Here in Austin there is always something to do. For instance, last weekend was ACL (not something that gets torn in your knee), but AustinCityLimits Music Festival. We've never been because it is $200 per ticket and we're way too cheap to spend that kind of money to walk around in 100 degree heat for 3 days. Plus, it is nearly impossible to get tickets...
Nevertheless, there are still plenty of fun and fabulous (reasonably priced) things to do here, so I thought I'd treat you to a couple of my faves. The first...Pioneer Farms...
Take note, here..go on a day when it isn't 100 degrees in the shade! Nevertheless, we are intrepid when it's Free Museum Day here in ATX! So, we dashed out after church (again, next time, I'd think this one through a little better and not be wearin' my Sunday best) and headed to the past. So, what's so great about a bunch of rickety old cabins and a few teepees? It's the evolution of Texas' early settlers! If you head to the back of the "farm" you will be able to see a Tonkawa camp and a variety of log cabins. The rustic Indian camp and the individual homes represent different eras in Texas' settling...the German immigrant farm which is small, but orderly; the Texian cabin with add-ons - settled after the Civil War by folks who had lost it all in the war; and the Cotton Farm House...a roomy Victorian clapboard - luxurious compared to a teepee or settler's cabin. You'll even be able to get up close to a real, live Texas Longhorn, plus feed a donkey some hackberry branches. Lots of chickens and possibly a ride in a covered wagon will give you the full experience.
Visiting a place like Pioneer Farms ...on a hot Sunday afternoon, I am reminded about who was really intrepid and who got to benefit from it!
Around here, we just call it the Wildflower Center. Still, if you are ever visiting Austin, this is a place to see, especially in the Spring when the bluebonnets are in bloom. There are two meadows that just get covered in our state's flower and it is breathtaking. There is a small tower you can climb and look out at the flower-covered meadows. I get goosebumps when I think about how pretty it is.
Still, even when there are not bluebonnets in bloom, this is a pretty spectacular place. Native grasses and lots of wildflowers really give you a good picture of what the area looked like when the first settlers arrived.
This past summer has taught me well about how hostile the Central Texas environment can be. You would have to be one tough plant to have survived 80-plus days with temperatures topping 100 degrees.
So, if you are resolutely fearless (like an early Texas settler or a native Texas plant) then you will feel right at home visiting these two museums here in ATX!
This intrepid blogger now leaves you with a bluebonnet covered cow...
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