Urban Walk

Yesterday was my first urban walk in downtown Austin which was a completely different type of walking experience from what I'm accustomed to. I enjoyed it, but think that was partly due to the rain and cooler weather. A city walk with the sun blazing away and heating up all that concrete would probably be like torture for me.

Thomas and I started out from his place on West Street and headed up Judge's Hill. From there we walked to 24th street and if memory serves me correctly we turned right onto MLK Blvd. At some point we picked up a paved trail along Waller Creek and treked over to Ceazar Chavez. We went as far as Town Lake and then hooked up with Shoal Creek which took us back to Thomas's place. So to sum up it was about a six mile loop.

I didn't bring a camera because of the rainy weather but wish I could have taken some pictures. We saw at least a hundred migrating Monarch Butterflies gathered together under the tree canopy during one part of our trek, and then continuously saw several more scattered here and there the rest of the way. Some of them flew so close to us you could reach out and touch them! I believe that is the first time I've seen so many Monarchs in one place and felt quite fortunate to see them. It was exciting!

Next weekend I'm heading out to the back country again for another backpacking trip! I can't wait to try out the new equipment I bought last week. I got a new sleeping bag, new sleeping pad, and a new pack all from REI and on sale thankfully. Stay tuned for my next trip report and new photos.