Bats and Hamilton Pool Preserve- Austin, Texas

The drive from New Orleans to Austin was a long one - over 8 hours - but there were bayous and the speed limit does get up to 75 mph in Texas so that helps. I have to admit I was crazy tired when I got here but took a moment to brush my teeth, unpack a bit and went exploring. Sleep is overrated!

I was staying downtown in the middle of pretty much everything so I decided to walk so I could see as much of the city as possible. It was 104º when I stepped out of the hotel. Austin is known for the street art and I captured a few as I made my way down the city streets.

I was directed to a local authentic Mexican place, La Condesa, where I had guacamole and sea bass ceviche - both delicious - before hiking it down to Lady Bird Lake to take a boat cruise. It was bat viewing time!!!!

Austin Bats

I've always thought bats are cool, even when I've had them flying inside my house, and I was so excited to check out the South Congress Street Bridge bats, one of the largest bat colonies in the world.

Hundreds of thousands of Mexican free-tailed bats (tiny little things) settle here about 8-9 months a year in the crevices under the bridge. At dusk, the bats take off to feed!

This is a view of the bridge from the boat. You can see hundreds of people lining up along the side to wait for the bats to fly. As we floated by under the bridge, you could hear the bats squeaking away.

There's the Austin skyline as we wait for the sun to set.

And here they go!!!!

This went on for a really long time before we started heading back and they continued for our entire journey back to the dock. They take up in the hundreds because they are so crammed into the crevices of the bridge that they are hanging on by holding on to each other. When one decides to take off, they all go. They fly along the darker side of the shore because there is less light there and their eyes are very sensitive to the light.

These bats not only eat mosquitoes (yay bats) but eat these moths that attack corn crops. They have saved local farmers thousands of dollars in pesticides. Collectively they eat about 30,000 pounds. of insects EACH NIGHT!! They fly all night, over 60 miles, to feed and come back to feed their pups that were born around March. You should check out more info and videos on line. Very cool stuff!!!

Hamilton Pool

The next part of Austin I want to share with you is a place called Hamilton Pool Preserve. I heard about this place through a site that is for women who travel solo (great idea right?!). I asked for recommendations and this was one of the places I was told about. Now, you can only go to the Preserve with a reservation and those sell out really quickly. I was lucky enough to buy a ticket months ago ($11) for the morning slot. They allow only 40 cars in the morning (9:00 - 1:00) and 40 more in the afternoon (2:00 - 6:00). It's about 30 miles outside of Austin and even though I wasn't thrilled about more driving today, I knew that summers are hot in Austin and swimming in a place like Hamilton Pool would be perfect.

I left the hotel around 8:30 and it was already in the high 80's. It's an easy drive west and once I got there I had to park (I was the only non Texas license plate in the parking area) and walked about a 1/2 mile to the pool.  It isn't the easiest of walks, steep and rough terrain, but it was beautiful. This is an example of the path going down the hill. Just a bit challenging, especially in flip flops.

I don't have a lot of fears. I'm not afraid of flying or public speaking or spiders. I obviously am not afraid of traveling on my own. One thing I am very afraid of is snakes. This is Texas! There are snakes here!! I live in Maine for god sakes! There are zero poisonous snakes in Maine and I'm okay with that. I totally made sure I stayed on the trail and was very on guard for any movement. Phew! Nothing was seen in all of those little cracks and crevices. 

Not that a snake would be easy to spot with all of these roots!

It actually was a very cool hike down to this little rocky "beach" and this amazing swimming hole.

The pool is a collapsed grotto and canyon that was formed thousands of years ago. In 1985, Travis County purchased the land (about 232 acres) and created this preserve. I tried to capture this lush and impressive place but it doesn't begin to show what a little gem this place is. The water was 80º and it was almost completely in the shade (which is perfect for my red headed white skin). Large catfish swim around you as you make your way into the water and it was the perfect place to begin a 100º day. I swam, sat and read, swam some more, walked around taking pictures and swam one more time before I headed back to Austin. I was there over 2 lovely hours and reluctantly hiked back UP that crazy path to the real world.

If you ever are in the Austin area, make a reservation to check out this place. It was truly magical and such a gift as I make my way around this amazing country.