South By Southwest

I kept heading southwest until I finally reached Austin, where as usual, I immediately got lost. I don't understand how I can travel to almost anywhere in the country, almost without a map, but the minute I hit Austin I lose all sense of direction. I think it has something to do with the fact that not a single street or road in Austin goes in a straight line and there are no visible landmarks to help with orientation. (Or maybe it has something to do with aliens and magnetic fields and local plots to keep Austin weird.)

My stay with Kate and Dale was short and sweet. Just long enough to spend some time downtown. I breakfasted at the Crepe Trailer, visited the candy store and the farmer's market and enjoyed Dale's good grilling. I had to clear out of the guest room before Dale's dad, visiting from Michigan, moved in that evening.

From Austin, I headed south again, to Seminole Canyon State Park, west of Del Rio, Texas. Seminole Canyon has some real interesting petroglyphs, but you can only see them with a guide. In the past, every time I've been here, there were no guided tours scheduled. Happily, this time there was a tour and I immediately signed up. In the morning, not to my great surprise, it was cancelled because the trails were too slick. If I were a paranoid person, I might think there was some kind of plot against me, maybe planned by the same people who designed the roads in Austin.

So, I headed on to Big Bend National Park, but, on the way I had to make one more stop. Have you heard of the saying, "No Law West Of The Pecos"? It was always just some line from a western movie to me until I met the Pecos High Bridge. Just west from Seminole Canyon, over the Pecos River, at 273 feet, it's the tallest highway bridge in Texas. There's something about bridges and water which really attract me, maybe because I'm a Michigander. Michigan's all about bridges and water.

Crossing the Pecos High Bridge is like walking into a surprise party. You're just traveling down the road through the desert and suddenly, around a curve and over a hill, is a big beautiful bridge spanning tall, rugged cliffs and a powerful, vibrant river far below. Each time I've crossed the river it's a different color depending upon the color of the sky. This time the sky had a troubled look to it and the water was a cloudy green jade. Of course I had to stop at the overlook to take pictures. I crossed over the bridge three times, much to the amusement, or possibly displeasure of the road crew working on the bridge.