邊走邊撿第二遊{邦耐爾山樹叢公園}
Mt. Bonnell, also known as Covert Park, has been a popular tourist destination since the 1850s. The mount provides a vista for viewing the city of Austin, Lake Austin, and the surrounding hills. The mount is often described as the highest point in Austin, with the elevation at its peak about 775 feet. The mount was named after George W. Bonnell, who came to Texas with others to fight for Texas independence.
Mt. Bonnell 也叫做 Covert Park，自1850年起就是這裡著名的旅遊勝地。在山上可以看到整個Austin城市、Austin湖及圍繞著的山坡群。這座山號稱為Austin的最高峰，最高處也只有775英呎(236公尺)。這座山是以一個早期為德州國獨立抗爭的報社出版商 George W. Bonnell 而命名。
Yesterday was a kid’s school holiday, I figured since it’s a weekday, there would be less people at Mt. Bonnell. Otherwise, it was usually crowded over there. Exactly what I thought, the roadside parking was usually packed but it was half empty yesterday. Immediately, we saw empty cans and bottles along the side of the stairs. It’s kind of a tourist spot for Austin, so I can imagine there would be more trash, since some visitors were less concerned about the local environment.
昨天是孩子們學校的休假日，我想說是平常日去Mt. Bonnell應該人群會少一些，不然周末那裡通常是人滿為患。我想得沒錯，之前周末過來都擠滿車的路邊停車，今天有一半是空的。走到上山入口處，馬上我們看到一些空罐及空瓶在步道階梯旁。這裡算是Austin的旅遊勝地，所以我可以才想得到垃圾應該是不少，畢竟有些遊客比較不在乎在地人的環境生態。
It must be over 20 years since I last went to Mt. Bonnell. It was a bit different from what I remember, walking up the long stairs from the entrance was effortless. Maybe because the mountain trails we hiked back in Taiwan were much higher and steeper than this little hilltop trail. It took us less than a minute to reach the top of the mountain (or hill). All the kids including myself were wondering, “What? That’s it?” How come I remember the stairs were much tougher than this? Maybe because I was still hung over from the all-night partying last time I came. I wasn’t exactly an outdoor kind of guy back in the day
上次來這裡應該是二十多年前了。跟我印象中有點不太一樣，這條長長的階梯步道走起來感覺輕鬆很多。有可能是之前在台灣走的山林步道都比這座小山丘陡而且高許多，這次只花了不到一分鐘我們就到達了頂端。孩子們跟我都有點驚訝，”什麼？就這樣？！”怎麼我記得著階梯應該要困難一些？或許當年我來的時候都還在宿醉，畢竟之前的我並不是那麼熱衷於戶外活動。
The rock steps platform where we were usually sitting and overseeing Austin downtown, was blocked by an ugly house. Not sure what facility was that, or maybe it’s a private property? But it definitely ruins the view of the highest mountain in Austin. I also remember back then, there were no railing around the area, only the warning sign. I guess there were more people who fell off the cliff. Anyway, there was still a beautiful view at the other side of the mountain to oversee the Colorado River.
那個可以瞭望整個Austin城市的石階平台被一個很醜的建築物擋住了，不確定那私人住所還是什麼公共設施，但是確定的是它破壞了Austin最高峰的美景。我記得當初也沒有那麼多鐵欄杆圍住這個地方，只有幾個警告標示。我猜應該是太多人從這裡的斷崖墜落了？不管怎樣，在山的另一邊還是有可以瞭望Colorado河的美景可以欣賞。
There were many trash cans in the park up on the hill, but still there were so many beer cans, cigarette butts thrown on the ground and in the bushes. We picked up a total of 4~5 bags of trash at the end of our hike. But there were many beer cans and bottles over the other side of the railing which were beyond our reach. We’ve done the best we can, and we were not about to risk our lives for someone’s rubbish behavior. Overall, it was a good hike and a good flashback of old-time memories. Right after the hike at the Mt. Bonnell, we ended up going to Lake Austin for lunch at Hula Hut and having a coffee at the famous Mozart’s. Yesterday was definitely a walk down memory lane.
在山上的公園其實有許多垃圾桶，但是周圍還是有很多啤酒罐、菸蒂丟在地上。我們這趟總共撿了大概四至五袋垃圾，但是還是有很多空罐丟在我們撿不到的欄杆之外。我們已經盡力了，沒打算要冒著生命危險去處理那些別人製造的垃圾行為。總之，這次是一個還不賴的大自然與過往回憶體驗。結束後我們還到了Austin湖畔的Hula Hut餐廳吃午餐及很有名氣的Mozart’s咖啡廳喝咖啡。昨天絕對是一趟年少回憶之旅。
