Fri, April 23, 2010
Thursday, April 29, 2010 at 12:30AM If you don’t like flowers and in particular wildflowers in every direction filling the air with their pungent aromas… well you would have been in hell today. We had picked out several spots the previous afternoon to photograph at first light this morning. However, anytime we make a plan when we are traveling we usually change it. We were up early with every intention of driving the 30 or so miles to our planned destination but decided to take a dirt road via the not so direct route instead. This resulted in our being in Mason about the middle of the morning and so we decided to stop at Cooper’s BBQ and get some brisket for our picnic. This turned out to be a very good decision.
The morning was spent tooling around on one dirt road after another admiring the bluebonnets and other Texas wildflowers and enjoying the mild temperatures and beautiful blue skies. You could not have ordered up a prettier day.
By lunchtime we had admired the scenery, made numerous river crossings, seen quite a few deer and rabbits and eventually made it to the area that we planned to photograph. We made several stops for puppy play but still managed to make it to our picnic spot on the Salt Branch. The mesquite smoked brisket and sausage along with cheese and flour tortillas tasted particularly good sitting beside the flowing water under brilliant blue skies with the same warm breeze we had experienced yesterday. After a long leisurely lunch we made the decision to head toward Big Bend. The weather in the Big Bend area is supposed to be very nice and a good 15 to 20 degrees cooler than normal for this time of year.
We zigzagged our way toward Big Bend and about halfway there decided we better call and get a room in Alpine, TX. This would make our drive a good bit shorter than going all the way to Big Bend and the chances of getting a room down there were pretty slim. The Big Bend area this time of year is a big destination point for motorcycle riders and we were already seeing quite a few groups headed to and away from Big Bend.
From the top of a remote hill somewhere in west Texas we got a cell phone signal and were able to get a room reservation. The drive to Alpine was nice and it appeared that rain had been regular as many areas that would normally be brown and dry were green. The livestock tanks were full and many of the seasonal creeks were still running. The large fields of wildflowers were left behind somewhat reluctantly but the road was calling.
We arrived in Alpine about supper time and chose to crash in our room and dine again on brisket. Tomorrow we will drive down to Big Bend. The parking lot at our motel was full of motorcycle riders… with more arriving at regular intervals. Of course we had to stop and admire some of the bikes. Bike riders love to talk about their rides.
We had another good day on the road and are looking forward to tomorrow. We hope you all are well too.
Peace, Hope & Love,
Donna, Charles, Paris & Dodger
Reader Comments (3)
Keep those journal entries and photos coming!!
I love your website setup! You are going to be famous nationwide now dear friend. The pictures are fantastic....and tell Charles his smile is worth a thousand words alone. Thanks for sharing your trip with us Downey fans!
This is great Sister! Love U...