We are glad you can join us today. We are going to return to the Hurst Creek/Hamilton Greenbelt again. We are walking to the Sailmaster Waterfall which I have never seen. Have water? Okay let’s go
Here is the entrance.
The wildflowers in June along the way are spectacular.
This a restful little waterfall where I could imagine taking a break and enjoying the sound of the babble of the creek as it cascades over the rocks.
There’s a signpost up ahead. Welcome to the Sailmaster Waterfall zone.
Hurst Creek runs slowly to meet a spillway. These waterlilies had tons of closed yellow blossems waiting for the sun.
You can see the spillway at the right in the background. The waterlilies were to the right of the spillway.
One section of the falls
The same section from a tree framed viewpoint
The Producer took this shot of the falls from a lower viewpoint.
The same viewpoint only closer.
On the way back, we came across a doe.
And two mallard ducks not stopping their grooming.
I hope you enjoyed the View today. Have a great week.
Old Lakeway is geographically defined by the boundaries of the original 17 sections and first 1,000 acres of Lakeway, developed between October 1962 and April 1971, by Lakeway Land Co. In 2017, street signs, featuring the original Lakeway logo, were added at each intersection in the neighborhood delineating the area.
A neighborhood, tucked into a corner of the City of Lakeway, Texas, with a unique charm and history all its own. Characterized by narrow, winding streets, mature oaks, architecturally diverse homes, many with spectacular views, including Lake Travis, the Hill Country, and Live Oak, Lakeway’s first golf course.
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Once the home of people like astronaut Alan Shepard Jr., news anchor Dan Rather, and other prominent business people and professionals of the time, early Lakeway became one of the premier resort communities in the U.S. All that is Lakeway today, grew out of Old Lakeway.
The Inn and Spa
Photo of the Pool and Lake Travis view from the spa.
Enterence to the spa
Enterence to the marina.
A quick shot of the marina through the trees.
The first home built in Lakeway in 1964.
The special signs attached to the street signs marking the Old Lakeway boundries.
The Live Oak Golf Club.
The so called Mushroom house built in 1979 and designed by the architect John Watson a Frank Lloyd Wright apprentice
Another view of the mushroom house.
The astronaut Alan Shepard’s vacation home. He would fly in and land at the Lakeway airpark on weekends to visit his home.
An example of one kind of house in Old Lakeway
Lakeway Patio Home Condominimums built in 1971 and the first in Texas.
Another example of an Old Lakeway home.
Final example of the diverse archetecture of Old Lakeway.
If you care to read more here is more information about Old Lakeway. Thanks for the company.
LAKEWAY HISTORY*
A brief history of Lakeway……
1937: construction on the dam started, 1941, New Deal project created Lake Travis
1941: three men from Houston visited area looking for a hotel site
1962: rancher Jack Josey showed his 2700 ranch on Lake Travis to same three men
They immediately took a 60-day option with plan to develop more than a hotel
1962: (October), construction began on The Inn / partnership expanded to 10 men
1962-1965: partnership bought 3,697 acres from Josey
1963: (July 12) Grand Opening of The Inn and Marina
1963: the airpark completed
1964: first custom home built at 104 Highlander, owners become first permanent residents of Lakeway
1965: (October 1) Live Oak golf coarse opened
1967: (August 5) A major brush fire along Challenger near Hurst Creek prompts development of Lakeway Village Fire Department (est Dec 1968)
1971: Lakeway Patio home condominiums section 1 is completed, becoming the first condominiums built in Texas (Kite St. at Lido)
1971: (April 26) Gulfmont / Lakeway Land Co (Houston) sold its interest in Lakeway to Alpert Corp (Dallas)
300 homes built and 1,000 acres developed at this time
*Source: A. Denys Cadman, and Byron D. Varner, “In the Beginning: A Brief History of Lakeway” Austin: Silverdale, 1981
Started as an idea in 2015, the Old Lakeway Project was originally focused exclusively on the first 300 homes built in Lakeway, with the goal of recognizing those homes that still honored the original architect’s exterior design vision.
From that, was born the secondary project goal of building a neighborhood, and the current project goal was formed: “Preserving Lakeway’s history through its homes, and forming a neighborhood known as “Old Lakeway”.
The Old Lakeway neighborhood is defined as the first 17 Sections and 1,000 acres developed by Lakeway Land Company at the time they sold their interests in Lakeway on April 26, 1971.
The establishment of the Old Lakeway neighborhood includes more than the owners of the first 300 homes; we estimate 750 to 800 homes are a part of this defined neighborhood, however all of Lakeway will benefit from the preservation of this historically significant area.
