This week’s mid-week, emergency, got-to-take-a-break from the politics and bad news before my head explodes mini-backpacking trip to Pedernales Falls State Park did more than sooth my frazzled nerves.
It gave me a chance to check out the primitive, walk-in sites at the park, and it allowed me to taste test a couple of new entrees from PackIt Gourmet. (Full disclosure: I love the Austin-based dehydrated meal maker so much that I called them and asked if I could be a sort of ambassador for them. They agreed and gave me some food to try!)
First, the park. I’ve camped, swum, biked and hiked at Pedernales Falls dozens of times, dating back to when I was a kid and, according to family lore, I ran across water when I spotted a snake in the river. I love exploring the falls, where the river slides over a huge rock slab and twists through intricately cut channels, and I also love the swimming area, especially when a light rain is falling and no one else is there. The park has some great mountain biking trails and equestrian trails too.
Lately, though, it’s gotten tricky to get passes or camping permits for the main campground. I’ve found it’s much easier to nab a spot in the primitive camping area off the Wolf Mountain Trail. I got a spot on a Wednesday night, and although we saw one other guy pass through with a pack on his back, we didn’t see anyone camping around us.
When you register for a backcountry site, you have to pick a site number. When you get to the area, though, it’s just an area – no designated sites are marked. It’s easy to see where people have pitched tents before. Just put your tent in one of those spots, to avoid impacting any more of the environment.
We arrived at the park at about 4:30 p.m., dropped by headquarters to check in (make reservations online in advance), and hiked up the gravel road to reach the campground. It’s wide and undulating; easy to navigate.
This is a great spot for beginners to practice backpacking skills or experienced backpackers to shake out new gear.
We popped up our tent (a Big Agnes Copper Spur), set up our folding chairs (Helinox), pulled our BRS 3000 stove (the size of a cigarette lighter!), and heated water for dinner. (We also poured a glass of wine, which helped with the stress overload.)


I fell in love with PackIt Gourmet’s food after writing about the company for the Austin American-Statesman a few years ago. (Read the story at https://www.statesman.com/NEWS/20161208/Austin-based-Packit-Gourmet-makes-meals-fit-for-the-back-country).
Sarah Welton had grown up camping with her family, and her mother, Debbie Mullins, prepared meals using food she dehydrated at home. When Welton got older, she didn’t like any of the freeze-dried meals on the market for backpackers. The two got together and came up with their own.
Really, it’s the Texas State Fair Chili that did it for me. It tastes just like the real deal, with ground beef and kidney beans, and even packets of corn chips and Monterey jack cheese to sprinkle on top.
Dottie’s Chicken and Dumplings sealed the deal, and I love the West Memphis Grits and Santa Fe Corn Pudding for breakfast. The Poblano Corn Chowder gets high ratings from me, too.
But the menu is long at www.packetgourmet.com, and I wanted to sample some of the other offerings. My husband and I stuffed a package of pasta beef Bolognese and a package of Shepherd’s Cottage Pie in our packs to try.
I give the Shepherd’s Cottage Pie a huge thumbs up, although it’s a two-step meal. You have to prepare the packet of mashed potatoes separately from the veggie stew stuff, then use a spoon to scoop dollops of the potatoes into the stew. Totally worth the ever-so-slight hassle.
The pasta was OK, but not worth the trouble for me. You make the sauce in one envelope, then cook the noodles in another with a squirt of olive oil (provided), then mix the two together and cook – which dirties the pot. (I like to eat my meals out of their packaging and keep the pot for heating water or drinking coffee or tea.) The kit came with a packet of parmesan cheese for sprinkling, too.

PackIt Gourmet also sells groceries – everything from dried apples or ground beef to bell peppers, mushrooms, cheese, okra, beans and condiments – that you can use to make your own meals.
Temperatures fell to the 40s that night, just right for sleeping in a tent. Coyotes serenaded us. We got up early, made coffee and tea, then hiked out just as the sun started to warm the day.
The mid-week mini-backpacking trip worked its magic. Although I was gone for less than 24 hours, and back at my computer by 10:30 a.m., I felt happier, more productive and grounded.

