Along with Missouri, Arkansas, Oklahoma, Kansas and All Points Between
Shadow art along I-44 somewhere between Wichita Falls, TX and Oklahoma City, Ok
An opportunity to travel to San Antonio presented itself earlier this year. Carefully considering my options, car transport was chosen as the most desirable method. There really was not much to consider, in truth. Driving cross-country is always more interesting than any other means; excepting perhaps, by train.
Heading out of town relatively early, the first stop for the day seemed to take no time at all. I-49 is a great route, avoiding the boredom and tollways of Kansas. If they would only finish that part of the interstate near Bella Vista, one could avoid that mess all together too.
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| Cruising along southbound I-49 through the Boston Mountains |
It was not bad for a Monday afternoon, and after finishing up business in that town, I-49 quickly reinstated itself. Only the Bobby Hopper Tunnel and the beauty of the Ozark mountains consumed the view frame, until heading west from Fort Smith that is.
The small stretch from there to the Oklahoma “Hoppy Lockhart” Welcome Center near Sallisaw is only about 50 km, but felt like forever. There is not a lot of difference between Oklahoma and Kansas along here. Flat, straight, and boring is the norm.
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| Trail of Tears painting behind the desk at the Oklahoma Welcome Center |
After chatting with the lady behind the desk about the best alternative routes south, and obtaining a paper GPS, the route to Texas was relatively clear. She advised in that odd little southwestern drawl they have, to go on through Oklahoma City. “It is not nearly as bad as Dallas.”
I laughed along with her, conceding that much, but adding that Atlanta is not as bad as Dallas either, but is a little out of the way. Major cities were not on the agenda. They consumed too much travel time with traffic snarls. Cutting across US-69 from Checotah is a much direct route to the Texas state line.
Again, it seemed to take forever. The approximately 200 km felt like a thousand. There is just not a lot out there in Oklahoma, and the Texas Dennison Travel Information Center is an oasis.
It is not much of one if closed. The plan had been to pick up another paper GPS of that massive state, and plan a route around Dallas. It was not to be.
While lingering at the rest stop, attempts to communicate with my comrade already in San Antonio failed. Uncertain whether to press on late into the evening, but ahead of schedule, the most viable option appeared to arrange for a room for the night.
I quickly located accommodations just an hour or so south of Dallas in the small town of Hubbard. The reviews were good, and the photos seemed to support their claims. The only thing left to do was find the place. It is nearly impossible to bypass Dallas, and with the sun quickly setting it seemed ridiculous to try. This was a foreign land after all, and taking back roads at night, potentially slow and treacherous. Google Maps did not seem to think so though.
The ease with which Dallas appeared in the rear view mirror was surprising and extremely pleasing. The speed limit never decreased much from the rural area all through downtown, and it was as if the town was deserted.
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| Google Maps screenshot of the small one-lane road … it looks much creepier at night. |
Following along with Google Maps, the exit for Hubbard appeared in no time at all. Google Maps assumed I remained interesting in taking the long way and avoiding all towns though. What should have been an easy left turn onto TX-566, became a tour of the Richland Creek area, north of Milford.
It was kind of creepy too; the kind of thing you see in all the horror movies. The right turn Google Maps insisted on after exiting I-35 led down a small one-lane gravel road piercing a canopy of trees for a few kilometers.
Certain I was being led into the lair of the infamous Leatherface or Captain Spaulding, I checked in with family. They assured me that was “only a movie.” I assured them I was in any one of associated scenes.
Arriving full circle to the south side of Milford, I realized what had happened, and was not impressed. Google Maps sent me 26 km around the town of Milford, ignoring a much direct 2 km route through the same. The hour-long adventure through unknown and forbidding territory should have taken half as long. Folks wonder why I prefer paper GPS.
The relatively deserted towns of Mertens, Irene, and Malone quickly faded into the rearview mirror and the Westworld Country Inn at Hubbard appeared in short order. The quaint little empty roadside motel should have been a beacon of hope, but anxiety notched up again, upon noticing the neighboring business, Wild Boar Meat Company.
