Pilgrimage To the Holy Land (LONG!)

Got back this morning from a wonderful weekend trip to the Hill Country with Hillary. Don’t know how we managed to pack so much fun into only four days! Let’s see if I can remember what all we did…

Thursday morning I picked up Hillary in Port Neches. From there we drove to San Antonio, listening to music and cloud watching along the way. We had a reservation at the Crockett Hotel, a really nice place located right behind the Alamo. It’s front faces one of the walls that Santa Ana’s troops scaled on March 6, 1836. Of course we visited the Alamo, first of the sacred sites on our tour. If you ever go there check out the huge live oaks inside the courtyard; their horizontal limbs are improbably massive, supported by columns and cables. The history is impressive too.

After that we did the riverwalk, had dinner at Casa Rio, took a boat ride, and then went back to our hotel for a nap. Later that evening we returned to the riverwalk and had margaritas, then went to Pat O’Brien’s, where Hillary and I each had one of their world famous “hurricanes.” Mistake. The name, size, and venomous red color of the drink should have served as a warning…the last thing I remember we were back in our room at the hotel…everything was spinning wildly and then I got sick…

Not surprisingly, Friday morning we got off to a late start. Hillary was hung over and I didn’t feel so good myself. Changed hotels for reasons of geographic convenience, and had breakfast at Denny’s, which is a proven hangover cure.

Our next stop was Natural Bridge Caverns. The oak/juniper woodland of the Texas Hill Country reminds me of parts of California, specifically the foothills of the Coast Ranges. Some of the birds are similar (Ladder-backed Woodpecker instead of Nuttall’s), and some are pretty much the same (Ash-throated Flycatcher, Western Scrub-Jay, Bewick’s Wren, Rufous-crowned Sparrow). This wasn’t really a birding trip, but I had my binoculars with me and couldn't help myself. There were Canyon Wrens at the entrance to the caverns, and Black-chinned Hummingbirds coming to feeders at the nearby gift shop. A Crevice Spiny Lizard was spotted atop a rock on our way back from the caverns.

After seeing the caves we did the Natural Bridge Wildlife Ranch, one of those drive-thru zoos where the animals stroll around your car. Highlights: Hillary almost getting tongued by an over-friendly bison (even grosser than you might imagine), and a zebra that made her jump when it unexpectedly stuck its snout in the window and sneezed on her. Driving slowly along the loop road I was able to see some native birds, including Western Kingbird, Scissor-tailed and Ash-throated Flycatchers, Eastern Phoebe, Summer Tanager, and Lark Sparrow...as well as such exotics as Ostriches, Rheas, and Emus...

Friday night we went to Gruene (pronounced green), and it couldn’t have been more perfect. Before going to see Jerry Jeff Walker at Gruene Hall (the oldest dancehall in Texas) we had dinner next door at the Gristmill. The food was great, and our table was on an outside deck that overlooked the Guadalupe River. It was a warm evening cooled by a light breeze, and as darkness fell we shared strawberry shortcake and watched fireflies flickering in the woods below. By the time we finished dinner the show was starting. Jerry Jeff played some of our favorite songs, and after the encore we went outside and watched Common Nighthawks flying around the Gruene watertower (yes, I can turn anything into a birding trip).

Saturday we got up late (again) and spent most of the day at Schlitterbahn in New Braunfels. Schlitterbahn is touted to be the world’s largest water park...large enough that we didn't have time for all the rides, which is fine, because it gives us a good excuse to go back someday. Just a teensy criticism of the park: it wasn't always clear where the lines for the rides started, which line was for which ride, and where to get the necessary flotation devices. Despite these petty complaints it was definitely worth the price of admission. The wave pool was awesome! I even did a little birding while waiting to ride the Banzai Pipeline - from atop the tower I observed Chimney Swifts and Common Nighthawks flying over the park.

After changing into some dry clothes we went back to Gruene to have dinner at the Gristmill again. The restaraunt was more crowded than it had been the previous evening, and we had to wait a while in the beer garden, but there was musical entertainment and beer there, so that was no problem. When we were taken to our table it was in a roofless courtyard with crumbling stone walls and a wooden floor with trees growing through it. Food and service were again outstanding. On our way back to the car we passed Gruene Hall, where Jerry Jeff Walker was singing Navajo Rug to a packed room. Goodbye Gruene, thanks for the memories....

Sunday we got up late (as usual) and took a long meandering drive through the beautiful Hill Country between San Antonio and Austin. On our way out of San Antonio the radio was playing "Full Nelson" - all Willie Nelson, and nothing but. At Luckenbach we stopped to drink beer, listen to some live music, and buy T-shirts. While Hillary was taking a bathroom break I crossed the little creek behind the store, and before she could stop me I saw Ladder-backed Woodpecker, Bewick's Wren, White-eyed Vireo, and Northern Cardinal. After leaving Luckenbach it occurred to me that we were really on a sort of piligrimage, touring the holy land of Texas country music. Hillary agreed, and commented that I had finally figured out what we were doing...

Our penultimate stop was Pedernales Falls State Park. Along the road leading into the park I had to brake to let some White-tailed Deer cross (including a couple of cute fawns). We took the trail down to the falls, where the lovely Pedernales River spills over rocky ledges into a series of large green pools. While Hillary cooled her toes in the river I climbed the rocks upstream to check out a Cliff Swallow colony on a ledge above the swirling water. After that we walked the nature trail between the campground and the river. Where the trail overlooks the river we saw a Texas Earless Lizard, a velvet ant, and a singing male Indigo Bunting. On the way back I got a fleeting glimpse of a singing Golden-cheeked Warbler; it flew just as I got my binoculars on it. Darn.

From there we drove into Austin, where we explored the capital building and grounds. The walls of the capital rotunda are decorated on each level with paintings of past governors (including, most recently, George W. Bush) and presidents (Texas was a sovereign republic for a while). Near the entrance on the first floor we also saw the famous painting of Santa Ana's surrender at the battle of San Jacinto. Hillary is a political science major, so I got the full tour, complete with interesting factoids about the capital and how the state legislature works. One oddity caught my attention - on an upper floor of the rotunda we stopped to look at a painting of a rather important looking gentleman that was labeled "Unknown Judge." How the hell can the identity of a judge be unknown? I mean they have to record their decisions and sign documents don't they? I can understand the existence of the Unknown Comic, but an anonymous judge...?

Before leaving we strolled the capital grounds, taking pictures and admiring the statues of Texan heroes. White-winged Doves and Great-tailed Grackles seemed to be pretty common there. After that we went in search of Freebirds, one of Hillary's favorite restaraunts, and it took us a while, but we eventually found the place, with helpful directions from a hippie (Austin is full of hippies; it's the Santa Cruz of Texas). Hillary was right, the burritos there were delicious, and rather hefty, too.

When we left Freebirds it was starting to get dark, so we hurried back to the Congress Avenue bridge to watch the bats leave at nightfall (about a million Mexican Free-tailed Bats roost under the bridge, which is located within sight of the state capital in downtown Austin). From our position at the base of the bridge we could hear their loud twittering above us, and as the light faded they began their exodus, first a few, and then a steady stream. Large crowds were gathered atop and at either end of the bridge to witness the spectacle. As darkness settled in the bats swarmed around us, fast on their way to wherever Austin bats go. It was after 9pm, and finally time for us to head for home...what a wonderful end to a great trip! We got back home at about 2am, exhausted and ready for bed. Can't wait to do it again...