I wandered up to Hico last weekend, and discovered a town with its own Billy the Kid legend – plus cool murals painted on old brick buildings, shops peddling Western-themed merchandise, and a restaurant that serves dang good tortilla soup.
My friend Marcy lives near Blanco. She got stir crazy and invited me to make the two-and- a-half hour drive from her place in the country to Hico, which is located between Stephenville and Killeen. Since I’ve recently become obsessed with small Texas towns (I ventured to Sanderson a few weeks ago, then stumbled upon Rock Springs the other day), I immediately agreed to go.
We rolled into Hico just before noon, and settled in for lunch at Jersey Lilly’s Mexican Restaurant. Quesadillas, check. Tortilla soup, check. All good.
You might recall that Judge Roy Bean, who doled out law west of the Pecos, named his saloon the Jersey Lily after the famous British actress and socialite Lillie Langtry, who was born in 1853. (You can check out Bean’s old digs in another cool Texas town, Langtry, in Val Verde County west of Del Rio.)

We wandered into a couple of shops, our masks firmly in place. (Masks are not widely worn in Hico, although someone tied a red bandana around the statue of Billy the Kid at one end of town).
Hico reminds me a bit of Fredericksburg, circa about 1985. It’s a good place to buy vintage posters advertising old-timey rodeos, etched wine glasses, brass fixtures, straw hats, throw blankets, cowboy boots, ruffly clothing, humorous wooden signs, embroidered pillows, candles that smell like cowboys, paintings of cattle, and other stuff perfect for the country cabin you wish you owned.
The sides of several buildings in town are painted with old advertisements for Dr Pepper and something called Hooper’s, a remedy used to treat itchy hands and feet.
I got distracted by the town lore. According to local legend, William H. Bonney – aka Billy the Kid – wasn’t killed in a shootout with Sheriff Pat Garrett in New Mexico. That was what you might call “fake news.” Instead, the story goes, he moved to Hico and went by the name Brushy Bill Roberts.
Roberts dropped dead on a downtown Hico sidewalk in 1950. A small museum now houses a small collection of artifacts.
That statue wearing a red bandana? A plaque says this: “(Kid) spent the last days of his life trying to prove to the world his true identity and obtain the pardon promised him by the governor of the state of New Mexico. We believe his story and pray to God for the forgiveness he solemnly asked for.”
Hico itself was originally located 2.5 miles down the road, on Honey Creek. When the Katy Railroad was built, the residents moved the town so it would be conveniently located along the rail line. It incorporated in 1883 and became a cattle and cotton market.
The population in 2010 was 1,379 people, and today the town motto is “Where everybody is somebody.”
It’s known for Wiseman House chocolates (I didn’t make it there this time but it’s on my list), an old-school diner called the Koffee Kup that gets rave reviews for its strawberry pie and chicken fried steak, and fun-to-explore collection of shops that includes a hardware store, the Hico Mercantile and some high-end home goods shops. The historic Midland Hotel looks inviting.

I’ve paddled the Devils River twice before, but only in spring. This fall trip – with clouds of migrating butterflies and that familiar ribbon of turquoise set against a palette of gold – felt different.
First, the basics. I drove out with a small group of friends on a Monday. We stayed at Gerald Bailey’s place and hired him to shuttle us the two hours up to Bakers Crossing early Tuesday. From there we spent five leisurely days paddling our way 22 miles back to Devils River Outfitters headquarters. That gave us plenty of time to fish, swim and lollygag before pulling off the river and driving back home Saturday.