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| Westworld Country Inn at Hubbard, TX |
. . .
Hitting the road after a relatively good, but overpriced breakfast at the Hubbard City Café the next morning, there was not much hurry to arrive in San Antonio. My comrade would not be out of meetings until late in the day, so I meandered my way there.
Google insisted that I pass through Austin, but apparently was unaware of my lack of time table and continuing disinterest in passing through any more civilization than necessary. Taking a right in Waco, I followed US-84 out to Evant and then took left on US-281, headed south.
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| US-281 Rest Area south of Evant, TX |
I noticed several well-kept rest stops along the way, and decided I would stop at the next one to see if it were as nice as it looked from the road. Just south of Evant I got that chance. Texas should be proud. I enjoyed the chance to get out of the car and just chill by the road under some shade for a bit in one of most well-kept rest stops encountered in a long time.
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| Texas Courthouses - Top: Coryell County - Left: Lampasas County - Right: Blanco County |
Continuing the trek, I paused at a few interesting courthouses, and I wandered through Marble Falls, but found no falls. I eventually ran cross a sign indicating that the Lyndon B Johnson National Historic Site was coming up, and decided that was worth a look. Google got confused again when I arrived in Johnson City though. First, it told me it was only a few blocks away, then it insisted the place was 10 miles west of me.
I found the main campus for the site in Johnson City and toured around only briefly, thinking I might drift back through that way on the return trip. Johnson City has more than that to see.
Just as I was about to continue to San Antonio, another sign loomed along the roadside for Pedernales Falls. I was skeptical after the fiasco with Marble Falls, but thought since it was a state park, there must be something to it.
I am so glad I stopped for it too. While the hike down to the lookout, and then down onto the falls was not all that spectacular, the falls certainly were! Clambering over rocks with roar of water all around is the perfect sort of experience. Rain was coming though, so I didn’t linger. Marking in my mind for the return trip, I knew my comrade would like it too.
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| Pedernales Falls on a stormy afternoon |
That little adventure absorbed quite a bit of time, and San Antonio only 75 miles away, so I determined to make the jaunt without stops. Hunger got the best of me though, and the allure of food and ice-cold refreshment began to guide my consciousness.
The Shade Tree Saloon soon appeared on the other side of the road, so I quickly doubled back to sate my appetite. It is an oasis in an otherwise deserted stretch of road, and a place I would like to drop in on again when the music is playing. On this occasion, I simply enjoyed a late lunch and was on my way without much hesitation.
Arriving at the hotel on the fringe of San Antonio, I had exhausted my day. My comrade was equally drained from her work day, so we just kind of let the rest of evening escape.
. . .
Any first-time trip to San Antonio must include the Alamo. We had both been, but it had been so long ago. We decided it might be fun to see and actually “remember” it, so it was the primary destination. Parking was a bit of challenge, but quickly secured, only blocks away.
The Alamo is quite an interesting place, but much as one would expect such a place to be, in the heart of a major city. Overrun with school children and tourists, there was little opportunity to indulge in the scene without tripping someone, or them tripping over you. It was an enjoyable experience overall, but hunger was beginning to interfere with solid decision-making about the next activity. There was a plethora of options nearby, once you filter out all the noise.
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| San Antonio Riverwalk |
The area surrounding the Alamo is a tourist trap. Parents should be aware that the entire situation is designed to extract items from your wallet for ridiculous side-show attractions one could go just about anywhere these days and see.
Touring about, we landed at Pat O’Brien’s, of all places. It had that New Orleans look and feel, and enticed us with a Lunch Special carefully and artistically crafted in chalk on a board on the sidewalk. Turns out, there really is no lunch special, excepting a somewhat reduced cost.
