2006 - 2007, Austin, Texas

In 2006 and 2007 I made 4 business trips to Austin. These were interesting opportunities: we lived in Austin from 2000 to 2002 and had fond memories there. Now the opportunities presented themselves, I had several chances to revisit my old haunts, or explore places I had missed. I only managed to squeeze out a little time on each trip, but together, I actually built a pretty good portfolio.

(Click on each image to see the high-resolution version)

McKinney Falls was a place I wanted to visit when living in Austin, but did not. I seized my first opportunity (June, 2006) and made this "catch-up trip". The falls were actually not as impressive as I had expected, but at least I knew.

McKinney Falls

On this trip I also stopped by Mount Bonnell above Lake Austin. Mount Bonnell is a popular place for locals for a short climb and expansive view, and we had been here countless times before. But it was nice to pay another visit.

Lake Austin

Mount Bonnell

In August of the same year, I worked in Austin for a week. This time I had a little more time to go to a few more places. One of my stops was at Pennybacker Bridge on Loop 360 at the Colorado River crossing. I obviously drove across the bridge many times when I lived in Austin, but rarely did I stop here. This time I made sure I did.

Pennybacker Bridge

I wandered to the Arboretum area. This is near where we used to live. The "Clayton Cows" are one of the interesting things to see in this outdoor shopping center.

Cows of Arboretum

I managed to sneak into the Quarry Lake Apartments one day, where we lived for two years. The apartment was nothing special, but the small lake was a nice little piece of nature in the middle of the city. I had walked around it countless times.

Quarry Lake

The branches of a dead tree by the lake.

Dead Tree

One day after work, I took a stroll at Town Lake (now known as "Lady Bird Lake"). These pictures from Lou Neff Point were for the ages. 12 years later, in 2018, I went to the same spot. Austin's skyline had changed dramatically during these years (You can see this picture and this picture for comparison).

Austin Skyline

I also managed to stop by the Texas State Capitol one day.

Texas State Capitol

Statues outside the capitol.

Statue

I soemhow ended up south of Congress Bridge at dusk to see the Mexican Free-tail Bats emerging from their roosts under the bridge, a local favorite pastime.

Congress Bridge Bats

I walked into the night, taking pictures of the city skyline at dusk.

Austin Skyline

My highlight of all these trips was a visit to Hamilton Pool. I had been there before, but I could never resist another visit. In my opinion it is the very best of Texas Hill Country. This time, at the height of summer, Hamilton Creek was reduced to a mere trickle. 12 years later, when we went again in the winter of 2018, it had many times more water. You can see this picture and this picture for comparison, or visit this page for more pictures. But high water or low, it was always nice to spend a few hours there.

Hamilton Pool

In February of 2007, I made my final business trip to Austin. This time I decided to go to Monument Hill in La Grange. This place is about half way between Austin and Houston, and I always saw it when driving between these two cities. Finally I decided to check it out. I must admit this trip was a little disappoiting on this wintry day. The monument commemorates the "... men who perished in the struggle for Texas independence" according to the interpretive guide, and to "... repel the Mexican invaders", conveniently forgetting that it was the slave-holding Anglo-Saxons who invaded Texas, a territory of Mexico. Alas, as always, history has different versions.

Monument Hill

From the bluff there was a view of the Colorado River and the nearby Kreische Brewery.

Colorado River

Kreische Brewery

I had a final walk around Town Lake on a sunny day. Austin is the self-proclaimed "Live Music Capital of the World", not surprisingly a couple of guitar sculptures were erected along the river.

Guitar sculpture at Town Lake

And of course, the statue of the favorite son of Texas, Stevie Ray Vaughan.

Statue of Stevie Ray Vaughan

Reminder: To see the latest of my pictures, please join the Nature Lovers of Virginia Facebook group.