Wandering Around Waco

Here are a few more photos of local scenery, sights and places around the Waco Texas area…

This view of the Brazos River and the limestone bluffs that are part of Cameron Park was taken from Brazos Park East.  Parkland lines miles of shoreline along the Brazos and Bosque Rivers.  Cameron Park alone offers 20 miles of hiking and biking trails along with picnic areas, playgrounds, etc.  Another popular activity is kayaking along the rivers…

The Brazos River was called the Rio de los Brazos de Dios, (translated as "The River of the Arms of God"), by early Spanish explorers.  Much to my surprise, it is the 11th-longest river in the United States.  The river stretches 1,280 miles from its source at the head of Blackwater Draw in Curry County New Mexico all the way to its mouth at the Gulf of Mexico.  The Brazos has a 45,000 square-mile drainage basin.

This is the entrance to Spice Village in the downtown area of Waco.  In Trip Advisor it is listed as the #5 “thing to do” in the area…only trailing the Cameron Park Zoo, Waco Mammoth National Monument, the Texas Ranger Hall of Fame and Museum and the Waco Suspension Bridge.

As you can see from the preceding photos, Spice Village is a collection of shops that offers just about everything to shopping fanatics!  There are collegiate related products, items for kids, baby, home decor, men’s accessories, jewelry, souvenirs, bath and body, candles, clothing and a lot more.  There are more than 60 little shops covering 30,000 sq. ft. in Spice Village.  Spice Village has been in operation for over 20 years. 

Spice Village and its shops/boutiques are located on the 2^nd floor of the historic McLendon Hardware Company building.  This structure was completed in 1908.  To be honest, although Spice Village was an interesting concept and it was quite busy during our visit, we aren’t huge shoppers so we left without any purchases.

Food Trucks are the ‘in thing’ across America and it’s no different in Waco!  Not only did we see a significant number of food trucks and carts at Magnolia Market, along with individual offerings around the area, we noted a large gathering of mobile food offerings near the Brazos River in the downtown area.  The closest mobile food offering in the photo is Xristo’s Café which offers Greek cuisine.  Why don’t we have a food truck like this one in Knoxville!?  FYI…Xristo’s is on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/xristoscafe/.

Most of the food trucks are open from mid-morning to early afternoon to capture the lunch crowds, though some also offer evening hours or take part in occasions like First Friday Waco to draw visitors to experience downtown.  Just how significant are food trucks/mobile food units in Waco?  How about the fact that every April the Waco Chamber of Commerce sponsors an annual event called the Texas Food Truck Showdown!  No less than 39 food ‘trucks’ competed in this event this past spring… To learn more, go to http://thetexasfoodtruckshowdown.com/.

That sliver of water on the horizon is Lake Waco.  This side of the lake is near the Waco Regional Airport.  Airport Park occupies a big stretch of shoreline on this side of the lake as does Lake Country Club.  Airport Park and others along the lake are operated by the US Corp of Engineers.  Entry and launch fees are required for some of these parks…

We circled around Lake Waco until we found an upscale subdivision that faced the water.  This is a view from a small parklike area in that subdivision. 

Lake Waco is a reservoir or dam pond located within the city limits of Waco.  Managed by the Army Corps Engineers, the lake serves as the western border for the city.  The dam is actually located on the Bosque River, not the Brazos.  The surface area of the lake is 8,465 acres.  For the anglers out there, fishermen can catch a wide variety of fish in this lake.  They include flathead catfish, largemouth bass, redear sunfish, blue catfish, redbreast sunfish, crappie, bream, bluegill and white bass. 

That’s about it for now… Just click on any of the photos to enlarge them.

Thanks for stopping by for a visit!

Take Care, Big Daddy Dave