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Here are three unusual and interesting activities to try this weekend.
A Kerrville walking trail — cleared and now open
Those who suffered the tragic flooding on July 4 in Kerrville and points northwest are still recovering.
Last July a rain squall released a wall of water that raged through Ingram and Kerrville, killing dozens, including 27 campers and counselors at summer camps.
But Kerrville recently re-opened a central footpath along the Guadalupe. The city’s Crystal Stutes says there has been much progress in cleaning up.
“Yes, the river trail reopened all the way from Dietert Center to Camp Meeting Creek,” Stutes said.
That takes walkers through areas where in July the damage was extensive. All these months later crews have made real progress.
“There was about 1.7 million tons of debris that was removed thanks to our partners,” she said. “We, in our Kerrville Parks and Recreation team really led the efforts and making sure that the park trails were safe again.”
In the over five months since then, the cleanup netted a lot of debris.
“It was river rock. It was tree limbs. It was silt from the riverbeds, Stutes said. “It was also material goods, vehicles, RVs, things of that nature that had washed down the river and needed to be cleared out and sorted through.”
She said the city and volunteer clean-ups have enabled a re-opening of the River Trail that ran alongside the Guadalupe in the downtown area. The cleanup has been amazing but could be the new normal.
“I think you could definitely say that there won’t be a return to normalcy, but there is a return of community, and the community itself has come together to support one another,” she said.
Now that the River Trail is open, those who walk it will see the worst of the floods, and how nature is, on its own schedule, rebounding.
Kayaking the San Antonio River
While driving by the San Antonio, you may have noticed groups of people in kayaks paddling their way through the King William Historic District. The San Antonio River Authority’s Nicole Marshall says kayaking there is big fun.
“Yes, if you’re an amateur paddler or an experienced one, there’s many areas to explore at your own leisure for kayaking or paddling there, Marshall said.
“If you go to our website on San Antonio sariverauthority.org and go to “river recreation” (on the website), you’ll see the different areas to where you can even rent kayaks from different vendors.”
San Antonio by car is one experience, but by kayak it’s quite different.
“Oh, it’s a beautiful experience. Actually, I’ve done it several times since I’ve worked here,” she said. “We also have, if you have your own kayak, we have different paddling entry areas along the mission reach, and those can be found located on that same page, where we have a map.”
Marshall said there are three different vendors to rent kayaks.
“Texas River company, Mission Kayak and then Kayak the River Walk. There’s different opportunities to go through those vendors, to see about times and cost and all that to run a kayak,” she said. “And those areas pretty much highlight the King William and Mission Reach trails in the San Antonio River Walk area.”
“Mamma Mia! That’sa Murder!”
If you’ve never been to one of those dinner theater murder mysteries, there’s one coming here on Saturday night.
Producer Dave Cortez said their “Mamma Mia! That’sa Murder!” show … is a killer.
“You’re going to have a great time. If you come, you won’t forget it. It’s a great night,” Cortez said. “It’s a great Christmas gift, too, if you’re looking for a late Christmas gift.”
Cortez says the key word in describing his murderous production is “interactivity.”
“It’s a murder mystery, so you got to bring your thinking caps on. You come on in. Have a lot of fun. We do a lot of interaction where maybe the guest that comes in, or a spouse that comes in, or a birthday person that comes in, maybe they can be a suspect as well,” he said.
The murder mystery will be staged at the Bombay Bicycle Club at Hemisfair. Cortez said that if you’re in the audience, keep your eyes peeled. You may even get invited to participate in the mystery.
“The first word that comes in is interactive and fun. It’s a dinner,” Cortez said. “So you’re eating during the show. You know, we plan it out time it wisely make sure we’re not interrupting dinner, but you are watching the show as dinner progresses,” Cortez said.
You can catch this one on Saturday night, but he said they have more planned for the new year. With murder on the menu, you’d think it would only be for adults. Cortez said not so.
“No, it’s a family event. So it’s a family restaurant, so feel free to bring the kids. You’re going to have a great time,” he said.
Great Job Jack Morgan & the Team @ Texas Public Radio for sharing this story.
