Saturday, March 17, 2007

FROM WEST TEXAS TO "WET" TEXAS

I read today that east Texas is sometimes called "wet Texas". Zooming across the state from west to east, it is easy to see why. What a difference from one side to the other!

Yesterday we drove from Kerrville, through Fredericksburg and the Hill Country, then east to tiny Lovelady, TX, to visit our friends Jackie and Buddy Bartee.

Recent rains had left streams muddy and swollen, with standing water in pastures and deep tire ruts near the gates at the ends of the long ranch driveways.

Most of the famous Texas wildflowers have not bloomed yet but, as we got closer to Lovelady, the grass grew long and green, blanketed with mustard. We didn't know the names of all the cattle we passed - light gray ones, rust colored ones, black with a white "blanket" around their middles, and classic Texas Longhorns. A pretty drive, but LONG, and we were happy to arrive in Lovelady around 5 pm.

Check out our site!

We are parked on a driveway spur in front of Buddy's and Jackie's "house". We met the Bartees in Colorado two summers ago, as they were traveling in the motorhome you see peeking out of the barn here. Over the couse of the 4th of July weekend, we became friends and we put Lovelady on our list of "Places We Want To Visit Someday"... and today is the day.

We arrived at 5 pm, and an hour later we were sitting in the... barn? ... house? ... eating our fill of steak, sausage, garlic bread, baked potatoes... delicious!

When home, the Bartees ease their big motorhome into the barn, essentially a huge room with rollup doors on both sides, a bathroom/kitchen, big screen TV, lots of storage... there they live between travels. When it is time to go, the barn doors come down securely and they motor on down the driveway. This seems to me to be a great solution for anyone who wants a home base without undue worries about "home" while they are off traveling. This has been Bartee family property for years (and years and years), and the Bartees plan to build a home here one day - maybe. Probably.

1 comment:

  1. Oh, how BEAUTIFUL!!! Isn't it just AMAZING what rain can do!!!!!

    ReplyDelete