Eclectic Texas Events-This Weekend

Boerne

Wild West Chuck Wagon Dinner Show
The Enchanted Springs Ranch (Highway 46, west of IH-10)
July 21

http://www.enchantedspringsranch.com/

The Enchanted Springs Ranch will host a Texas BBQ, with live Western music, tractor wagon rides, animal park, western entertainment, pictures with Woodrow the Longhorn Steer, and tours through the Western movie set and Wild West Town, from 5-730 pm.

Fredericksburg

Third Annual Gourmet Chili Pepper & Salsa Festival
Wildseed Farms
July 23-24

http://www.tex-fest.com/

Enjoy the  hot air balloon show, wildflower fields, the butterfly haus, live music and much more. Live music by Ponty Bone & The Squeeze Tones at 7 pm Friday night and Rotel & The Hot Tomatoes at 8 pm Saturday night. Hours are Friday, 3-10 pm and Saturday, 10 am-11 pm.

Auto Swap Meet
Lady Bird Johnson Municipal Park, Highway 16 South
July 23-25

http://www.fredericksburgcarclub.com/

Fredericksburg Vintage Car Club (FVCC), a touring club affiliated with the Veteran Motor Car Club of America (VMCCA). Antique auto and car swap meet. Antique car lovers opportunity to become a treasure hunter and find vintage cars, parts and memorabilia. Hours are Friday and Saturday 8 am-5 pm and Sunday 8 am – noon. Swap meet is free.

Bandera

July 23-24
National Day of the American Cowboy Celebration
Frontier Times Museum and Running R Guest Ranch

http://frontiertimesmuseum.org/cowboy/index.htm

Event begins Friday night with a ranch rodeo. Enjoy a cowboy breakfast on the Courthouse lawn Saturday,  followed by a western arts and craft show with entertainment.  Ranch Rodeo follows in the evening on Saturday. No fee for celebration, rodeo tickets sold here.

Bellville

Spring Creek Bluegrass Club Show & Jam
Coushatte Recreation Ranch
July 24

http://springcreekbluegrass.com/monthly_show.htm

Spring Creek Bluegrass Club 4th Saturday show at Coushatte Recreation Ranch.  Jamming starts at 4 pm and the show starts at 630 pm.

Pipe Creek

Buckle Series Rodeo and Pipe Creek Stampede
BR Lightning Ranch – Located just 9 miles east of Bandera, 12 miles south of Boerne, and 22 miles west of Helotes. Turn off Hwy. 16 at pipe Creek 1/2 mile south on  FM 1283
July 24

http://www.lightningranch.com/rodeo_series.htm

Open Bull Riding – Junior Bull riding – Steer Riding – Calf Roping – Team Roping – Barrel Racing – Chute Dogging – Calf Scramble – Mutton Busting–AND–the world’s only high-diving aqua mules.

Brenham

Crush for Fun
July 24
Pleasant Hill Winery

http://www.pleasanthillwinery.com

Stomp grapes at Pleasant Hill Winery in Brenham.  Get a photograph of your purple feet and a T-shirt that reads “I picked, I stomped, I made some wine.”

Swimming Holes

There are many places to swim in freshwater in and around Austin.  The next few posts will cover the Hill Country, the Highland Lakes, the Guadalupe River, the San Marcos River, Wimberley and more.  Stay tuned.

Lake Austin

Lake Austin • Constant level lake with colder than usual water. The 1,830-acre Lower Colorado River Authority lake flows 20 miles down the Colorado River to Austin and Tom Miller Dam.

Fritz Hughes Park • This Travis County park is located just below Mansfield Dam.  Take Low Water Crossing Road off FM620 and go left at the “Y” in the road on Fritz Hughes Park Road. Fritz Hughes has a playground and nice picnic area, but not a great swimming area. If you go straight at the “Y” you get to the old low water crossing where the water is usually running pretty swift, and is more popular with fishermen than swimmers. Day use only.

