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JoeinAustin

JoeinAustin
Location
Austin, Travis, Rep. of Tex.
Birthday
March 05
Bio
Born in the oil and gas deposit-rich region of North Texas, on the fraying edge of the Permian Basin, my mother was a special ed teacher, my father, a “pumper,” a far more glamorous job among the petroletariat than the name would indicate. I managed to escape the small town that spawned me promptly after High School graduation, a modicum of sanity still intact to ride shotgun with my generous portions of anger and resentment. Some five years later, I copped a BS degree from the University of Texas at Austin. Said institution and I gladly parted ways. In the intervening 20-plus years, though my only ambition has been to have ambition, I have miraculously coughed-up a boatload of freelance articles, a couple of books of dubious merit, and a metric ton of songs of occasionally inspired quality, not to mention a paralegal certificate, 11 years of experience as a legal underling, and tens of thousands of bicycle commuter miles.

AUGUST 10, 2009 1:18AM

San Solomon Springs at Balmorhea State Park, Texas

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Balmorhea State Park [Toyahvale, Texas] boasts a wildlife habitat cienega and a swimming pool fed by the San Solomon springs which is comprised of water draining from the nearby Davis Mountains. The average flow of the springs into the park is 1,000,000 gallons per hour.

The water temperature in the pool is a bit nippy, but pleasant, ranging from 72-76F, making it a bit warmer than Austin's Barton Springs. There are plenty of Mexican Tetras and Channel Catfish to observe as you snorkel about. The Fabulous NC and I also spotted a white soft shell turtle and a few crawfish in the pool. My strangest experience in the pool was having some dead skin surrounding a healing wound on my right shin being nibbled on by some Tetras as I stood in some shallow water.

 The deepest part of the pool is 25 feet deep at the point where  the springs bubbles up through a patch of gray sand. I am proud  to say that after a few failed attempts, I was finally able to dive down and touch the springs on our forth and final day at the park.

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Water in the Cienega

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Some small fish (Mexican Tetras, methinks) in the Cienega

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Water in the San Solomon Pool

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Snorklers in the Pool

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Beautiful swimmer in San Solomon Pool

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The high dive a San Solomon

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