“Be a Tourist In Your Own City” – Austin, TX 2004 (Part One: Auditorium Shores, Hike & Bike Trail, Kayaking)

“Be a tourist in your own city.”  Some where I’d heard that suggestion, and over the course of 2004, that’s what I tried to do.  Sure I’d visited a few places when my parents had come down the previous year, and I wanted to take the chance to explore some of the things I hadn’t seen yet.  While I might note some larger things (which I’d save for when the family visited again), I wanted to check out some the smaller (and mostly free) attractions.

AUDITORIUM SHORES

This is a large grassy expanse on the south side of Town Lake, and a frequent venue for summer concerns (hence the name).  The rest of the time people take advantage of soak of the sun playing Frisbee, walking their dogs, or just generally loitering.  Part of the Hike & Bike Trail comes through this area also, so you’ll see people wandering by.  On a nice day, you’ll be able to get a nice unobstructed view of the Austin skyline.  I particularly like this skyline as it’s much lower than other large cities, and has a pretty consistent style.  The glass building which look like it has a “pyramid of ice” at the top is the Frost Bank Tower, more affectionately known as the Fortress of Solitude.  This was in progress when I first arrived in Austin, and nice to see that it’s finally completed, even though it really changes the skyline.

Along the Hike & Bike Trail near Auditorium Shores is a statue dedicated to Austin’s patron saint, Stevie Ray Vaughan.  A guitarist for various R&B and Blues acts in the 70’s, he struck out on his own in 80’s to make a name for himself.  While not originally from this city, he became a fixture on Austin City Limits (which I remember watching on my local PBS station during my high school years).  There are a number of artists which helped Austin earn the moniker of “The Live Music Capital of the World,” and SRV was among them.

A plane crash in August 1990 claimed the life of this talented musician, and Austin wept for the loss of their adopted son.  Not long after, a statue in his likeness was erected as a memorial.  Every radio station in this city still plays songs from SRV’s catalog to this day to show that he’s not forgotten.

HIKE & BIKE TRAIL

Austin is both a green city (environmentally conscious) and a physically-fit one.  Main streets (like Congress Avenue) are regularly shut down so marathons can be held, and frequently cyclists are pedaling down the roads.  While there are many nature trails within the city limits, the most popular is the Hike & Bike Trail.  This is designed for a way to people to enjoy the lushness of this area, and have a place away from traffic to exercise.  There’s no set time that it’s open, so you could find people along this trail at any hour.  Most people who use common sense stick between the dawn-to-dusk hours.  Some sections are well-lit, and others aren’t.  Like any area within an urban environment, use good judgment.  Austin is not crime-free.

The trail starts at Congress Avenue, right at the edge of Auditorium Shores, and is mostly dirt.  As it winds along the edge of Town Lake (which is really just a section of the Colorado River), markers are set at quarter-mile intervals; so you can gauge your progress.  Once you reach Lamar Street, you can opt to cross the lake here (as a short cut), or further west towards the Zilker Park area.  The area closest to Zilker has more trees, as it is farther from any nearby roads.

As you travel westward, you’ll come closer to where Mopac crosses the river.  There’s a trailhead here, as well as a decent-sized parking area under the highway.  This is a public area, so hide your valuables and lock your car.  I don’t know if this was designed like this at first or was a later addition, but the Mopac bridge is multi-tiered.  The top portion is the highway, but the lower level is designed for pedestrians.  Various birds have nests under here, and have on occasion dropped bombs on those walking underneath.  On the north side of the bridge a water truck is usually parked here, so trail uses can get a drink.  A number of dog dishes are scattered about this section too, so our furry companions can have some too.  Austin has a large number of dog-owners, and you’ll see a large number of them here.

The Hike & Bike Trail now continues eastward, and past some wooded sections close to Austin High School.  Boat traffic on the lake consists of canoes (rented from an inlet near Zilker Park), and kayaks (which can be obtained on this side).  Swimming is discouraged, except for the section inlet near Zilker set aside specifically for that.  Past the area close to the school, the trees open up a bit to make wider areas with benches here and there.

Eventually coming this way you’ll past the north end of the Lamar Pedestrian Bridge.  Since this is built at the same level as the actual Lamar Street bridge designed to handle auto traffic, it sits above the Hike & Bike Trail.  While on the south side there’s a short dirt trail down to the water front, the north side has a spiral ramp.  Sure there’s also steps for those walkers, but it’s nice to take the descending pathway when you’re on your bike, trying maintain your jogging pace, or walking a dog.

Past there you’ll enter another open grassy area (although with a few more trees), as this was where the old power plant was.  Eventually, this brings you to the Congress Avenue bridge (also known as the Bat Bridge), where you can look over and see Auditorium Shores.  This side bridge has a pedestrian section completely separate from the traffic, as its set behind a retaining wall, and a few feet lower.  That way motorists don’t have to worry about bikers just darting out in front of them, as Austin bicyclists are known to do.  Bicycles are considered vehicles, and need to follow the rules of the road like a car does.  Many cyclists simply ignore that on roads, but are a bit more accommodating when on the Hike & Bike Trail.

KAYAKING AND CANOEING

With Town Lake running though the middle of the city, that means some relaxing water sports are in order.  The university has a rowing team which can be seen whizzing by, but if the average person wanted to go out on the water they could rent watercraft.

On the south side, near Zilker Park, canoes and small rafts were available (from Zilker Park Boat Rentals).  I learned two things when renting on that side.  The rafts, which are large yellow hollow plastic boat-shaped items, have a couple holes in the bottom for drainage.  It doesn’t affect their ability to float at all, but will wet the butt of whoever is sitting in there.  It drenched my wallet and lunch the time that Amy and I took one out.  While the rafts are better for couples, canoes are better for larger groups or families.  The canoes are the aluminum variety, like what I used in Scouts.  If the Lake gets crowded (especially at the pick up/drop off point), a hard bump can damage the canoe, but won’t hurt the raft.

Also, the Zilker Park side takes cash only, which was a fact we didn’t know until after the boat was brought back.  We had just enough bills between the two of us to cover it.  I remembered that the next time when I rented a canoe.

On the north side of the Lake is Texas Rowing Center, and they take plastic.  When Jeff came down to visit in March (when I was between jobs), this was a nice inexpensive thing for us to do.  The kayak’s are a hard plastic, so you don’t have to worry if you accident bump into another person (intentional contact is not recommended).

Because you’re sitting in the boat, you have a lower center of gravity, but you can still tip it over if you’re not careful.  Like the Hike & Bike Trail, the best time to go is in the middle of week day, as this whole area is less-crowded.  If you can only come down on the weekend, then shoot for early as possible on Sunday.

For current information on the places mentioned:

            Austin (TX):  http://austintexas.gov/

            Auditorium Shores:  https://www.facebook.com/AuditoriumShores

            Austin City Limits:  http://acltv.com/

            Stevie Ray Vaughan:  http://www.srvofficial.com/us/home

            Hike & Bike Trail:  http://www.austintexas.org/listings/Lady-Bird-Lake-Hike-and-Bike-Trail/4369/

            Zilker Park:  http://austintexas.gov/department/zilker-metropolitan-park

            Zilker Park Boat Rentals:  http://www.zilkerboats.com/

            Texas Rowing Center:  http://www.texasrowingcenter.com/

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