Lake
Travis
18,930-acre reservoir of Lower Colorado River Authority,
one of famous Highland Lakes that stair-step up the Colorado
from Austin. Winds between steep, scenic hills for 65
miles; 270 miles of shoreline largely devoted to camps,
marinas, resorts and leisure home developments. Immensely
popular for boating, skiing, sailing and fishing; interesting
mineral outcroppings and fossils. Lake fish records include
Guadalupe bass, 3.69 lb.; striped bass, 30.5 lb.; hybrid
striped bass, 13.75 lb.; largemouth bass, 8.75 lb.; and
white bass, 2.88 lb. Several resort airstrips near lake.
For maps and information on facilities contact LCRA headquarters,
3700 Lake Austin Blvd. in Austin, or Box 220, Austin 78767.
Austin
In 1839 five mounted scouts ranged over a broad area of
wilderness seeking a site for a new capital city for the
Republic of Texas. Location on north bank of Colorado
River was chosen, where rich blacklands meet scenic hills.
Site occupied at the time by a four-family settlement
called Waterloo. Name honors Stephen F. Austin, the Father
of Texas. About first of Sept. 1839, archives and furniture
of Texas government were transported from Houston to Austin
by 50 ox-drawn wagons.
Institutions
of higher learning include Austin Community College, Austin
Presbyterian Theological Seminary, Concordia Univ. at
Austin, Episcopal Theological Seminary of the Southwest,
Huston-Tillotson College, St. Edward's Univ., and The
Univ. of Texas at Austin.
Major
annual events include South by Southwest Music & Media
and Film and Multimedia conferences in the spring.
Austin
is starting point for the Presidential Corridor via U.S.
290, Texas 21 to Texas 6 in Bryan/College Station connecting
the George Bush Presidential Library and Museum with the
Lyndon Baines Johnson Library and Museum in Austin.
The
city bills itself as the Live Music Capital of the World.
Austin has it all blues, country/Western, reggae, jazz,
conjunto, Tejano, swing and rock. Performed in various
clubs around city and at night spots along Sixth Street.
Speaking
of hot things on Sixth Street, stop by O'Shucks Tamales.
It's become a hot sauce museum. OK, it's a shop, too,
but it features more than 300 varieties of hot sauces,
salsas, marinades, etc., with a huge choice of heat levels!
High
tech and up beat, that's Silicon Hills. Austin is home
to many computer chip makers and other computer industries.
The city is home to nation's largest urban bat colony
found under the Congress Ave. bridge during the summer.
A kiosk on north shore of Town Lake's hike-and-bike trail
near Four Seasons Hotel and one on the south shore inform
visitors when and where to watch for the nocturnal mammals.
The
Greater Austin Area offers more than 20 bed and breakfast
establishments. For information, contact the Austin Visitor
Center.
