It was cold when I left the motel heading west. A quick stop for ice and a few supplies and I was on the road toward Gatesville, about 20 miles away. The landscape is still mostly green with dark soil, but that changed after Gatesville. The Texans call this "hill country", and this is the northern end. It's a rolling landscape, with sandy/rocky soil, and stunted trees trying to survive harsh conditions. Cattle are raised here, but few if any crops such as hay will grow here. But, it's really beautiful in it's own way, and the motorcycle riders love to ride the hill country.
Hill country continues through small communities along the way....Evant, Star, Center City, Early, etc. I saw lots of goats....not sure what people use them for, but they raise plenty, and since they'll eat most anything, seems the ideal place for them. Approaching Ballinger I cross the Colorado River (is it the same one as farther northwest?) and the landscape starts changing. It gets green again, and crops are grown here as well as cattle. Lots of cotton, corn, wheat, and other crops can grow here. Many of the ponds and a few creeks have water, although it's low.
There's a small community, Miles, along the way, and for whatever reason I stopped there. The first thing I noticed the main street, although it was only a couple of blocks, was paved with bricks. Then I noticed an old bank building, so started taking pictures. An older man spotted me, and asked what I was doing. I told him I was a "tourist" and asked what there was to see around town. His reply, "well not sure about that, but if you're hungry we're fixing to eat lunch and you're welcome to join us. It's for seniors and only $2". That's all I happen to have at the time, and am a senior, so joined them.
The seniors in Miles meet several times a week for lunch and socializing. After a prayer, including a request for rain, we sat down to a meal of sloppy joes, beans, and cherry pie. Most of the men were former farmers, either retired for normal reasons (age, physical, etc.), or lack of help. Most were from the area all their lives, and agreed it was a hard, but honest living...none got rich from it. After lunch I was invited to join them in a game of dominoes, but I needed to head west. By the way.....one man laid all the bricks on Main Street. The locals said the state wants to pave the street, but so far they're holding them off.
San Angelo wasn't far away, and soon I was in town looking for things to see. Unfortunately, no John Grady Cole, and people here drive cars, not ride horses, but it's a great small city. A river, the Concho, flows through downtown, Fort Concho, a frontier fort, lots of "old" town buildings, a nice river walk, and Eggemeyer's General store. But it was getting late and I needed to get on the road. I still wasn't sure where to next, and chose to go south toward Del Rio instead of west toward Ft Stockton. After driving about 50 or so miles, decided I didn't have time to visit all the small towns in Texas, and jumped on I-10 toward Ft Stockton. The speed limit in this area is 80mph, and I used all of it as the sun was setting in front of me......and still was getting passed.
Around 630 or so, found a motel in Ft Stockton, and settled in. Today I learned Texas is too big for me to roam around without a plan, so going to work on that this evening. I want to have time to visit when I finally get on the walking route.
Pictures:
Main Street in Miles;
Courthouse in Gatesville;
Hill country at its best;
Miles' seniors;
The way to San Angelo;
Eggemeyer's General store
I love your comment, "Texas is too big for me to roam without a plan"!! Amen to that. Like we say here in Texas, it's like a whole other country!
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