Biking and Fright Fest

Last week Toby and I went on a 10 mile bike ride on the Brushy Creek Regional Trail. When we're biking it's hard for me to snap photos because I don't want to keep stopping us just for me to take pics, so I only got one photo when we stopped to check the map....

It's a really nice trail that meanders through a few different parks. I'm looking forward to going back again and exploring more parts of the trail.

We also went on an overnighter to San Antonio for Fright Fest at Six Flags. We scooped up Skye's girlfriend so they could spend the day together too.

Fright Fest was really fun, but a bit overcrowded for my liking. We also got a huge nail in our tire on the way there that made the trip a little more challenging. All in all, we had a good time. We bought a season pass for Six Flags, so I'm looking forward to going back at a more less crowded time....is there even such a thing at Six Flags???? I hope so.

 

Even though I enjoy getaways, I'm always glad to get back home to my own home and bed.

Wonderful Weather

The weather has been very comfortable the past several days, perfect for hiking.

Since we haven't hiked Barton Creek lately, that's where we went.

Campbell's Hole, the first swimming hole on the trail, was very low...

 Toby is showing how high the water typically is on him when the water levels are good....

The Flats were bone dry.....

We crossed over to the other side, something we don't typically do when the water is flowing...

After a couple of miles into the trail, we turned back to check out Barton Springs...

Some people don't mind swimming in the frigid water in the middle of October...

The other side of the 'pool' at what's referred to as Barking Springs because that's where everyone takes their dogs for a swim and it's FREE to swim there....

Later on that night we built us our first backyard fire of the season....

 There was also a beautiful sunset I got to enjoy. A fire in the sky...

On a different note, I need to toot my own horn a bit. I know being a 'homemaker' is not a glamorized or coveted job, and in reality is a degrading, thankless job, but if you're doing it right you can at least make sure your family is happy.

I'm one that likes to do a job right, no matter how much drudgery is involved. I keep my home clean, clothes washed and folded immediately out of the dryer, and meals are on the table when it comes time to eat. I even man the brunt of the yard work. I consider that exercise though AND I'm a bit anal about how things are done.

Getting creative with meals is something I enjoy, and I think I'm a pretty good cook. Also, because we don't eat the typical American diet full of breads, pastas and fast food, I have to think out of the box when I prepare my menu.

I always cook Toby breakfast so he has a full stomach before he heads off to work in the mornings.
I made him an omelet the other morning chock full of mushrooms, bell pepper, onion and cheese..

Here's another breakfast 'burrito' idea I came up with. Cooked egg wrapped in Boar's Head sun dried deli meat with some cheese in the middle. So good. Look at Bo in the backround, he thinks it looks good too...

I even spoil Bo in the mornings. Several months ago, he started with some arthritis in his legs, so I took him off grainy dog food and started giving him a capsule of turmeric every day, I disguise it in a nice fried egg cooked in bacon grease.

I'll note to add that taking him off grains and the turmeric have done the trick. He's now running around pain and limp free. I'm all about holistic approaches, superfoods and changes in diet to heal our ailments. I figured since taking Toby off grains healed his joint pain and other health related issues, that it would work for Bo too, and it did....

Barkley Meadows

Tuesday we woke up to a nice cool, fall morning. We decided it would be perfect hiking weather so we headed to Barkley Meadows Park.

I had spotted this park one day last year off the toll road on a trip home from San Antone and had mentally kept a note of it for future reference.

The park is nestled right on the edge and under the toll road, so that's where our hike began...

The trail runs along side a large pond...

Because it also runs along side the toll road, it was pretty noisy too. It also is very close to the airport so I got to watch a few planes take off in the distance....

The park map at the trail head showed the trail looped all around the pond, so we were slightly disappointed that in actuality it ended about half way around the pond....

We turned around and headed back to the trail head where there was another 'loop' on the opposite end....

We saw some animal foot prints along the way that weren't purposely put there...

We passed by an opening where I spotted Onion Creek through the brush....

There was a trail that led us down to the creek....

After exploring the creek, we walked on down the trail and discovered it ended at Hwy 71 and will 'be continued' at a later date...

It also had a nice little park with some climbing equipment...

There was also another pond which a trail looped around that we didn't walk...

It was a nice park sort of in the middle of nowhere, but that's what I liked about it. It was very peaceful and secluded aside from the sound of traffic on the toll road.

 Since the weather was so nice, we rewarded ourselves with a drink on the patio of our favorite Baby A's downtown...