Volunteers and bluebonnets
What do mail boxes, shoes and a mummy head have in common? Those are just a few of the strange things we picked up out of the creek bed of Onion Creek located in McKinney Falls State Park. My family and I were volunteers in the KAB program this last Saturday at McKinney Falls. KAB (Keep Austin Beautiful) organizes volunteers to help clean Austin area parks. We cleaned along the creek at the lower falls at McKinney Falls State Park. McKinney Falls is located off of HWY 183 and McKinney Falls Pkwy in Southeast Austin. These previously mentioned items were only some the strange and not so strange things you will see along creeks. Especially after a heavy rainy season there is plenty of trash that gets caught up in the brush and on the banks. Tires, plastic bottles, cans, cigarette lighters, phone cable and any other household item you can possibly think of were picked up. And Styrofoam. Lots and lots of Styrofoam. In a hundred little pieces. We met with the group at 9:00 and worked along the creek until 11:00. The day was beautiful, there were bluebonnets blooming in the creek bed and we found a couple of mice while picking up some debris. Then we were off to the festivities for the volunteers at Waterloo Park, where more volunteers had worked so diligently to put this all together. And a great job they did. There was food, drinks, snacks, live music, educational activities, and plenty of environmental information. And my grandsons favorite, the rock climbing wall.
Mummy head found in creek bed during KAB Cleanup
There had been a contest for the strangest item found during clean-up. We thought we should have won with the mummy head, but the sign from Aunt Tilly’s was the winner. (The sign had been washed away in a flood in 2007, and found today in Walnut Creek) It was a great day altogether. Great weather, great company and great food. This is what Austin is all about.
Great music for the afternoon
