TEXAS!!!

Warm winds blowing, heating blue sky; And a road that goes forever. — Chris Rea; Texas

We awoke to a warmer morning and the expectation of a great travel day.  It had been a long time since we had been this far west, and today we were going to put our feet in some familiar soil—TEXAS!!!

Anxious to get back to The Republic, we merged onto I-30 and drove into the sun.  The skies were mostly clear, with enough clouds to make the hemispheres interesting.  The winds were warm from the southwest, and we enjoyed a day of driving with the windows down—Kristy with her foot out the window, and the hounds with their air-inducted jowls flapping in the wind.

When we crossed over Route 59/71 in Texarkana, we began to see the familiar “lone stars” on buildings, fences, and highway infrastructure.  We could feel the Texas swagger in the air.  An hour further brought us to Mount Pleasant, home of Pilgrim’s Pride (chicken) and a place where Hank could stop for a drink.

I’m trying to get to Heaven in a Cadillac, My chariot’s a big ol’ Coupe De Ville — Eric Stuart; Heaven In A Cadillac

While we were filling our tanks with diesel, an American Classic pulled up to a nearby pump.  This well-preserved uber-cruizer was in pristine shape, and the owner continued to preen the body while fueling an equally impressive powerhouse engine.  When I asked him if I could take a few photos, he proudly agreed.  Both he and his car had that "Texas Swagger.”

Classic Americana roams the highways of Texas

Another 45-minutes and we were at Sulphur Springs and headed north on Texas 154—an arrow-straight country road with interstate speeds and wide shoulders where one is expected to use as the “slow lane” if there is a faster vehicle behind you.   A left onto FM (farm-to-market) 74 at Birthright, Texas…and we were practically at the park entrance.

The park was mostly empty (surprise…surprise).  The camping pads are very well spaced, and you would likely not see much of your neighbors even if the park had an increased census.  We backed Glory into our site, leveled the rig, and familiarized ourselves and the hounds on the flora & fauna that surrounded us.  During my teaching years at Brooks, we would routinely brief students (prior to going into field conditions) that everything in Texas either bites, stings, pokes, scratches, urticates, infects, or envenomates. We made our walk-around to identify the few scattered fire ant mounds (bites & stings); armadillo trails (bites & infects with leprosy); and poison ivy patches.

Jo Bob's place; Birthright,  Texas

I unloaded the firewood, set up the grill, and placed our sling-back chairs next to the fire-ring.  All that was left was a quick run back into “town” (Birthright; population: 40) for some celebratory Shiner Bock.  I headed back to the intersection of Texas 154/FM 74 to Jo Bob’s—a roadside market that has just about anything one could possibly need in rural Texas.  Once through the front door, you pass the lotto station, smokeless tobacco display, ginormous jerky offering, and a multitude of pre-packaged pastry selections.  From there you have a choice of working the chip/canned food/toiletry/medicine isle; the candy/magazine/bagged charcoal isle; or the hunting/fishing/boating/tire repair/work boot/cover-all/hats/coolers isle.  Like I said…this place had everything.  On the back wall was the object of my attention…the coolers.  It is here…past the stink bait…past the Farmers Almanac…past the Geritol…that I found………………

The hardest thing they serve in a glass...is ice.

……………that I was in a “dry" county.

I won’t walk a mile for a Camel, so I definitely won’t drive 40-miles round-trip for a Shiner.  I returned with two traditional Texas beverages: Dr. Pepper and sweet tea.  We cooked our dinner, sat around the campfire, and listened as the local wildlife tramped through the leaves just inside the darkness of our camp perimeter.  The new moon and lack of light pollution made the darkness and visible stars more pronounced.  It had been a long time since we had been able to sit comfortably outside—observing the heavenly bodies and enjoying the quiet solitude.  

It felt great to be back in Texas.

wWw