Nashville.

I finally got those shots done from Nashville. If you want to see them all, go to the FlickR site here. Otherwise, here are some of the better ones.



This is me, grading tests in my room at the hotel Friday night. Yea, I know. But I had stuff to do.



Of course, I was assisted in me work by a few tall glasses of George and Diet Coke. You ever wonder if your teachers get loaded before they graded your stuff in school? Well, yep. Whatever works baby.



This is my buddy Mushy, taking a shot of the long line we found when we walked up to the fairgrounds, with lots of folks wanting to pay to get into the regular gun show Saturday morning. We chose to avoid this line and went into the Civil War show first. There wasn't any line there.



As you can see here, the Civil War show was HUGE. We were both amazed. And this is just a shot of one of three showrooms.



There were lots of reenactors around in their period gear. I love it, seein' these folks glorying in their love of our history, and/or their heritage. Makes me want to join up, but I ain't there yet. Maybe some day.



I loved seein' all this Native American stuff too. It was a surprise, and I really enjoyed seein' it.



Check out that war club on the left, with the spike jutting out of the ball. It's like an eagle talon holding a rock. Cool, eh?



Lots of cool stuff on sale, including original uniforms and other artifacts.



After walkin' through the show for a few hours, we got back in Mushy's truck and he drove us up to town and we looked for somewhere to get a beer and a meal. He's always tryin' to plug in an address into his GPS, which is built in to his fancy "King Ranch". Accept for a few u-turns in the projects, and a short stint up the wrong way on a one way street, we did just fine.



We ended up choosing Bailey's Sports Bar, just down the way from the Ryman.



They guided us up to the second floor. It was great. They brought us two tall mugs of Yuengling and we ordered lunch.



It was great stuff... Some sort of chicken tenders, slathered in a sweet and mildly spicy sauce, over apple slices and greens (Check Mushy's post for all the details of everything... He's got the time to look it all up). It was all great! The chips and queso were even decent.



Being two camera geeks, we both got the waitress to take our pictures, with both of our cameras. She did a damn good job too. The one you see over at Mushy's place was taken just after we sat down. This one was after we'd killed one round and seriously wounded another. Notice the more "relaxed" poses. That's two good pals there, and we were havin' a wonderful time. Real quality time.



Four beers and lunch later, we walked around, checkin' out the bar and cigar lounge, and then headed out onto the street. We wandered over to the Ernest Tubb record store, which turned out to be filled with country music (Duh, slapping head with palm). Who'd a thunk it? It was cool anyway.



After that we headed back over to the fairgrounds and walked through the conventional gun show. The lines were gone by then, but the place was still full. Both Mushy and I fingered a few things, and I spent $10 on a pistol grip for an AK. Ya can't have too many of those, right?



Later on I got this picture, showing both our hands, stamped with the mark that a lot of liberals would dearly love to erase. I've been goin' to gun show ever since I was in high school, and I'd sure miss them if the upcoming regime gets it's way and makes them impossible to hold.

Later, we went back to my room at the hotel to relax. Mushy busted out the Chivas Regal and we watched the first half of the Alabama - Florida game. Eventually we decided to find a sports bar somewhere where we could watch the game, drink another Yuengling and smoke a cigar. The place we found turned out to be very nice, all but for one drunk who kept thinking that he needed to sit and talk to us.



The place was really nice. The fact that Mushy and I were just about the only White folks there kinda had him weirded out, but the folks there were very welcoming. Each time the drunk drifted by I could see that other folks were ashamed of him, and feeling sorry for him. They quietly assured us that he was OK. But we knew that.



The next morning Denise drove down from Kentucky and the three of us went off in search of a Cracker Barrel. This was where Mushy's GPS really came in handy. The food was great, as usual. We said our goodbyes in the parking lot, with me giving my big brutha a good hug, and then Denise and I headed West for home.



On the way to Nashville Friday afternoon, about 50 miles West of Memphis, we'd found a stray dog living at a rest stop. The attendant told us that the dog had been there for about 6 weeks and that she was being fed by just about everyone who drove through. We decided then to try and stop by there again on the way home and bring what Denise called "proper food".



