Taking the road less traveled fom San Antonio to Dallas

While we enjoy our annual visits to Dallas we don't enjoy five hours of dodging trucks on I-35.  As a major route running 1500 miles from Mexico to Canada, I-35 is pretty busy most of the time so this year we avoided the traffic and headed to Dallas by way of US 281 through the beautiful Texas Hill Country.  This route was so much fun we returned along the same route a few days later even though it takes a bit longer.

It's a two-lane road much of the way with passing lanes on the hills so traffic moves along quite well.  We stopped a few places along the way, especially when checking out ranch gates like this one which is a favorite way to pass the time....



...and at other times I snapped photos out the window at full speed because there is no safe place to pull over.  This photo of native yuccas and wildflowers blooming on ranch land is an example of the latter.  Those fuzzy white spires behind the fence are all yucca blooms and this view went on for miles.

There are some interesting small towns along the way.  Hico (pronounced high-co) is an interesting ranch town about an hour southwest of Ft. Worth.

The Jersey Lilly is the place for lunch

It's always windy in north Texas where the plains begin.

Locals claim Billy the Kid escaped from Sheriff Pat Garrett and abandoned a life of crime to live out his retirement in their community.  So they have set up a museum.....

....and a statue. 

This is disputed of course because a few other places, like his home state of New Mexico, also lay claim to the life and times of Billy the Kid.

Plenty of nice details in the public spaces

Even the trash cans get the Texas treatment

There are some very nice shops, the sign on this one notes NY, LA, Hico!

Being a fan of The Homestead shop in Fredericksburg near San Antonio, I had to stop in and check out this location in the old opera house.

This shop within a shop at the Homestead displayed a dress and bicycle covered with vintage laces.  The dress is adorned with all manner of found objects including sunflower seedheads, antlers, and a wasp nest.

Fascinating details

The bicycle took about 200 hours of work according to the owner.

 

I enjoyed chatting with the owner of the shop who gave me her card.  Unfortunately I cannot find the card or any info about the shop online so I'll happily add the name here if someone knows.

We didn't avoid the trucks entirely and getting out of town was not without drama in the form of a very large truck and convoy.  After this rig headed our same direction up 281, we reprogrammed our route to take I-20 east into Ft. Worth and on to Dallas.  That's a lot of truck for a small town.  Look all the way left down to the cab at the traffic light to see the whole truck!

On the way back home we stopped south of Hico in Hamilton.  Queen B's was closed but seemed to be wide open for looking anyway.

Next door is Dig This!, a fun garden shop with great displays.  They carry a lot of plants well adapted to an arid climate. 

Loved the old tools on the pipe fence.

Windmills too.

Double-decker stock tank pond.

Everything except the kitchen sink on display.

Unless you count this wooden trough as the kitchen sink.  I haven't see many wooden water features, this one seems to be holding up well.

Well worth the extra half-hour drive to go this route.  That doesn't count stops and there is plenty to stop and see along the way.  We'll be sure to stop at different places next time.