THE BLUEBONNET TRAIL OF TEXAS

A number of years ago the hubby and I made a mad dash across Texas to New Mexico to see our daughter who was stationed in the Army in New Mexico.  As we blasted across the state via I20 we topped a hill near Dallas and were amazed at the sea of blue - bluebonnets that is - which covered the highway median for miles and miles.  We were in such a hurry and back twenty something years ago you just didn't have a camera on you.  So, I have pondered that image in my memory ever since in the hope of going back to see if those flowers would really be as beautiful as in my mind. 

Several weeks ago I opened the mailbox and pulled out the April Southern Living magazine.  On that day of the month I always alot at least an hour to sit and sip on a tall glass of sweet tea and pour over each and every page of my new mag.  It really is a beautiful magazine and it always has articles about places not so very far away from us here in Mississippi, or maybe even nearly next door.  I always think I might just go to those places some day. 

As I turned to page 26, there it was - Tour the Texas Hill Country - with a big old picture of Texas bluebonnets!!!  Game on!  The wheels in my head started turning.  There had to be a way to go this year.  They had the tour route for the best spring wildflowers all laid out.  It really isn't so far to the Dallas area from here.  I'll just mention it to him tonight at supper.  Maybe, just maybe.......

He wanted to go too.  Yippee!! 

We kind of called it his birthday trip.  Somehow that made it feel like it was almost necessary that we go, but really I think we just wanted to go somewhere and this had a specific timeline, so we had to go now.  Southern Living stated that the annual Wine and Wildflower Trail was April 13-22 and the best route would be from Johnson City to Comanche, Texas.  After all, Johnny's birthday is on April 13th.  Coincidence?  We weren't into the wine part of the trail and besides I didn't even know Texas was wine country.

We were not able to leave until the 18th of April, so we knew it was a bit on the tail-end of the peak of the blooming season.  We were hoping for the best and were not disappointed.  We did miss the very peak of the bluebonnets, but there were still about a gazillion flowers blooming along every roadway.  Absolutely beautiful!!

Texas Bluebonnets with Indian Blankets and Black Eyed Susans and others were growing in this pasture for as far as we could see. 

I think these are mostly Blanketflowers - acres and acres of them.

Beautiful tall white poppy looking flowers that have thorny, woody stems.

A Corn Poppy field.

I think these were Clasping Coneflowers and they stretched for miles and miles.  I would have loved them best except for the fact that they resemble our Mississippi bitter weeds.  As a young girl I can remember my daddy hating them so much, and I think he used to say they made our cows' milk bitter if there were too many of them in the fields were the cows grazed.

Spring has beautifully sprung in Texas!

Oh, and Texas did have some beautiful wineries and vineyards along highway 290.