My husband and I will be going to Austin in a few weeks for about ten days. For the first 2-3 days we’ll be doing work stuff in town, then we’re free to enjoy ourselves. I’ve been to Austin several times before, but not since 1986 or so. Can anyone tell me:

- good road trips or camping areas in the region? Spouse hasn’t spent that much time in the US, and would like to check out some desert environments, and we both like hiking and wildlife, so I was thinking that we could just strike out towards the west and see where we end up. Alternatively, it might be nice to check out the bird refuge at Aransas. (We’re open for anything really except we’d rather not travel towards the east, since I’ve travelled through there back and forth from Arkansas a lot). Is it even worth taking our camping gear with us, or should we just plan to stay in little motels along the way?

- will it be warm enough on the Gulf in October to enjoy a little beach time?

Many thanks for any suggestions!