Oaklaw Nopry Music

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On the eastern edge of the Edward’s plateau lies one of Austin’s greatest treasures: the Barton Creek Greenbelt. After millions of years, the runoff of rainwater carved a canyon into the plateau, and created one of Austin’s treasures.

The most popular of Austin’s greenbelts, the Barton Creek greenbelt is just shy of 8 miles long, and covers 809 acres. The greenbelt runs from Zilker Park downtown, to the rocky entrance of Camp Craft Road, just off of the Capital of Texas Highway, with several entrance points in between. Austinites looking for outdoor activities head to the greenbelt every day of the year.

The creek running through the middle of the greenbelt has attracted people to its waters for several years. The Tonkawa and Apache tribes were drawn to the abundant fresh water, as were other Native Americans for thousands of years. William “Uncle Billy” Barton settled in the area in 1837, and what was known as Spring Creek came to be known as Barton Creek.

Today, many are still drawn to the waters of Barton Creek and its several popular swimming holes, most looking to escape the harsh Texas sun. Though the busiest of the swimming areas is Barton Springs pool in Zilker park, places such as Twin Falls and Sculpture Falls offer not only cool waters, but beautiful sheer cliffs and a more secluded setting as well. The pool at Gus Fruh park gathers crowds of families with young children and dogs because of its section of ankle-deep water, and a younger crowd that enjoys its long, deep section that makes for good swimming, and a rope swing for the more adventurous types. Closer to Zilker park lies Campbell’s hole, with its pebbly beach, and rumored to be visited by Robert E. Lee, and outlaws Bonnie and Clyde. During seasons of heavy rainfall, the current is strong and water level is high, which allows tubers to ride the creek through the city, a recreation usually only achieved out of town on much larger rivers.

The Barton Creek greenbelt also offers many trails throughout the area that differ in size from tight, rocky ledges to widths one could deem drivable. The trails wind through sycamore groves, along the creek bed, through limestone bluffs hiding many caves, and deep into forests of juniper and oak trees. Walkers, runners, and mountain bikers all share the same paths through an oasis that lies within walking distance of Mopac, while seeming very far removed. The serious runners ascend the Hill of Life, the steepest hill on the trail, known to make runners stronger, and its rocky surface preps them for off road races. The limestone cliffs of the greenbelt beckon rock climbers from around the city, with at least six different areas, such as Seismic Wall, New Wall and Great Wall, set up as climbing zones, with routes bolted into the side of the rock.

The greenbelt is known for having a very sensitive ecosystem, and drinking alcohol within its borders was outlawed in 1997 by the Parks and Recreation department since the park staff picked up 18 cubic yards of garbage a week, with 75 percent of the trash turning up as beer bottles and cans. Concerned citizens have done a good job at keeping city growth at bay by forming groups such as the Save our Springs Alliance to protect the quality of water coming off of development in the fragile Barton Springs watershed. Though the population of Austin is increasing dramatically, the Barton Creek Greenbelt has been relatively unharmed by the city’s rapid development, and welcomes all Austinites, new and old, to come play.

The United Auto Workers (UAW) will dispatch national leaders to Delphi Corp. union locals countrywide as the it launches a weeklong effort to convince its members that a milestone wage and benefits deal struck Friday is their best recourse.

The presidents of several UAW locals, the top union officials at the plant level, are confident that their members will sign off on the deal, which offers workers from the former General Motors Corp. subsidiary a cash payout and other compensation in lieu of leaving the company or accepting lower wages. The pact, as the union sees it, would alleviate the condition of workers who are previously responsible for the integration of the Chevrolet Camaro fuel pressure gauge and other GM auto parts.

But with the hype that has surrounded Delphi since it filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy nearly two years ago, union representatives will spend days going over details with workers and responding to questions before bringing the pact to a vote. National UAW leaders from both Delphi and GM are expected to participate.

