Salado Creek Greenway, Robert Tobin to Oakwell Trailhead, Part 1

Note: The Oakwell Trailhead parking is currently inaccessible due to construction on Ira Lee. However, the drinking fountain and restroom facility (a.k.a. glorified porta-potties the City is now using in many parks) are accessible to people on the trail. Ira Lee isn't blocked until the bottom of the hill off of Austin Highway. They really should move the barricade up to the intersection.

Today's photos:

As the title suggests, this is the first of a two part series of photos from my walk this morning. I will post part 2 tomorrow evening.

Since I couldn't access the Oakwell Trailhead parking, I started my walk at the Robert Tobin Park Trailhead and walked south on the asphalt trail to the Oakwell Trailhead, a distance of about 1.5 miles. I then returned to the Tobin Trailhead most of the way along the dirt trails that are closer to the creek bed. These trails are similar to the dirt trails along Mud Creek in McAllister Park.

I walked from these trailheads back in mid-May, but only covered half the distance on each of those walks that I covered today in a single walk. My stamina has improved considerably in the past ten weeks.

The trees and underbrush are holding up under the drought conditions much better than I anticipated. As a matter of fact, the underbrush became more dense and lush the further south I walked. I will illustrate and explain the reason for that in tomorrow's post.

The photos may be a bit deceiving in one respect. It's freakin' hot even in the morning. When I checked the Accuweather app on my phone at one point, the actual temperature was something like 94 degrees with a heat index of 106. If you are considering going for a walk at any time of day, be sure to begin hydrating, drinking a lot of water several hours before walking and carry water with you.