Fall 2018, Day 37 - visit Texas Museums

Sunday, Sept. 30, 2018 - visit Texas Museums = 563 miles driving:


Left the Ranch/road at 8:10



Arrived at the "Texas Ranger Hall of Fame and Museum" in Waco, Texas at 11 AM:



Um, I don't know what I was expecting, but they have A LOT OF GUNS:





Two hours later I was down at the Blanton Museum of Art at the University of Texas in Austin:



The beauties they had on display include:


Albert Bierstadt - "Indian Canoe", circa 1886:

Thomas Moran - "The Golden Hour", 1875:

Alfred Jacob Miller - "Wind River Mountain Range Scene", circa 1858-74


The display spaces are very nice:

but I am definitely worried about some of the art:

Jo Baer - "Horizontals Tiered", 1966

I don't care what they write - "At first glance, Horizontals Tiered may appear as two empty canvases. But as she wrote ..."

They ACTUALLY ARE TWO EMPTY CANVASES!!!!

I continued south on I-35 down to San Antonio:




Albert Bierstadt - "Passing Storm over the Sierra Nevadas", 1870:

Asher B. Durand - "Haystack Mountain, Vermont", 1852



I had a nice walk around the River Walk:




and saw The Alamo on my way out of town:


On I-10 East the weather threatened:

It Rained, but then we got the rainbows:





Checked into Humble, Texas a little after 8 PM:


Thank you God for ART and ALL THESE WONDERFUL ADVENTURES!

Driving Music:

Lyle Lovett - I Love Everybody, 1994


William Gibson - Count Zero (Chapters 1 through 5), 1986 (his second book)


"In Heathrow, a vast chunk of memory detached itself from a blank bowl of airport sky and fell on him."

Stevie Ray Vaughan - Live At Montreux 1982 & 1985 (2 cds), 1982/1985


Stevie Ray Vaughan & Double Trouble - Greatest Hits (Stevie Ray Vaughan), 2001


lyrics: "Texas Flood"

Well there's floodin' down in Texas
All of the telephone lines are down
Well there's floodin' down in Texas
All of the telephone lines are down
And I've been tryin' to call my baby
Lord and I can't get a single sound

Stevie Ray Vaughan & Double Trouble - The Real Deal: Greatest Hits Vol. 2, 1999


Stevie Ray Vaughan & Double Trouble - The Sky Is Crying, 1991


Bob Dylan - Infidels, 1983

Fall 2018, Day 36 - drive through Texas

Saturday, Sept. 29, 2018 - drive through Texas = 332 miles driving:


I forgot to mention in yesterday's blog that the Super 8 in Fort Stockton, Texas HAS A POOL:


Now on to the New Day:


Of Course, what shape would the Super 8 in Texas use for its waffles???


I'm sorry - this is a 2-lane blacktop road. If you're going to make the Speed Limit = 75, why have any speed limit at all?:


Wait - have I been on this road before?



Crossed over the Pecos River:



The wildflowers alongside the highway sure are pretty:


Up in Abilene, I got a car wash, supporting "Kairos Prison Ministry":

The Car LOOKED GREAT!!



I went to The Grace Museum in Abilene, but none of their Permanent Collection was on display. I continued northeast, past Hundreds of Wind Turbines:


just out there, spinning away.

I then made it up to The Old Jail Art Center in Albany, Texas:


There was some miscellaneous modern art in The Jail, but then I saw paintings in the Permanent Collection!

Amedeo Modigliani - "Young Girl with Braids", 1918

Pierre-Auguste Renoir - "Nu Couche, vu de dos (Reclining Nude from Back)", c. 1893

Pierre-Auguste Renoir - "Woman with Hat", 1896

Thomas Hart Benton - "Fire in the Barnyard", 1944 lithograph

Well, I certainly wasn't expecting THAT!

As I left Albany, Texas, there was a couple of good old boys playing guitars on a flat-bed:


It was getting hot on my way to Peter and Mary's Ranch::

My joy in a clean car was short-lived - that's Peter's car I'm following on County Road 484:

Made it to the Ranch by 4:30

It was great seeing family (who are also friends!):

Peter took me on a nice walk (2/3 mile), to the pond, and around some of the land:

Watch Out for the Prickly Pear cactus!!!

As Peter said - "Watch Out - EVERYTHING out here wants to prick, poke or stab you."

Nice View from the Back Porch:
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and a Beautiful View at sunset:


Thank you God for ALL THESE WONDERFUL ADVENTURES! and for the Family and Friends that I can share them with!

and Hey, I kept on-track today - I didn't even stop at "Meteor Crater" in Odessa, Texas:


Blogging Music:

Cyrus Chestnut - The Dark Before the Dawn, 1995


Driving Music:

various artists - Billboard Top Rock 'n' Roll Hits - 1964, 1964

"Last Kiss" by J. Frank Wilson and the Cavaliers is actually the first song I ever remember hearing:

I'll never forget the sound that night
The screamin' tires, the bustin' glass
The painful scream that I heard last.

Also, It is Pretty Cool driving 75 mph on FM 1053 North listening to "Leader of the Pack".

various artists - Billboard Top Pop Hits: 1967, 1967

Don't worry - you'll get the lyrics to "Ode to Billie Joe" in another couple of days.

various artists - Billboard Top Hits 1982, 1982


and then since WE ARE IN TEXAS:

ZZ Top - Rancho Texicano: The Very Best Of ZZ Top, 2004


including such songs as "I'm Bad, I'm Nationwide", which seems appropriate for a guy on a cross-country trip!

various artists - A Taste Of Texas Music Vol. 1, 2008


The Electric Flag - Old Glory: The Best of Electric Flag, 1967


lyrics: "Texas"

I just got in from Texas babe
You didn't even know I was around
I just got in from Texas baby
You didn't even know I was around no no
And when you saw me on the streets woman
You looked at me like I was a Ringling Brothers clown yes you did ha

then, because he has a western tie on the cover,

Bruce Springsteen - Tunnel of Love, 1987


lyrics: "Cautious Man"

He got dressed in the moonlight and down to the highway he strode
When he got there he didn't find nothing but road