.
But we didn’t end up at grandmother’s house. We ended up right back
where we started 5.7 miles later. Thankfully in the description of the
hike, Paul told us to wear hiking boots or sturdy shoes. Especially nice
to have on my boots for the steep rocky section of trail and for the
mucky mud.

The heavy rain we had last week created more
than mud. Wildflowers bloomed, grasses sprouted seeds, and the trees
were vibrant green.

The hike wasn’t the breakneck pace
of last Friday evening’s Tobin Park walk. Today we took time to smell
the blooming sage, look at deer who were looking back at us, and take
pictures. In honor of Cinco de Mayo, one guy broke out singing “La
Cucaracha.”

I am amazed by the variety of scenery in
San Antonio and that we keep learning about new places to be out in
nature. The locals on the hike talked about how much they like San
Antonio’s greenspace initiatives and vote for them whenever they are on
the ballot. The greenspaces are well used by animals, birds, and people
in the region. We saw many deer on our hike. The mud revealed tracks of
deer, raccoons, people and dogs.

Runners with marathon
numbers were on some of the paved trails. We were told they were running
a half marathon. It must have been very popular because when we
finished our hike the runners were leaving. Police had to direct
traffic; the start/finish of the half marathon was across the main
highway from the park we were in.

Surprise, surprise: I have photos from the hike today. Don’t I always? Here they are…

Wooded glen.

Most times there is no water here.

Rain lilies.

One of the many deer checking us out.

This huge rock wall reminded me of a hike we took at the Ledges area in Cuyahoga Valley National Park in Ohio.

Our hike leader, Paul, said there usually isn’t water here. All of us were impressed by this pretty, seasonal “lake.”

Instant lake, just add water.

Wildflowers on the rocks.

Isn’t this inviting?

Check out those roots!

Egyptian goose.

Paul talking to Kim, Carmen and Eduardo.

Paul capturing a moment.

Can you say “spring cleaning?” That’s what we did all
afternoon. It was way past time to clean our 5th wheel carpets so we
rented The Rug Doctor machine from WalMart and Bob, bless his heart,
made many passes of the carpet cleaner over all the interior carpet.
When he had done enough, I took over and made a couple more sweeps of
the living room carpet. It looks so much better!

Sunday night TV is 60 Minutes and Amazing Race.
We finally sat down and relaxed with dinner, then later with a bowl of
ice cream and cookies. Well deserved. Thank you, honey, for being the
“heavy lifter/ muscle” in the carpet cleaning. It’s so nice to walk on
the carpet now.

So ended our second busy weekend day in a row. Even the cats are exhausted!

“I wanna hold your hand paw.”

We love each other.

The end.