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| Muffaletta Sandwich at Pat O’Brien’s in San Antonio, TX |
After refreshments and a huge and very real muffaletta, we hit the pavement again. Many folks had recommended the River Walk as something interesting to pass the time. It is, somewhat, but just another tourist trap really, and over-priced at that. Interest waned quickly, and we decided that it might be more interesting to chase down the Missions trail. That turned out to be a perfect way to continue wandering through San Antonio.
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| Mission Concepción in San Antonio, Tx |
We dropped in on Mission Concepción first, enjoying the wide-open space, old Spanish mission architecture. Surprisingly, there were very few people about on this late afternoon.
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| Mission San José in San Antonio, TX |
The next stop, and our last for the day, put us at Mission San José. The idea to follow the trail had come too late in the day. We had just enough time to wander about the mission, sanctuary, and grounds before closing time came.
Winding our way back through the city, we tangled with rush hour. We thought we would be sneaky and avoid traffic by simply passing through town, but apparently that is how everyone does it. After several miles of crawling traffic, we jumped up on the highway and made our escape.
We found a bit of food at some random place called Doc Brown’s. It was decent enough, and the service was great, but it had that suburban franchise feel. It being in a strip mall in the suburbs only served to emphasis the feeling.
There was little left to do, except linger by the pool. The hotel had a fantastic setting for that in the inner courtyard, lit in blues and reds, and surrounded by palm trees. We spent the remainder of our evening relaxing there, and scheming about the following days adventures on the road.
. . .
Our destination for the day, Fredericksburg. About an hour northwest of San Antonio, we managed to get there in about 10 hours. Since it was going to be a beautifully sunny day, we decided to drift through Pedernales Falls again also. My comrade had not been with me on the trip down, and was impressed with the few photos taken previously, but not before breakfast.
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| The Loft Coffee House, Spring Branch, TX |
The Loft Coffee House appeared roadside on our way out of town and we primed ourselves for the day with some awesome breakfast burritos, pastries, and coffee. Set back away from the highway, it also offers a quiet little escape for community gatherings and activities, all in support of local charities.
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| Pedernales Falls, TX |
Feeling good about supporting something worthy rather than just another franchise, we hit the road an arrived at Pedernales Falls in no time. My comrade was impressed and satisfied, but forgot my warning about climbing around the falls.
They are not particularly dangerous, though good footwear is recommended, and a willingness to climb over a boulder or three. The problem comes from traveling upstream while doing this. It is easy to get distracted and forgot how far one has traveled, and the Texas sun can be merciless. She withstood the rigors well though, with only minor sunburn, which would hinder her stamina later in the day at Enchanted Rock.
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| Willow City School |
We wandered the back roads to that State Park in a short amount of time, stumbling on an interesting piece of architecture along the way. We found out later that two-story granite building known as Willow City Schoolhouse was built in 1905, is on the National Register of Historic Places, and doubles as a community and events center these days.
After a little more winding around, Enchanted Rock loomed in the distance. The unique and dramatic pink granite monolith rises above the South Texas Plains, and is visible for miles. Our destination for the afternoon, the summit.
We made it up to the tree line, but the sun and the scale became too much for my comrade, after the previous excursion at Pedernales Falls. I managed to find my way to the top though. While the view was impressive in all directions, it was not much different from that at the tree line due to the scale of the mass.
Having satisfied my curiosity regarding the top of this behemoth, I rejoined my colleague, and we set our sight on different amusements closer to our final destination.
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| Inside Fredericksburg Brewing Company |
We quickly checked into our arrangements for the night, and then moved on to the main course. The concierge recommended the Fredericksburg Brewing Company, which turned out to be perfect, and amusing in its own little way. The whole town leaned in that direction really, so we wandered about for a bit exploring the variations of this unexpected little German twist in our adventure. We did not linger long though. The sun was fading quickly, and most everything was closed.
It had been a full and fun day of exploring, and more so to be greeted back at our accommodations by yet another oddity. Either a car show was happening nearby, or they were on their way to one. I do not really remember which it was, but most of the parking lot was filled with old classic cars. We had our own little private car show for the night.
. . .
