Through the Heart of Texas

I drive a lot. 

I drive through big cities and small towns. I drive by a big city’s downtown, like Denver, or right through smaller places like Rapid City. And I drive around a lot of places. I drove around Indianapolis twice before I had time to go downtown and discover their fabulous river walk, wonderful arboretum and the museum with the granite of Washington, DC monuments.  Now I love Indianapolis.

I’m on the road again- one of my marathon wanders from the Black Hills throughColorado, off to Texas and more of Texas, then west to Tucson and San Diego. My winter goal is to prepare for walking across much of Spain in April so I left the snow and headed south. I have grandchildren at the end of this rainbow trail but I also have treasures to find along the way.  

Ahhh! 

 I enjoyed visits with friends in Colorado and I stuck my weary feet in a small hot springs in Montezuma, Colorado after three days of walking four to nine miles each day.  

5 miles in Palo Dura State Park.
What a great hike in the second largest canyon in the US.
And much more accessible hiking than the BIG canyon. 

At my exquisite lodging at Dyess Air Force Base (that’s the branch of service that knows how to pamper guests!), I read all about cool things to do and see in west Texas. 

So off to the National Center for Illustrated Children’s Literature and the storybook capital of the US-Abilene, Texas. Bet you didn’t know that! It was wonderful and if you buy three books, you get a free bag-  “this is Texas and we know how to do a nice tote bag”.  So, of course, I had to buy three books, well four actually.  All the best children’s literature illustrators wait for invitations to have their illustrations and books displayed there in Abilene.  In June the city hosts the children’s book festival and has a really fun storybook park fill of lovely bronze depictions of classic illustrations!  Like the three naughty kittens that lost their mittens complete with a very stern mama cat almost as big as me and a life size Wilbur staring up at Charlotte in her steel web. Who knew? I want to take my grandkids now.  https://www.nccil.org

From there I was off to one of “America’s Best Small Art Towns” according to a book I picked up somewhere along the way. And sure enough- Albany, TX, population 2,000 has an exceptional art collection including some very fine bronze sculptures. http://theojac.org

Finally, I rested my head at Goodfellow AFB. San Angelo would definitely be a town I’d drive around. It’s flat and brown in Feb with non-stop wind. Nothing distinguishing. But I was there and I wanted to get in my walking miles so off I went and...

San Angelo, Texas has a fabulous river walk!  Not THE San Antonio River Walk but this walk has few people, no skaters or cafe chairs ready to bump you into the water.  Just lovely Hill Country limestone slabs cantilevered over the Concho River in stacks and piles. Water runs from fountains, under the walkway and into the river. Statues of sheep, resplendent in design and colors, line the walk and remind walkers of  the town’s history in the wool industry.  Anglo and Hispanic cultures are celebrated with mosaics on underpasses, pickups and even a VW beetle.  One mosaic interweaves classic art masterpieces to interpret the city- Van Gogh’s sky and Henry Moore’s people combine to celebrate all that is fine in a town that has worked hard to bring beauty and fun to a riverfront that probably wasn’t always so attractive and accessible. 

http://www.artinuncommonplaces.org/

https://rippedjeansandbifocals.com/reasons-to-visit-san-angelo-texasdo-in-san-angelo-texas/

What else have I missed on my hurry to get from point A to point B?  I’m in a fine season of life- I have time to dawdle but so do many people. Few chose to get off the main road and explore the less known. Maybe because I live in the “fly over” zone of America, I know what people could miss.  

All places where people take pride and create beauty are winsome, are places you remember and talk about.  Places you want to share- so get out there and explore that place you might have been tempted to drive around. Drive right through life and savor all the unexpected!

The last view of Texas

Another post on the road trip....we're almost done.
 I left Alpine, Texas and headed north.

 First stop? Fort Davis- Army post in the Wild West and now, home to an observatory.

On the Road... again? Still.  Love the big open spaces. 

 


I do love this land.

 And the skies- it's so awesome to see the clouds forming- not quite like the summer thunderheads but still beautiful.

Another Texan... public library.
It looks like a bit like an old jail.

But someone loved it- sorry it was closed when I was there.

 9/27/2012 8 photos

This historic building houses one of the most unique and character filled libraries I've ever seen!   Every nook & cranny is interesting and filled with over 100 years of West Texas / Ft. Davis History.  There's so much to look at & explore in this amazing library!  

