Austin, Etc.

So, it is time to get back to Austin after the distraction of that last post. We were in Austin for three nights, two days, and finally got back to what we’re supposed to be doing on this trip: rock climbing. We climbed at Reimer’s Ranch and the Barton Creek Greenbelt. If I had those places as backyard crags, I’d be thrilled. But so many people get on that rock that the holds are polished to a glassy sheen, and the cliffs are pretty short, so as a destination, Austin wasn’t the best. That being said, we finally got a couple of decent climbing pictures.


















Joe up on a route at Reimer's Ranch


















Me, at Enchanted Rock actually

Austin itself lived up to its rep as a pretty cool city. I ate a good breakfast dish I’d never heard of, a migas, at Magnolias, and drank some pretty tasty coffee from a local roaster, Cuvee, so I was happy. We went out on the town one night and checked out the Sixth Street Scene. Not really my thing, but Joseph liked it. So I’ll let him tell you about it if he wants.

The best thing for me about Austin was actually Enchanted Rock, which is about two hours to the west of Austin, just south of the town of Llano. Enchanted Rock is a batholith, or a big bubble of exposed granite doming up out of the ground. If you say it out loud, it sounds like you’re saying basilisk with a strong lisp (which Joe and I repeat to each other ad naseum). Climbing up to the top, you can see for miles and all the noise of the ground level disappears, leaving you to listen to just the wind and the sound of your own breathing. I loved it for the sense of isolation you only get when you get high enough up a mountain, spire or batholith to be above the tree line, directly in the wind. You feel like you’re the only thing alive up there, the only thing alive for as far as you can see. It’s awesome, literally.

Looking back at Enchanted Rock after we had climbed down

We also walked/climbed/ran around a lot, exploring the rocks and the slopes like the 13 year olds we used to be. There were big rocks everywhere, even one that looked like an elephant. Needless to say, it was a day well spent.














Joseph decided to be a mountain lion. Note the mohawk.

Today, we’ve made it to El Paso, where we will stay for a day or two to climb at Hueco Tanks, famous for its bouldering. We were going to skip it due to the oven-like temperatures, but we just couldn’t manage to keep going after we saw the sign for the exit. It’s too famous. I also mapped out our route so far. We've gone 5,000 miles just driving from point to point on our route. Check out the map below. Even we were impressed by just how far we've gone so far.





















And one last picture, make sure you look closely in the left half so you see them both.