Austin - 4th of July

We started our day walking down the Barton Creek trail. There is an entrance close to where H and D live. Barton Creek is dry (unusual for this time of year). It is a limestone creek with a pock-marked, shelved, and occasionally graveled bed. There is a bit of wildlife to be seen and lots of bird calls to hear.

There are some really nice houses built up along the cliffs. They must have a beautiful view when the creek is running.

There are shaded stretches mixed with open, sunny, limestone gravel paths. Watch your sunburn! There is a ton of poison ivy along the path, but also some interesting flowers.

















When you get to the bottom you are at the Zilker Park. There is a paid entrance to the spring-fed pool, but also another example of Austin's dog culture. Below a small dam is a pool devoted to dogs. They swim, bark, shake themselves off, and generally have a good. Lots of kids are here along with adults, enjoying the water, too.

































As with children, some owners are very careful with their animals.

In the evening there were fireworks. We prepared by leaving a car and folding seats in a park early in the day. Then we took the bus (nice - really good AC) down to the park. Then we walked over to the Auditorium Shores. The exhibition hall flanks a park, including an area where dogs play on the shore of Town Lake (also known as Lady Bird Lake). The report indicated that 100,000 people were at the event. The Austin Symphony, which usually plays in the auditorium, played outdoors. They ended up with the 1812 Overture, complete with cannons firing. They ended around 9:30PM when the fireworks began.

Lots of vendors were there, everything from little lights on a string to light savers to these baloons.




























These pics were taken with an exposure time of around 1 second. They show feathered edges to some of the fireworks, rexulting from the decay and fall of burning particles from the path of the bursts. This was a good show! Lots of ooohs and ahhhhs from the crowd. Lots of applause at the end.

The finale was intense, as usual.
















Here are the ghosts of people leaving at the end of the display, along with the Monarch building lights shining through all the firework smoke.