Vertigo Strikes

Marble Falls, Texas

Weather: low 27 degrees, high 60 degrees, clear skies

Our first plan for the day was to drive over to Fredericksburg. After thinking about that plan for a few minutes, we decided to go east of Marble Falls on FM 1431. We had not been east of town yet, and wanted to keep the drive fairly short. Little did we know what we were going into.

We thought we had been driving in the hill country before today. Now, we can say we have been in The Hill Country. The road runs through some of the prettiest country we have seen, with hills that seem to go on forever. These hills are high and rugged, with steep climbs and sudden drops, sharp curves, and beautiful views. At times, we could catch glimpses of Lake Travis to the south. We can understand why people are so enamored with the area, and we are planning to spend some time here in the future.

The first little town we passed through was Smithwick, then Lago Vista, Jonestown, and then in to Cedar Park. Both Lago Vista and Jonestown seem to have had a lot of construction recently. There's only one problem with all of this new construction we saw: Most of it is standing vacant. Another sign of the weak economy? This area is probably popular with summer tourists, with all the access to the water and hills. Cedar Park, where we began our trip back home, is a suburb of Austin with a population of about 40,000 people. There didn't seem to be any sign that a recession was happening here.

Remember what I said about the steep climbs, sudden drops, and sharp curves? Bad news for Carolyn. About halfway across the hills to Cedar Park, she became nauseated when her vertigo reared it's ugly head. Unfortunately, there was not a place to pull over and let things settle down, so we drove on to Cedar Park, where we looked at the map and picked a route back home that was flatter.

We didn't get any pictures of the countryside today, but I have one to share from yesterday. Here's a picture of an old Farmall tractor that we saw. Now, I ask you: Is this a manly tractor, or a girly tractor? According to someone who knows, it still runs, and is started and driven several times a year.

Here's what a Farmall tractor painted the right color looks like. Quite a difference, isn't it? I like the old machinery that brings back memories of times that seemed simpler. I am going to have to go back to Burnet to look at the courthouse again. In the comments from yesterday's post, a reader rightly pointed out that I got the description of the courthouse wrong, so I will go look more closely. Pictures will be shared when I get them. This shows what happens when I look at something with a preconceived idea of what it is.




More later, be safe.

Today's Town - Jonestown, Texas: Gateway To The Hill Country

Not all who wander are lost.