Seeing my third grader learn geometry, my mind circles back and darts off to many points in the past: adventurous hikes to apexes of mountains; long waits in lines to get to top of skyscrapers; aerial tours that fly in circles over beautiful terrains. What is common with all of these, one may ask. To answer in geometric terms, they all give amazing 360 degree views !!!
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| Guadalupe peak; At theTop, Dubai; Wings over Kauai aerial tour |
Speaking of 360 degree views, it was quite interesting to get such a view of one of the landmarks of Austin: Pennybacker Bridge, more commonly referred to as 360 Bridge.
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| 360 bridge |
On a Friday evening, this past summer, we drove down to this bridge to view the sunset. The road that leads to the bridge is flanked on both sides by limestone walls and gives a true feel of the Austin terrain where limestone is the most prevalent rock type.
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| Limestone walls along Loop 360 |
Previously, when we had driven by, we had noticed people parking on the left side of the road after crossing the bridge from the north. The information on the web had mentioned this to be a good spot to park and walk up a trail to the top. It was a short but steep climb. We reached the top to catch the gorgeous sunset in time.
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| Short but steep trail to top |
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| Sunset over the lake |
We could see the downtown skyline in the distance, the bridge down close, and the beautiful lake beneath.The area at the top is not bounded which meant we had to keep a close watch on the kids. Before it got dark, we headed back to avoid going down the steep slope in darkness.
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| Austin skyline in the distance |
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| A group photo with the bridge |
It was a short fun outing right in the middle of town. The amusing part was that it was the first time we had hiked up for this view. Having been in Austin for a decade, we had not been here before; hence had not taken any of our younger friends or relatives who had visited us earlier. Anyways, now we have one more place added to our Visit Austin itinerary. Looking forward to put it into action soon.
Check out this link if you need more information: http://www.austintexas.org/austin-insider-blog/360-bridge/
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