Day Trip: Mount Bonnell in Austin, Texas

A few weeks back we went up for the afternoon to Austin to see my sister-in-law and her husband. We told them we wanted to check out Mount Bonnell.  So, we planned to meet there. We ended up getting their early so since we saw a sign for some kind of natural preserve on the way we decided to check it out for a brief second before they would meet us.  I made another post about the Mayfield Natural Preserve here. It's an operating event center that just has wild peacocks walking around!! Yes, I said peacocks!  It's totally worth checking out and I would hit them both up the same day if you're in the are since they are practically just down the street from each other.

We hung out there for awhile, just until our family was close...but back to Mount Bonnell.  When the family got there:

...we did the stair master all the way to the top.  Yes, all it is is a bunch of stairs to the top of this mountain.  It took us maybe 4 minutes to get to the top. Really quick and easy. But once you get to the top the view is awesome!! For such a short little climb you can see around the whole city of Austin!  It's gorgeous.

The mountain is set right on the edge of the Lake Austin portion of the Colorado River.  So you can see the river running a Loooooonnngggg way down below you.  Actually we read the little plaque that's at the food of the mountain and it explained that way back when there was a PR stunt pretty much and some lady made a zip line and jumped off Mount Bonnell and went all the way across the Colorado River to the other shore.  Just a fun fact to tell your kids when they're looking down that huge mountain at the water, ha!

Anyways, there are some picnic tables up at the top so feel free to pack a lunch for the family. Although, we went on a Saturday and it was pretty busy and no tables were unoccupied. Wonder if during the week would be less crowded. We came just before sunset so maybe that's why it was so busy.

So, the next time your in Austin take a quick set of stairs up Mount Bonnell for a terrific viewpoint!!
And don't forget to check out the Mayfield Nature Preserve just down the street.

Happy Texan Trekking!
Heather Joy

Day Trip: Mayfield Nature Preserve in Austin, Texas

So we were actually heading to Austin to meet up with my sister-in-law and her new husband at Mount Bonnell, but our family wasn't as close as we were so we had some time to kill.  We saw a sign for Mayfield Nature Preserve right down the street. We thought we'd check it out. 

What?!  Is that a peacock running around? Wait?! Is that a group of peacocks? Where am I? This can't be Austin, Texas, but yes it actually is!

This place is so cute and quaint. We didn't have a whole lot of time to explore but what we did find out is that Mayfield Park includes a historic cottage that operates as an event center, so you can rent the cottage out for private events or weddings.

There is also a 2 acre sized garden that has ponds, water lilies, beautiful flowers and the peacocks that just roam around the area.

There is also the 21 acres which makes up the rest of the preserve and it surrounds the park and contains walking trails and wildlife habitat.  We only went on the short loop trail because of time but it was very easy walking for my girls, although there are some steps along the way, so not completely flat and there were some rocks and roots that they had to maneuver over but overall a pretty easy walk. We could have used our off road stroller with no problem if we wanted too.  But the walk was so short anyways that we didn't really even need it.

 

We have plans to go back when some of my family comes out to explore more of the trails and let my children try to catch the peacocks again, lol.  Okay, not really, but if you move really slow and you're in the right place you can catch a brush of the male peacocks tail like I did.

We also go to see one of the males put up his tail feathers. I've never seen the backside. It was really cool. We saw how the larger feathers in back are what push up the decorative feathers on top. A great homeschool lesson to add to our adventures.

One family matter note: there is only a porta potty for restrooms. And it wasn't very clean and no soap sanitizer when we used it, so make sure you get your little ones to go ahead of time. But at least there is an option.

So, when you have some time to go to Austin, Texas be sure to make a quick stop at the Mayfield Nature Preserve and Mount Bonnell which are just down the street from each other. I'll be posting about Mount Bonnell next. Be sure to check it out.

My girls loved to chase around the peacocks (at a slow pace of course).

 

Happy Texan Trekking!
Heather Joy