San Marcos River...

It's topping 100 degrees in LA today. The swelter factor has been dormant for months, and its sudden arrival is a shock. Sitting in an outdoor cafe now, melting, working, enduring. We could go inside to consume some easy L.A. A/C, but my work partner is going to India soon, so this is good training. The yen for cool refreshment reminds me of my brother's home of San Marcos, Texas, a quiet, bucolic university town located between Austin and San Antonio. It gets damn hot in San Marcos and wet-blanket humidity is the norm. Given these conditions, what makes it such a great place is the slow-rolling, spring-fed river that runs through its center. People use the river as a form of transportation - strip down, hop in, hold your clothes over your head, float home, dry off on the walk from the river bank to your front door. Incredible. There are very few "true" spring fed rivers in the US - most are fed by runoff, larger bodies of water, or a combination of sources. My brother and his family are incredibly lucky to have this pristine geological rarity at their disposal - the water is constantly regenerated, crystal clear, and always the same temperature year round.

San Marcos River info here and here.