A Merry Christmas to you

No, it's not a Renoir

it's people just sitting along the Riverwalk in San Antonio.

And the lights hanging down form the trees…..
doesn't it make it look like it's some sort of magical rain?

Well, it's quite enjoyable riding in a boat as carolers serenade you 
form bridges overhead

or singing on the passing boats!

May you have a Merry Christmas, from down in San Antonio,

where you can still find a Christmas celebration!

South Texas' Autumn

From our Thanksgiving blog, the stories of the big cold front coming our way, and the fact that we are approaching the Winter Solstice,
you might think we too are in winter.

While this is what you'll see if you look for it,

you will notice that

there is a lot of green still here.

And when the temperature reached 84 yesterday,

even our snowman was wearing her tennis hat!

A frozen Thanksgiving at Georgetown Lake.

You might not believe it, but it sure did freeze in Texas….for 3 consecutive nights 
during our Thanksgiving camp-out!!

Yes, that is frost on the Texas flag during Thanksgiving! 

Don't believe it? Check this out:

While things looked pretty dreary,

someone decided to go up in his hot air balloon, in the cool of the early morning.

Then the morning slowly changed from this: 

to this:

And, after 3 days of cold,

the dogs finally got to basque in the 60 degree sun.

Now, that's Thanksgiving!

The Rio Medina!

There are spots in which water has pooled, despite the lack of rain.
Here is the Rio Medina as it crosses Highway 16, between Medina and Bandera.

With it's cypress leaves changing color, 

you'd think its too lake to go tubing.
But when the temps hit 80, it might still be a good day for such activities after all!

(P.S . As you have noticed, we really like to see and play in the water. 
But, since not everyone is so interested in that….we'll try to avoid that subject in the next few blogs.)

Autumn along the Guadalupe River

The Guadalupe River is such a local icon, that (despite our drought) 
they will do whatever it takes to keep it accessible to floaters.

Knowing this, and eager to get our new kayak in the water,
we headed about an hour west to Kerrville, in the Texas Hill Country.

Sure enough, there was good water…..'cause they damned it up for us.

But we were so surprised to see that autumn had fully arrived here, 
since it's beginning at last week end's (as we showed you on our Lost Maples blog).

So, why not just enjoy a picnic, take up your fishing pole, and sit at the water's edge?

Or take a look around,

as you put the kayak in the water,

and go for a slow and leisurely float down the famous Guadalupe

out by Kerrville, Texas.

After seeing Medina Lake, we are really concerned about our drought.

San Antonio gets its drinking water form the Edward's Aquifer. 
The aquifer is something you hear about, but you don't ever physically see.

So, when we hear how low the water level has reached, we just can't grasp it's significance.

That is, until we took our new kayak to Lake Medina, just outside the city limits.

Three years ago, when we went there, the water level was too low to put in a motor boat form the county park's boat ramp. 
But, you could still picnic with some water at the shore…..
and even put in your kayak if you wanted.

But, this is what we saw this weekend:

All the white you see should covered by water!
Now…..It is blocks away form the road's edge!
Wow.

And here's the lake closer to the damn:

The water should reach to the top of the exposed white rock!
Even at the deepest part, the grasses from the lake's floor are higher than the current water level.

Seeing THAT really makes us concerned about this drought in the Southwest!

November's changing colors, at Lost Maples State Park

We heard last week that the colors where about to change,.
So, in the van we went for a overnight trip, 69 miles west of San Antonio, to Lost Maples State Park.

And, sure enough, the change has indeed begun!

Some from orange onto shades of red.

And, while the temps started in the 40s, by mid afternoon it was in the 60's, 
something we indeed enjoy in this part of the country.

It was the 4.6 mile East Loop Trail we took.
A little steep, as we climbed up to 2,500 feet.

And the porous rocks were a title rough on our dog's feet.

No, that's not volcanic rock you see. It's limestone, with many eroded holes, 
back form the days when all of Texas and even New Mexico, was covered by an ancient sea.

But, as you can see, at the end of it all, 
these 4 happy hikers did survive, with just a few scrapes and falls.