When we stopped there again on the way back, sure enough, the dog was still there. Her name is "Sugar". Some guy who goes through there regularly named her, and wants to catch her, but she won't let anyone near, unless the have food in their hand. She ate ham from Denise's hand once or twice. We sure hope someone gives her a nice home.



The con trails in the sky were cool to watch, as we sped home on I-40, just east of Little Rock. You see a mix of old ones, drifting off in the wind, and a new one there at the bottom. The sunset really made them look cool.



We stopped there at a Ruby Tuesday's for dinner, and to watch the rest of the Cowboy game. I got in there and two shitty things happened. I found out I was in a dry county and had to settle for diet coke, and the fuckin' Cowboys figured out how to lose the game to Pittsburgh.

We ended up gettin' home by 1;30, and were snuggled up in bed by 2. It was a great trip, but we probably won't do it again for a while. At least until next December, when the next Civil War show goes down. Cheers!

Guess why this had to be animated.

That's right. No real film footage of French soldiers in combat could be found.

Chillin', literally, in Music City.

Denise and I had a great time on our little road trip last weekend. We got back at 1:30 this morning and were in bed by 2. At one point I looked at her and said "Did we just do that (meaning a drive that put over 2000 miles on her car in a little over three days). She smiled, and we both agreed it was worth it.

I haven't had time to work on my pictures yet. No tellin' when that'll be. But if you want to check out my buddy Mushy's shots, and his recap of our side of the trip, go to his blog and check it out. He probably got home by noon Sunday and then had all day to work on his shots and get a post up. Check it out. It's a great read.

So, let's begin at the beginning.

Denise and I left home at about 10PM Thursday night, after I finished giving a test on base. The plan had been to leave a bit earlier, drive through to Nashville and get there by noon on Friday, but I'd taken longer to finish my school stuff than I though I would. So facing a long night, we talked one another into stopping at about 3:15 AM in Texarkana.

We got up at 9:30 at the la Quinta and drove around to the office just in time to see some lady handcuffed and taken off by the fuzz. Maybe she didn't like the cheap assed complementary breakfast they offered. Nothing like a little excitement to start your day.

We headed East on I-30 until we saw a Cracker Barrel where we could have breakfast. It was cold out (we were used to 70s in the day time and maybe 40s or 50s at night, but it was in the 20s that morning), so the glow from the huge friggin' fireplace at the Cracker Barrel was really nice. I told Denise, If we ever build a house I'm gonna make sure it's got a huge fireplace like that.

After Breakfast we headed east again. For whatever reason, whether it was the huge load of Chinese food I stuffed myself on Thursday afternoon, or something at the Cracker Barrel, as we drove on through Arkansas and Western Tennessee I came down with a case of the trots. And were not talkin' a little discomfort here. Were talkin "Oh shit, I need to find a crapper NOW", kind of stuff. We must have stopped 4 or 5 times. It was very tedious.

On one such stop, West of Memphis, we drove into a rest stop and found a stray dog that had wandered up there weeks earlier. We asked the attendant and he said that it had wandered up, skin and bones, about six weeks earlier. He said that folks, passers by, had been feeding it, and that it had fattened up, but that it wouldn't let anyone close enough to get a hand on it.

Denise was very upset to think that someone would drop off a dog like that, but I'd bet the friggin' thing gets fed twelve times a day. We gave it ham and cheese forom what was left of our sandwiches. We decided to stop on the way back Sunday with some good dog food ("proper food", as Denise would say), and see if the pooch was still there.

We drove into Nashville and found my hotel on the South side by about 7PM. Denise left me there and drove on to Kentucky, where her kids and grand kids live. I was concerned for her, but she'd slept a bit on the drive up and knows that part of the country really well. She got to her kids place, about 2 1/2 hours North, and spent Friday night there with her grand kids while their mom took a physical up in Ohio at Wright Pat. She's going into the Air Force to be a nurse on a flying hospital. She's already a nurse, so she'll be going in as a 2nd Lieutenant.

Meanwhile, I called my buddies, who were already going through that Civil War Gun Show (they got special badges to allow them to wander the place as the tables were being set up). They drove up to get me and we went to a Piccadilly's Cafeteria just down the road for dinner. Turned out to be half assed food, but it filled a spot.

