Texas Hill Country

 

If you follow the Colorado River into the heart of Texas Hill Country, you’ll find yourself among the largest chain of lakes in Texas. We are at one of those lakes (Inks Lake State Park) for the week. We’ve settled in and are excited about doing all the things we enjoy doing in a new area; exploring , eating, hiking, biking and playing disc golf.

A mere nine miles from Inks Lake is another state park called Longhorn Caverns State Park. It’s a day use only park but the caverns, as well as a classic CCC administrative building and observation tower, built in the 1930’s, are well worth a visit. The cavern itself has a colorful history. Comanche Indians used one section of the cave as a council room hundreds of years ago. Legend has it that in the 1800’s, the outlaw, Sam Bass used the cave as a hideout and during the Civil War, the Confederate army made and stored gunpowder there. In the early 1900’s it was used as a dance hall and also a place of worship for a local church. Today, guided tours are offered daily.

From the observation tower at Longhorn Caverns a very “other worldly sight,” comes into view. Falkenstein Castle rises up from the trees in the middle of the hills. The Texas castle was built by native Texans, Terry and Kim Young, following a trip to the Alps and Neuschwanstein Castle. Modeled after the Neuschwanstein Castle in Germany, Falkenstein Castle captures the romance and culture of a different period. The Young’s castle is 14,000 square feet and even though considered a private residence, rooms are available to rent on Airbnb for $2,150 per night. The castle is also available for other occasions including weddings and private events. 

I think Mark and I are happy and content paying $20 per night for a spot, just down the road, by Inks Lake.

Hippos and Hiccups

 

Texas is a big state! After leaving the Ark-La-Tex region we made our way to the Texas Brazos Trail region. It’s an 18 county area of Central Texas. The region is filled with historic towns in a mainly rural part of the state. After stopping for breakfast in College Station, and touring the impressive campus of Texas A & M, we made our way to a private park, Star Ranch Resort, about 40 miles east of Austin. We’ve loved exploring this area. One of our favorite discoveries was the town of Hutto (who-tow) and its community mascot, the hippo. Hutto is the only city in the US with the hippo as a mascot and the legend of the Hutto Hippo traces its roots back to 1915. Supposedly, at that time, a circus train stopped in Hutto to gather supplies and according to folklore, a hippo escaped. The train depot agent sent the following message to nearby communities: “Stop trains. Hippo loose in Hutto!” The residents of Hutto have embraced the legend and over 3,000 hippo statues adorn lawns and businesses throughout the city.

On a more personal note, there has been an unforeseen incident that we’ve had to troubleshoot this week. Mark broke a tooth that is going to need a crown. We’ve contacted our dentist at home and they can see him on Wednesday. Being close to Austin allowed Mark to book a flight home today. He’ll get a temporary cap and fly back to Austin on Thursday. The temporary cap should be good until he flies home in April for a CT scan we set up before we left on the trip. Now he can get the permanent cap at the same time. We aren’t in one place long enough to get the whole process taken care of here in Texas. Starbaby and I will just hang out at Star Ranch while he is jet-setting around.

Forever Friends

 

We got some sad news last night. Our friend Kathy, let me know her husband, Larry, had died. It’s hard to describe Larry because he truly was a unique individual. A native Californian who moved to Tennessee five decades ago, he was the only person I ever met that I would call cool. He seemed to truly like and respect himself and others. He was interesting and fun, open, real and honest to the core. 

He and Kathy were older than Mark and me and we looked up to and admired them. They were ahead of us in everything; marriage, child rearing, teen years, college decisions, dealing with an empty nest, preparing for retirement etc. etc….. I can’t even begin to list all the things they did that embellished our life.

Larry had a huge music collection. When Mark and I married I came from a background of country/bluegrass and Mark was solidly steeped in classic rock. Larry introduced us to music we could both embrace; The Band, Van Morrison, Bob Dylan and The Grateful Dead, just to name a few.

Before Kathy and Larry came into our lives I thought the only cheeses you could put on a sandwich were American or Velveeta. Margarine was the spread you put on your toast and you usually ordered carnations at the florist’s to show respect at a funeral. The two of them not only broadened my worldview and impacted the way I raised my children, they also brought cheddar cheese, real butter and Ranunculus into my life. I mention Ranunculus because when Kathy’s mother died, years ago, she told me about this beautiful, favorite flower of hers. Ranunculus (also known as Persian buttercups) come in every color of the rainbow and are perennials. The word perennial means lasting or existing for an infinite time.