If you want to run the Devils, you’ve got two choices: Camp on islands along the way, as we did this time, or get a permit from Texas Parks and Wildlife Department to use designated paddle camps located along the shore. Either way, it’s important to protect the river, pack out everything that you bring in, and respect private property along the way. (Also, remember that you’re traveling in a remote area, without cell service and very limited access. Snap a leg or cut a gash in your arm and it’ll take hours to get out. That’s why we brought along our InReach satellite communications device, as well as first aid supplies.)
The rewards, if you make the trip, are huge.
As soon as we dropped our canoes in the water, the chaos of city life fell away. Instead of laptops, smart phones and automobiles, I fell into a world of paddle strokes, moving water and wildlife. Not long after we started, Jimmy Harvey reeled in (and subsequently released) the first fish. Half an hour later, a group of wild pigs swam across the river in front of us. And then, like leaves blowing across the road, the monarchs made their appearance.

We gave each other river names (my husband and I got Corndog and Spam, or Team Salty Pork for short), and settled in for days of navigating rapids, getting lost in reed mazes and judging the merits of each new teal-colored swimming hole. This river offers the best swimming on the planet, and I don’t say that lightly.
One of my favorite parts? Listening to Jimmy and Steffen tell stories about the weeks they spent here as kids, when Jimmy’s father held a lease on the river. They pointed out boulders they’d climbed 40 years ago, when they were sent out and told, “Don’t get hurt and bring back dinner.”
Unlike backpacking trips, when every ounce matters, canoes can haul heavier gear. We filled them with steaks and pork chops, homemade chile verde and sausage, and cooked up feasts on a Coleman stove every night.
We paddled through willows that shed a snowstorm of floating seed pods. We briefly swamped a boat or two, but didn’t break a single canoe this time, like I did on my last foray down the river in June. We napped on rocks in the sunshine, and hung hammocks in trees in the evening. We counted shooting stars when night fell, sipped hot tea and coffee as the sun rose, and listened to noisy kingfishers announce each new day. We dragged our boats around Dolan Falls, leaped off rocks into the churning water, and laughed until our bellies hurt.
I’m back home now, and my gear is stashed until next time. I’m pretty sure it won’t be that long.
The Devils keeps luring me back.

With a pandemic raging, I’m not comfortable going to a gym right now. I’d rather ride my bike, go for a run or swim outdoors, where scientists say we have less risk of catching the virus that causes Covid-19. I’d rather not spend my time at an indoor gym, sharing exercise equipment and breathing space with other people.
But if you’re a dedicated gym rat, you’ve got options for sticking to a workout program.
The YMCA of Austin is launching a series of virtual fitness programs to help you stay fit from the comfort of your own home.
YMCA members can access more than 20 hours of live exercise classes each week, plus an on-demand library of hundreds of instructional fitness classes, at no extra cost. A stand-alone Virtual YMCA membership is also available for $25 per month.
Classes range from yoga, barre and tai chi to cardio fitness and high impact interval training, and are appropriate for all ages and abilities, according to a press release from the YMCA of Austin. The offerings include senior programs such as balance exercises and low-impact workouts for people with reduced mobility.
“On-demand fitness platforms are everywhere these days, but what sets the Virtual Y apart is the local, personal connection we can provide with our instructors, other participants and the community as a whole,” said James Finck, president and CEO of YMCA of Austin.
More virtual programming is in the works, including virtual personal training as well as youth and family options.
For more information go to https://www.austinymca.org/virtual-membership-now-available.

