Today was a challenging yet interesting day. The route out of Kerrville following the Guadalupe River was very scenic, and soon we emptied out onto a lot of farm and ranch land outside the city. We cycled 2 lane roads for the majority of the day, through very rural countryside. We went over hill and dale, though based on what I experienced, there was a lot more hill than there was dale. The don’t call it the “Hill Country” for nothing, and it is apparent that the ups and downs are much steeper and prolonged than what we experienced in far west Texas.
I haven’t seen a lot of bluebonnets yet, however there were fields of a lot of purple and yellow flowers, which contrasted beautifully. (You can tell that I’m not the best at identifying flora and fauna, but I certainly can appreciate it’s beauty). We went through Comfort, TX, Waring, Sisterville, Kendalia, and then finally Blanco, where we are camping at Blanco State Park, which is a 105 acre park along a mile of the Blanco River, at the southern edge of town. The park is hilly, and contains a number of cedar and pecan trees. Even better than that, it has some pretty nice showers, with hot water, no less!
During our route today, just outside of Kendalia, I passed a number of ornate gates and stone walls marking the entrance of estates and ranches, which appear to be quite common in this part of the state. Each entrance is marked by some sort of name, such as the “Dunwaukin Ranch” or the “Dun Broke Us Farm”. One name stood out, however. It was “Tooth Acres”, which I immediately appreciated the pun, and also assumed that this particular estate belonged to a wealthy, retired dentist. So for the next several hours, to occupy my mind while my knees pumped and I gasped for air, I began to think of other good names for estates along the way. Keeping the “Acres” theme, I started with some easy ones, such as “Belly Acres”, (perhaps a retired gastroenterologist), or “Heart Acres”, (cardiologist), “Back Acres” (orthopedic), and one of my favorites, “Wise Acres”, (for smart Alecks). Of course, there could be others, such as “El Rancho Gobroko”, “Fifty Shades of Hay”, “Derry Heir Farm”, and “Legen Dairy Farm”. As you can see, the old adage “an ideal mind with enough time on their hands is far worse than a politician” applies here.
Just outside of Blanco in Kendalia, I cycled past a Wildlife Rehabilitation Center. Being curious, I coasted up to the gate, which was manned by a lady, (which is an oxymoron if I ever heard one). Wanting to show her just how knowledgeable I was about wildlife rehabilitation, I asked her if they had treated many alcoholic bears, or deers hooked on cocaine, or perhaps rabbits with sex addictions. She kind of frowned at me, and told me it wasn’t that type of rehab center. Sensing I was losing her respect, I quickly regrouped and asked if they, perhaps, treated raccoons raised in broken homes, who had gotten in with the wrong crowd and had entered a life of crime. (I figured that raccoons could do this, given the mask around their eyes and all…a natural assumption, I’m sure you will agree). To that, she pointed to my bike and the road ahead, and asked that I proceed as quickly as I could out of her sight. It was only later that I learned that wildlife rehabilitation is the treatment and care of injured, orphaned, or sick wild animals so they can be released back into the wild. All this sounds pretty noble, I’ll concede, but I still wonder about the bears with alcohol issues, and am convinced that this could be an “untapped” market. “Untapped”. Man, how do I come up with these? Thank you, I’ll be here all week. Well, not exactly, but I’ll be around.
Blanco’s population is estimated to be about 2,000. It is home to a former astronaut (Terence Henricks), a former professional baseball player (Willie Upshaw), and screenwriter, author and photographer William Wittliff. If you know any of these people, you are better than me. Even if you DON’T know these people, you are still probably better than me.
Tomorrow is an exciting day, not necessarily because we cycle 64 miles to Lockart, but because a lot of my family will make the 3.5 to 4 hour drive from the DFW metroplex to meet me there. Talk about an incentive to pedal fast! It’s been over a month since I’ve seen Debby, Jessica and Marcus, and Joshua, as well as the two grandchildren Benjamin and Annalyn. (Jacob plans on meeting me in St. Augustine when I finish, so he won’t be there). The time in Lockhart will be short, but it will feel so good to get to see them again. It will also give me a chance to package up and send back a lot of things I brought with me that I shouldn’t have, such as a snow shovel, meatball maker, and a banjo. (No, I don’t play the banjo, but thought this would be a good time to learn. I guess I was wrong!). For this reason, please excuse me if I don’t post anything tomorrow, as I want to maximize the time I am able to spend with them, since I’ll only be in Lockhart for slightly over 12 hours. I promise to fill you in on everything when I write again, probably on Sunday once we move along to Warda. (No Wifi here, so I can’t include any pictures. I promise I will, as soon as I can).
The Walking Machine 