There is nothing more refreshing that I can imagine than plunging into a deep, crystal clear and cold spring river when the Texas heat is pushing 90 degrees in June! When I showed Asst. Hike Leader, Anselma, the waterfall next to the Salt Grass Steakhouse that is just below Spring Lake at Aquarena Springs in San Marcos, Texas, she yipped and dove head first into the water to swim along the rocky bottom. Claudia decided to hold our valuables on the bank to wait for her turn. The top of Anselma's head burst up from the water with a splash. She shook the water off her hair like a shaggy dog, then peered at me through her goggles, and waved her arm, "Come on!" She had a big grin on her face! I jumped in like a flash right behind her but the current was flowing so fast the chest deep water was pushing me back downstream. Anselma grabbed my hand and pulled me across the current. She had been able to make her way a little easier by swimming underwater straight toward the roaring rapids. We eventually climbed out on the other bank as the rushing water became a torrent as strong as a fireman's Mardi Gras water hose blasting us down a street. The swim and climb was invigorating and well worth it. One could literally feel the energy that was stirred up by the wet spray and the thundering rapids. We made our way as far as we could up to the "no swimming" zone that marked the Aquarena preservation area. It was mind boggling to look over to the right to see the placid waters of the lake, then to the left after the dam, a deafeningly loud blast of water crashing over the rocks. On our way back down the hillside, Anselma couldn't resist diving back into the water and letting it sweep her downstream to the calmer swimming area. It was amazing to be able to see her five feet below swimming along the bottom against the bright green Hydrilla plants and white limestone gravel bottom. This was truly a captivating experience and my favorite of all the Hillcountry swims. One could easily stay all day in this one spot and "shoot the rapids" over and over.
We still had one more stop on our schedule after lunch, so on our way back to the car, Anselma swam the river downstream while Claudia and I managed the valuables and walked the bank back across the street to the park. It was all I could do to jump in myself and follow but I resisted and walked with my camera filming the activities going on at Sewell Park as we crossed the road and bridges back to the car. Our next stop was Rio Vista, a park about a 1/4 mile downstream with an island and three water chutes. I will save that review as a separate entry since the experience is totally different. One can however connect these two parks by renting a tube from the Lion's Club behind Bobcat Stadium and floating down. There is a river taxi to take you back to your point of origin.
I have added photos to the Dallas Wild Life Meetup photo area and videos have been added here to this website's Video area.
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Creek Walking at its finest!
By: debbie (Registered) on 18-08-2008 14:08