Thursday, March 13, 2003                       Botines, TX to Seguin, TX

I awoke around 6 AM after four hours of sleep. Thursday morning was gray. I drove northwest  through Eagle Pass to Del Rio in order to collect a few more border counties.

I loved the slogan for Eagle Pass: " Where Yee-Hah Meets Olé."

Between Eagle Pass and Del Rio, I saw this herd of goats.

From Del Rio, I headed back east toward Texas Hill Country. There were a lot of Border Patrol vehicles on Ranch Road 674 some fifty miles from the border. In fact, they had their own dirt roads parallel to the highway. By the time I reached Rocksprings, the sun was shining. I parked near the Edwards County Courthouse and looked through my books for a nearby ride. I found a route in 25 Bicycle Tours in the Texas Hill Country and West Texas  that began about an hour away in Leakey (pronounced LAY-key). Since it was already afternoon, I couldn't do the entire ride that day, but it sounded like I could hit the best part in an out-and-back ride along the West Frio River.

This was the Edwards County Courthouse in Rocksprings.

Like many old courthouses, this one had a matching jail.

I headed down SR 55 toward Leakey. There was a picnic area along the way (very common in Texas), so I stopped there to change into my cycling clothes. At Camp Wood, I turned onto  FM 337. There were steep hills, blind curves and several groups of bicyclists.  While it would have been a fun road to ride, the poor visibility would have made me feel vulnerable. I hoped that the road I was planning to ride would have less traffic.

Click here for the West Frio River Ride

My original plan was to stay in Texas Hill Country for a few days, and I could have used a good night's sleep. Instead, my wanderlust (or was it countylust?) got the best of me and I drove another 250 miles. After reaching Yoakum (Lavaca County), I backtracked to Seguin, where I checked into a Super 8 around 11 PM.

Artist of the Day: Lyle Lovett - Although I haven't enjoyed his recent work  as much, I thought his first four albums were great. Lovett started as a country artist, but he has woven many other genres into his music since, including big band, folk, blues, jazz  and gospel.  When Lovett  toured with his Large Band, I went to see him at the beautiful Rialto Theatre in Joliet, IL. There I bought one of my favorite concert T-shirts, based on his wistful " If I Had A Boat" :

And if I had a boat
I'd go out on the ocean
And if I had a pony
I'd ride him on my boat
And we could all together
Go out on the ocean
Me upon my pony on my boat

My Lyle Lovett shirt is now part of a T-shirt quilt.

Honorable Mentions: Steve Miller - Although he formed the Steve Miller Band in San Francisco, Miller grew up in Texas, as did his  former bandmate Boz Scaggs. Miller  is famous for a string of big hits in the seventies including  " The Joker," " Rock'n Me," " Fly Like An Eagle" and " Jet Airliner." For another side of his music,  check out his earlier, more bluesy and psychedelic albums. While Anthology is a fine overview,  Sailor is a forgotten  masterpiece.

Return to Texas 2003: Day By Day

  Copyright © 2002-2013 David Johnsen. All rights reserved.