Mon, Sept 27, 2010
Monday, September 27, 2010 at 10:21PM Monday, September 27, 2010
It was Christmas Eve all night again and every time I turned over I heard “Honey, are you awake?” Seems neither one of us could sleep. Actually, the dogs were restless as well so about 4:00 am we gave in and began the process of hitting the road.
We made the decision to drive to Llano, TX today via numerous small roads and dirt roads. The weather was perfect… 53 as we loaded the car with crystal clear skies full of twinkling stars. Just before daylight arrived we found ourselves in Palestine, TX and spotted the Dogwood Café. There were a number of trucks parked out front and also a couple of sheriff’s cars… always a good sign. It was a converted Pizza Hut building but was spotless and full of Elvis, James Dean, Dean Martin and Marilyn Monroe pictures. It turned out to be an excellent choice… the food was good! It was interesting eating breakfast as two life-sized cardboard cutouts of Dean Martin and Marilyn Monroe stood behind Charles.
By the time we left the café the sun was up and we headed down the road toward Waco, TX. From Waco it was on toward Gatesville and then more back roads and eventually dirt roads entered the picture as we got closer to Mason, TX. We picked up some brisket and sausage to have for supper and then headed to the James River for puppy time. We found a small spring fed creek just off the river for a nice long stop for photography and a short hike. From there we took the Salt Branch Loop road to one of our favorite stops on the Salt Branch. There we spent a good while just sitting on a limestone shelf by the creek while the puppies swam, ran, played and hunted for critters. The weather had warmed to a perfect 80 degrees with just a slight breeze. Our only company was a few cows with their calves and they wandered over to the creek for an afternoon drink.
From the Salt Branch we made the beautiful drive to Llano taking time to cross the Llano river several times to enjoy the views up and down this crystal clear river. At one crossing we stopped for a few minutes to watch three fly fishermen casting for river trout. These crossings are just that, concrete slabs that take you across the river and not passable if the river is up. Today, however, the water was fairly low and we didn’t even get the tires wet.
We arrived in Llano, went straight to our usual motel and our usual room and laid out our picnic as the sun set over the horizon. It was a delicious ending to a delightful day of beautiful views and awesome weather. I did not miss the office at all!
We are well tonight and hope you all are too.
Peace, Hope & Love,
Donna, Charles, Paris & Dodger
Reader Comments (1)
Hey. Lance said ya'll need to take Roscoe and Sambo on your next trip. That way they can become worldly dogs as well !! We love the pics !! Ya'll have fun and be safe !!