Fun Fourth - Thurs., July 4

Another early 10K (6.2 mile) Volksmarch start today makes me more like an early bird than a night owl. At 8:30 a.m. we hit the Salado Creek Greenway Trail at Lady Bird Johnson Park in San Antonio, Texas. The morning was fresh and warm, not hot or humid. About 80% of the trail was shaded by big trees, so even when the day warmed up we were not in the direct sun for long.

A few wildflowers are still blooming. This has been a long wildflower season, spurred on by the rains we've had late into June.

Beautiful, wide, paved trail all the way.

Isn't this inviting?

Speaking of rain, along this trail is evidence of the floods that occurred Memorial Day weekend. You can see stick debris piled against trees, and grasses flattened in the direction the floodwaters flowed.

Debris from Memorial Day flooding.

More debris.

And a large wall of debris.

Part of the greenway trail passed through the privately owned Los Patios shopping and dining area, then crossed under I-410, and continued south through Tobin Park. Once we had gone 3.1 miles, we turned around and headed back on the same trail. Here are some cool things we saw. Bob was the wildlife spotter today.

Where to go if the water rises.

Heart-shaped leafy vine.

Black vultures.

Black vulture posing.

Lizard

Gulf fritillary (Agraulis vanillae)

Trail under I-410

This crabgrass is sharing the sign.

Little 1" toad. We chased it off the trail.

Ball moss making "fireworks."

Elderberry flowers.

Unripe elderberries.

After our walk, I headed home and Bob went to work. At 5:30 p.m. we headed out to Random for some relaxation in the country. Dinner was from the So-Frito food truck. Again, there was a water slide bouncer for the kids. This one was bigger than the one from last weekend. The kids played on that thing all evening long. Some people played horseshoes, and there was a lawn beanbag toss. Live music started a little after 6:00 p.m.

Here's random photos of Random in Boerne, Texas...

Bouncy water slide.

Transistordale

Randy and Bob in the beer and wine garden.

Side view of how big this water slide bouncer is.

Evening under the trees at Random Event Center.

Corona at Random.

Sunset photo from Random's parking area.

Old Ford pick up.

Bob and Randall.

We didn't stay late enough for the fireworks at Random, but as we were driving home we saw the Boerne City fireworks, the Sea World fireworks, and the finale of the San Antonio Fireworks at the Tower of the Americas. We were on I-10 driving straight toward the Tower which was fully outlined by the massive finale of the fireworks show. Cars were stopping on the freeway and along the shoulders of the freeway. Crazy! We made it home safe and sound with visions of fireworks dancing in our heads.

Travel Bug out.