Hill Country: Texas Wine Month, Ocktoberfest and More!

With the weather finally cooling down, this weekend affords the perfect opportunity to venture out to Texas Hill Country, which will be playing host to several wonderful Fall-flavored events:

There's the start of Texas Wine Month: for a mere $25 you can nab a 2005 Wine Trail Passport, which gets you into ten Hill Country wineries for the entire month and the opportunity to win mixed cases of Texas wine.

Then there's Fredricksburg's Oktoberfest, which includes the standard bier tents, "continuous oompah music, art & crafts, polka and waltz contests," and tons and tons of wurst. Weekend passes are only $10.

Or consider venturing out to one of the many, fantastic hiking trails found just outside our city perimeter: last Spring we told you about Inks Lake, Comanche Bluffs, and Pedernales Falls State Park. We'll be checking out as many as we can now that walking around outdoors is actually tolerable again.

And finally, if you're not game for venturing too far from the city (we don't blame you, gas prices being what they are), there's also the Texas Parks & Wildlife Expo, where you can "fish and shoot and kayak, learn about solar power and rainwater collection, watch birds of prey, learn nature photography and pick up tips on nature conservation" (from the Statesman) This free event is happening at the Texas Parks & Wildlife Dept Headquarters in Southeast Austin.

We're sure there are lots of other fun happenings outside of town - feel free to post those in the comments section. And remember to bring plenty of sunscreen.