“This is orders of magnitude better than what Delphi first offered,” said Harley Shaiken, a labor professor at the University of California-Berkeley. “There may be some angry workers out there, but the UAW members at Delphi know the score.”

Last Friday, UAW, Delphi and GM have reached a tentative agreement. After months of intense pressure and openly intimidating negotiations, the parties have arrived at a pact that includes a total payout of $105,000 over three years. It will be offered to about 4,000 of Delphi’s 17,000 UAW workers. In return, the workers’ pay will be cut from about $27 an hour to a maximum of $18.50 an hour by Oct. 1, according to a copy of the agreement posted online by a nonconformist union group. Additionally, supplemental and temporary employees who leave the company will get severance pay of $1,500 for every month worked, up to $40,000.

In a win for the UAW, Delphi would shutter four fewer plans than originally planned. The company plans to keep open plants in Grand Rapids; Kokomo, Ind.; and Lockport and Rochester in New York. Delphi plans to sell a plant in Adrian, along with the Saginaw Steering plant in Saginaw; its Sandusky, Ohio, factory and a plant in Cottondale, Ala. Three factories – Flint East, Saginaw Manufacturing and a site in Dayton, Ohio, will be turned over to GM or a third party designated by GM. At least ten factories will close. The pact was required to remove the risk of a strike at Delphi that would have avoided the negotiations and crippled GM.

If approved, the pact would allow Delphi to decrease its overhead considerably in a bid to rival lower-cost international suppliers. At one local, in Wyoming near Grand Rapids, UAW officials will hold three meetings with members throughout the week before calling for a vote Thursday. Local 651 in Flint have started discussing with members. Another Delphi unit in Oak Creek, Wis., where virtually all the workers are temporary hires signed on to replace retirees who left with last year’s mass buyout offer, will vote Wednesday.

Skip Dziedzic, the president of UAW Local 1866, which represents the workers in Oak Creek, said that many of the workers at the soon-to-be shuttered plant have been distraught in recent months as Delphi has begun removing equipment from the factory in preparation for the plant’s year-end closure. “A lot of folks didn’t think they were going to get anything, and now people are going to get opportunities they didn’t think they’d have,” Dziedzic added. “I’m pretty sure they’re going to vote yes.”

“I see a wonderful mix of color and drama in a landscape while driving by, and I can’t wait to translate my view of it into a painting. Or sometimes I see a photo that will do the same thing, although my view of it will not be literal, but impressionistic, or expressionistic. The variety of scenic wonders of America are endlessly inspiring.”

In the East are the scenic green hills and distant blue and purple vistas of the Blue Ridge Mountains which run through several states. Between these breathtaking mountains are many picturesque rivers, streams, waterfalls and whitewater rapids.

The winding Rio Grande river in Big Bend, Texas offers towering cliffs, massive canyons, and vast dessert expanses. There is an incredible variety of geologic activity from uplifted limestone in the Sierra del Carmen range, thick mud shales at Hot Springs, and volcanic craters of the Chisos Mountains.

Then, in Northern New Mexico, the mountain roads twist through time and terrain, contrasting vermilion desert cliffs and snowy alpine peaks, 13th century stone dwellings, and the birth of the Atomic Age at Los Alamos. The area around Abiquiu is often called “O’Keefe Country” in honor of Georgia O’Keefe. This area is the setting for many if not most of her paintings. It is a ruggedly beautiful Southwest landscape including Echo Canyon, Ghost Ranch, and countless other rock formations.

Surrounded by red-rock monoliths named Coffeepot, Cathedral and Bell, is Sedona, Arizona. Also near the city is a chasm cut through by Oak Creek, with wildly wonderful rapids, and towering high above them is the geologically dominating Mogollon Rim, formed from ancient deposits of limestone, mudstone and sandstone. This awesome rim constitutes the southwestern boundary of the vast Colorado Plateau which extends into parts of five other states.