Our next day on the road consisted of yet another short jaunt, a mere 2.5-hour trek from Fredericksburg to a little bend in the road named De Leon. It would be 9 hours before we arrived though, and in between, a few distractions.
The most interesting of the diversions found us on 2 km hike out to the 22-meter Gorman Falls at Colorado Bend State Park. It was a relatively easy hike without a great deal of elevation change, except near the end where one must nearly repel down a flight of stairs.
The falls are a unique sort of geologic erosional formation supporting a highly sensitive ecosystem. It is a “living” waterfall, continually growing, like curtains in a cave. Layers upon layers of delicate calcite cascade in sheets from the side of a creek bluff near the Colorado River, creating interesting and picturesque views among the shadows of the undergrowth.
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| Gorman Falls Trail |
We lingered for quite a long there, visiting with a fellow hiker, and simple cooling down. The hike had not started out hot, but crossing what amounted to nothing more than rock and sage brush, without any sort of shade, can wear a person down.
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| Happy Cactus along the Gorman Falls Trail |
The hike back was a test of endurance, and called our attention to the fact that Texas seemed to lack any sort of decent shade tree. Texas really should consider installing a taller variety of trees. They seem to have entirely too many only a meter high, which is utterly insufficient for producing any sort of shade. We returned safely though, only having lost a couple of gallons water from our souls.
The little Motor Inn at De Leon proved itself to be every bit worth the few dollars spent, and the air conditioning, like an old friend gone too long. Hosted by a very friendly family from India, it was the perfect little spot in the middle of nowhere for a good night’s rest.
. . .
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| Backroads Art in Strawn, Texas |
On the road again, we made a bit longer jump to Blackwell, Oklahoma the next day. There is not a whole lot there, but it is close to the primary area of interest for the next morning.
We followed back roads mostly to Oklahoma City, and stopped at the National Memorial there. It is a memorial dedicated to the victims, survivors, rescuers and all others affected by the Oklahoma City bombing on April 19, 1995.
The spot is just downtown, on the former site of the Alfred P Murrah Federal Building at NW 5th St, between N Robinson and N Harvey Avenues. A “Home Grown” terrorist exploded a truck filled with explosives killing killed 168 people and destroyed the entire north face of the building, 19 of which were children.
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| Field of Empty Chairs, Oklahoma City National Memorial, Oklahoma City, OK |
It is a solemn place and a beautiful memorial. We did not arrive until late in the afternoon, and the situation was soon to be closed. Short on time anyway, we had only planned to take in the grounds and be on our way. Another visit may be in order, to inquire towards the museum. There was nothing to be seen north from there to our destination for the evening, and it was time to move on quickly. Massive storms were brewing, threatening serious tornado activity.
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| Oklahoma tornado storms brewing south of Blackwell, OK |
Blackwell seems to be immune from that sort of thing, according to the locals. It only rained a bit there overnight. We could easily see the huge storm clouds just to the south that evening, after enjoying a bit of BBQ from a little shop in an otherwise deserted downtown.
. . .
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| The Garfield Collection at Daisy Mae’s Cafe |
The final leg of the journey crisscrossed southeastern Kansas, after an awesome breakfast at Daisy Mae’s! We stumbled on a curious little Garfield collection there. They seem to have quite an affinity for the orange cartoon cat, and it was an amusing way to start the day.
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| Cowley State Fishing Lake Falls, Kansas |
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| Kansas’ Oldest Swinging Bridge — Moline, KS |
The town square at Yates Center provided another break from an otherwise uninteresting trail, and a stop in Lawrence. A last stop at the Free State Brewing Company for dinner and refreshments, before heading home, ended a perfect day.
Not just a perfect day, but a good journey over the week before and including Memorial Day weekend 2017. Covering 2929 kilometers, the estimated drive time was around 30 hours, over a period of 7 days. It crossed Missouri into Arkansas into Oklahoma into and across most of central Texas, with a return trip through Oklahoma again, and southeastern Kansas.
