Austin-laid back, funky, hi -tech, hip and cool
by butterfly_girl
Austin is a mixture of so many things. It is a liberal, laid back, musician friendly, hi-tech and hip place to live. There are so many cool people living here and lots of things that make this a unique place to live. It is has beautiful nature, tons of music and so much to do. The other nice thing about Austin is that there is a good economy here and it is still an affordable place to live.
Breathing
by scott_txguy
Austin is the allergy capital of the US. There is always some sort of plant to which almost everyone is violently allergic in season, so there is no downtime. People are so allergic to the cedar (mountain juniper) that if you live here long enough, you wil lget "cedar fever" which includes fevers, sweats, chills, and the usual red (like cyclops!) eyes and impaired breathing. There is oak pollen, ragweed pollen, goldenrod pollen, every kind of pollen, and molds as well. They have even discovered a toxic mold that lives only in this area. Also in the spring when they start agricultural burning and deforestation in Mexico, the wind carries the smoke up here as well, in a month long event called "The big haze" a couple times you would mistake it for fog until you start coughing and wheezing. Sometimes we get dust from west texas when the wind goes the other way.
Austin is a "clean air city." There is no smoking in bars, restaurants, and public places, even some outdoors places.
Wild Basin Wilderness Preserve
by tee0206
This little hiking trail has some great views. I don't remember how many miles the trail is, but I think we got through it in about an hour. There's a waterfall, but it's small and not that impressive. It's a fairly easy hike, but it's really a pretty place with some beautiful scenic views.
Hiking in the park
by Djinn76
The Wolf Mountain Trail is indeed a 8-miles trail that leads first to the primitive camping area and then some creeks, springs and what is called historic sites (in fact just a couple of ruins).
On some part of the trail around the Wolf Mountain, you will have a really nice view of the surrounding green hills.
It takes about 3 hours to complete it.
Dance the Night Away
by stappm about The Courtyard
Awesome outside courtyard bar/nightclub. Great R/B, Dance music. A little older crowd then 6th Street - mid 20's to mid 30's, so not that much older. But definietly a much more sophisticated crowd. Awesome place, I would love to go back!