My friend Gloria called me in the morning to see if I wanted to go with them on another walk at our most favorite spot, McKinney Roughs Nature Center in Bastrop. I was ready to hit the trails again and it was a toss up between hiking with friends or chopping down overgrown stuff in my yard. It was really a no brainer making that decision.

We planned to meet at the main entrance and this time, I managed to beat them there. Usually, they are waiting for me. The Center had a lot going on one of which was a training session for First Responders. There was also a large group of kids who were learning about Nature. They were from a Private School.

Bobby, one of their dogs managed to get away from them as they got out of the car and came tearing across the blacktop to greet me. A really nice welcome, I thought as Gloria and George along with Nina, their other dog caught up.

I planned to take them on the inside loop of trails comprising of Woodland, Bluff Trail Loop and then back onto Ridge to complete the loop. These trails are very pleasant and easy walking with many park benches along the way. We passed a couple of other walkers going in the opposite direction but otherwise, we had the trail to ourselves.

Altogether, we covered a little over 3 miles and  we said our goodbyes in the Parking Lot. I decided that I would drive to the Hwy 71 Trailhead and take a look at the Zipline which was now open. There were several cars at the building but no one on the ziplines that started the sequence. Guess I need to come back on the weekend to see some action. It is not that I wanted to try it out but rather to take pictures of the other heartier and braver souls than me.

I drove straight home ignoring the danger signals from my body that were insisting that I drive into Bastrop to satisfy my Starbucks cravings. I kept telling myself that it could wait until I hit Austin which is what I eventually did. The last time I went to the Bastrop Starbucks just a couple of days ago, I waited in the drive up line for 25 minutes and that was after them not checking in when my car was at the ordering station. I had to order at the window but to be fair, they did not charge me for my drink. I have no idea why they took so long unless the whole staff were just having a bad day.

Below is a slide show of the hike.

McKinney Roughs with Gloria and George 11-16-2016 from Francis Allcorn on Vimeo.