Austin

Austin is the Texas state capital, set on the Colorado River where the plains break up into the Hill Country. It calls itself the live music capital of the world, and bands play from late afternoon in bars all over downtown. The state capitol, built in pink granite, stands taller than its counterpart in Washington, a detail Texans enjoy repeating. Life happens outdoors: the wooded trails and swimming holes of Barton Creek Greenbelt thread through the city itself, and under a downtown bridge lives the largest urban bat colony in the world, its evening flight drawing a crowd. An hour west, Hamilton Pool Preserve hides a jade pool beneath the ledge of a collapsed grotto. Further into the hills, the bare pink granite dome of Enchanted Rock State Natural Area rises above the oaks. The food is barbecue: beef brisket smoked for twelve hours, sliced with a knife and served on butcher paper.