They took me back to my hotel and I settled in for the night. I talked to both Denise and Mushy that night, makin' sure she was Ok and seein' when he was gonna be arrivin' Saturday. I got out of my clothes, turned on the TV and relaxed. I started drinkin', and then decided to try to get some exams graded. I think, about two tall glasses later, I got one set of exams done before it was time to shut it all down.

My alarm went off at 9am, and a few minutes later Mushy called. By the time I got down there he was checking in. We took his stuff to his room and then hit the complementary breakfast.

OK, that's enough for now. The library is about to close on me. Maybe by Wednesday I'll have some pictures to show you and we'll finish this story. Or again, just go over to Mushy's site and read his version. He tells it like it was. I'll get mine done eventually. Until then, cheers.

Headin' to Nashville tonight.

Denise and I are driving her car to Nashville tonight, loaded with stuff for her daughter. Her eldest daughter is getting divorced and has had to leave her house with the two boys and needs lots of stuff, so we're gonna take her a load of household items. Of course, Denise wants to see her kid, and her grand kids, and let them know she's there to help. It tears her up to be here in Texas while this stuff is goin' on in Kentucky. You can imagine.

We'll leave late tomorrow night after I give a test and then drive all night, like we did last August on that last road trip. We left here at 9PM then, drove all night and got to Memphis by the time the sun came up, so we should easily be in Nashville by noon on Friday. We might drive till some time like one in the morning and get a room somewhere. There's no real urgency, since I can't get into my room Friday till 2PM.

Denise will take the wheel then, leave me there at the Holiday Inn Express on the south side and drive on about another hour North to her kids in Kentucky. I'll drive all night while she sleeps, so she'll be OK on the road. No worries. She lived up there for over twenty years, so she knows her way around.

My friend Dave and his reenactor buddies, the Civil War nuts, are gonna drive to Little Rock Thursday and spend the night, then drive to Nashville Friday. They're gonna pay a big fee to get into this huge (he tells me) Civil War Gun Show early, dealers badges or somethin', and they'll wander the show Friday night while the tables are being set up. Then they'll spend all day, and I do mean ALL DAY Saturday wanderin' around the place, arguin' about whether the buttons on a coat are correct, and shit like that. I've been down that road with them before, so I'm not interested in doin' that.

I figure I'll sleep some Friday afternoon, recover a bit, and then try to talk them into hittin' the town in the evening. I've looked online and there are Blues places with live bands all over, including a B.B. King place (He's playin' there next week, by the way - too bad it's not on this Friday or Saturday!). We'll find somethin' to do, somewhere. There's gotta be some place the in town that has Yuengling on tap and that'll let me smoke a cigar while I eat a good meal and listen to music.

Saturday, my buddy Mushy is supposed to drive West from Harriman and join me. He and I are gonna hook up and go to a that Gun Show. It's an annual thing there, on the South side of town at the State Fair grounds, so it should be easy for us to find. As I said, it's all Civil War stuff, which should be cool, but my buddy Dave says there's supposed to be another gun show next door that has more modern stuff. I figure each show should probably take an hour or two to walk through.

Anyway, after that, Mushy and I'll be looking for something else to do. Food to eat. A museum or somethin'. They have several there in town. Then we'll try to have a night of good music, food and fun. The two of us should be able to find somethin' fun to do in "Music City". He's reserved himself a room there in the same hotel as me, so when Denise and I hook back up again Sunday morning, when she drives back down from Kentucky, the three of us will go out and find a Cracker Barrel, or somewhere good where we can have a big breakfast. He and I will say our goodbyes then and head off in different directions towards home. I love that man to death, so it will have been great to have been able to hang out with him again, even if it's just for a short time.

My other buddies are gonna drive back to Little Rock Saturday night and take two days to get back to Gatesville, but Denise and I will take most of the day Sunday to drive home. We've both got Monday morning off, so we can both recover a bit after the day on the road. I won't have to be in San Saba till noon.

Anyway, it's nuts, granted, but I wanted to see this Gun Show that Dave's been tellin' me about for years, and I also wanted to try to get a chance to see my buddy Mushy again. It should all be fun.

You guys take care and we'll reconnect next week. Knowing Mushy and I, we'll probably both have lots of good pictures to share. Cheers!

Mom's birthday, and Thanksgiving.

