Liberty Walk Greenbelt and Beck Preserve (Round Rock, TX) – July 2020

In order to find more places to visit as part of the Georgetown Running Club’s 2020 Summer Tour, I used the trusty Google Maps and just zoomed around various places from my neighborhood spiraling out in different directions.  Yes, I know there’s a website devoted to various Austin parks, and there’s probably an app for it too.  I just like going old school.  Besides, viewing something on Google Maps showed my roughly what the trail looked like, where it went, and how I would get there.

 This greenbelt was off Liberty Walk Drive, so I called it that.  This isn’t Cat Hollow Park, which is on the other side of the road (although I did take five minutes and walked the paths there).  Near the entrance to what I called “Liberty Walk Greenbelt” was the Cat Hollow Disc Golf Course, which paralleled the trail.  That being said, I guess this would technically be the “Cat Hollow Greenbelt.”  I didn’t see any signs with specific names, so go with it.

 The trail was mostly an open path with yard fences on side, so little wildlife to see.  I had to cross O’Connor Drive to get to the rest of the trail, which had a few more trees and some paved portions.  There were a few spurs off the trail which I explored, but for the most part this ended at Great Oaks Drive.  At the conclusion of one spur I spotted another field or park area a short distance down the street, so I went to check that out.

 Known as Beck Preserve, this was an undeveloped area for wildlife to have a habitat.  There were some game trails to follow, which looped here and there.  I didn’t cover all of it, but I figured if I went far enough I’d come to 620.  I didn’t want to disturb any wildlife which was there, so I returned to my entrance point, and finished off the Liberty Walk Greenbelt before it rained on me.

Brushy Creek Single Track (Cedar Park, TX) – July 2020

 I freely admit that I’d been to Brushy Creek Park so many times I know the main trail like the back of my hand.  But that’s just the main trail, and there’s a lot of side areas to check out.  Some of these are billed as “bike routes” but there’s no reason you can’t walk them.  It’s not like you won’t hear the bikes coming, and since you’re moving slower, you’re the one that just needs to get out of the way.  With that bit of common sense, I checked out this section as part of the Georgetown Running Club’s 2020 Summer Tour.

 Now first I started doing the trail closest to the YMCA camp which took you by the overlook of the lake, and then it wound its way through a lot of scrub and sparse tree cover, which really wasn’t all that interesting.  There were a few bike jumps here and there, but it didn’t feel like a “nature walk” to me.

 Since I’d parked at the 183A bridge entrance (and resupplied by water), I went east on the paved trail until I found the entrance to the “Big Loop” trail.  I took a picture of the trail map so I could use that for navigation purposes.  As you could see, the plan was by the time I exited the “Big Loop” I’d be back near where I’d parked.

 On this there was some elevation change, as it placed you on the rim overlooking the main paved trail, and then went off on its own section.  I liked the gorge at the end of the trail, which I considered to be a nice reward.  Even at a placed I’d been to a lot, it was still nice to find something new.

Veteran’s Memorial Park (Cedar Park, TX) – July 2020

This was not a new place to me, but I wanted to make another trip here so I could “mark it off” as part of the Georgetown Running Club’s 2020 Summer Tour.  I’d done a number of 5k races at this location, so was familiar with the area.  On this trip I did walk the trail that looped around the parameter of the park, but mainly I spent some time taking pictures of the various monuments.  With that in mind, I started up the “Pathway of Heroes” which circles around the main monument as it circled up the hill.  Not really any “nature shots” here, but still something I felt was worth sharing.

Twin Creeks Trailhead (Cedar Park, TX) – July 2020

 Always on the hunt for a new place to go as part of the Georgetown Running Club’s 2020 Summer Tour, this was one I just happened to stumble upon.  After a visit at place for non-running-related reasons, I was going west down Route 2769 from Anderson Mill Road towards Volente.  I saw the Twin Creeks Golf Course there on the right, and I swore I saw a trailhead sign near where the maintenance shed was.  It took me a moment to turn around, get back to the section, and pull in to make the confirmation.  Sweet!  Well, I wasn’t prepared for a long walk then, but I knew where I was going on my next opportunity.

 At first the trail really wasn’t all that interesting as it was a paved road.  Well, the walk would be good anyways.  There was the golf course to my left (west), and I wondering if this trail was a bust if I could walk the grounds a bit.  Soon a came to a T-intersection, with a woodsy trail going to right (east).  What interested me more was the ruined house a short distance ahead.  I don’t believe I’ve ever just stumbled upon a historical area while hiking.

 Known as the “King Log House,” according to the sign it was built circa 1859, and it was occupied at least until 1917.  It also noted it was used by a politician to entertain guests after that, but not for how long.  Nor did it mention when it was abandoned.  The structure certainly was not safe to go inside, but as there was an opening at one of the doors I was able to lean in and get an interior picture.  The grounds were well-kept, and there was an access road to the north.  I spent a few minutes checking out the area before heading on to the trail to the east I’d seen earlier.

 The creek was to my left as I headed upstream, and after a short time the paved trail became packed earth.  There were a few people walking here and there, who’d come in from some of the nearby residences.  I was told this trail would eventually come out at an access point off Zennor Court.  Don’t know what neighborhood that was, but it gave me something to work towards.

 At one point the trail seemed to end on some bare rock directly behind someone’s house.  But I’d just seen people coming that way a few moments earlier, and this was not an access point by any means, so it mean the trail continued somewhere here.  About ten feet to the left on the rock face I located the continuation.  There was an area on Google Maps marked “Queen’s Bath,” but I have no idea if the bare rock was that.

 Anyways, the trail opened up and I started back with a good pace.  I heard something at my feet to the left.  It was a very light sound of something moving leaves, and something which would’ve been easily missed if you weren’t paying attention to your surroundings.  I took a quick look, and saw that I had a visitor near me.  Most things in nature will leave you alone and tend to move away from you as long as you don’t screw with them.  Since I stepped back a little as not to be in its way, it was safe to get a picture.

 Yes, because there were yellow bands between the black and red sections, which identified it as the poisonous coral snake.  A bite from them would require immediate medical attention before the venom stops your breathing.  The good side is the fangs of a coral snake are small, and can’t always get through clothing (this where I’d be screwed because I was wearing shorts), but they’re not aggressive by nature.  He was content to go on his way, and I was content to let him.  I saw a couple on the trail a few moments later, and made them aware of this.

 I got to the access point, turned around, and came back.  I didn’t see any signs of the snake on the way back, but I was more alert for others.  As I headed downstream I did take some pictures of small waterfalls (which I couldn’t on the way up, because there were people there).  Once I got home and checked the map, it appeared there may be a cave in the area, which I think I could’ve reached from the King Log House access road.  Chances are it’s just an area marked and blocked off so stupid humans like me can’t go inside.

 (As an aside, near here I noticed some trails in the vicinity of Cypress Creek.  While there was a “Cypress Creek Park” which was a lakefront area, it wasn’t the hiking place I saw on the map.  I went up and down both 2769 and Buck Hollow Road a couple times looking for an access point, but was never able to locate it.)