Stone Oak, Texas, Neighborhood - "A Desirable Surburban Lifestyle" - Monday, April 4, 2022

I've made it to Day 4 of National Walking Week. Today, our walk is in Stone Oak on busy city streets and into a couple of the neighborhoods in far north-central San Antonio. It stayed cloudy the whole time I was out walking. The sun and humidity combined can make for some miserable walking, but today's weather was just right. There were even a couple of sprinkles.

The realtors, developers, advertisers, and media outlets have deemed this "a desirable suburban lifestyle." The neighborhood has many gated communities with 24-hour security, well-landscaped medians, parks, granite rock formations, and oak-tree-wooded areas. Canyon Springs Golf Club is there as well.

Once a collection of private ranches, the community of Stone Oak was originally conceived in the 1980s, then planned and built beginning in 1985. The master plan included free-standing businesses, shopping centers, private homes, and apartment complexes. Community growth expanded in the 1990s. Most of the homes in Stone Oak were built within the last 30 years, and more than two-thirds of them are owner-occupied. 

The walk started at the Drury Inn off Loop 1604 near U.S. 281. Since I am not a big fan of busy streets and manicured living, I opted to do the 5k walk. That was plenty for me.

Thank you, John Ives, for volunteering
at the registration table this morning. 

Spring is slowly showing 
us its flowers.

The Drury Inn is where
we started our walk.

This redbud tree is in full bloom!

Stone Oak is a hilly community. With the sudden downpours that hit San Antonio occasionally, it is necessary to have a place for the water to run off. I took photos of a couple of catchment basins or run-off channels.

Water catchment
near big businesses.

This diverts water
down the hill 
around a 
playground.

I didn't take a lot of photos of the busy streets, but it was hard not to. I did concentrate more on neighborhood photos, though.

Martin Callahan photographs
our events. He is seen here
with Rudy and Dolly.

Someone has to photograph Martin
and Gayle Weinraub (and Dolly &
Rudy)!

I say that the major roads are very busy, but when I took these photos it looks like no one is on them! Wow. 

A view from one of the busy roads.

Hardy Oaks Boulevard, a 
very busy thoroughfare we
had to cross (no traffic light or
crosswalk).

A greenspace behind homes.

From here, the 5k walk went through the Iron Mountain Ranch community and the 10k walk also went through the Quarry community. The homes are very pretty and well cared for thanks to the Homeowners' Associations.

Iron Mountain Ranch entrance
landscaping.

If you live in the Quarry community,
you're almost home.

The homes I'm showcasing below are all in the Iron Mountain Ranch community. They're lovely homes, but way too big for the two of us.

Iron Mountain Ranch park, 
complete with playground and...

...a Little Free Library.

A sample residential street.

The home below has decorations ready-made for Fiesta! and Easter!

Squirrely Squirrel.

Gayle takes over the photography
of Martin, Rudy, and Dolly.

Pink prickly poppy.

White prickly poppies.

One of the first roses I've
seen in bloom this year.

Prairie Verbena
(Verbena bipinnatifida).

And that was the end of my 5k walk. It took one hour. On the way back to my car, I stopped by the registration table to see how many people were out walking. John said there were 14 so far. Registration was open for another hour.

I stopped by Costco on my way home and bought dessert for dinner tonight. We're having neighbors over and Bob will make his wonderful chicken enchiladas.

Have a great week. Tomorrow, I'll be walking at Leon Creek Greenway/Mainland Trailhead. That walk is on a bike path through trees! Yay!

Our forecast for Tuesday is mostly cloudy with 68 degrees at 8 am, then a high of 86. Humidity will be 88%. I can handle a 10k walk with shade available.