Last Wednesday was Mom's 81st birthday! I told you about it back then, but I'm just now getting to post about it. Denise and I went over there in the evening, after Denise got off work ( got to sleep in and be lazy all day).



She had a hunger for Italian food and wanted to go to the Olive Garden, so that's what we did.



Thing is, Denise and I had gone to Fuddruckers for lunch (I went over to the college at about noon and picked her up), and she was still feelin' the effects of her burger. Both she and Mom ended up having only the salad and bread sticks for dinner, after a little combination appetizer. I on the other hand, was not gonna let that Buffalo, bacon-cheeseburger get in the way of enjoying a salad, bread sticks and pasta. I think I had the pasta with Chicken and Shrimp Carbonara.



It's a new thing they have... "Chicken and shrimp with bucatini pasta in a pancetta bacon and parmesan cream sauce, baked and topped with seasoned breadcrumbs". I'll have you know, it was GOOOOD!



After that we took Mom back home and she opened her presents. Denise got her a few of those cool glass plant watering globes. I've seen them around and they looked cool, and sure enough, Mom loves them. Denise did good.



I got mom one of those digital picture frames. It holds a hell of a lot of pictures. I downloaded a bunch of old shots and new ones to it before I gave it to her, and I think she had a great time watching them as they flashed across the screen. By the way, that shot you see there is of my sister and I in Bermuda, where I was born.

After all that, Denise and I headed home. But we planned to come back the next day for the big feed.



I had FTD send mom a centerpiece for her table, and it got there in time. She loved it.



By the time we got there, at about 3PM, Mom had the ham, dressing and everything else all laid out.



I LOVE Mom's dressing, and I prefer ham to Turkey. Mom asked us wait we wanted and we all decided to wait till Christmas to have the turkey. That's good vino there too, by the way. Denise got the bubbly, and also fixed a green bean casserole and mashed taters. I just showed up and ate it all (OK, I did cut the ham). That's my job (consuming mass quantities), and I'm damn good at it!



Mom made two pies for dessert; a Pecan and a Lemon Chess. you can see what I prefer.

After dinner we sat down to watch the Cowboys beat the Seahawks like step children, and I took a little nap in Denise's lap. It was a wonderful few days.

Well, the library is closing on me again, so I'm outta here. Later folks. Cheers!

Had a great weekend in Big "D".

Really, it turned out to be a wonderful time. We drove up Friday evening, leaving my house at about 4Pm. OK, there was a bit of drama just before we left, but aside from that, everything went off smoothly.

I'd had the concert tickets in my briefcase for a few months, ever since I used a color printer at work to print them off (my own printer is hosed up... Long story). I knew they were there, but for some reason I couldn't find them the first three or four times I looked on Friday. I got pissed off at myself, and in the stress of the moment I conjuring up all sorts of false memories of maybe putting them somewhere else. Then I looked in the briefcase one more time and there they were. By that time Denise was just about ready to shoot me, as you can imagine. But hell, they were just where I though they were all the time. No problems, eh?

We got to Dallas and checked into the Hyatt and found the place overrun, as usual, by foreign tourists. I think they had some sort of conference going on and a few weddings too. We ended up on the 14th floor, back by the Northeast wall of the building, with windows looking out on down town. We couldn't see much of the view though, because it was already pitch black outside even though it was only about 6:15. They hadn't even turned on the lights of down town yet when we drove up. It was like the place was dead. They must have them set on a timer.

Anyway, Denise freshened up and changed clothes wile I surfed the TV channels. Finally, at about 7:15, we headed over to the House of Blues, which is just off the highway, on the other side of the West End Marketplace from the hotel. It's within walking distance from the hotel, but it was too friggin' chilly to bother, so I drove us over. We ended up payin' $10 to park, but it was handy and easy to get to and from the place. No big deal.



The concert was supposed to start at 8PM, but the lead-up group, Electric Touch, didn't materialize till almost 9. They turned out to be a mostly forgettable pop band, though they showed great skill with their music. It just didn't seem to have much depth. They looked like they'd spent as much or more time getting dressed for the gig and getting their rock star posing down as they'd spent on the music. Give them time to grow up and they might just turn into something. Who knows?