Last weekend, as I rambled around downtown Austin by bicycle, I caught a live performance by Zach Person on the Butler Hike and Bike Trail.
The Trail Foundation, a non-profit organization that works to protect and enhance the 10-mile trail around Lady Bird Lake, is hosting a series of surprise, pop-up performances on the trail. To avoid attracting crowds during the pandemic, they’re not announcing exact dates or times, so you just have to get lucky.
Person, who reminded me of a mashup between Lenny Kravitz and the Beatles, with a dollop of Buddy Guy tossed in, serenaded runners and walkers as they rounded a bend on the path. Another artist, Kalu James, performed later that day at another location on the trail.
More performances are planned for this weekend, but again the foundation isn’t revealing the exact date or time. The Trail Foundation is taping each show, so if you miss the performance, you can watch it online later.
This month’s series is focused on Black musicians, and this weekend’s lineup will include performances by Saul Paul and James Robinson.
“We’d been planning this series for some time, as another way to make the trail a welcoming space for all of the communities we serve, to provide local culture on the trail, and to promote and support Austin music and musicians,” said Heidi Anderson, The Trail Foundation’s chief executive officer. “As an organization committed to diversity, equity and inclusion, we believe that representation and visibility matter. With the pandemic, we’ve envisioned a way to keep the ideals of the project and keep everyone safe at the same time.”

The Black Musicians Edition of the series will conclude with The Trail Foundation’s Twilight on the Trail annual gala event Nov. 1 at the Four Seasons, where four musicians will perform on portions of the trail adjacent to the hotel’s lawn. HEB is the title sponsor of the Music on the Trail Series.
The performers were selected with the help of a committee of local arts and entertainment influencers and experts. The musicians will be paid; 98 percent of the project budget is earmarked for the musicians, with 2 percent going to videography and photography so the music can be shared online, according to a press release from The Trail Foundation. To hear more local music, check this companion Spotify playlist featuring local Black musicians, including the 12 who are performing during October.
For more information, go to www.thetrailfoundation.org.

The other day, as I paddled the San Marcos River, I looked up in the sky and saw a horse charging through the clouds.
I didn’t mention the illusion to my paddle partner, but he probably saw something else in the white puffs skidding across the sky.
Everybody sees something different when they gaze at the cream swirling into a cup of coffee, eyeball a mountain range or look at a tree branch. And now an app, created by someone I met while whitewater rafting in Colorado this summer, lets you compare your discoveries with friends.
Matthew Burdine, 35, guides whitewater rafting trips on the Arkansas River near Buena Vista. I spent a morning this summer blasting down rapids with him, and as we floated past a cliff face, he pointed out what looked like the outline of a woman in the shape of the rocks.
That prompted Burdine to tell me about the smart phone app he was creating called Ahaa!, which was in development then but has since launched.
Here’s how it works: You take a picture of anything – a cloud formation, a cliff, a mountain or a cup of coffee. You share it with a friend or two, and everybody traces the outline of whatever form they see in the picture. When you press “compare,” the app shows everyone’s picture.
“It’s all about seeing other peoples’ perspective. We all see things differently, but no one’s wrong,” Burdine told me by phone this week.
The idea, he says, applies to more than just clouds. It reminds us that we all have different perspectives on life, and that’s OK. “It doesn’t mean that they’re wrong – it’s just how we see things,” he says.
As a kid, Burdine says he visualized entire kingdoms in the clouds. In second grade, he remembers his mother calling his father as they drove to school on a foggy morning.
“He said, ‘Sally, tell Matt if he wants to touch a cloud, to stick his hand out the window right now,’” he says.
Burdine earned an MBA degree from Ole Miss in 2010. After five years as a rafting guide and ski instructor, he took a solo paddling trip down the Mississippi River to raise money for breast cancer research. That’s when he got the idea for the app.
“Spending six months in a canoe, you can build stuff in your head,” Burdine says.
After the trip he hired a company to design the app he’d dreamed up. The Ahaa! app costs $1.99 in the Apple store. A Google Play version is coming soon.
“It’s just a way to reconnect with the natural world, the outside world, and our surroundings,” Burdine says. “It’s about waking up our imagination, and a way to remind us to look around more.”
And now that we’re stuck at home because of the pandemic, it’s an easy way to engage with friends and family.
“We’re craving interaction, and it’s hard to do that right now,” he says.
I tried the app, which allows you to pull photos from the camera roll in your phone, or snap a new picture. It’s easy and quick, and a good way to get kids involved.
As Burdine told me when our call ended, “Keep your head in the clouds.”