Benini Sculpture Ranch

We went to "The Benini Galleries and Sculpture Ranch" today, in Johnson City. As in LBJ. It was an hour's drive west of Austin and well worth the drive. There was an art gallery with modern paintings and sculptures, but more interesting was the outdoor "Sculpture Ranch" with 150 (or so) sculptures spread around a large hillly ranch. Most of them were for sale, with prices ranging from $1000 - $100,000. We took pictures of a few.

Near the entrance, our approach was noticed by some imperturbable Texas longhorns.



There was a corresponding sculpture.



I called these two "Adam and Eve; Adam armed"



"The Dancers" are available for $8000 each.

The sculptures here were modern art, not classical art. That's good by me.

Some (about 15) of the exhibits moved in the wind. I recorded one:

MINI to the rescue

We received a phone call today -- our new car was ready for pick-up! It had 8 miles on the odometer; we had it made to order because all the pre-made ones at the dealers have many more options then we wanted. I managed to take one picture before the sun went down. The setting is outside our condo in Austin. It is offically a "2010 Mini Cooper S Hardtop," six-speed manual. It will be fun to drive, like the Z3 and the Integra are/were.

Big Bend National Park, Part 2

At the end of the Ross Maxwell Scenic Drive is the Santa Elana Canyon, where we went on a nice hike to, and then above, the Rio Grande. This is a very scenic canyon, and is featured as part of raft trips by several outfitters. We wanted to do this raft trip, but couldn't; they don't go when river levels are too low (which is usually the case?).

Picture 1 is Rose looking at the entrance to the canyon.

Picture 2 is taken where the river enters the canyon. And picture 3 is taken on the hiking path from a higher vantage point looking back at the river outside the canyon.

Later that day we went on the drive to Rio Grande Village, which ends at the Boquillas Canyon. While the hike to the canyon was not difficult, the temperature was 104 degrees. But of course that was a dry heat so not objectionable. Ha!

Picture 4 shows some knicknacks and walking sticks that were posted in several spots along the hiking path. Taking something and leaving money behind was supposed to help support poor Mexican children.

Although picture 5 doesn't do it justice, this was where, as we entered the canyon, an enchanting (though male) voice rang out from the Mexican side, singing Celito Lindo ("Aye, yea, yea; Gone now is sadness"). He was a good singer, and his voice carried well in the canyon. And sure enough, shortly on the path we encountered a jar and a sign: "Please contribute money to Victor, the Mexican singer."

Did I mention that it was 104 degrees and the river was all but dried up? Picture 6 shows Rose walking in the river bed, where I suppose there was once a river.

























Our last day, we encountered a Dutch couple who invited us to stay on the porch of their cottage to talk and watch the sunset. We did.

Although we don't have any associated pictures, our favorite hike within the park was the Lost Mine Trail, for those taking notes.

Big Bend National Park, Part 1

At the end of last week we spent three days in the Big Bend area of Texas; it's about 7 hours away from Austin. We stayed the first night near Marfa, TX, so we could spend some time viewing the Mysterious Marfa Lights in the sky. (Do a Google search if need be.) We saw them; they were mysterious, if not exactly overwhelming.

We then went to Big Bend Ranch State Park, which as adjacent to (and just west of) the National Park because it has (1) a long paved road alongside the Rio Grande, and (2) a hike into a slot canyon.

Here we had our first sighting of the fabled river:

As rivers go, it was pretty puny. Big canyon, but small river.

Rose and I like to hike in slot canyons. The state park system calls this one the "Closed Canyon," and it's easy to find, and hike into, from the main road along the river. It extends all the way to the Rio Grande, but we didn't go the entire distance because we came to a pool of water we considered unpassable. The tension we felt during the hike was heightened when we considered, "what will we do if we encounter undocumented workers who are coming up the canyon from the border?" Say "Hello?" Run for our lives? We never saw anyone else, documented or otherwise, so happily we didn't have to answer this question.

The first picture is of Rose at the entrance to the canyon.

The second picture is Dave farther within the canyon (i.e., closer to the Rio Grande and border).

When we got to the main lodge (office, restaurant, etc.) of the National Park, we discovered that the Model A Ford Club of Austin was also visiting. They had ten cars, of 1929-1931 vintage. These cars had trouble with overheating on the mountain roads and were often sighted on the side of the road rather than motoring upon it.

City of Goodwin

As we drove into Texas from Arkansas, we saw that the city of Goodwin was nearby, so we stopped for a couple of pictures: The Goodwin city sign and the Goodwin Church. Very small town. The green 1995 Jeep is still in this picture. But for us, it's almost out of the picture -- stay tuned.

Dale Watson

Only half-seriously, I say I moved to Austin for the honky-tonk music and barbeque. A favorite artist is Dale Watson. He and his band appeared near where we live recently; I caught the arrival of his bus in this picture. That's Dale driving and his steel guitar player riding shotgun. I'm guessing this is not the image Dale is trying to convey when he sings about being a "hard-driving trucking man."

On the move

Our house in Rockville, MD sold after only 2.5 weeks on the market. Perhaps it was underpriced. But we know we had a good realtor: Helen Griffiths.

We subsequently purchased two 2-bedroom condominiums; one in Austin and one in Roanoke. We moved our belongings into the Roanoke condo, but then drove to the Austin condo, where are now living. We'll stay here until it gets too hot (sometime in June?), then drive to Roanoke and live there for a few months.