The real show started when the curtains opened at almost 10PM and the Arc Angels took the stage. These guys are an amazing group. They put out one great record in the early 1990s and then broke up, supposedly because of the guy on the left there, Doyle Bramhall II, who was a huge junky then. He and the rest of the group all went their separate ways then, with the rhythm section, Double Trouble, playing gigs with everyone who runs through Austin at one time or another, and the guy on the right, Charlie Sexton, putting out solo stuff and laying gigs with the likes of Bob Dylan.



Ol' Doyle cleaned himself up, put out his own solo stuff and even toured eventually with Roger Waters and Eric Clapton. He's an amazing guitar player, as is Sexton, both having been influenced by numerous Austin Blues giants, including Stevie Ray Vaughan (Double Trouble played with him till his death). So I was really looking forward to hearing some wonderful sounds. They didn't disappoint! For a full review of the gig, and to save me from having to cut and paste, go here and read the review I posted for a blog called the "Smoke-filled Backroom". While you're there, check out some of the other posts that've been put up. It's a cool place, and I'm proud to be one of their contributors.



Saturday morning, late, with my ears still buzzing a little, we rolled out of the sack and got out of the room just in time to make the noon deadline.



I took the time to take a few shots of the scenery out the 14th floor window. That's the train station there on the right. I always love this view, but it can be deceiving. It makes Dallas look small, when in fact the city sprawls out beyond this panorama as far as the eye can see. I took Denise on a drive through some of that scenery, taking her east out through "Deep Ellum", and almost to fair Park.

Then we turned back North and we ended up over on Central Expressway. We found a Denny's over by SMU and both chose the "Moons Over My Hammy" for brunch. I had a few tall glasses of milk and she had coffee. The food was wonderful. Then I drove Denise back down Mockingbird and she spent a while going through the Stein Mart, looking for goodies. After that we headed over to Market Hall. That's when I got to check out the goodies!

A friend of mine had arrived at the huge market Hall gun show as soon as the thing opened, and had been texting and calling me, telling me how packed it was. According to him there was a mile long line just to get into the place. Well, but the time we got there at around 2:30, the line was gone, but the place sure was packed, and the prices were out the roof. The post-election panic has set in, and the prices for Kalashnikov rifles has gone up $300 to $500! I was amazed, even though I'd had people telling me about it for three weeks.

Thing is, I really don't need another AK, but ever since the election, with the Democratic Party majority, and the inevitable liberal war on gun owners just around the corner, I've got several friends who've discovered a need for one of these toys. A few folks, seeing the price increases, have even asked me if I'd sell them one of mine. "Hell no!" I tell them. I don't buy guns to sell them. I buy then to keep them.

So I was just walking around, checking out the market, looking things over for other folks. I found one rifle, normally priced at $350 to $500, which the owner had bumped up to $599. Then I saw all the others... Guns that normally go for $400 to $500, but now have prices like $800 or $1200 on them. Amazing!

I'd walked in looking for a gun safe for myself, but after paying the bills on Friday it turned out there wasn't enough left in the stack for the one I wanted. It'll wait. In the end, as I walked down the last isle, I ended up plunking down $125 for a Polish butt stock! It'll go on a Polish AK-47 I have, completing the rifle and making it really authentic. As is, my gun doesn't have the metal parts on the butt that are used to attach the rubber buffer that's used when you launch rifle grenades. I have the rifle grenade launcher and the sight, and the rubber bumper, but the rifle didn't come with the metal parts attached to fit the bumper. Now it'll have them.

So, we drove away, me being happy as hell with my purchase, and Denise amazed at all the stuff we crazy Yanks still have the right to own. We drove west to Ft. Worth and spent some time with a good friend of mine, Jim Aycock. We've been best friends ever since we met on a canoe trip in the late 1980s. He was in town for Thanksgiving, so we took the opportunity to catch up.

After that, Denise and I drove home. We got home around 11:30.

Well, the library is closing on me, so that;'s gonna have to be it. Later folks. I'll post something later in the week and tell you how Thanksgiving went. Cheers!

Friday stuff.

We went to Pedernales Falls again last weekend. I had the chance to get all the pictures done. They're uploaded to FlickR, so click over there and you can see them all.



This is a shot of the path that leads you to an overlook. You can see the whole falls from there, stretched out in a beautiful panorama.