We were greeted by a sweet librarian by the name of Pat.  She was happy to tell us all about the library, past & present.  The library houses 31,281 volumes & circulates 35,618 items a year.  It  serves a population of 2,253 residents.  The creaky old wood floors & the old tin ceilings added so much charm and character to the experience.   There are hidden nooks with nice Comfy chairs to plop down in and enjoy a full day of reading & exploring.....it'll take ya back & take ya away!  I wanted to spend the whole day with Pat & read & learn more........=(.       I CAN NOT Wait to check into the Limpia Hotel and walk across the way to spend a day at The AMAZING Jeff Davis Library!   See ya next time!

http://ttpls.tsl.state.t…

Looks  like a hundred years ago...
just take away the FedEx machine! 

And of course,
the stunning  courthouse.
They are everywhere.

It is Texas.

Headed up the mountain to the observatory.

Best thing I observed all day.

I love old trucks and I think my daddy drove one like this.
Or should have.

 1966, if the license plate is right.

Heading up higher, unfortunately into the clouds.

Check out the sky.


Back on the road.
We'll do the observatory another day.

The Guadalupe Mountains on the way to El Paso.
Magnificent. 

The road to El Paso.
Not so magnificent. 

Just to give you a perspective of the ninety miles between the Guadalupe Mountains and El Paso.
. Sand flats, and they were flat.

To be honest, this was the bleakest part

 The solo traveler's best friend?
Books on tape

I've been counseled to find good things to say about all the wonderful and varied places I've been. 

So..... I arrived in El Paso, home of Fort Bliss Army Post, at night and eventually overcame the construction project that blocked the road to the Fort Bliss YMCA.

 It had decent rooms with a fridge and a microwave. .  And a secure parking lot. A bonus for a solo traveler. 

Fort Bliss Army Post is big.
Huge.
1.2 million acres.


Good things to say about Fort Bliss


Trees don't mess up the views across the vast desert that surrounds it.
Looks like a great place to get a tan.

Snow shovels aren't necessary.  
Or lawn mowers- no pesky grass to cut here.

And it has a really nice Exchange and Commissary.

OK... now I can move on to the my favorite part of  El Paso- it's a quick trip to the New Mexican mountains.  Desert is beautiful, the mountains are home.

Off down, well actually up the road to Silver City, New Mexico.

Texas beauty... or "It's all on your perspective."

I don't usually tag my blogs but I want to link all the travel ones since they are so different from my usual writing.  Well, the tags did something and a bunch of people read the blog on Marfa.  And a couple of them chewed me out.  It was a bit snarky in tone and I do apologize for that.

I remember walking on the sidewalk of my own little-town-in-the-middle-of-nowhere. A tourist was complaining about how the one "decent" restaurant was closed on Sundays.  "What?  Why? What a terrible place, who would live here," etc.   I'd love to say that I stopped and directed her to another restaurant and gave her a tour of my really cool artsy town where I know everyone and where there's lots to do.

I didn't. I just kept walking and thought, "With that attitude, you don't need to stick around anyway."


So- for those of you who love Marfa and know I missed a cool place, I am sorry. I wish I had met you there and had a tour of your home town.  But I didn't.

I went back to Alpine, Texas to the Maverick Inn where I had booked a room.  I read how people hated that place, too- not the town but the inn. Well, a busy railroad does run through the middle of Alpine.... but they have earplugs in the rooms. And trains don't bother me. The inn management was very gracious and generous with me- full kitchen and a big space. So I cooked, wrote and wondered if it would be worth the effort to figure out the tv. Nope.



The next morning, the sun turned the sky that fabulous, just before sunrise light of pinks with promises of gold.   I raced down the road toward the light  (turns out there was a wonderful view ... the other way, up on a hill overlooking the desert and the distant mountains.)  It didn't matter- I had left the memory card for the camera in the room.  But later I did take some more pictures and there's some lessons here- for photography, for perspective, for finding beauty anywhere.  Probably it was in Marfa, Texas, if only I had looked harder.

Pink with promise of gold....

The promised gold.
And the end of my camera memory.

So I decided there would be more sunrises and it wasn't worth the stress of racing around for a memory card and a decent place to view it.

The lesson?

  Don't sweat the small stuff. 

The sun will rise tomorrow, and if it doesn't? 

- a whole new adventure awaits. 

_________________________

Light on railroad tracks

The big picture.

And a train on the tracks.

Up close and personal with a train. 

What happened to the light? 

The lesson?

If you hang around, if you just show up- stuff happens. 

Trains come and get closer and closer. 

Cool light makes everything look better- even railroad tracks. 

Step back and look at the big picture.

And if the light isn't fabulous, mess with your photos.

Find beauty or make beauty. 

______________________

The lesson?

Light is life.

