Kenneth E. Harker
2001 Walnut Creek Metropolitan Park

One of our favorite places in Austin is Walnut Creek Metropolitan Park. This is a large city park in north Austin that was part of a farm thirty years ago. On the developed side of the park, there are three baseball diamonds, a very large open field (often used for cricket and soccer,) basketball courts, a public swimming pool, playgrounds, and lots of picnic tables. The really interesting part of the park, however, is the extensive woodland trail system surrounding the several branches of Walnut Creek. The undeveloped portion of the park is large enough that you can hike for two or three miles in woodland trails without crossing your own path. These photos were taken by Jen one fall weekend afternoon.

These photos are copyright © 2001-2003 Jennifer Harker. All rights reserved.

	The park had previously been a part of the Gracy family farm, so it is still a relatively young woodland, with lots of undergrowth and immature trees. The trails are popular with hikers and mountain bikers alike.
	Some wildflowers growing along the trail. Central Texas really has two growing seasons separate by the heat of August. Quite a lot of vegetation comes roaring back to life in the cooler fall temperatures.
	One of the branches of Walnut Creek, about fifteen feet below at the bottom of a small cliff. Some of the tree leaves are actually showing fall colors, which happens some years when the rainfall and temperatures have been just right.
	Some more wildflowers in the tall grass by the trail. There are several meadows in the park, filled with tall grass and prickly pear cactus.
	A riot of undergrowth vegetation, including these purple wildflowers.
	A hint of what a more mature woodland could look like, with sparser undergrowth and cedar trees dominated by taller deciduous trees.
	Another bunch of those purple flowers.
	A view of the creek. Walnut Creek usually has flowing water in it year-round, but in drought years it can run dry.
	The trails cross the various branches of Walnut Creek several at several places.
	A view down the steep bank at the creek.
	A mountain cedar tree. These trees, also known as the scrub juniper, once grew only near creeks like Walnut Creek - above the creek beds, natural wildfires kept them from spreading. Today, with settlement and wildfire suppression, cedars have taken over what had traditionally been prairie grasslands, and consume far more water than the species of plants they replaced.
	Some trees showing a hint of fall colors - nothing like what happens in New England, of course, but fall colors in Texas are kind of special.
	One of the main trails in the park. There are some large, double-track trails in the park that form a couple of big loops, popular with joggers and the less adventurous mountain bikers.
	The trail, as it enters a small meadow. The evergreen trees on either side of the foreground are cedars.
	A large, old cedar tree. In December and January, the cedars pollinate and make allergy sufferers miserable. Locally, the symptoms are called "cedar fever."
	Some vines with red berries.
	The trail goes through both open spaces and very densely overgrown spaces.
	A yucca plant growing in the tall grass.