The Old Lakeway Project currently has two goals:
Recognize the first 300 homes built in Lakeway with an emphasis on those that retain the original architects’ exterior vision
Build Lakeway’s first real neighborhood, known as “Old Lakeway”
….and have some fun connecting with neighbors in the process!
Last weekend the new Lakeway Police headquarters had it’s grand opening. Of course, the Producer and I could not miss the event. The station is a great example of Texas Hill Country architecture. I took tons of photos and culled them down to those presented here. There are still quite a few and I hope you won’t be bored.
Hard to capture the whole building. This will give you an idea.
Although it was threatening rain many folks showed up.
The view of the main entrance.
The tour line has formed. A few sprinkles have begun.
Hot dogs and donuts (of course)
This is the training room and situation room in an emergency. Yes it is big.
A shot of the front desk. (behind glass)
The Chief of Police office.
The daily briefing room.
Since the force operates on a 24/7 basis a food prep station is needed.
Before entering the interrogation area, Officers place their weapons in these lockers.
A conference room.
The 911 call center which serves Lakeway and Bee Cave communities.
The interior of a holding cell. All suspects are transfered to the county jail after processing so they don’t stay for long.
A cell door.
The drunk tank testing room.
A bench where a suspect is placed until transport can be arranged. The cuff pretty much guarantees the suspect will stay put.
The crime lab where evidence is prepared to be sent to the state for processing.
One of two brand new Harleys for the motorized team.
The walks are lined with dedication opportunities. Pictured are the officers of the Police union.
I hope you enjoyed the tour. As you can see the community is proud of it’s police department and have funded the best for them.
Lakeway Park is celebrating its twenty-fifth anniversary. As is fitting there was cake, kite flying, kayaking, and paddleboarding. The day was beautiful with temperatures in the high seventies. Come walk with me.
The first aid tent which oversees the kayak and paddleboard lending.
A couple of grandparents enjoying the day.
Kites are in the air.
Getting ready to launch.
Gotta have ice cream.
Shave ice and water too.
A tent by the Colin’s Hope organization whose mission is to educate on the dangers of drowning. The organization was founded by the family of Colin Holst who tragically lost his life in a swimming pool at age four in 2007.
A beautiful American Eagle in flight
Lovely bird.
A grandmother providing coaching on aerodynamics. The tea tent is in the background.
I participated in a local author’s event sponsored by the Bee Cave Library. The event was part of SpringFest which was a huge festival held at the Bee Cave Galleria. (Say high-end shopping center)
Here is a shot of my table before the other author arrived. There were six authors participating and we each got a half table. That plate of squid ink pasta looking stuff is a plate of bookmark charms on grosgrain ribbon.
To give you an idea of the venue, that overhang in the distance held a band which played almost non-stop and very loud. In the foreground is a place for the kids to cool off. Water bubbles up onto the bricks.
There were many food trucks.
Here is another shot of the author booth.
I said earlier that kids cooled off on the bricks. Dogs were there too.
This tent is the current Mayor of Lakeway running for re-election.
A few boat dealers and surf shops were there. (There are several lakes close by, and the Gulf is three and a half hours away. (Surfing in the lake would be disappointing for sure.)
Here is a Madness Autoworks Custom Fiat Abarth. They are a local custom shop.
Today our walk through the neighborhood will be spent at the Hamilton Greenbelt. I hope you brought your walking shoes and enjoy the stroll.
Here is the entrance to the Greenbelt.
The land and perpetual care for the Greenbelt was donated by Lakeway residents Jack and Myrtle Hamilton who lived in Lakeway from 1975 to 1993. The Greenbelt was opened in 1990.
A broad view of a man-made pond.
The close-up view of the same pond.
Abundant wildflowers and photo spots. Here are bluebonnets.
A sign warning of ants and snakes. Rather deal with an ant than a snake.
Lovely crushed granite paths and more flowers.
These markers are here in case you get lost or hurt you can identify to responders where you are. (Good idea to carry a phone)
I thought the sun through the trees illuminating the cactus bed was peaceful. Too bad I don’t have a $1000.00 camera with filter for a better shot.
A little wall for sitting and contemplation.
More paths and flowers.
A lovely bed of Iris.
An oak that was an acorn during the revolutionary war.
These little white flowers are also in our yard. I wonder what they are?
Here is a location map. We only walked a small portion today. We will come back for the waterfall and other features some other time. Thanks for walking with me.
There are several amazing things in Lakeway. One of them is an airport smack dab in the middle of houses and a golf course. The airport was originally used as a landing strip for a ranch. In 1964 a 3200-foot runway was built to support air interests of residents and later expanded to 3,983 feet. It is a private airport and receives no government funds. Operations are supported by fuel sales and landing fees. I hope you enjoy a look around.
