In Search of Texas Bluebonnets - 2011

In Search of Texas Bluebonnets - 2011

March 28 – Bill was born and raised in Texas but has never seen the wildflower called Bluebonnets. Janeen has wanted to experience the sights of hills overflowing with them and to have the opportunity to take photographs. Rita Kummer shared a picture book with us explaining the legend of the bluebonnets.

A tribe of Native Americans are praying for rain to save them from starvation. The chief elder goes up on a mountain to commune with the gods. The message to the people is that they have selfishly used up the land and animals and now must sacrifice the most prized possession. A young boy is quite sure his new bow is not the object wanted by the gods. An orphan girl, She-Who-Is-Alone, has a precious doll that she loves very much. It is the only thing left as a connection to her parents and grandparents who each had a part in making it. She makes a fire sacrifice of the doll and the result is hills covered with beautiful blue wildflowers, and then a purifying, soaking rain that saves the people. She is renamed The Girl Who Loved Her People Very Much.

Sad but Lovely, eh?

Our long-awaited trip to Texas in the 17' Casita Liberty trailer (http://www.casitatraveltrailers.com) has begun.We planned packing very carefully and now things are stowed, each in its place, either inside the Casita or inside the capped bed of the truck.

Some people have asked, “Does it really take that much truck to pull that little trailer?” The answer is, “No, but this truck is paid for!”

We stayed in Pleasant Hill through the morning in order to attend the book club's discussion of A Long and Happy Life by Reynolds Price. Since we are not “on vacation” and needing to fit in long distances in a short period of time, we leisurely drove 3 ½ hours to Montgomery Bell State Park about 30 miles west of Nashville for our first night. Our site is a back-in with a view of a creek out the back window.

We made our first discovery of “something left behind.” Only one walkie talkie is in the truck so Janeen used hand signals to aid the driver in his backing mission.

The Mutt and Jeff of dogs, Isabel (Snert) and Max, were great travelers as always. We have an added guest along. His name is Flat Stanley. His adventures will be reported to the first graders at Pleasant Hill Elementary School who hear stories from our friend Ms. Rita.

Here are some photo highlights of the day.

Driving past Nashville, TN

 Isabel's Favorite Riding Station

Max gets the whole back seat

To be continued...