Field of White Flowers

On the back roads to, yep, you guessed it, Luckenbach. It was the first time I had seen a field of white flowers like this. Really pretty.

Blackie rolls 300K!!!!

My 1998 Toyota Camry rolled 300,000 miles yesterday (03-21-09). How appropriate was it that I was on my way to Luckenbach? I was about 15 miles north of Johnson City when it rolled/clicked. I bought the car in 2000 and it had 18,000 miles on it. The timing belt has been replaced 2 times, don't remember how many sets of tires, and replaced a leaky head gastket. The driver side window motor doesn't work and just this past week I lost the right side hubcap. Still getting about 28-30 mpg. It's hard to give up something so reliable and paid for. Now it's a challenge to see how many miles we can put on it. To be continued.....

What the heck is this????

Yesterday (03-22-09) on my way to work, I started noticing all the jet trails in the sky and that they were making a grid. When I was in massage school, one of my instructors was the stereotypical Austin hippies. He had a theory the government was behind all of the trails. Maybe he was on to something????

Enchanted Rock

Caden with his "binocleres" as he calls them. Had a great time hiking up the big rock.

October 21-23, 2008 ~ Terlingua & Chinati Hot Springs

So we had been told about Chinati Hot Springs by some of our friends the last two years. We had been talking about heading down there for a while, so when Don asked what we were going to do with my 3 days off, I suggested Chinati. He thought I was crazy. But after he thought about it for a few minutes, he was up for the trip. Talk about spur of the moment!!! We threw a few things in a bag and we were off. 5 1/2 hours later and we were at our first stop in Alpine. The "resort" at Chinati doesn't suggest driving in after dark. I had not been in that part of Texas before. My eyes weren't big enough to see it all. Simply amazing. Up early the next morning and on to Chinati Springs. We made a little detour through Terlingua and Study Butte. We have been driving about 3 hours now. Not much to this area. It is an old mining town. Stopped by the Terlingua Ghost Town and toured the cemetery where a lot of the miners are buried. The ground is so hard the graves are on top of the ground, covered w/rocks. From Terlingua to Lajitas and following the Rio Grande River. Just a stones throw over to Mexico. Once we made it to Presidio we were faced w/a detour outside of Redford. There had been some flooding due to rain in September. We had to cut through Big Bend State Ranch. It was about a 15 mile detour on gravel/rock road and took about 40 minutes! It was very isolated and we only saw one other vehicle, a border patrol. Arrived at Chinati Springs about 4 pm. Glad we didn't try make the drive in the dark. NO WAY! Met the owner, David, who showed us to our cabin, "El Corizon" and also the community tubs and the big hot tub. Did I mention how remote and isolated this place is? We are anxious to take a walk-about and check everything out. David tells us that if we are interested we can hike to Mexico as it is only 14 miles away. The Chihuahua Mountains are on the horizon. Weather is perfect. Back at camp, we change into our swimsuits and hit the community hot tub. It's amazing. Natural hot springs (a steady 95 degrees) piped into a rock hot tub, under the stars! It doesn't get any better than this! Don gathered wood and built a fire in the pit. Took another little hike trying to get some good sunset pics, but the mountain range prevented that. As night fell and the stars started appearing, it was evident we were going to be in for a great night of star gazing. Neither of us had EVER seen so many stars in our lives. You can't even begin to imagine how awesome this was. We decided to call it an early night and headed in. But first we checked out another cabin that was not being used, The El Presidente. It has a private bath w/the hot water that runs about 110 degrees. I use the word "tub" loosely. It is a cement tub about 2 1/2 feet wide by 2 1/2 deep. Yes, we tried it out. We will rent the El Presidente next time. A norther had blown in during the night, so when we got up the next morning it was a little chilly. And we had a flat on the Jeep. Probably picked up a nail on the detour. Took a final walk around the property and we were off. 9:45 a.m. Took a different way out this time. We cut through Pinto Canyon Ranch and we had been told that the road was very rough but the views were worth it. Rough roads is an understatement, some of the worst I have ever been on. And very narrow. Two cars would not be able to pass one another. The views were SPECTACULAR! It was 22 miles and took 1 1/2 hours. But very much worth it. 3 hours later we are back in Alpine and getting the tire fixed and back on the Jeep. All in all, we drove 928 miles! It is a trip that I will remember a very long time. We are looking forward to going back this spring, maybe April.