Here's that view. Click on it to see the larger view. I think I merged about 5 or 6 pictures to get this one.

We got down there by about 8PM last Friday, paid our fee to camp and joined my friends who had been there for hours already. They only had to drive over from Austin, maybe 45 minutes away.

We got our tent and camp set up, cooked dinner, which consisted of pork chops and baked potatoes. Meanwhile, both of us were enjoying a few adult beverages. Denise was drinking Seagram's and &-UP, and I was drinking George Dickel and Diet Coke. I think we both had three tall glasses. Bein' a light weight, by the time we hit the sack, I was just a leeeetle...



Intoxicated... Fucked up.... Very happy! I think I was putting more whiskey in those Cokes than I should have. I can't speak for the little woman. She's got more stamina than I have when it comes to these things. Anyway, I had that really nice, warm, fuzzy feelin' goin' on. It's the same feeling I get sometimes, when I know I need to hand her the car keys. Seein' as how we were campin' though, and all I had to do was find the tent, I figured "what the hell". Yea, I'm a light weight. Easy. She gets me drunk and has her way with me often, but I'm NOT complaining.

The weather was cold that evening, but we do this camping thing up right, so we were very comfortable. We sleep on an air bed, with a goose down duvet covered with fitted sheets, and we have a down comforter to snuggle under. It was cozy as hell, and after filling my gut with good food and downing all that booze, I slept like a log. Denise did too. I think we laid around till almost 1PM Saturday. It was wonderful.



By Sunday, the temperatures had begun to warm up into the low 70s, so when we walked down to the river, it felt great to go wading on the low-water bridge there. I got a little video of the scene. There's no audio with this camera, but you can see the scene.



Today, Denise and I are heading up to Dallas. We have a room at the Hyatt, and two tickets to see the Arc Angels at the House Of Blues tonight at 8PM. Click over here to read about all that. I'm really lookin' forward to it. I'll try to take some good pictures and tell you all about it next week.

Saturday, we'll be sleeping in and then heading to Market Hall to attend the huge Gun Show there. My plan is to get myself a big, nice gun safe. I've got some other friends who'll be there too, so It should be fun.

After that we'll be heading over to Ft. Worth and visiting my buddy Jim and his wife Terry. He's gonna help me install the satellite radio receiver Denise got me for my birthday. We haven't seen him since our road trip last August, so it'll be good to hook up again.

Aside from all of that, we've had a great week, celebrating Mom's 81st birthday Wednesday and then going over there for Thanksgiving dinner yesterday. Mom had a great birthday, and we all had a great time yesterday. I'll be able to show you the pictures some time next week.

Finally, lets all say a prayer for those poor folks in India. What an amazing, and still unfolding tragedy that is. God bless the victims, and burn the bastards who did it.

So, you guys try to have a great weekend, and we'll talk again later. Cheers!

Happy Turkey Day!

Do what ya gotta do to live through it. I'll eat enough for all of ya. Cheers!

That's my mom there, in the middle.

That's her family, sisters and friends, sitting in front of the only house I ever really thought of as home. Her folks, standing there in the background, were the only grandparents I ever knew. That place is gone now, as are all but one of the people in this picture.



Mom has always loved a good time. Here's a crop from a larger picture, WW2 era, showing her in a beefcake pose. I love it! Skinny as hell, from hard work and good, natural food, cooked by my grandmother.



This is us, about 1962, taken at our place in Bermuda, where I was born. We've been close for a LONG time. 48 years. I admit it freely. I'm just a big mamma's boy.



I love this shot. My cousin Bob, who's 13 years older than me, tells people my mom was hot as hell back in the day, like Elizabeth Taylor. I love to hear him say that. I know I learned to love big breasted women partly from watching my mom walk down stairs. She and dad made a good pair, and built a good life together.

Of course, it wasn't all sweetness and light. Draggin' your kids across the world, one move after another, there was a lot of strain and conflict. It wasn't the life she was expecting, growing up on a farm in central Texas. But she and dad made a great life for themselves, and opened up a huge world for their kids, way beyond central Texas.



Today is mom's 81st birthday! Denise and I are gonna go over later and take her out to eat. She's chosen the OG, so that's what it'll be. We'll go to her place after and give her the presents we've bought, and she's promised to fix us some drinks. She'll tell us we shouldn't have spent the money on the presents, but that's the routine. I look forward to it. You know I love her to death. She's my rock.

