my favorites: best texas swimming holes

thank goodness for summer! time to relax and slow down.

thank goodness for summer! time to relax and slow down. (taken at jacob’s well in wimberley)

and just like that, spring is over.  the temperatures are creeping up, and not cooling off at night.  my husband and i walked to our neighborhood wine night (yes) last week, and i was struck by how quickly jeans season ended.  after years in california with its cool nights, we’re back in texas, where it’s time to shed pants for summer shorts and skirts.

just relaxing at jacob's well in wimberley, texas

just relaxing at jacob’s well in wimberley, texas

so its the perfect time to talk about my favorite texas swimming holes.   i’m much more of a city girl than a nature lover, but california taught me a lot about appreciating nature (maybe it was our proximitiy to griffith park that helped me live at peace with coyotes and that rogue mountain lion), and now i can’t get enough of the perfectly and naturally formed swimming pool, shaded by trees and open to all. there are three that i’ve really enjoyed visiting: two in or near austin and one in far west texas.

the scene at jacob's well in wimberley, texas (the dark circle in the water is the 30-foot well)

the scene at jacob’s well in wimberley, texas (the dark circle in the water is the 30-foot well)

  • jacob’s well, wimberley, texas – just southwest of austin in the beautiful texas hill country lies wimberley, a place i visited a lot growing up and never fully appreciated until i was older.  jacob’s well is a 30-foot deep well in the middle of a shallow creek, surrounded by rock cliffs and shaded by trees.  though the well is deep, the surrounding creek bed only has about two feet of water lined with slippery rocks.  scuba divers used to dive to the bottom of the well, and crawl through a narrow space at the bottom that opened up to another drop-off, estimated to be around 150 feet deep (a couple of deaths caused the city to grate over the drop-off and prohibit scuba diving).  go early as lines can form in the summer, bring a picnic and goggles, and find a warm rock on which to sun bathe while taking a cool dip in the well.
cooling off in austin's barton springs

cooling off in austin’s barton springs

  • barton springs, austin, texas – located in the middle of austin at zilker park, barton springs is an austin favorite.  formed from natural springs from main barton spring, the water is refreshing and sparkling (read: freezing, no matter what time of year), and is where the party’s at.  the city has lined the springs with cement to make it into more of an outdoor pool, and there are plenty of grassy areas or bleachers to set up for the entire day.  the people watching is fantastic (especially if you go outside the gates a bit further down), and remember: topless sunbathing is allowed everywhere in austin.
sun bathing at austin's barton springs, with a token guitar player in the background

sun bathing at austin’s barton springs, with a token guitar player in the background

  • balmorhea springs, balmorhea, texas – so, this one is…remote.  we stumbled upon this gem during a trip to marfa in far west texas, and it is definitely worth a stop.  these springs have the clearest water i’ve ever seen, and are located at balmorhea state park.  for $7, you can enter the springs, swim for awhile, and enjoy the grounds.  there are campgrounds and cabins onsite, and it seems to be a favorite among kids.  this would be a perfect stop during a tour of west texas that could include a couple of nights in marfa, a stop in alpine, a drive through big bend with a stop at terlingua (home of the texas chili festival), and a visit to the mcdonald observatory (see more of my thoughts on that here).
mountains in the background at balmorhea springs

mountains in the background at balmorhea springs

the next step is to find some swimming holes closer to home around dallas – do you have any favorites in your part of the world?

rushing grass-filled stream at balmorhea springs

rushing grass-filled stream at balmorhea springs in west texas

reading my way around the world

marfa book company, where i found the history of giant, which was later written into a movie filmed in marfa

marfa book company, where i found the history of giant, which was later written into a movie filmed in marfa

in case you haven’t heard, my husband is now a doctor. not the real kind of doctor, as he likes to say, but the kind that still gets some awesome initials after the name (i’d like to think that “cpa” still counts for something, but so far it’s not working in my favor). these initials (ph.d. in case you haven’t yet caught on) are from his five years spent learning everything there is about government and history. this proves to be a really useful skill when we travel and i say things like “now this country was on which side of the war?”

it's official: he's a doctor!

it’s official: he’s a doctor!

history was always my worst subject (ok, and chemistry). i could never remember the names and the battles, and the years just always blended together for me (is there really much difference between 1225 and 1290?). thankfully, travel is changing that, and making it more real to me than the pages of my former textbooks.