 It makes cool silhouettes,

 it makes bare branches stand out like a burning bush.

And sometimes getting closer,

in photography and  in life, 

gives you a whole new perspective.

_____________________________

A empty street, an abandoned church or... an opportunity.

A grim scene, a sad church. With a dumpster. 

And broken windows.

But there is the light.
Transforming light. 

Golden windows.
Texture.
Story.

A new look.




The lesson?

Beauty is where you look for it.
The church wasn't appealing until I looked for the light on the eastern wall.
The sky wasn't great but the empty bell frame is the focus now.

There's a story in that church.

________________

So when you run out of memory or patience or time or even money, breathe.  Know that there will be another sunrise.  Relax. Rest.  THIS is the day the Lord has made, rejoice and be glad in IT. 

When there seems there's nothing to do- just show up, expect, wait. A train's coming, there's a new way to look at your world.

Look for the big picture and the up close and personal details.  The structure of the far tree and the tangle of the near branches. 

When you are frustrated with the results, play with your tools!  My camera isn't fancy and I don't use Photoshop but I have found some fun features of my computer that I didn't know I had.  

We usually have more resources than we think.

And, last but not least- it's all about the light. 

God gives light to each new day. 

Beauty is everywhere you choose to look.  

Look closely,

 find it. 

Or be a part of creating it. 

Road Trip! West Texas revisited.

I have been found out- I'm a snob AND scatterbrained.  This post is now edited because frankly, in the original post I was snarky and sarcastic and... messed up my towns in West Texas!

 I was rude And the locals called me on it. So- for the sake of honesty and a little humility, I quote my "fans". And if it were not for them- however they found my site- I'd still be smug and that's not a place I want to live. So thanks.  I think.

6 comments:

1. 
   AnonymousFebruary 7, 2013 at 6:36 PM

   I guess you went on the wrong day. Marfa is fabulous. Next time visit the Chinati Foundation and eat at the Food Shark.

   ReplyDelete
2. 
   Someone who doesn't live in Van HornFebruary 7, 2013 at 7:44 PM

   Yeah, I guess all the small towns look the same around here.

   ReplyDelete
3. 
   AnonymousFebruary 7, 2013 at 9:24 PM

   Nice. You obviously have no clue about West Texas. You don't know the difference between Marfa and Van Horn. Perfect. Stay away and leave Marfa to those that appreciate it's beauty. Maybe Disney World is more to your liking.

   ReplyDelete
4. 
   KathrynFebruary 7, 2013 at 10:38 PM

   Wow- this is what happens when I tag my blogs! I really wanted to like Marfa but I couldn't find Chinati- I know, how hard did I look?   It just felt so empty, deserted and the few people I talked to were pretty negative. I did love West Texas- it's a beautiful landscape. Sorry if I offended anyone- maybe I'll have to return.

   ReplyDelete
5. 
   AnonymousFebruary 8, 2013 at 7:20 AM

   Just to echo the previous comments, which maybe you didn't entirely understand, the majority of your "ugly" pictures are from Van Horn, which is like an hour and a half away from Marfa. That's like going to New Haven, CT, and complaining that Times Square wasn't quite what you expected it would be, and you couldn't find the Met anywhere.

   ReplyDelete
6. 
   KathrynFebruary 11, 2013 at 7:49 PM

   Oh, good grief. I just checked my photo data and you are right, of course. I got the two towns mixed up. Except for the courthouse- whew. Well, not sure if anyone will care but the post is coming off the blog. And I will so careful after this!
    I actually really liked West Texas. Ok- not the well... very empty towns. Clearly everyone was enjoying the Food Shark while I was in Marfa.  WIsh the hotel staff had recommended it. 

   But please, never think I'm a Disney World fan. 

So rather than just quietly removing the offensive post

- which seems cowardly, 

my rewrite will be to amend my pictures and my comments. 

I found this blog and loved this quote- 

       "Getting from here to there is one thing. 
What happens in between is the great unknown....But road tripping is an art. It’s not unlike writing a novel: The writer (rider?) tells herself she knows where she’s going, but she doesn’t really know. There’s an imaginary destination, a sparkling mirage on the horizon, but all it provides is a general direction. As she writes, the story opens up to her the same way the world does when she turns left instead of right, stops here instead of there. The road she ends up taking is as much a surprise to her as it is to us. Barreling down the two-lane blacktop with the wind in her hair and time on her hands is a mystical splendor unmatched, unmatchable. She may never get where she thinks she’s going, but that’s okay. Soon—tomorrow, the next day, next week or next year—she can just turn around if she wants to. Because while there’s nothing better than leaving home, there’s nothing better than coming back." Art of the Road Trip

BY DANIEL WALLACE - JUNE/JULY 2012.

http://www.thewesternvault.com/news/news.asp?page_id=400

That's my story... ok, the wind doesn't really blow my hair around but I did open the sunroof.   I just love the image Daniel Wallace gives.  The.... "She may never get where she thinks she's going, but that's okay." Yep.