Finally those shots from Lost Maples.

First off, I want to thank everyone for the nice words and advise after the last few posts. It really means a lot, having such nice folks in my corner. I had a weak moment there, when a lot of self doubt, regret and fear bubbled up out of me. I happens now and then, when I think of all the years that I've wasted trying to be someone else's' idea of a good boy, or just letting the fears of others keep me from doing what everyone else was doing.

I guess I'm wired from my raising to experience a ridiculous level of self doubt, but I'm tryin' to learn to trust myself and not listen to those voices any more than I need to. It's hard to fight against almost 50 years of trainin' sometimes, but it helps to have friends who can snap me out of it when I succumb. So thanks again. It really means a lot.

Anyway, you guys remember me sayin', about two weeks ago, that Denise and I were gonna take a friend of hers to Lost Maples State Natural Area over the weekend? Well, finally, after two weeks, I've managed to find the time, one or two shots here and there, to get these pictures fixed and posted.

As usual, I've chosen a few to show you here, but you can just go over to FlickR and see all of them there. There's about 40 there in all. I hope you enjoy them.

It turned out that the weekend we headed down there was the peak weekend for the color, but the lack of rain this year has supposedly reduced the total amount of color, so the trip to Lost Maples turned out to be somewhat anticlimactic. It turned out that the drive to the park was just as beautiful as the park itself.

On the way to the park, driving West from Kerville, we ran across this huge ranch, with Buffalo and Longhorns grazing in separate fields. Buffalo are something of a strange sight around here, though Texas used to be running over with them. You see them, a few at a time, here and there, but these folks have apparently started their own herd.

Longhorns are less rare, but they're still a special sight to behold. Notice the sprinkling of color in the hills behind the ranch. Beautiful, and very illustrative of the larger picture around here. Lots of green Ceder and Live Oaks, with a few other trees mixed in to provide the color. This is the kind of picture you see driving up any of the western, North/South arteries, like 183 and 281.

To me, and many other Texans, there's nothing else that speaks to the rich, cinematic history of our State like these critters do. Supposedly a mix of early long horned Spanish cattle and English cows that were brought into the state by Anglo settlers in the 1820s, the Texas Longhorn not only symbolizes the rich history of the cattle business in Texas (which began in the 1700s), but also the rich, mixed ethnic heritage of the land as well.

Once we got into the park, which took forever, I ran off with the camera to try to get some good shots before the sun went down behind the hills. I ran off along the trail that takes you up the Sabinal River. It's a beautiful trail, and makes me want to come back some time and camp, so I can take my time to explore the place.

There's a river trail to follow, as well as other trails that campers and hikers use to wander all over the park. We didn't have that sort of time though, so I went off on my own and tried to get whatever shots I could.

These beautiful sights are to be found along the river bed, where the trees get tall and bloom into a mix of wonderful colors. there are cliffs there, and the river is very shallow. You can imagine the early Indians living here, growing corn, fishing in the river and hinting deer and Buffalo as they came in to get water.

If this place is like Enchanted Rock, then there are lots of remains of early people around here, like places where that ground their corn, but the park service keeps the information about those locations secret to prevent desecration.

After I took a bunch of pictures and we'd basically seen what we'd come to see, we drove off, back up North/East towards Kerville, stopping at a big Mexican food joint there in town for dinner. It Was good food.

We got back to Killeen late, and everyone was tired. I'm pretty sure that if I'd told Denise how long a drive it would be before we set off we never would have made the trip. We would have gone to some place like Fredericksburg in stead. Still, I think she enjoyed it. Next time we'll get a camp sight and spend a few nights there. That'll make the whole thing seem less tiring. And I'll get more cool pictures, from more angles.

Well, the library here is gonna close on me pretty soon. I hope everyone has a great Thanksgiving. Mom and Denise are both cooking, so you know I'll be having a great time. Mom will celebrate her 81st birthday Wednesday, so we'll take her out to eat somewhere and unload a bunch of presents on her. I'll have most of the week off, so chances are I'll have time to get the pictures done from this past weekend at Pedernales Falls. No guarantees though. Anyway, you guys take care. Cheers!