Author: John L

I love the outdoors, Texas food, and some Texas wines. This is my story about combining the three into an adventure to see all the state parks of Texas, eat a lot of Texas food, and find as many good Texas wines as I can.

Pedernales Falls State Park

by John L, posted in Hiking, Pedernales Falls State Park, TexasStateParks

Pedernals Falls State Park - The Falls

Park #2 on our quest to visit all 93 State Parks of Texas was Pedernales Falls State Park.

Pedernales Falls State Park is in Johnson City, TX about 35 minutes outside of Austin.

Park 2/93 February 9, 2013

Pedernales Falls State Park is one of my favorite parks. I’ve visiting many times and could write for hours about the Wolf Mountain Trail and about the falls themselves. This visit only included a short hike around the falls where we spent an hour exploring the boulders that are normally hidden by water during the wet seasons. We stopped by the headquarters and got our lapel pins, maps, and well-wishes from the park rangers. From the headquarters we headed down the winding, hilly road to the falls. You can park at the end of the road at the large parking lot/restroom area. From there we headed down the gravel-paved path to the falls. This is about a quarter of a mile path that is really easy to make for most people. From there you can take pictures from the multiple overlooks. If you’re feeling more adventurous take either path down to the falls from the main overlook. We took the path (left from looking out over the falls) and continued across the falls. It was relatively dry when we were there so we were able to walk straight across the falls without having to get wet at all. If you have the time (and there’s no chance of rain) head further North and explore some of the beautiful rockscapes formed by the river. There’s a great formation of rocks which is pretty difficult for me to describe so I’ll let the picture below do the talking.
The falls at Pedernales Falls State Park

There’s a “floating” boulder inside of the “eye” in that formation. The light in that picture wasn’t great.

We had another state park to visit that day so we headed back to the car after getting some pictures of that formation.

McKinney Falls State Park

by John L, posted in Hiking, McKinney Falls State Park, TexasStateParks

Old house at McKinney Falls State Park

Park #1 on our quest to visit all 93 State Parks of Texas was McKinney Falls State Park.

McKinney Falls State Park is in Austin, TX.

Park 1/93 – January 26, 2013

Map of Park

Map of Trails

We started at the Park Headquarters which is just off of McKinney Falls Pkwy. We picked up our lapel pin and headed to the trail. We decided to do the Homestead Trail. It was not marked well at all and instead of a 3 mile quick hike we ended up walking over 7 miles. It was good exercise, but overall a disappointing way to spend out time at the park. The trail forked a lot with no marker to tell you which way is the trail and which is a maintenance drive or private property entrance. We seemed to always choose the wrong path at the forks. The falls were ok and I’m sure they will be prettier in the Spring (we visiting January 26, 2013). Watch out for the iron rebar sticking out of the rocks at the falls. They stick out of the slippery rocks by the falls/trail. While an oasis in the city, it’s not exactly the best park the state has to offer.

An Adventure for the Ages – 93 State Parks of Texas

by John L, posted in General, Hiking, TexasStateParks

At some point all of us ask ourselves, “What do you want to do before you die?”

When asked this question recently I answered without pause.

“I want to visit all of the State Parks of Texas.”

At first, it seemed like a daunting, out-of-reach goal. Well, my friends and I are 8 parks into this epic adventure and I can’t wait to see the remaining 85 parks. I am going to keep track of our trips on my blog. If you have any questions or comments please feel free to contact me.

A must-have for anyone attempting this amazing bucket list item is a Texas State Parks Pass. It’s a ridiculously cheap annual pass and will save your group a lot of money.

Ethics Unwrapped Launches!!!

by John L, posted in General, Links

Ethics Unwrapped
Why do good people do bad things?

Neither character nor the ability to reason ethically is strongly correlated with ethical behavior, so there is work to be done beyond the pulpit and philosophy class.

Using the tools of psychology and related fields, behavioral ethics explores the organizational pressures and psychological biases that often cause well-intentioned people to act unethically.

This new field of ethics is one area of emphasis for Ethics Unwrapped. All of our ethics videos, and the teaching guides that accompany them, provide a platform for fostering meaningful discussion in the classroom.

I provide administrative support and red tape removal services for this project.

Gettin’ Sauced is just around the corner!

by John L, posted in Food in Central Texas

Just bought my ticket! I recently went on a BBQ tour with Man Up Texas BBQ. If this festival is anything like that trip…well let’s just say pay the money. I’ll guarantee you have fun.

Gettin’ Sauced! is an annual BBQ sauce contest and festival in Austin, Texas. Taste sauces, & pick your favorites. Listen to live music in the Live Music Capital of the World. Enter to win door prizes. Cool off with a cold drink. And meet with BBQ joints & sauce vendors. A perfect way to spend a Saturday! Festival is from 3:00 PM to 6:00 PM.

picture of bbq festival

New cover photo and a Slideshow

by John L, posted in Doeskin Ranch, Learning

Things I’ve learned/added in the past week:

Categories:

I added some categories for my posts. I’m still trying to figure out how to use categories as pages like my friend’s blog. Hopefully she can show me next week.

Slideshow:

I added a slideshow to my recent post on Homer Bailey’s No-hitter. That could be a useful feature for my next post about a hike.

New cover photo:

I took this picture on my recent hike at Doeskin. It was much better quality than the other picture I was using.

Homer Bailey Throws No-Hitter

by John L, posted in General, Sports

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

Congrats to former Texas Longhorns Baseball recruit Homer Bailey!
I remember watching Homer at a La Grange High School baseball game where the first batter he faced hit a monster home run about 100 feet past the left field wall. Homer went on to strike out almost every batter he faced the rest of the game.
There was a lot of burnt orange in the stands that day. Homer was a verbal commit to the Longhorns at that time. Everyone thought he was good enough to go pro right out of high school.
He did.
He was that good then and proved it tonight.

Texas vs Oklahoma St

by John L, posted in Sports

Texas is 3-0 and OSU comes into the game with a 2-1 record. The opening line has Texas with a slight advantage going in. The run game should determine the winner. OSU and Texas are both banged up a little. More can be found about this match-up at the Longhorns Gameweek site covering this week’s match-up.

I won’t be attending this game. Time to find a good watch party in the ATX.

Doeskin Ranch – Balcones Canylonlands National Wildlife Refuge

by John L, posted in Hiking

Saturday September 22, 2012

I went on a hike at Doeskin Ranch on Saturday. This hiking area is part of the Balcones Canyonlands National Wildlife Refuge. The entrance to Doeskin Ranch is located at Mountain Creek Road and FM 1174 Northwest of Austin.

Map of Parking lot at doesking ranch

There’s just over 5 miles of trails at Doeskin. I covered the entire distance in just over two hours. I stopped a few times to take pictures, rest, and of course enjoy the amazing views.

Check out the Friends of Balcones site for more info.