As you can see, there are too many pics to post on here. So if you are interested in seeing more check them out on my gallery at ~ http://gallery.me.com/rdodd_329#100129

Coming into Alpine


The drive into Terlingua/Study Butte


The soccer field for Terlingua ISD. Yes, there's a school there...


Lot's of abandoned trailers and vehicle in Terlingua.


In the cemetery in the Terlingua Ghost Town




From an old abandoned stone building


Lajitas in the distance and the muddy Rio Grande River. Along El Camino Royal Highway


Three Dikes~From what was a volcano. The three black streaks are from lava that was embedded in the side of the mountain that are revealed as the side of the mountain erodes.


The 15 mile detour. The road in front of us and behind us. Just like this for 15 miles. Glad we took the Jeep....




From the top of the canyon


Pretty grasshopper in the creekbed


Rocks stacked in an arch


Don trying his hand at stacking rocks. Not in an arch...


The cold spring swimming pool.


Don in the community hot tub


Mexican dove? Not sure.


El Presidente tub


Just as the stars started coming out

So where have I been???

I've been everywhere man. Luckenbach, Luckenbach, Luckenbach, Chinati Springs, Luckenbach, Austin, Austin, Castell, Luckenbach, Hamilton, Stephenville, Luckenbach, Luckenbach, Luckenbach. Get the idea? Oh, and don't forget work. So here's my attempt at catching up.

October 16, 2008 ~ Yep, It's Luckenbach again...

What can I say? It's our own little "Cheers". Everybody knows our name and they're always glad we came. Stopped by for a little songswap around the campfire. Well, WE didn't actually swap any songs, but heard some really good music. Don and Al probably swapped a lie or two. He's a funny guy. Al that is. And Don too! The guy w/the red jacket is Walt Perryman. He recites poetry, stuff that he has written. It's really good. The three by the fire are Jake, Annie and Shan. And last is Don and Al. It's always interesting to hear the how the different people have found their way to Luckenbach. Some are passing through, some are staying a while and some will stay forever. It always amazes me how the cast of characters has changed since the first few times I was there. Some that were considered "regulars" are now no where to be seen. Some have died, some have moved on and some have just disappeared.

October 8, 2008 ~ Oak Wilt

Oak wilt is killing so many oak trees in this area. Actually we were around Harper and Doss which is East of Fredericksburg. Or maybe West. Not sure. Anyway, it's really sad to see acres and acres of these huge old oaks that have been devastated by the disease. Some have been pushed over into huge piles and burned while others have been cut down. I guess in an effort to keep it from spreading. Some areas have been hit harder than others, but you can definitely tell where it is or has been.

September 25, 2008 ~ Luckenbach w/Walt and Davis

It seems as if we are having a recurring theme here, Luckenbach... It just happens that where the good music is on a regular basis. What can I say? And this night certainly didn't disappoint. I met Davis Raines when I was living in Austin going to massage school. He and Walt and I believe Sam Baker played at the Saxon Pub and I was instantly hooked. You owe it to yourself to check Davis Raines out. And when you get all three of them together, WOW! It's a show you won't soon forget.

September 16, 2008 ~ Bengt and Steffen

After the Fandango, Bengt and Steffen came to visit and stayed the night at our place. We enjoyed taking them to a few of our favorite spots ~ Castell, Joe's Bar in Llano (the coldest beer in Llano County!) then stopped for pizza at Stonewall's which is conveniently located a few doors down from Joe's. The next day they were off to have lunch w/Gary P Nunn at his house. They love GPN!