Texas Epic Round-up - Lake Travis Weather Update

[westtx]

The storms last night caused Lake Travis to rise 10 feet today (currently 12 feet above pool level). Right now the lake is closed while they let the debris settle, but with no more rain, it should open back up this weekend. I have no idea how many gallons 10 feet of water in a 65-mile long lake represents, but there should be plenty of lake for everyone. Here's a link for the flood status http://floodstatus.lcra.org/

Keep your fingers crossed and pray for dry weather. Poor Al Gore will go into shock if he hears about this one.

[Ktown]

I heard there is a lot of drift wood and debris as well.  The gentleman I am renting from said the marina at the property is dealing with very high water and the docks are not quite right.  He said it will take at least a week to get back to normal (with no rain).  Hopefully we will get lucky and the rain will subside a bit.  Unfortunately the wx forcast is not so good. 

[lakerats247]

Yeah, they just confirmed on the news that there is a boat ban this weekend on Lake Travis. Its now 30 feet above the normal! Most of the ramps are under water completely. So much for being 30 feet low... Gotta love Texas.

The good news is that Lake Austin is just right around the corner. Gotta love constant level lakes...

[Ktown]

Looks like I am going to cancel my reservation.  The owner of my place said he was willing to refund all of my money since the lake is unusable.  Even if we have no rain, the lake is supposed to keep rising until the 1st of July.  There are a lot of articles about bacteria and other stuff that needs at least 7 to 10 days to die off, not to mention the snakes and other critters that will be looking for a place to stay/eat.  Anyway, hopefully we can plan something like this later in the year.  I'm totally bummed about not getting together, but it's just not worth all the money and risk involved.  I think I will just spend the week here at Amistad instead.  Best of luck to those that still make the trip.  I wish it had turned out differently.

[westtx]

We're still playing it by ear. Are there any places to rent at Amistad that might be open with the holiday next week?

[Ktown]

We officially notified the owner that we weren't going to make it.  I think Flyn is still going.  Last I heard, they wouldn't refund his money.  I heard that today wasn't as bad, but all the articles I've read talk about the ban going through the 4th. 

Here is the link.  http://www.lcra.org/index.html 

As for Amistad, they have a "resort," that is really just a renovated older motel that is about a 1/4 mile to the lake.  The shoreline is owned by the Park so no one is allowed to build hotels, restaurants, etc... and no docks (other than at the park access ramps) on the lake.  There is also very little in the way of entertainment and places to go.  Amistad is a great place to go for a long weekend or an off week, but there won't be anything special for the 4th and there isn't much to do in Del Rio.  Most people that vacation near the lake, actually rent houseboats and stay on the lake.  They are a little pricey, but would be prettly cool for 3 or 4 days.  Amistad is truely an untapped resource.

[westtx]

We really want to get down to Amistad this summer. Its closer to us than Travis and the houseboats are appealing. We've spent lots of weeks on Lake Powell in houseboats and loved it. Its just that a week on a houseboat costs a lot more than renting a million dollar lakehouse for a week. We'll make a decision tomorrow. With no more rain, it looks like Travis will re-open on Monday or Tuesday. Our place is about 20 miles from where the two rivers dump in, so hopefully most of the trees, floating cars, refrigerators, etc. will have found a shoreline by then!

[Ktown]

I thought you were in San Antonio?  What lake do you normally use?  Yeah, I never understood why the houseboats were so expensive.  It would be nice to be on the water, but in a lot of ways, a place like you found on Lake Travis has the best of both worlds.

[westtx]

I can't believe it was available, but I just booked a houseboat on Lake Amistad for 7/3 - 7/6 (Tuesday through Friday). Maybe we can have at least a two-boat round-up, although you have already done that one in Texas. I'm looking forward to seeing the lake. If anyone else can make it, you're welcome to tie up to our boat during the day. Ktown, we'll need lots of advice on where to go and beach.

[Ktown]

That's great!  I can tell you where most people park their houseboats, and show you where the good water is.  I plan on being on the lake at least 2 or 3 of those days, so we can have another 2 boat round-up for sure.  Maybe Flyn can work some magic and get out of his condo.  Anyway, looking forward to meeting you and feel free to give me a call when you get in to town.

[westtx]

Awesome! I'm looking forward to seeing the exalted SX in person. In answer to your earier question, we live in Midland. Amistad should be around 4 hours from us while Lake Travis is over 5. We've lived here for 5 years and never seen Amistad, so we're looking forward to it. Is it safe to venture into Mexico there (not on the lake but the town). The kids have never been to Mexico and would enjoy saying they have been there.

[Ktown]

Yes, as long as you stay on the main strip.  There are a couple good restaurants and shops just accross the border, and as long as you stay in the main part of town you will be fne.  For a while the military folks were only allowed to be there during daylight hours, but they have lifted that requirement and are now letting folks stay until 11PM, I think.  Big picture, if you go, park on the US side and take a cab or walk across the bridge.  Eat lunch, by a big hat, and then come back before the locals start drinking (heavily).  We have a very large border patrol and military presence here, so we see very little problems.  I would however, not go to Nuevo Laredo!  The lake actually borders Mexico as well, and I know some friends that used to have a dual registration and dock and swim on the Mexico side, but I've never personally done that.  We mostly stay on the east side of the lake and tend to gravitate toward the Devil's River and an area called Rough Canyon.  There are some georgeous cliffs and if the rain stops, the water will be a beautiful blue/green.  The lake can really be quite pretty.  As for the SX, it really is a great boat, but "exalted" may be a stretch.  Either way, you are more than welcome to check it out.