Latta Branch and Dick Nichols Park (Austin, TX) – December 2020

 Down in the southwest side of Austin, below the Mopac—290 exchange are two small neighborhood parks pretty much across the road from each other.  I was able to do both of these in morning before lunch.  Latta Branch has some sparse tree cover on sections parallel the main trail.  This winds behind some neighborhoods, and was generally a pretty quiet and easy walk.  It ends at a small office park with notes that it continues on the other side of the road.  I explored that area, and wasn’t able to find any continuation of the trail.  On the way back to the car (which was simply parked on the street), I took some side trails parallel to the main ones.  These were less-traveled and not as well maintained, as there was some garbage and a burned out car back there.

 

Across the main drag (Beckett Road) was Dick Nichols District Park, which was a huge open area with a main trail which circled around the perimeter.  This was also an easy walk on the gravel path, but not much to look at because this was a manicured municipal space.  There were a couple small side trails, which was where I located the rattlesnake signs.  Dick Nichols backs up against Mopac, and the trail continued on the other side.  According to the image I had from Google Maps, there was a major spur which would go south to a place called “Deer Park at Maple Run.”  I was never able to get there, as when I went under Mopac I encountered a gang hideout and was able to back out with a minimum of fuss.  Unlike the aforementioned rattlesnakes, Austin’s gang population they are aggressive and not important members of the natural community.  Honestly, I’d rather encounter a rattlesnake.

 

Bull Creek District Park Greenbelt (Austin, TX) – December 2020

 Yeah, this wasn’t a new place for me.  I’d mentioned it to people as a nice place for a short relative easy walk, but everyone bailed on me.  This was the section of Bull Creek where you’d take the light on 360 onto to Lakewood Drive to each (as there was a parking area close by).  I started at the end of the small pond (or whatever term you wish to use for that body of water), and just walked around the edges.  It was just nice to get out and visit this place again.

Sycamore Creek Greenbelt (Austin, TX) – December 2020

 This was one I just happened to stumble upon, as the entrance was very “out of the way” and not as well marked.  Sycamore Creek was in the vicinity of Gaines Creek where’d I’d just bend.  I parked on the side of the road (Travis Country Circle) and had to go through a clause-way between houses before reaching the actual wooded trails.  Once in there it was a pretty nice walk, keeping in mind there was no trail markings at all.  I kept the creek to my right on the way in for most of the journey, as there was very little else to use to determine direction.

 It was dry, so there was very little water in the creek itself.  I did come to an open area set higher than the rest of the area.  I knew from my Google Maps images that eventually the main trail would loop me to the far end of Travis Country Circle, but that was where the trail got obscured.  I did fan out a little bit and couldn’t figure where the rest of the trail, so that was a good time to backtrack to what I knew and make my way out.  There were a couple of side trails which I’d noticed too, and I figured I’d save those for a return trip.

 

Gaines Creek Park and Gaines Creek Greenbelt (Austin, TX) – December 2020

 As I had time-off from work which I needed to burn, I was spending my time exploring new places (things which I could’ve/should’ve visited during the time of the Georgetown Running Club 2020 Summer Tour).  Because I’d hit many areas in my region, and started looking at other ones on the south side of the city that would be relatively easy to get to (and have decent parking).  These two places were pretty close to each other, so I figured I could hit them both within the same day.

 Gaines Creek Park is a small municipal park located in southwest Austin.  As it’s bordered by some parkways and neighborhoods, the time is limited, and probably serves more as a wildlife habitat.  There’s a single access point, but the trail splits off in three directions (left, right, and straight-ahead).  No matter which way you went, you’d end up doubling back to one of the others.  These were trails between trees, without a lot of variation beyond that.  For the local residents a good place for a quiet easy walk.  It didn’t take long for me to have covered all the paths.

 A short drive nearby was the Gaines Creek Greenbelt.  That had the potential to be more extensive, but even Google Maps couldn’t tell me what the boundaries were or what the trails were (as it could with most other places I went to).  There was some minor elevation change along the trail, but the vast majority of it was pretty similar to what I saw at Gaines Creek Park (so not really worth taking pictures of).  Parts of this look like it had been designed and/or used by off-road bikes too.  I’d follow a path until it became unclear, backtrack to a turn-off I hadn’t done yet, and repeat.

 One branch I followed brought me to a surprising area.  I saw some non-nature colors in the distance, and the path was taking towards it.  I discovered a labyrinth which someone had built, with many different dream-catchers and ribbons hanging from the trees.  I also liked how there was a stone mound with a statue of Ganesh on it.  My curiosity was very piqued as I wonder who built this, when, and how often it was used.  After marveling for a period of time (and walking the labyrinth), I did venture farther down the path.  I came behind a neighborhood and there was a woman standing with her dog in her fenced yard.  I announced my presence and inquired about the labyrinth.  The woman said she’d lived in the house for a decade, and the labyrinth had been there as long as she could remember.  While she had no information about who built it or used it, it was still nice to have that tidbit that it’d been there for a bit.  Sometimes you do need to take that path you’ve never been on before, because you don’t know what you’ll find.