And, of course, there is the famed Grand Canyon, a very colorful, steep-sided gorge carved by the Colorado River in northern Arizona. It is largely contained within the Grand Canyon National Park. The canyon is about 277 miles long, ranges in width from 0.25 to 15 miles and attains a depth of more than a mile. Nearly two billion years of the Earth ’s history has been exposed as the Colorado River and its tributaries cut through layer after layer of varicolored rock.

Lake Powell, created by the Glen Canyon Dam, is 186 miles long with more than 1,986 miles of shoreline.

It wends its way through a desert paradise with excellent vistas of multi-colored, towering rocks, pinnacles, buttes, arches and amphitheaters. Blue water, clear skies, sandy beaches complete the picture.

Monument Valley in Utah is an area of free standing sandstone rock forms that rise majestically from the desert floor. Up to 1,000 feet tall, they create a truly magical desert landscape that looks surreal, like mountains on the moon. Also, in Utah, are many spectacular sights in various state and national parks.

A complete contrast to the desertscapes of the Southwest, California and the far west present fertile, lush green hillsides punctuated by briliantly colored flowering plants. Below the hillsides, on the coast, are the crashing and pounding surf, blue expanses, golden beaches, rocky coves, of the Pacific ocean.Big Bend, in Texas, is one of the largest national parks. From an elevation of less than 2000 feet along the winding Rio Grande river, to nearly 8000 feet of towering cliffs, it includes massive canyons, vast dessert expanses, and the entire Chisos Mountain range. There is an incredible variety of geologic activity from uplifted limestone in the Sierra del Carmen range, thick mud shales at Hot Springs, and volcanic craters of the Chisos Mountains, to dinosaur remains near the park’s Maverick entrance.

Then, in Northern New Mexico, the mountain roads twist through time and terrain, contrasting vermilion desert cliffs and snowy alpine peaks, 13th century stone dwellings, and the birth of the Atomic Age at Los Alamos. The area around Abiquiu is often called “O’Keefe Country” in honor of Georgia O’Keefe. This area is the setting for many if not most of her paintings. It is a ruggedly beautiful Southwest landscape including Echo Canyon, Ghost Ranch, and countless other red rock formations.

Surrounded by red-rock monoliths named, among others, Coffeepot, Cathedral and Bell, is Sedona, Arizona. Also near the city is the mouth of Oak Creek Canyon, a chasm cut through by Oak Creek, with rapids that are wildly wonderful. Towering high above Sedona is the geologically dominating Mogollon Rim, formed from ancient deposits of limestone, mudstone and sandstone. This awesome rim constitutes the southwestern boundary of the vast Colorado Plateau which extends into parts of five other states.

And, of course, there is the famed Grand Canyon, a very colorful, steep-sided gorge carved by the Colorado River in northern Arizona. It is largely contained within the Grand Canyon National Park. The canyon is about 277 miles long, ranges in width from 0.25 to 15 miles and attains a depth of more than a mile. Nearly two billion years of the Earth ’s history has been exposed as the Colorado River and its tributaries cut through layer after layer of varicolored rock.

Lake Powell, created by the Glen Canyon Dam, is 186 miles long with more than 1,986 miles of shoreline. It wends its way through a desert paradise with excellent vistas of multi-colored, towering rocks, pinnacles, buttes, arches and amphitheaters. Blue water, clear skies, sandy beaches complete the picture.

Monument Valley in Utah is an area of free standing sandstone rock forms that rise majestically from the desert floor. Up to 1,000 feet tall, they create a truly magical desert landscape that looks surreal, like mountains on the moon.

A complete contrast to the desertscapes of the Southwest, California and the far west present fertile, lush green hillsides punctuated by briliantly colored flowering plants. Below the hillsides, on the coast, are the crashing and pounding surf, blue expanses, golden beaches, rocky coves, of the Pacific ocean.

“I am currently painting various series of my interpretations of these contemporary American landscapes which may be seen on my internet website.”