Austin is hot in the summer. One way to escape the heat is to get in the water, especially cold water. Austin has one of the most remarkable swimming “pools” I have ever seen. It’s called Barton Springs, and it is the pride of Austin. The dressing rooms look like they were built in the Works Progress Administration era. Each dressing room is organized around an open courtyard. I was told that women used to sunbathe naked there. I was also told that the brilliant move of having a roofless changing room was simply because the city ran out of money. Such pure joy to jump off the rock into bracing water. It is a public paradise.

Out in what was the country a few years ago is a different kind of water experience. It’s called Kalahari Resorts. It’s easy to criticize such a place. It uses an enormous amount of water and energy. It costs a fortune to stay there or get a day pass to the water park. It is an example of extreme cultural appropriation. Somehow they make the Austin exurbs look like the African savannah. Even the room decor has fake mud-cloth headboards and photos of African animals. Interestingly, there are no photos of African people. That would be a step too far?

Giraffe. Photo: David Kerr

Once you pass through the lobby with bronze alligators in a water feature, there is a transition to an arcade without a visible theme, and then finally you reach the massive indoor water park. The cost to keep that place cool in the summer must be extraordinary. But after spending most of two days there, I also began to see another side.

Kalahari lobby. Photo: David Kerr

On the bougie side, the hamburgers have brioche buns and are edible. There is an enormous cocktail bar with a thatched roof (to protect you from the non-existent sun?), but surprisingly no drunks. There are children of every age all over the place, but few are screaming. Maybe water keeps people calm? The lazy river moves faster than the one in Six Flags Hurricane Harbor in Concord. One of the only security guards I noticed had a man bun. Yes, there are a lot of security cameras, but I saw no conflicts.

When I got tired of climbing six stories of steps for each ride, I just watched. And what I saw surprised me. Here in right-wing Texas was one of the most integrated places I had ever seen. White folks were not in the majority, although quite present. It looked like there was no racial majority. My guess is that there were large numbers of African Americans, East Asians, Asians, and Latinos.

Although there were several very expensive cabanas to rent, most of them looked empty. There were enough chairs and tables for everybody (unlike our local Six Flags). People were polite in line. A few kids ran instead of walking, but nobody was pushy. If you were standing around, everybody asked whether you were in line. I was standing in front of some version of the American dream in the middle of Texas. Well, it was Austin.

Wave pool. Photo: David Kerr