Come hell and high water

Most of my readers know about the terrible flooding that happened while we were in Austin 10 days ago. Yes, it's good that the hill country lakes are filling back up again. And, it's also very nice to have our choice of paddle-able streams again...at least we will eventually.

But the costs were much too high. Not that Mother Nature ever asks what we want to pay. With rivers and rain, it just happens. And sometimes what happens is very bad. Even if there's not a hurricane or tropical storm involved, but just rain, rain, and more rain.

Henry and some friends might actually have been among the last paddlers to float down the Blanco River before that stream went murderously berserk, and he has some pictures from their paddle and also from the flood devastation. Check out his blog post here.

Last Saturday we knew we couldn't paddle, both from a safety standpoint and also just because it wouldn't seem right. But we wanted to do something to help. So we drove up to San Marcos, to the Pecan Park campground where we have often put in and taken out on various paddling outings in calmer times. 

There wasn't a whole lot a little old lady could do in the face of such giant piles of debris, but as the tireless chainsaw guys sawed away, there was almost always some smaller stuff that needed to be hauled to the burn piles or the saved-log piles. And it felt good to be doing something to show solidarity with the folks that have lost so much.

Here are some photos of astonishing remnants of the very high water that completely inundated the park and even got up into some of the buildings far from the normal streambed. (Although we didn't spend too much time up there and I have no pix.)

this was the best tool in the work party!

chainsaw guy at work...

...and on another pile...note the diesel smoke

after the chainsaw, before the hauling

an almost-unhooked hook-up...yes, that is a tree uprooted by water

a tree split by water

a hauling helper for scale...yes, these trees were uprooted by water

Finally, here is a more contextual shot of the tree I featured in close-up last Wordless Wednesday. In some ways the stripped trees are more powerful statements of the water's power than the downed ones.

In the end, "wordless" is how we all ultimately felt about this tragic event. Our hours of toil put only a small dent in the cleanup work that still needs to be done. And there are some remnants of the disaster that will probably never be made right.

Wordless Wednesday: water-stripped

Wordless Wednesday: In residence

Come High Water

We've had a LOT of rain lately. Are we in the Twilight Zone? We can't still be in South Texas!

Anyway, at last some of this much needed moisture has fallen in the right places to pump up our area rivers. Rivers that we haven't been able to paddle on hardly at all in the last year or so.

Last weekend we were able to float not only one of these neglected waterways, but a section that's not paddle-able under even normal conditions. The bridge in the photo above is at Amman's Crossing, where we put in. The multiple channels you see here were features all the way down to Bergheim, our take-out. Many choices of lines to paddle!

And many waves as well, like the ones across the way in this shot:

There were enough of these little roller-coasters that I wasn't able to take many photos during the paddle. Not enough still water to allow safe photography. (We think the flow rate was between 500 and 1000 cfs, which is considerably above normal, and 'way above what it's been lately.)

But there were some quieter spots, where I could snap scenery like these amazing rocks. I guess it would take more than 1000 cfs to move these babies!

Judging by the waterlines on the banks, as well as undeniable sights like this debris-crowned boulder...

...the river was higher  fairly recently.

We've gotten some more rain this week, which makes me wonder if that pile of stuff is still sitting up there?

Rain is good for flowers as well as paddlers (unfortunately, also good for bugs)...

The thistles were especially pretty along the river, while the Indian Blankets (you can see some in the background here, too) were gorgeous along most of the roads.

El Niño or whatever else is driving this kooky weather, we're happy to enjoy it!

Wordless Wednesday: School colors

Our newest jewel

Earlier in the Symphony season, I treated you to some interior views of the wonderful new Tobin Center, renovated from our old Municipal Auditorium into a first-class performance space.

Now, as the season's coming to a close, the days are long enough for me to get some good exterior shots prior to a performance, which I did before last week's concert.

This is the river-side of the building. They've done a great job of connecting it with our city's wonderful eponymous river, and until last Saturday I didn't even know this great vantage point was here!

That's because I've always entered from the opposite side, which is pretty impressive in its own right:

This front facade is all that remains of the old Auditorium, but most folks agree that it was its best feature. (To see how thoroughly the older building has given way to the new, check out these photos I took from early in the demolition/construction.) By the way, yes, those are cars up on the front "porch," which I've always found a little weird. But I guess it must be some sort of sponsorship/big donor thing.

But aren't those semi-Moorish towers gorgeous!? I couldn't help but take more photos of them (including the one from inside that I featured last Wordless Wednesday).

Probably the most imposing facet of the Center is that metallic edifice that encloses the space all the way up to my balcony seats. It's quite a lot of shiny stuff, particularly from the river side and in the late, late afternoon sunshine...

I love the shadows the palm trees cast when the sun is this low. There's a performance space here, too, as well as a very nice park area with some great features that I tell you about over on Bridges to London.

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Going inside for just a minute, I have to remark upon the Symphony program I heard. Not only did they play one of my favorite Beethoven symphonies (#7) but there was something totally new under my musical sun: a percussion concerto! It was astonishing! The guest artist was Evelyn Glennie, who I'm learning more about...what an amazing person!

In case you can't quite wrap your head around what a percussion concerto would be like, here's a photo that might help...although without hearing the astounding variety of sounds that come from these instruments, you won't really be able to appreciate it:

It had three parts, and Ms. Glennie moved seamlessly from the wood-based to metal-based instruments, before ending up with the drums. Very, very cool!

Wordless Wednesday: Just a peek