Twisty, Curvy Roads

Listen to this article read aloud: Your browser does not support the audio element. Wednesday, May 13, 2020 In the near distance, San Saba Peak dominates the landscape. The far distance fades away in rolling plains until it disappears into the lowering grey clouds. I slept like a log last night breathing the fresh smell of Texas. We are far enough from the miasma of Austin that the air still retains the same freshness that it must have possessed in 1732 when Don Juan Antonio Bustillo Y Cevallos gave the peak its name. It was a bit after 4 pm when we pulled off the road yesterday and decided that we would spend the night here. This place is one of those fast-disappearing roadside spots that the Texas Highway Department used to place along the highways so that travelers could stop and rest before resuming their journey. Evidently, someone in the department had an eye for beauty! When we arrived there was an older man sitting and readin...

Listen to this article read aloud: Your browser does not support the audio element. Saturday Morning, May 16, 2020 If there is a cloud in the sky this morning, I cannot see it. Yesterday afternoon we left camp around 4 pm and drove down into a deep canyon. A small trout stream runs through the canyon. Max and I had spent a couple of nights in this place when we explored the area last fall. Taken all together, the sparkling water of the Rio de las Pinos, the way that the verticle rock walls of the canyon channel the sunlight through the cottonwood and aspen trees, make this an amazing spot. After leaving the canyon, we drove 17 miles or so to Antonita, Colorado where we restocked some supplies. By this time it was dark. Driving in the darkness on the rough forest roads that lead back to our camp was not pleasant but we made it back to camp safely, slept well, and woke rested and hungry! Andy Blake is a superb camp cook! This morning a...