Caching in Austin 5/8/2010

We headed into the Austin area early this morning for a day of caching and hopefully some interesting caches. Well there wasn't that many historic sites but there were some very lovely gardens and nature trails. Our first 4 caches were in Evergreen Cemetery and were really nothing special and it wasn't really an old cemetery. Then we had 3 caches along a nature trail and lovely gardens called Mueller Greenway. The caches weren't really anything special but where it brought you was as you can see by the pictures. The flowers were lovely and the sculptures were interesting especially the one of the giant spider. Then we did a cache in a Mueller Lake Park that had an amphitheater along with picnic tables, BBQ's and of course a large lake.

Then we went to the Dell Children's Hospital for a puzzle cache where we had to go into the lobby and find a maze for children which was operated by small balls and we had to play with it and answer questions regarding what happened when the balls rolled down their tracks. That was fun and we met a young Down's Syndrome boy with his Mom who we helped play with the maze.

Then it was over to the Mueller Mall and 2 caches near some "sunflowers". The "sunflowers" were an Electric Garden which is a sustainable, iconic public art installation that, powered by the sun, establishes a bold west entrance to the Mueller community in Austin, Texas. Artists Mags Harries and Lajos Heder merge the artistic elements of light, color and shadow with the science of energy and sustainability to create SunFlowers. A hiking trail winds among the towering, flower-like sculptures that provide patterns of shade during the day and, through their photovoltaic arrays, illuminate the SunFlowers at night. This dramatic work of art visually enriches its environment while helping to sustain it. I will get some pictures of them later in the week as we didn't really think they were anything special.

Then it was off to a monument to Josiah Pugh Wilbarger (September 10, 1801-April 11, 1845) was a legendary early Texan who lived for 11 years after being scalped by Comanche indians. He was born in, according to some sources, Bourbon County, Kentucky, but other sources say that he was born in Rockingham County, Virginia, and moved to Kentucky in 1818. Wilbarger moved to Pike County, Missouri, in 1823 and married Margaret Barker in September 1827. They left for Texas soon after the wedding, arriving at Matagorda on December 26. Wilbarger was a teacher at Matagorda for a year before moving to La Grange, where he taught and did surveying until he settled in Stephen F. Austin's colony in a bend of the Colorado River 10 miles above the site of present Bastrop, Texas. In August 1833, Wilbarger was a member of a surveying party of four that was attacked by Comanche Native Americans about four miles east of the site of present Austin, Texas. Two of the men were killed and scalped by the Native Americans. The other two managed to flee. Wilbarger was scalped and the Indian him left for dead, but was still living when he was found the next day by Reuben Hornsby and taken to the Hornsby home for treatment. Wilbarger managed to survive be crawling into a nearby stream to wash his wounds. According to legend, Wilbarger was thought to have been killed, but later that night Hornsby's wife saw Wilbarger in a dream sitting under a tree. She gave her husband a description of the tree and he was found there the next day. Wilbarger never completely recovered from his wound although he lived for 11 more years. He died at his home near Bastrop in 1845 after an accident in which he struck his head on a low support beam inside of his cotton gin. His exposed skull eventually became diseased, causing him to die.

Then we drove over to the University of Texas campus for a few virtual caches. This was a mistake as the traffic was awful. Our first virtual was in a park where someone had used an old oak tree to draw a face on and you can see it in the picture. The next cache was right at the entrance to the main campus and had to do with Dobie Center which has been consistently voted UT's #1 private student residence. Dobie is Austin's largest private student housing property, standing 27 stories tall and housing over 900 students, with sweeping views in all directions and Littlefield Fountain which is a monument by Italian-born sculptor Pompeo Coppini.
Next we walked up the main entrance to the quad and our next cache concerned the 307-foot tall UT Austin Tower, designed by Paul Cret of Philadelphia, was completed in 1937. Through the years, the Tower has served as the University's most distinguishing landmark and as a symbol of academic excellence and personal opportunity. The observation deck of the UT Tower offers a spectacular view of the UT Campus and the Austin area in all directions and is the spot where Charles Joseph Whitman (June 24, 1941 – August 1, 1966), a student at the University of Texas at Austin, killed 14 people and wounded 32 others during a shooting rampage on and around the university's campus.
Next cache was in front of the The Bob Bullock Texas State History Museum where we had to identify the building and also identify the six flags flying in front of the building. The six flags were the "six flags of Texas" which were Spain, France, Mexico, Republic of Texas, United States of America and Confederate States of America. Our last cache was in a local Spanish cemetery and then we off back to the coach for the day.

Well that's about it for today so until tomorrow we love and miss you all. Mom & Dad Dori & Dick