Let’s pretend it’s spring

After suffering through a major drought, we got tons of rain over the last month. Austin is so green right now it looks like spring!

Been two months since my last update… I’ve actually been fairly active, just not here.

Round Rock Express

Finally dragged myself out to a Round Rock Express game. Went to the final game of the season ($1 hot dogs and sodas!). (Re)learned that Lexus of Austin provides free parking for Lexus owners! That will never cover the premium I paid, but it’s a nice perk. Took my DSLR out there, of course, and had alot of fun. I used a 70-200mm lens, which was perfect, though a bit short for outfields shots. Going through the photos was a very nostalgic experience. I was really into baseball cards in high school, and working with these photos was like creating my own cards.

Gallery

Austin Museum Day

Back in Sept. was Austin Museum Day. We decided to hit the town and enjoy culture. But we kind of suck it at, visiting only places that didn’t already charge for admission. First stop was Zilker Botanical Gardens, not even on the list! I had been wanting to go there for quite awhile. It was much bigger than I thought. In fact, we spent a couple of hours and didn’t even cover the whole thing (yes, there was much stopping for photos). Even at this time of year and with no rain, it was still beautiful. Oodles of butterflies, too. I did not take a tripod, which I will do next time. Parking is not free on the weekends. However, we parked under Mopac. As you are walking from that lot to the gardens, there is actually a back entrance on along the road. If we had actually seen it on the way there, it would have saved alot of walking.

Next stop was the ultra-close Austin Nature &  Science Center. Only visited the wildlife area. It’s very small but I think we actually enjoyed it more than the Austin Zoo. Missed some areas, but hunger was closing in.

After lunch, we tried to go to the Harry Ransom Center, but couldn’t find any convenient parking by campus, even on a Sunday. So we parked at the LBJ lot and went to the LBJ Museum. The first floor is a history of LBJ. Not really my thing, but it was surprisingly interesting. The second floor contains portraits of the all the Presidents and First Ladies. My favorite display was of some of the gifts that LBJ received in office from other countries. Very cool. Finally, we zipped up to the top floor, which was dedicated to Lady Bird. There is also a replica of the Oval Office.

Final stop was the Texas Natural Science Center. This place is awesome!. The first thing you see when you enter on the 2nd floor is the giant Texas Pterosaur. The rest of the room has various geology displays (cool rocks). The 3rd floor is for Texas wildlife. Think stuffed and mounted. It is quite dark, so crank up the ISO on your camera! The 4th floor was closed, unfortunately. Back down to the 1st floor, which was my favorite. Fossils! I don’t recall ever seeing fossil displays before, so it was really cool. I went photo happy here, and it’s not too dark, so getting a good photo isn’t that hard.

Ran out of time so we had to head home.

Collings Guitars

The following weekend I went with my dad to a tour of Collings Guitars. I’m not a guitar person, but this was actually really good. It’s a 1-2 hour tour into how the make guitars, step by step. Cameras are welcome, so I took a bunch of photos, of course. Recommended, but it’s only during weekdays.

That’s enough for today. I’ve been spending alot time looking into timeshares/vacation clubs. With the real-estate crash, prices have come way down, sometimes to literally nothing. I’ll talk more this next time.

Austin Zoo

Yesterday we did a quick trip out to the Austin ‘Zoo’ (it’s more of a wildlife refuge). It was absolutely packed. If you go here for photos, you will be disappointed. There is simply too much wire between you and the animals. It’s definitely more of a kid thing. That said I did still enjoy it, but won’t be going back again for several years. I was pretty disappointed the capybarras were no longer there. Looking forward to the San Antonio zoo later this year. The Abilene zoo is also pretty good, fyi.

The 70-200 lens did well, though it didn’t seem extremely sharp like I was expecting. But, I haven’t processed the photos yet and it was my first time with it. It was definitely nice having something lighter than the 300 f4. Unfortunately, the 17-55 didn’t make it out of the bag.

Doris took me to a pre-launch demo of the Nintendo DSi at GameStop tonight (I’m not a portable gamer person). It was kind of neat, though alot fewer people than I was expecting. A lady from Nintendo had 5 units on hand to play with. The bigger screen is nice and Doris said the sound was better. FWIW.

Lost Maples State Natural Area

Another rushed ‘vacation’… By all accounts, the colors at Lost Maples were the best in years. So Sunday (8th), we drove down to Pedernales, ate dinner in Fredricksburg, then continued on to stay the night in Kerrville. The next morning we drove down to LM, hiked, shot photos and drove back. That’s the short story. Read on…

TPF members posted some photos from Pedernales showing color there, too, so we decided to make a stop. Plus I had wanted to reshoot Twin Falls. That turned into a chore, as we couldn’t find the right path to get to Twin Falls, despite the fact the trail is only like 0.25 miles long! In the end, it was something of a bust. With little rainfall this year, it wasn’t that interesting. I kept one or two photos, but I won’t go back again until we get some good rains. The Beach Area was very nice, although by this time it was almost dark. I still got several good photos (I think I forgot to post them. I’ll do that later). Saw several deer on the way out, which is unnerving when driving.