So the end of this road trip is Tucson. I'll be here for a few weeks- maybe a quick trip to California... but I'll try my hand at some Sonoran desert photography. I've been practicing. :)  

Meanwhile, I'll finish up the road trip with the last few stories. And the first one ends up in a way I didn't anticipate. "She may never get where she thinks she's going...", or she may get there and wonder why. 

________________________

We left our intrepid but careless hiker with a smile on her face and her iPhone safe in her zippered pocket.  She headed out of Big Bend Ranch State Park and it's fabulous roads

Thanks for the dirt, Big Bend....

 and headed north to Marfa, Texas. I had heard of this art community in a tiny Texas town- had to check it out. I love art, I love quirky, I'm going love Marfa, Texas.  ( I really did think I would.)

Lots of this view on the way.
It really is beautiful- austere, big, open sky.
ahh

_____________________________

First I drove through the quiet town of Van Horn, Texas.  

Chuy's is a famous Texas chain with great Mexican food.

 Jesus "Chuy" Uranga grew up in nearby Marfa.

And John Madden did visit here at the Van Horn, Texas Chuy's  restaurant.

And loved it. 

http://chuys1959.com/history.php

Cool old hotel- this one was reopened in 2007.

It was a bank and has  been remodeled back into a hotel.

http://www.hotelinvanhorn.com/

"The building is essentially the identical floor plan of its sister hotel The Hotel Paisano in Marfa. It was one of the five Gateway Hotels in a chain built by Charles Bassett in Eastern New Mexico and West Texas. The other three hotels were the Hildago, in Lordsburg, New Mexico, The La Caverna, in Carlsbad, New Mexico and The Gateway Hotel in downtown El Paso, Texas. Besides The El Capitan, The Paisano and The Gateway Hotel in El Paso are still open today. Bassett built the hotels in an attempt to encourage tourism within 200 miles of El Paso. Renowned architect Henry C. Trost was responsible for the design of over 550 buildings from California to Texas during the early 1900's until his death in 1933. He studied architecture under Louis Sullivan in Chicago and was influenced by Frank Lloyd Wright."
 http://www.hotelinvanhorn.com/

Awesome lobby.
Bored but funny desk clerk.

Look!

The first car my husband and I bought together-

1978 Volkswagen Rabbit

 Love the desert air- this would be a pile of rust on the east coast. 

______________________

On to Marfa, Texas- famous for its art scene. I got there about 4:30 in the afternoon. Great light but the town was pretty quiet.  Clearly, I missed the art scene. Next trip.

All Texas towns seem to be county seats and have these incredible courthouses.

That would be an interesting road trip- go see them all.

More about Marfa- 

http://www.marfacc.com/about/history.php

Check out the steer antlers on...
yep, it's a custom painted hearse.

That's the courthouse you see in the background.
And you don't want to see the custom scenes on the hearse.
 Trust me.

____________________________

So sometimes you don't "get" your destination once you get there.  Clearly as the blog comments suggest, I missed the real Marfa. 


"There’s an imaginary destination, a sparkling mirage on the horizon, but all it provides is a general direction. As she writes, the story opens up to her the same way the world does when she turns left instead of right, stops here instead of there. The road she ends up taking is as much a surprise to her as it is to us."


And my story this time? Being rude is just, well rude. Not witty or clever. I'm really not a East Coast snob, I hope. For heaven's sake, I grew up on a farm in rural Alaska and have moved back West to a cabin out in the boonies.  But I really missed the story here in Marfa and ended up writing something I'm not proud of. 

I also missed the art in Marfa and  possibly missed seeing the mysterious Marfa Lights.  http://www.marfacc.com/todo/marfalights.php

I did stop at the very nice visitor center set up to view the lights. Good job by high school students!

And I learned a valuable lesson and that's never a bad thing. Thanks for calling me on it, Anyonomus.

View this mysterious phenomenon any time after sunset at the Marfa Lights Viewing Area, nine miles east of Marfa on Highway 90. The Marfa Mystery Lights are viewable year round.  The Marfa Lights Viewing Area was designed by the Marfa High School Gifted and Talented students with the help of Texas Department of Transportation.