Sending heartfelt sympathy and all my love to Kathy and Larry, our perennial friends.

Stormy Weather

Ratcliff Lake State Park is quiet this morning except for the rumble of thunder. That couldn’t have been said when we arrived Saturday afternoon. We’d forgotten it was MLK holiday weekend and the park was packed when we got here. It was really warm too (70’s) so it felt like we’d gone straight from January winter camping to camping on Memorial Day, in May. Monday, all one hundred plus Texans departed for home and this morning we are the only campers in the park. It’s almost like the rapture occurred and Mark and I got left behind. Oddly, it’s kind of a cool dynamic; plenty of people watching for a couple days, then complete silence and solitude. The fact we have thunderstorms in the forecast for today is sure to keep us in isolation a few days longer. We are prepared for inclement weather, camping in January, but are still pleasantly surprised when a morning hike starts in the rain and ends in a beautiful sunrise. Starbaby isn’t impressed by sunrises but seems appreciative of the “storm shelter” I build for her when thunder comes.

America

 

After three days of back to back driving we found ourselves in the Ark-La-Tex region. It was a relief to stop at the FamCamp, on Barksdale Air Force Base, outside Shreveport, for a few nights. Our driving days, to begin a trip, aren’t high mileage (never more than 250 miles) but we avoid interstates when we can, thus, 250 miles takes a lot longer when your average speed is 55mph.

I’m not sure the typical American civilian realizes how picturesque many of our nations military bases are. I’ve included a picture of a tree lined street, where commissioned officers live at Barksdale, to hopefully give a glimpse of the beauty many of these facilities have. I’ve mentioned before how much we enjoy the atmosphere and amenities provided; laundry, fitness center and the mournful bugle call of “Taps” signaling “lights out” at the end of each day. For some reason, I always feel more calm and grounded after a stay there.

Revitalized, we pushed on, into Texas, after passing the largest publicly-funded mural, in the nation, called “Once in a Millennium Moon.” It was created in the year, 2000, for the new millennium. It is a gigantic painting on the AT&T building in downtown Shreveport. The 19 people depicted in the mural are from 3 months to 80 years of age reflecting diversity in ethnicity, religion, gender, age and neighborhood. “America the beautiful” in acrylic!

The Open Road

 

Mark and I aren’t anyone’s idea of a romantic young couple on the open road but in the mid thirties, a young couple named Clyde Barrow and Bonnie Parker, fit that image and captured the public’s imagination. She was a little over five feet tall, about 100 pounds and a part time waitress from a poor Dallas home. He was a small-time thief from a similarly destitute Dallas family who hated poverty and wanted to make a name for himself. They became the most romanticized, infamous, outlaw couple in US history. For over two years, during the depression era, the country became transfixed by their illicit romance and violent crime spree. Even though they were small-time criminals, they landed on J. Edgar Hoover’s most wanted list and were shot to death by officers in an ambush, near Gribsland, LA, May 23, 1934. Today, Mark and I visited Gribsland and the Bonnie & Clyde Ambush museum. The museum occupies the building that was once called Ma Canfield’s restaurant where the couple stopped and purchased their last meal (fried bologna and BLT sandwiches) before driving 7 miles down a desolate Louisiana back road to their deaths. It was a pretty cool stop for this romantic “old”couple on the open road.

New Chapter

 My last post was in the fall of 2021. Any traveling we’d planned, for 2022, was derailed after discovering Mark had a malignant tumor in his leg that required radiation, surgery and physical therapy. Thankfully, everything that could go right, did go right, with this unexpected path, and after a recent MRI and an all clear result, we are “on the road again.”

There’s always a feeling of excitement and anticipation with any new trip but this year there’s a whole different mix of emotions as we’ve packed up to head to parts unknown. Of course, there’s the obvious feelings of gratitude and thankfulness but there is also a lightness of being that’s new. I hope I can hold onto that and be more prepared to show appreciation for and return kindness as we travel.

Our first stop is a favorite campground, in Mississippi, called Tishomingo State Park. One of the advantages to camping somewhere familiar, at the beginning of a trip, is limiting stress, while adjusting to life on the road again. It’s also nice being able to book the best spot in the park, well in advance, because you’ve stayed there before.

We have a new addition to our traveling team this year. I got a small bonsai tree, because it reminds me of my father, who was an avid gardener, artist and lover of nature. English people define “everything” as being either animal (if it’s alive) vegetable (if it grows) or mineral (if it isn’t alive, doesn’t grow and comes from the ground.) We are going to have to find a mineral to tote around so we have “everything” on this trip.