Mary Quinlan Park • From the intersection of RR 620 and FM 2222, take RR 620 south to Quinlan Park Rd. Turn Left onto Quinlan Park Rd. and travel 5.5 miles to the park entrance. Mary Quinlan Park is located on the upper reaches of Lake Austin. This small, moderately visited park offers 5.8 acres of rolling hills with 200 feet of shoreline access, including the only public boat ramp for several miles.

Selma Hughes Park • From the intersection of RR 620 and FM 2222, take RR 620 south to Quinlan Park Rd. Turn left on Quinlan Park Rd. and travel 4.6 miles to Selma Hughes Rd.  Selma Hughes has restrooms and picnic tables. This is a small scenic park, with a nice, sandy lake bottom and plenty of shade trees. Day use only. Travis County Park.

Lake Austin

Emma Long Metropolitan park • Also known as City Park, Emma Long Metropolitan Park is located 6.2 miles off FM 2222 on City Park Road. The park is on the shores of Lake Austin, and consists of a total of 1150 acres, 70 of which are developed. Features include: 2 boat ramps, 2 sand volleyball courts, and 3 sets of volleyball standards. Emma Long Park has a designated swimming area in Lake Austin and has a large sandy beach. Men’s and women’s rest rooms, hot showers and dressing areas are also available. 20 camping sites are available with water and electricity hookups as well as 46 tent camping sites in which water is available at every 3rd site.

Commons Ford Ranch Metropolitan Park • Commons Ford Ranch Metropolitan Park is located on Lake Austin off of Commons Ford Rd. The Park consists of 215 acres and features opportunities for boating, fishing, nature study, picnicking, swimming, hiking and wildlife observation. The Waterfall Trail is a 1.25-mile round trip and takes visitors along a wooded creek to several small waterfalls, while the slightly shorter Pecan Grove Loop includes access to Lake Austin.

Westlake Beach • Private Park off Westlake Drive on the lower end of Lake Austin at 2509 Westlake Drive, Austin, TX 78746-2926. (512) 327-9004.

Barton Creek Watershed

Barton Creek • Barton Creek is part of the Edwards Aquifer recharge zone and is a eautiful urban natural area in the middle of the city. Access points to the creek are at Zilker Park, Loop 360 east of Loop 1, Barton Skyway at Spyglass, Gus Fruth Park on Barton Hills Drive, Camp Craft Road at the end of Westbank Drive, and Loop 1 south of Loop 360. Greenbelt and parks are alcohol-free areas. There are several popular spots on the creek, but these are the most popular.

Barton Springs Pool In Zilker Park • This gorgeous swimming hole is one of the top 10 tourist attractions in Austin. The spring-fed water is a consistent 68 degrees year-round. Showers, restrooms, a snack bar, playground, picnic tables, and canoe rental are available. Fee.

Campbell’s Hole • About a mile upstream from Barton Springs Pool on Barton Creek Greenbelt. Also accessible from Spyglass Road. It is s a wonderful location with a deep pool that has water most of the year and small rapids upstream when the creek is running.

Gus Fruth Park • One of the best parks and swimming holes on the Barton Creek Greenbelt, it has white water around big boulders and deep pools. It’s accessible by a rough, steep climb from Barton Hills Drive or a long walk on the greenbelt hike and bike path.

Twin Falls • Two small waterfalls here empty into a small pool. It’s a better place to people watch than to swim. Accessible from the entrance off the access road Loop 1 just south of Loop 360.

Bull Creek

Bull Creek District Park • Bull Creek, also known as Lakewood, is located in North Austin, just minutes from the Loop 1 and FM 2222. An alcohol-free park. Access to the creek is from a hike and bike trail that follows much of its winding course. The park is between FM2222 and Spicewood Springs Road along Loop 360, and the main entrance is off FM2222 at the end of Lakewood Drive. Day use.

