No, not that Hillary!
But I know what you were thinking … in the midst of a crazed election cycle, you expected another dose of political blather. Well, not to worry for, like many, I have had it up to here with the current unceasing stream of extremist and partisan nonsense.
Instead, the Hillary referenced in the title is Sir Edmund Hillary and, more specifically, his immortal response when asked why he chose to scale Mount Everest in 1953: “Because it is there.” For Bonnie and me, these words help explain why we decided, several years ago, to visit all the counties in the state of Texas … and there are 254 of them. Yes, that’s right … 254 … and we did it because, well, they are there.
Since moving to Texas more than 35 years ago, we had traversed many of the state’s major highways and population areas. But with the more remote counties having eluded us, we decided to check them off … the Panhandle … the Rio Grande Valley … Deep East Texas … the Piney Woods … the Big Bend. Our quest, no doubt, would have made Don Quixote nod with approval, but we finally pulled it off.
Along the way we met some wonderful folks, enjoyed breathtaking scenery, and partook of excellent food … the pie in Dripping Springs … the steak in Amarillo … the wine in Del Rio and St. Jo … the barbecue in Llano. We also continued our love affair with Minor League baseball by taking in games with the El Paso Chihuahuas, the Big Bend Cowboys, the Amarillo Sod Poodles, the Midland Rockhounds, the Corpus Christi Hooks, the Frisco Roughriders and the Cleburne Railroaders.
As we rambled about the Lone Star State, we came to appreciate the genesis of the old saying: “The sun has riz, the sun has set, and here we is in Texas yet.” Throughout our journey, though, we remained inspired by Willie Nelson’s well-known song “On The Road Again” and, in particular, the way he describes his affection for travel: “… goin’ places that I’ve never been,” and “ … seein’ things that I may never see again.”
Willie’s joy in travel (and ours) is captured, perfectly, in the next stanza of that iconic work:
And I can’t wait to get on the road again
DanBonBooks 