Paddle locally

A couple of weeks ago we took a short paddle on the Saspamco Paddling Trail just outside of town. I've written about this stretch of the San Antonio River before, and we were pleased to note that the improvements begun earlier in the year are continuing.

Like the metal steps leading down to the water at the put-in/take-out spots. This time we put in at the CR 125 overpass, which is about the halfway point in the Trail. Here are Sandra and Joline, waiting for me by the steps at our put-in:

looking down the steps toward the CR 125 bridge

We opted for a shorter paddle than last time because the river's flow was fairly low. However, we had none of the usual low-water trouble, i.e., having to walk the boats. In fact, there were some overhanging trees that might have been a little tricky to get by at a higher water level:

Overall, a nice little paddle. And only a bit more than a half hour from home. Can't beat it!

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Henry has a longer post about this trip, with more pictures, here.

Wordless Wednesday: someone has a magic touch

Wordless Wednesday: no-passing zone

A road out of place

The Texas hill country really is hill country, not mountain country. So you don't usually see signs like these within 100 miles of my back yard:

And I didn't get my camera out in time to catch the 10 mph hairpin turn sign. A 10 mph hairpin! Wow! If you were to fall asleep leaving Leakey and wake up in the middle of this stretch of Ranch Road 337, before you get to Medina, you could easily have a moment of confusion as to what state you were in.

Henry had told me that we'd take this winding road home from our Thanksgiving visit with friends near Leakey. (He had even wanted to take his sports car, in order to give me a white-knuckle passenger experience. But cooler heads prevailed and we were in my Prius.) 

But I didn't really know what to expect, and it was a pleasant surprise. Here are some views:

RR 337 winds downhill...

...and climbs back up again

view from a scenic overlook

an impressive roadcut

Click on this last one to enlarge it enough to read the sign, which obviously hadn't frightened the bikers on the left. We saw several groups of these folks enjoying the rush of motoring on a somewhat dangerous, but fun, road.

But, no matter how we might have thought we were in Colorado for a little while, we were really still just in Texas. You "come down to earth" again fairly quickly, back to the flatlands and the iconic livestock:

It's neat to know, however, that such scenery, and such roads are so close to home. 

Giving thanks for the hill country

...and also for generous friends who host Thanksgiving feasts there!

This is the view of the West Frio River you get from the front porch of our friend's vacation cabin near Leakey. Pretty sweet, eh?

It might surprise some readers that we didn't actually paddle this river; there's really not enough water for that. But that didn't keep us from admiring the scenery and the lovely, clear water:

The surrounding landscape is also pretty scenic, and we enjoyed our drive to and from the cabin as well as our time there (more about the amazing road we took home in my next post)...

We also enjoyed seeing lots of birds, especially in the early morning hours...

The sunrise Friday morning wasn't too shabby, either!

And, there was more landscape color on offer than I was expecting, here in our fall-color-deprived part of the world...

Of course, didn't neglect the two main traditional Thanksgiving activities, eating and visiting with friends. And we didn't exactly "rough it" in the country, either.

On the left is a shot of our feast table, pre-feast...pretty swanky, I think, for a hill country get-together. And though I don't have pix of the edibles, you'll have to trust me that they were very, very, good!

As was the visiting. Here are some of our friends enjoying the view on the chilly morning after:

No, you don't need a weatherman to tell which way the wind blows, or where to go for a relaxing holiday.

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Henry has a longer post about the holiday, with more pictures, here.

A new way to sleep

Just when you might think you've seen everything...

....the gearheads [otherwise known as husbands] come up with something new and cool.

Previously unbeknownst to me, Henry has found a new internet addiction: hammock talk. Apparently there is a lot more to this napping technology than I ever dreamed  of (no pun intended).

They make hammocks that are like little tents, so that you can sleep outdoors anywhere...anywhere with trees to tie up to, that is.

And it turns out to be just as cool as it sounds! I got to try it out and took the picture above before the tarp (analogous to a rain fly) was put on. Things look a little hazy through the bug netting, but you certainly can still see the trees. And, presumably at night, the stars, too. (That is, if you keep your glasses on...but the device has an answer for that, too, with a little built-in hanging storage bag for putting things like that away.)

The picture at the top of the post shows the hammock, weighted down with Henry, complete with the tarp. And here's the view from inside with the "roof" on:

Although I just tried it out for a short nap during our Thanksgiving trip to the hill country, Henry spent a night in it out there.  Plus, he even slept in the second hammock he bought, in the back yard, the other night. Best to try them out with amenities close at hand, before taking them on the road.

Which we may do soon. Stay tuned! [More pix and stories from our Thanksgiving trip are coming soon as well.]

Wordless Wednesday: an early seasonal tree