Here is an aerial view of the park. There are eight homes that have driveways connected to the runway. They are on the left.
A ground view looking South.
This is the central building. entrance is by keycode.
A sign explaining the fees. Note that the fee box is by the front door and compliance is the honor system backed up by a camera.
How much for aviation fuel? $4.02 a gallon here. 100 is the octane level and LL stands for low lead. This fuel is good for piston driven engines. Jet fuel is not available at the air park.
Here is a sign with some information about the airport. To the left is the elevation of the field (905 feet) to the right is the airport common frequency. This is used so pilots can communicate their position to other pilots in the area. This airport does not have a controller so awareness of other aircraft is important. The first item should be cause for concern. Deer on the runway are not a good thing. The second indicates this airport is not lighted so operations are restricted to daylight hours only. The third explains the landing pattern has a left hand approach at 1900 feet Mean Sea Level (A measurement against a calculated sea level standard) So, if you are intending to land your approach to the airport needs to be on the left side of the runway and at 1900 feet. If all planes use the same method collesions are avoided. The next advisory says upon take off pilots should stay on the runway heading until a mile away and at least 400 feet (Above the Ground) altitude. Let’s assume the take off heading is 340 degrees the pilot would hold the 340 degree heading until 400 feet AGL and one mile. No touch and go’s which means no practice take off and landings. The last one which says use at own risk is self-explanatory.
The last shot is of an airplane taxing toward the fuel station. Those bright spots on the wing tips are strobe lights. The propeller doesn’t look like it is moving thanks to my super-fast camera phone. You can see the houses located with access to the runway in the background. Way off to the left is a group of golfers getting ready to T-off.
There is a monthly garage sale in Lakeway at the Activity Center. The entrance to the event is free but a donation of food or money to help the homeless and the animal shelter is suggested.
This 8,100 square foot building, with a theater seating capacity of 400, or a dinner seating capacity of 250, also has smaller meeting rooms, a full size commercial kitchen, a raised stage complete with modern computer operated lighting and sound systems, a baby grand piano, dressing rooms for performers and a large drop-down front projection screen. The Activity Center is a beautiful venue. I hope you enjoy the tour.
A shot of the outside of the center. The style of architecture is in keeping with the community. I would label it Craftsman Texas Hill Country. The rain yesterday made for a gloomy day.
The main doors to the Center. Notice the stonework and lamps.
This first photo of the sale is on the veranda. Arched doorways in keeping with the Craftsman style.
A photo of the veranda showing the pillars, metal roof, and the lights
The inlays on the walk are dedication bricks. The guy is thinking of buying that trimmer, but he couldn’t get it started.
A covered lounge area.
Another photo of the veranda which gives you an idea of the stonework on the walls.
Inside the Center, you can see the mirrored ball and chandeliers which are a nod to dances, weddings, and other events. There are room dividers for smaller events.
More shoppers and sellers.
I liked the idea of “Do What You Love.” Good advice for all of us.
The Center also has a stage for theatrical productions. These lamps made good use of the dark.
A photo of the courtyard. You can’t see the rain running of the downspout, but that rock basin in the foreground is where the water falls.
The food donation station.
I hope you enjoyed the tour of the Activity Center and the Garage Sale.
The park in Lakeway is celebrating the Twenty-Fifth anniversary. Since the Producer and I have never visited in our three weeks here, we thought it a good idea. We were surprised by the size and services offered. As a side note, the city council bearly passed the approval for the park when it was first proposed. Now it is a city treasure. I hope you like the tour.
A sign letting you know that this is it.
Unique cactus at the entrance.
A surprise was a full-sized ball diamond named Ranger Field after the excavating company who made it possible. (Not named after the Texas Rangers)
A view of the outfield from the umpire position.
A shot of the bleachers and dugout down the first base line.
A huge playground. I noticed that this part is for 2 to 5-year-olds. Given the directions of not wearing a helmet, I think the children learn to read very early here.
A pavilion for parties including a dance floor.
A Texas-shaped stone honoring those who made the park possible.
A sigh with rules.
A shuffleboard needing some TLC.
A cactus garden
The cactus garden dedication.
A dog park with an agility course.
Rules of the dog park.
A kayak launch site on Lake Travis in Lakeway Park.
A place to borrow a life jacket if you left yours at home.
Sand Volleyball courts.
A view of the lake. The construction is a new park bench. (Not in view)
This is very unusual. It is a butterfly garden with all manner of flowering plants to attract butterflies. You can see some Texas Bluebonnets in the background.