Percy Pennybacker Bridge • Under the south end of the bridge over the creeks. The bridge has a boat ramp and dock. Primarily a parking lot for boat trailers.

Onion Creek

McKinney Falls State Park • The park has camping, hiking trails, and summer cabins for rent. From Ben White Boulevard (TX71) east of I-35 take Burleson Road south to McKinney Falls Parkway. Fee.

More to come . . .

This is a Sponsored Post written by me on behalf of Hampton Hotels. All opinions are 100% mine.

Have you heard of the Hampton Chain of Friends Sweepstakes?  Grand Prize is a weekend at a Hampton Hotel for you and 100 of your close friends!  They are also 100 First Prizes, which are weekend stays given away daily for a winner and three of their friends. All you have to do is click the link above and fill out the form. It will take 2 minutes, tops!

I would love to win this sweepstakes.  When I was younger, my girlfriends and I would rent a hotel room in Austin and then go to Sixth Street, the entertainment district.  Sixth Street is live music, restaurants, galleries, bars, eclectic shops and many places to meet and talk with others.  We would visit the street early for happy hour, grab some hors d’oeuvres and return to the hotel to nap, swim or take a Jacuzzi.

We would go back out to Sixth Street about 9 PM to find a good seat for the live music, which started about 10 pm. Those were the good old days, when there was never a cover charge. After partying to 2 am, we would either go back to the hotel and go to sleep or invite some friends back to the hotel and continue the party until dawn, when we would go eat breakfast.

I would love to recreate the old days for my friends. I do not know if there are 100 of us left, but between my friends, their friends, my family and their friends, we could come close to 100. We certainly would not make it until 2 am, let alone dawn, but we could do all the touristy type of things we never did when we lived in Austin.

My suggested day would begin with an Austin Duck Tour in a Hydra Terra vehicle that drives on the street and then drives right into the water. Then I would like to visit Bob Bullock Texas State History Museum, the Blanton Museum on the UT campus and the Texas State Capitol.

I would swim in the Barton Springs Pool and walk the Hike and Bike Trail around Lady Bird Lake. I would eat at the Old Pecan Street Cafe, where they have the greatest deserts in the world. Then I would walk to Maggie Mae’s, and look over Sixth Street from their rooftop bar.

At sunset, I would sit on the outside patio of the Four Seasons and drink champagne by the glass.  As it grew dark, I would wait for the bats to come out from under the Congress Street Bridge. Finally, I would wind my way back to the hotel for a cooling swim.  I would turn in early after making my plans for the next day of fun.

Hurricane Alex Soaking Central Texas

If you are traveling this weekend, please check out your destination using some of the links below.  At this time, the flooding on the Guadalupe River is between Hueco Falls to the Comal River.  However, Canyon Dam is at over capacity and the water flow may increase from the current 284 cfs.

Flooding Below New Braunfels in June 2010

Advanced Hydrologic Prediction Service from National Weather Service provides up to date and predicted water levels throughout river basins in Texas.

Real-Time Data for Texas: Streamflow from United State Geological Survey features data from actual gauges on Texas rivers. May be sorted by county. You may also This site includes coastal areas.

Real-Time Data for Texas: Lakes and reservoirs from United State Geological Survey. May be sorted by county.

Have a Happy and SAFE July 4, 2010

Real-Time Reservoir Information from Texas Water Development Board. Collated information from from USGS, IBWC, and USACE websites. View by state, river basin or individual reservoir.

Road Conditions Map from Texas Department of Transportation.  Zoom in on specific areas.

Weather Underground has many maps with current weather, temperature, heat index, windchill, humidity, radar, dew point, wind, visibility, visible satellite, fronts, snow depth, precipitation and jet stream. There is also online weather radio for some Texas cities.

AccuWeather is another great site for Texas weather, including radar, headlines, videos and alerts sent to your cell phone.

New Braunfels and Schlitterbahn flooded in June 2010