Texas......with a dollar sign.

 

Seriously is spring here yet? It's been cold for what seems like forever, and now that it's light out till 730 I think New England as a whole is pretty much ready for some nice weather. I don't know about you but I wanna sit around a fire, have deck beers, go to the beach, and most importantly, go camping. Now. Right now. So hurry up damn it because if Jack Frost nips at any part of my body one more time I'm going to kill that SOB.
Fortunately I was able to get a small reprieve from the cooler weather last weekend when I headed down to Texas for a few days to visit my friend Kelsey. Who, on a side note, was a great tour guide. Among the four days of Man Vs. Food gorging and city exploration I was able to squeeze in a hike at Balcones Canyonlands National Wildlife Refuge. Located about 40 Miles from downtown Austin in Texas Hill Country, Balcones offers several trails in it's 72 square miles of preserved canyons and grasslands, says travel channel Corey. The day we decided to hike ended up being perfect weather and by the time we reached the trail head it was sunny with a bit of wind. The west does trails differently than they do out here in the east, with switch-backs. Sweet sweet switchbacks. Instead of making a death march trail strait up the face of a mountain like we do in the east, out west they zig-zag the trail up to the top, which is much appreciated. So after four miles of hiking through grassland and up a mesa (everything is named cooler out west, fact.) we headed back to the car and off to do some kayaking in Austin to finish out the day. I learned a few things during my time in Texas: They make better Mexican food than we do, all bars have sweet outdoor areas, and Limon Pepino Gatorade is amazing.

Dallas/Austin top 5:
Juan in a Million - Best Breakfast/Best Handshakes
Perot Museum of Nature and Science - Best Museum/Best place to race a Dinosaur
The Foundry - Best Outdoor Bar
Balcones Canyonlands National Wildlife Refuge - Best Hiking
East Side Show Room - Best Mixed Drink/ Best Flapper Girls

Mileage: 4 Miles

Brush fire regrowth.

Kayaking in Austin.

Death.

Hiking!

New Growth.

Texas Style Canyonlands.

Crick, wash, brook, or whatever you call it.