How precious are Your thoughts to me, O LORD ... how vast is the sum of them!

Friday, April 26, 2013

An Enchanted Land

What a lovely little vacation! Sunday through Wednesday found me in quite another world. There the land was filled with dramatic, undulating hills, awash with mesquite trees and more live oaks than I’ve ever seen in one place. The wildflowers must have drunk a growing potion because they were so full and bright, taking over the grass of the fields and banks of the highway. Prickly pear, too, grew profusely. Among those hills three strange humps of solid granite rose higher than everything else -- the surrounding land tried to clamber up them, and the greenery came close to overcoming one, but the domes of the other two towered bald and barren. Indians thought them enchanted … it’s easy to see why.

 
 
 
 

This is the realm of Enchanted Rock, the central and highest dome of the three. People today are fascinated with trying to conquer it, and climbing to the summit isn’t hard as long as you’re in shape. From there you can see the surrounding tree-filled hill country and feel like you’re standing on top of the world. But of course Enchanted Rock is too big for you to really feel as if you’d conquered it … rather it is more like a friendly giant who’s helped you to a splendid view.

Farther south, this was also the land of touristy shops and restaurants, many of which played off the German heritage of the original white settlers. Yes, Fredericksburg does a fine job of retaining German flavor. I met one shop owner with a German accent, and another shop owner told me that not too long ago he would hear people speaking in German everyday. The town ensured plenty of German food and antiques were available and that quaint German architecture was abundant.



I mentioned wildflowers earlier … this was indeed the land of the wildflower farm. Wildseed Farms was another enchanted place, on the much smaller scale of petals, stems, and leaves. It grew native wildflowers in fields, and sold seeds and other things for a garden.
 
 
 

I could have used more exploring of all these wonderful places, but I was very satisfied with my adventure. I love getting to know a place because it can offer great fodder for a story. And I love a short vacation because it recharges my mind and gets me set and excited to continue my normal life.

What was your favorite mini-vacation, and what did it do for you?

2 comments:

  1. So glad you had fun! A place with abundant wildflowers is a place after my own heart. :D

    My best mini-vacation--well, actually my best vacation ever--was probably to far west Texas. I was a little girl then, about eight years old, but I remember every adventure in crystal detail. The different bedspreads in the hotels--the huge boulders on the sides of the mountains--the fact I was rushed to the hospital with a (fortunately imaginary) thorn in my rear-end. And the visit to the observatory, which helped foster my life-long love of astronomy and science fiction.

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    1. Aw -- that sounds like a wonderful trip. I went to far West Texas when I was 8 years old, too! Was it the MacDonald Observatory? I went there, but I don't remember a ton about it. Probably the clearest memory is looking through one of the giant telescopes to see ... Jupiter, I believe, like it was on the page of a book. That was amazing! The observatory is definitely a place to inspire a love for astronomy and science fiction.
      Thanks for sharing!

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