Tag: Texas

Barton Creek Greenbelt

by John L, posted in Barton Creek Greenbelt, General, Hiking

Off of the soap box and onto the trail. I’ve been sitting on this post for a busy couple of weeks. For those that have the pleasure of experiencing the Barton Creek Greenbelt you’ll agree with me that it’s an amazing escape from an even better city.

Less than two miles from the capitol there is a trail that takes you along the creek bed for more than 7 miles. Last Saturday we did the full trail; almost 15 miles. You can park at the Barton Springs Pool and start the hike there. The trail follows along the creek past Highway 360 and MoPac for about 7.5 miles. We park at the pool, hike to the end, and come back to get to the full 15 miles. Get there early and you won’t have to fight the crowds or walk miles just to get to the trail from your parking spot.

flowers at trail

trail in austin

water in barton creek

Luckily we had some rain in the preceding days and there was some water in the creek. Everything was really dark green and full of life.

creek

There are several places along the trail where you’ll encounter rock climbers of all talent levels. I don’t have any good pictures of the climbers from that day, but here’s a few of the rock faces along the trail.

rocks on trail

rocks on trail

Austin is Underrated

by John L, posted in General, Hiking

I recently read an article that claimed Austin is overrated. That same article also said “Go to Houston instead.” I won’t do the internet community a disservice by linking to that hack. You’ll just have to take my word on it. I’m just not that good of a writer.

The Barton Springs Greenbelt is a great example of how Austin is underrated. That’s right. I said it. Underrated. How can that be? Good writers say Austin is a great town for food, sports, live music, politics, festivals, drafthouses, and races among other things.

cap 10k
borrowed from http://www.flickr.com/photos/danyanjared/

They usually still say it’s a city and most people outside of Austin probably think of it as a city. It’s really so much more.

McKinney Falls State Park, Bull Creek Park, Zilker Park, Northwest Hills, well the list goes on and on of great places to hike and enjoy the outdoors. And they’re all within the city limits. It’s amazing when you think about it and even greater to experience it.

Think about Austin right now. Session is going strong and it’s crazy around the capitol.

austin capitol with crowd outside

Multiple giants of industry are opening new offices or expanding (VISA, Google, GM, Samsung, Apple, etc). Movies are being filmed all over the place. There’s an F1 track in case you haven’t heard. I’ll admit that the track is not actually in Austin, but everyone in town felt the effect of the race going on that week. Every week there is a major event of some kind. It’s just crazy around here. Yet a few blocks from the capital you can escape and find yourself out in the middle of nowhere it seems. You go from the pictures above to this:

greenbelt

This picture was taken less than two miles from the Texas State Capitol. Overrated? No way. I can only begin to paint the picture for you. You have to experience this city to understand why many Austinites feel the way they do. I’ve been here almost 9 years now and I’ve only just begun on my Austin adventure.

West, TX Benefit Today!

by John L, posted in Causes I Believe In, Food in Central Texas

Don’t forget to come out to the benefit at LA BBQ from 11-2 today.

(From manuptexasbbq.blogspot.com)

1. Honest Tea is donating bottled teas and lemonades.
2. Teas of Texas is donating bottled teas and waters.
3. A local wine importer is donating cases of malbec & chardonnay.
4. Saint Arnold Brewing Company is donating beer & root beer.
5. Gloria Corral will be at the event selling copies of her book “BBQ Lovers Guide to Austin.” She will donate 100% of the proceeds!
6. Austin Eats Food Tours is donating 10 passes for a free food tour. (Their tours generally range from $65-75 per tour.) We will have a table set up to raffle off the passes. All of the proceeds will be donated!
7. We will sell The Q Card at the event, & 100% of our sales will be donated!
8. Stephen Joseph, owner of Joseph’s Riverport Barbecue (Jefferson, TX), is donating 100 koozies & a case a rib rub for the event!
9. Junior’s Beer and Wine is donating 3 kegs of beer!
10. Shannon Lee Nelson will be the live-music entertainment!

Government Canyon State Natural Area

by John L, posted in Govt Canyon SNA, Hiking, TexasStateParks

A little sneak peek on my recent trip to Government Canyon State Natural Area. (Park #14)

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And yes, that’s dinosaur tracks.

Solaro Estate Vineyard

by John L, posted in Food in Central Texas, General, Texas Wine

After our hike at Government Canyon State Park this morning we stopped at Solaro Estate Vineyards on our way back to Austin. The wine at this vineyard is excellent. This is the first wine using Texas grapes I have liked after many tastings at many local vineyards. I highly recommend it for those in the area.

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They have a great tasting room and live music on the weekend.
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West, TX BBQ Benefit

by John L, posted in Causes I Believe In

I have a post about my recent hike on the Barton Creek Greenbelt forthcoming. In the mean time I wanted to let everyone know about a BBQ benefit to support the families in West, TX.

An associate of mine is organizing the benefit at LA BBQ this Sunday, April 28th from 11am-2pm. More information can be found at his blog – Man Up Texas BBQ.

What: West Benefit
When: Sunday, April 28, 2013, 11AM-2PM
Where: la Barbecue (1502 S. 1st St., Austin, TX)

We’ll have live music, drinks, and free chopped-beef sandwiches until they run out. (You are, of course, free to purchase any other food from la Barbecue, as they are open for regular business, as well.)

KVUE also has a list of ways to support West, TX which includes some info on the benefit at LA BBQ.

This benefit is legit. I know the organizers and trust them enough to publicize the event here. Every penny raised will go to families in West, TX.