i have found that i really enjoy immersing myself in a travel destination through books, movies, and music. when traveling last summer to monterey, california, i read john steinbeck’s cannery row. not only did we visit cannery row and see the places on which the book was based, but we were also able to visit the steinbeck center in salinas and learn about steinbeck’s life growing up in salinas, and the true stories that inspired the book.

the pacific biological laboratories, fictionalized into western biological labs in steinbeck's cannery row (monterey, ca)

the pacific biological laboratories, fictionalized into western biological labs in steinbeck’s cannery row (monterey, ca)

i watched vicky cristina barcelona before my trip to barcelona. i read giant while traveling to marfa (still a favorite).  i picked up a copy of a moose and a lobster walk into a bar while stopped at a light house in portland, maine. and a tale of two cities made the french revolution come to life much more than that world history class i took as a freshman.  what better way to learn about the people and culture of a place than to read their stories and learn the history that defines the location?

interior of marfa book company, with tons of books on art, texas, and art in texas

interior of marfa book company, with tons of books on art, texas, and art in texas

other suggestions:
– read don quixote when in madrid and alcalá de henares (alcalá claims to be the birthplace of cervantes)
– read the age of innocence when in new york
– watch paris, je t’aime before heading to paris

what are some of your favorite location-specific reads/movies?

update: after writing this post, i was strolling through elliott bay book company in seattle (great bookstore if you are in the area), and came across an amazing resource, book lust to go. this book lists reading options (fiction and non-fiction) based on destinations. since i was about to head to barcelona, i checked the spain section, and it had the recommendation of the shadow of the wind, which takes place in 1945 barcelona, and was perfect for my trip (and long enough for the trans-atlantic flight). book lust to go is exactly what i’ve been looking for – pick up a copy!

visiting park guell in barcelona, as seen in vicky cristina barcelona

visiting park guell in barcelona, as seen in vicky cristina barcelona

map of steinbeck's travels in "travels with charley" at the steinbeck center in salinas, ca

map of steinbeck’s travels in “travels with charley” at the steinbeck center in salinas, ca

my jaunts: marfa, texas

shortly after i started dating parker (now my husband), he mentioned wanting to travel to a small town in far west texas, marfa. i had never heared of marfa and, after looking it up on a map, realized it was pretty much in the middle of nowhere (over two hours from the nearest cities of el paso or midland/odessa). parker had read about it in texas monthly, and mentioned it was known for its modern art scene. hmmm…modern art in west texas? i was thinking more like ranchers from edna ferber’s giant (side note: the movie based on the book was filmed in marfa- it was the last movie james dean filmed before his death).

we went for three nights, and it was one of the quirkiest and coolest trips i have ever taken. we ate marfalafal at the food shark food truck (before food trucks were cool), where they gave me change in the form of a two dollar bill, a dollar piece, and a fifty cent piece (so whimsical, as my friend tara would later describe it). we strolled through the tiny downtown, with its art galleries (a warhol exhibit comes to mind), a light-filled library, and hipster bikes leaning against buildings (no locks, no crime). at night we stayed at the thunderbird hotel, a hipster haven where we rented bikes, a typewriter, and a record player.

donald judd’s chinati foundation is located in marfa, and we spent over a day touring the facilities and seeing the many exhibits spread over acres of the flat west texas land. we spoke with interns who had moved to marfa for the summer, and learned how they liked the tiny town (loved it), where they went shopping (online or in nearby alpine for the closest grocery store), and what the neighboring ranchers thought of the neon light installations (amused).

east of town, there is a strange phenomenon called the marfa lights. at a rest stop off the highway, you can park at night and look out over the flat land and see twinkling lights at the horizon. many people have speculated as to what they are, but the lights (and their origin) remain a mystery, with UFOs being the prevailing idea. somewhat spooky (ok, i was entirely freaked out), but seemingly in step with the rest of the town’s eccentric vibe. check it out.

who should go: modern art lovers, hipsters, texans
what to read: giant by edna ferber
what to watch: no country for old men and there will be blood, both partly filmed in marfa
the surrounding area: drive south to the border and head east along the rio grande through big bend national park. stop for a drink at boathouse in terlingua, a ghost town with a high hippie population and home to a texas-sized chili festival. head north from marfa for a night spent watching the stars at the university of texas’ mcdonald observatory, or swim in the natural (and freakishly clear) springs in balmorhea.