Tobin Park

Tobin Park

Tobin Park

I sit and I ponder life at the Robert L.B. Tobin Trailhead, and am taken away with

all the beauty around me. Lush greens, deep crimsons surrounded in beds of yellow to name a few. The smell of newly fallen rain, the call of nature shaking itself awake after heaven's tears have gently caressed the earth. I have been in San Antonio for over 20 years and there are places and areas I have never seen. Or I should say that I did not pay attention until now. I have allowed so much time to pass before realizing life has so much to offer in simplicity. I truly feel grateful that I realized this in such a wonderful city like San Antonio, Texas. For now, I will just focus on this park…

The park is named after Robert Lynn Batts Tobin, born March 12, 1934. Educated in the Alamo Heights School District and The University of Texas, Mr. Tobin made several charitable contributions and is revered locally as somewhat of a hero. Business minded and compassionate, Mr. Tobin left a legacy for us all, and now I am here to pay homage and show gratitude to the haven for nature he was visionary enough to leave behind before passing away in 2000. According to the information guide, he was able to approve the plans for the project he intended to be leave as a legacy, though he would not be present to enjoy the greater purpose he had intended to share with the whole city.

Some of the local vegetation includes the Texas Prickly Pear (Opuntia lindheimeri), a species of cactus that blooms in a variety of colors, and the Spanish Dagger (Yucca treculeana) also known as Don Quixote’s Lace and Candle of the Lord. A few of the local birds include the Ladderback Woodpecker (Picoides scalaris), the Blue Jay (Cyanocitta cristata), as well as a very photogenic bird, the Northern Cardinal (Cardinalis cardinalis). While enjoying the scenery several cardinals have visited to say hello as well as make sure their profile picture was taken. Several other indigenous animals are the Red-eared slider (Trachemys scripta elegans), a turtle named so because of the red stripe behind the eyes and its natural defense mechanism to slide into the water when it feels threatened, and the Whitetailed Deer (Odocoileus virginianus), the most numerous large North American mammal. After jumping down to the creek bed, I noticed a quick splash underwater as one slider did not appreciate my noisome entrance. While here, I have seen several friends with feathers and a few dear, as well. One instance I was graced to see was the buck patiently standing guard over a doe as she perused the grass.

What makes this area even more beautiful is that it is part of a system of parks and trails known as the Howard W. Peak Greenway Trails System that stretches some 77 miles through many of San Antonio’s waterways. San Antonio has shown a remarkably consistent trend of being able to balance the need for economic growth while never forgetting the grass roots that has made it such a wonderful large city with a nice hometown feel. Various scenic areas and attractions have catapulted San Antonio to one of the nation’s fastest growing cities. Since I have been here, I have experienced great triumph as well as a few situations where I have had to tuck tail and run. All in all, San Antonio personally still feels like Texas of old, and for that I am eternally grateful. I have traveled a few places, and I have loved a few cities, but there is truth in the old saying, “there’s no place like home.”