We ate at Silver Creek in Fredricksburg. It was good, but the sausage was very very salty. We also had the bright idea of trying beer since we were in a ‘German’ restaurant (we both don’t like beer). I’ve never tasted beer, the smell alone is enough to drive me off. We got the sampler and it was baaad. We managed to drink 3 of the 5 samples. The only decent one was the wheat-based beer. I don’t know how people drink beer <shudder>…

Stayed at the LQ Inn & Suites (I’m getting points now) in Kerrville. Very nice, as usual. Monday morning was pretty dreary and windy, not good photo conditions. To get to LM, we took 27/39 through Ingram. I really enjoyed this part of the drive. The roads were empty and beautiful. Very scenic. In fact, my favorite photo was from a rest area here. Next time, I would like to just stop along the river (?) and walk around there. I was quite amused by the one-lane bridges with traffic lights.

We got rained on while taking 187 for the final stretch. I have a Park Pass, so I didn’t need to stop at the office for a permit, which was great. I wasn’t sure where to park. Doris prodded me to go further in, since I was wary that they were all filled up. But as usual, she was right. Parking was plentiful. The filled spaces at the entrance were simply the people going to the office for a pass.

The bird blind was not built for photographers, but still got some decent shots and the birds are used to people. We walked over to the East Trail and went counter-clockwise. It was beautiful. I never seen leaf colors like that. Just great! However, I do not recommend taking the trail up the mountain. There’s not alot to see and it is hard, esp. if you have a backpack full of camera stuff.

We took 337 back home. While pretty, there’s more traffic and it’s much more winding. I prefer the northern route.

Huh, not much actually said about LM itself. But if the colors are out, it’s highly recommended, just make sure you go on a weekday. Weekend waits can be up to 3 hours. And besides, you don’t want all those people in your photos :)

Well, that’s all for now. I’ll add photos to the post later. Most photos are in my gallery. I’ll add more tomorrow.

A week’s worth of notes

I posted some photos from the Maker Faire. Nothing too interesting, but I did enjoy shooting fire :)

I also updated several galleries and sorted them so they start with the most recent photos.

Last weekend we went to the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center. Lots of flowers, obviously. For some reason, all of the trails had signs saying they were closed. I would like to go back for the trails and maybe see what’s different in the spring, but I don’t really think there’s much to keep my interest for a third visit. I would rather go to the Zilker Botanical gardens first. It’s alot closer, anyway. Still, I got a handful of photos I’m pretty happy with.

Across the street is the Veloway. I’d not heard of it, but looks neat. On the way, at Slaughter I think, was a Taco Bueno! That was pretty exciting. I did not know any were in Austin again. I stopped eating there a few years ago since the food went downhill. Will try again since they are here, though.

Debating going to AirFest in San Antonio tomorrow. I wish there was a major show in Austin. I think a visit to Lost Maples around Veteran’s day looks likely. The Foliage Report is looking much better than last year.

Going to play X-Men Legends. We picked it up used last weekend for about $7. The intent was to sell one game, but we wound up keeping it and buying 3 others since Gamestop had a buy 2, get one free for used games. I rarely play games any more, except the Lego games. Once I finish my backlog of movies and TV shows, maybe I’ll finish FFX2….

Finally, a vacuum cleaner is great for sucking dust out of your camera. :)

Brazos Bend State Park

Finally made it down to BBSP over Labor Day weekend. Stayed at the La Quinta in Rosenberg. No real complaints. Lady at the desk was super nice and even gave us an ethernet cable if the wireless didn’t work. I wouldn’t recommend the 1st floor though. The breakfast area can be somewhat loud in the morning (at least the waffle maker), and we had a handful of bugs wander in through the window on the first night. They seemed attracted to the light. It’s only about 20-30 minutes to the park from there.

We got a couple of hours of shooting in after we got there before dark. Mostly wandering around Creekfield Lake, which actually turned out to be really nice.

Michele, Arlene, and their SO’s met us out there after dark to visit The George Observatory, which just happens to be open on Saturday nights :) The skies cleared up and we had a new moon; perfect for observing. I would guess there were more than 100 people out there, some brought their own telescopes (BIG ones). I would definitely recommend it. There is alot of light pollution coming in from Houston, but it was still possible to see the Milky Way. In fact, we even got some photos of it from the parking lot. Not the most ideal location, but we were in a rush.

Speaking of rush, Hurricane Gustav was bearing on us. Wasn’t sure if it would turn towards Houston or now, but we lucked out.

We got a late start Sunday morning, but eventually made it out. Walked around Elm Lake and 40-Acre Lake. The first thing we heard was alligators roaring or whatever they do. Everytime we saw a gator though, it was quietly submerged. :P Will have to get out earlier next time.

So, saw lots of birds some I didn’t know about, as usual. Most of them were fairly far from the shore though, so while 300mm will work, 400+ is much better. There’s also a ton of glare from the water, so I think I polarizer would really help (don’t have one yet).

The list:

• Common Moorhen
• Great Egret
• Great Blue Heron
• Yellow-crowned Night Heron
• Deer!
• Green Heron
• Anhinga
• Black-bellied Whistling Duck
• White Ibis
• Little Blue Heron
• Cormorant (Neotropic, I think)
• Purple Gallinule
• Unknown hawk flyover

So, not too bad, but I had expected more. Photos in their respective galleries.