From the BBQ blog:

Speaking of “every little bit,” let me be clear: EVERY SINGLE PENNY DONATED AT OUR BENEFIT WILL GO TO THE RELIEF EFFORTS IN WEST. People who defraud/trick/scam people during times of crisis and tragedy are sick, sick people. We hope you feel confident enough in us to help out. We have held several benefits like this in the past, and we have never taken a penny for ourselves. Any costs for the event will be borne by the people contributing. There will be no taking of a cut of the donations to cover expenses. I don’t know specifically where we will donate the money, but as soon as I do, I will announce it, so as to be transparent.

Hart’s Firehouse BBQ

by John L, posted in Food in Central Texas, General

On my recent Texas State Parks day trip I stopped for lunch at a BBQ place in Lampasas, TX called Hart’s Firehouse BBQ. This joint has been open since 1965, with different owners along the way, and has a great atmosphere to go along with some good BBQ. It’s located at the intersection of highway 281 and Plum St in Lampasas, TX.

Firehouse BBQ front of store
Firehouse BBQ in Lampasas, TX

We arrived right before lunch on Saturday and found ourselves second in line. The lady in front of us proceeded to order sandwiches for the entire staff of the city of Lampasas. As I waited in front of the “please order ahead for large orders” sign I took a look at the restaurant’s interior. It was a nice country homey place with plenty of seating and natural light. They have plenty of outdoor seating and parking which is always a plus.

Entrance of Firehouse BBQ in Lampasas, TX

Once the City Office staff were given their order we were up to bat. The first thing I noticed about the menu is they seem to like their spice. This is good for me, but I can understand how some people wouldn’t like the extra kick. For those people, you probably shouldn’t stop at a place with fire in the name.

I got the two meat BBQ plate with brisket and jalapeno sausage.

two meat plate at firehouse brisket and sausage with green beans and potato salad
Two Meat plate at Firehouse (pic borrowed from texasbob.com)
Entrance of Firehouse BBQ in Lampasas, TX
Patio area at Firehouse BBQ in Lampasas, TX

The brisket was good brisket. The sausage was good sausage. Nothing to brag about, but good food. The green beans and potato salad (jalapeno potato salad of course) were pretty darn good. The jalapeno in the potato salad was a nice touch and wasn’t too spicy at all. The spicy sauce was excellent and I recommend it for the sausage. Overall it was an ok place to stop between parks/hikes. Having been to as many great BBQ places as I have had the pleasure of eating at, it is difficult to impress me when it comes to Texas BBQ.

Perk’s Coffee – Lampasas, TX

by John L, posted in Food in Central Texas, General

Another stop on my recent Texas State Parks day trip was to a nice little coffee shop in Lampasas, TX called Perk’s. We were greeted by the smell of good coffee and tea brewing and a smiling owner named Monty. We’ve had good luck finding great coffee spots on our trips and I’d have to say we struck gold once again.

Perk's Coffee in Lampasas, TX
Perk’s Coffee in Lampasas, TX

Along with a great iced tea, Italian soda, cafe americana, and an assortment of tea bags to choose from Monty also has a selection of pastries to choose from for a much needed sugar boost after the trip to Gorman Falls. It turns out Monty is a pastry chef by trade and just has the coffee shop on the side. His cake shelves were all empty though he proclaimed that they were all full this morning when he opened at 10:00 am. All the cakes on display were custom orders which were picked up promptly at the opening of the store.

He did have some unique cupcakes available for us to try out. They were made with four different chocolates and had a chocolate chip cookie baked into the center. Try one…or two if you happen to stop in. I promise you won’t regret it.

How it all began…

by John L, posted in About Me, How it started

An attempt to visit all of the Texas State Parks and Historic Sites

At some point in the fall of 2012 I messaged one of my good friends, “I think I’d like to visit all the state parks.”

Response: “I’m in.”

This site documents our story. Below is a list of the sites we’ve visited so far. There are blog posts on each park. I have personally been to some of them more than once so there are multiple posts about several of the sites. I hope you enjoy and I hope that our story inspires you to visit some Texas State Parks. There are some amazing treasures out there and the only way to experience them is to get our there and explore.

The main focus of my site is the attempt to visit all 93 parks. Several people have asked about a post that tells a little about myself or my story. Ask and you shall receive.

My name is John. I’m an 8th generation Texan and proud of it. I was born in the Houston, TX area and got to Austin as quick as possible. I went to the University of Texas at Austin and decided it was so great I’d never leave. I started working full time for the University and still hold a position today.

I’ve always enjoyed the outdoors. My dad would take me fishing at Lake Livingston State Park when I was 5 or 6 years old. I can vividly remember waking up and staring at the alarm clock waiting for it read 5:00 AM. I knew that would mean my dad would be coming to wake me up to take me fishing at the state park. That is my earliest memory of a state park, but there would be countless more to follow.

Shortly after my dad passed away, I joined the cub scouts where I met a family which would become somewhat of a surrogate family to me. Over the next eleven years they would include me in many of their family trips to state parks, national parks, or any number of other outdoors destinations. Not only did my love of the outdoors stem from this relationship, but this family was also responsible for me becoming a Longhorn. I can’t begin to put in words how important these people were in my life growing up and continue to be today.

In 2004 I enrolled at the University of Texas at Austin. A love of sports developed and I made it a point to see as many events as possible while a student. It has helped to fuel my passion that some of the greatest athletes in the history of Texas Athletics have come through while I have been on campus. Cat Osterman, Vince Young, Sanya Richards, Colt McCoy, Kevin Durant, Lamarcus Aldridge, Derrick Johnson, Brendan Hansen, Ian Crocker, Aaron Peirsol, Cedric Benson, Aaron Ross, Michael Huff, the list goes on…

Through various friendships and connections I met some of my closest friends today. Every fall we combine our love of UT Athletics, BBQ, and having fun and host tailgates for our friends and family. It was after one of these tailgates that I sent one of my friends the text.

“I’d like to visit all of the state parks in Texas”