Being a proud native Texan, it is only fitting that I visit a
few places in my home state first on the trip.
Of course, one corner of Texas is nothing like another (It’s like a
whole other country). So I paused in
Central Texas, which remains one of my favorite places on earth, and then went
on to visit my family in the Petrolpolis of Midland-Odessa.
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| Yup, it's Longhorn country! |
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| Views from the side of the road |
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| More views from the side of the road |
I was unfortunately tied up with closing documents for my house most of Saturday morning (and part of Monday and part of Tuesday). But I still had time to make it out to the Blue Hole in Wimberley with my friend Greg. The water comes out of the ground at Jacobs Well a few miles upstream and we learned that spot has become so popular that it takes reservations. The Blue Hole was a low-key place to swim, sunbathe and take advantage of the two rope swings tied up high in the century-old cypress trees. It was also conveniently close to the Salt Lick, which is some of the best BBQ in the country, second to Franklins. You easterners can keep your pork BBQ – central TX BBQ is the good stuff! I was pleasantly surprised that the Salt Lick has grown an appendix that sells alcohol to supplement the BYOB restaurant. We waited for a table with hundreds of other customers who had made the drive for BBQ, listening to live music, tasting local vintners wares and talking on the huge patio lit up under ancient live oak trees.
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| A gift of nature maintained by Wimberley |
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| The Blue Hole was full of families on Saturday |
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| Greg and I had a great time |
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| Plenty of spots for sunning |
Next stop was Garner State
Park, home of the Frio river. The place
was packed, probably from 100 degree heat in the cities and the pent up demand
over the last few years of drought. It’s
amazing how good 95 degree weather can feel when you’re
sitting/swimming/swinging into cold, clear water. It also offered some amazing views from the
short hikes up the limestone hills. I
was impressed by preparedness of the families with flotillas of tubes that kept
the folks in the river supplied with music and beer. The campsites were also very elaborate!
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| If you look closely, you'll see the right side of the Frio River is lined with rope swings north of the dam |
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| Lunch under some Live Oaks in the park |
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| Views from the Crystal Cave Trail – you can see the Old Baldy trail up the side of the hill in the middle of the picture and the Frio river running below it. |
Swinging back through Austin, I got to have dinner with some of my cousins. We really do have a great family full of smart, strong women and I love them!
Then it was on to West Texas to stay with my grandparents and
catch up with my aunt and uncle. Odessa
was a break from everything, including the internet! It’s been a long time since I haven’t been
able to surf the web at a moment’s whim. I almost didn't know how to function.
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| My
grandparenets with the cake baked by Opa and the artwork painted by Grandmother |
My WWII veteran grandad baked a beautiful and delicious cake for my birthday –
oldfashioned raspberry layer cake. And
my Aunt Jo and Uncle Jeff took me out to a sweet little Italian joint in
downtown Midland. Between dinners,
errands and Meals on Wheels tours I got to see the wide, dusty streets of
Odessa and Midland.
It’s clear the boom
has come and left again. New buildings and neighborhoods are everywhere. But the laydown yards are also full of equipment waiting to
be used. The flat landscape offers full
views from the highway of the plentiful pumpjacks sucking the last little bit
of oil they can from the ground. It was
a very peaceful few days spent catching up with family, playing cards and
eating. There was even a small home
improvement project.
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| Pumpjacks as far as the eye can see |
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| Rigs stacked up along the road, just waiting for the next boom |
Next stop: Crested Butte, Colorado!
