Day 07 - Austin, Texas
    
 
 
Saturday, March 10, 2007
 
I parked the evening before on Jeff's driveway and made a pleasant camp there. Jeff had to be at a job site during this day, so I went ramblin' on my own. I wanted to see some of the hill country along the outskirts of Austin and started that way.
 
Now... I contend that Texas has the best designed freeways in the country. Frontage roads are usually located on each side of the freeway, allowing business to flourish along the route. The off-ramps veer to the side, but stay close to the freeway, without expansive curves or loops. An intersection at the bottom of the off-ramp allows the motorist to make a right turn or left turn onto the cross street, or continue straight to re-enter the freeway in the same direction. The motorist can go back in the opposite direction on the freeway by turning left at the bottom of the off ramp, going under the freeway, then turning left at the off-ramp / on-ramp intersection on the other side of the freeway. I've seen many freeways around the country that would be much better had this design been incorporated. 
 
day07_01.JPG (82885 bytes)  day07_02.JPG (204974 bytes)  day07_03.JPG (77610 bytes)  day07_48.JPG (175885 bytes)
 
 
The outskirts of Austin...
 day07_04.JPG (115680 bytes)  day07_05.JPG (94901 bytes)  day07_06.JPG (83373 bytes)  day07_07.JPG (86721 bytes)  day07_08.JPG (97423 bytes)
 
day07_09.JPG (117729 bytes)  day07_10.JPG (99358 bytes)  day07_11.JPG (91648 bytes)  day07_12.JPG (80459 bytes)  day07_13.JPG (249027 bytes)
 
day07_14.JPG (206864 bytes)  day07_15.JPG (151436 bytes)  day07_53.JPG (204382 bytes)  day07_54.JPG (108938 bytes)  day07_55.JPG (1099292 bytes)
 
 
I had my lunch at Guero's Taco Bar on Congress Avenue, south of downtown...
 
day07_16.JPG (191679 bytes)  day07_17.JPG (144905 bytes)  day07_18.JPG (183864 bytes)  day07_19.JPG (163541 bytes)  day07_20.JPG (249543 bytes)
 
day07_21.JPG (203519 bytes)  day07_22.JPG (200033 bytes)  day07_23.JPG (241356 bytes)  day07_24.JPG (233630 bytes)  day07_25.JPG (177902 bytes)
 
day07_26.JPG (209545 bytes)  day07_27.JPG (233244 bytes)  day07_28.JPG (227355 bytes)  day07_29.JPG (206171 bytes)  day07_30.JPG (196230 bytes)
 
 
Toward the Capital...
 
day07_31.JPG (219862 bytes)  day07_32.JPG (188393 bytes)  day07_33.JPG (211656 bytes)  day07_34.JPG (187892 bytes)  day07_35.JPG (189329 bytes)
 
day07_36.JPG (215432 bytes)  day07_37.JPG (166308 bytes)
 
 
6th St... lots of good music in those bars...
 
day07_39.JPG (164067 bytes)  day07_40.JPG (210114 bytes)  day07_41.JPG (203658 bytes)  day07_42.JPG (188199 bytes)  day07_43.JPG (189496 bytes)
 
day07_44.JPG (187010 bytes)
 
 
The Texas Capital...
 day07_56.JPG (458726 bytes)  day07_45.JPG (215265 bytes)  day07_46.JPG (138647 bytes)  day07_47.JPG (130719 bytes)
 
 
My next order of business was to visit Sheplers western store to replace the hat that had been taken from me when Bigfoot was burglarized four months earlier (in November of 2006) back in Charlotte. Having been well satisfied with the aforementioned "lost" hat, a Milano "Larry Mahan Austin Straw," I decided to go with another hat from the Milano "Larry Mahan" collection - a 10x quality "High Plains." Here's the new straw hanging on Bigfoot's antenna with Sheplers in the background. Sheplers is about the biggest western store I've had the pleasure to shop at...
 
day07_49.JPG (145747 bytes)
 
 
day07_50.JPG (118713 bytes) When I arrived back at stately Reese Manor, Jeff presented me with a case of Lone Star! Liver mush for Lone Star was a pretty good trade by my reckoning...
 
 
day07_52.JPG (241834 bytes) Jeff declared that he wanted to treat me to some good Texas barbeque, and he surely did deliver! We dined at Rudy's Country Store and Barbeque, somewhere about the Austin city limits. All future trips to Austin will include a visit to this fine establishment...
 
 
As the light of day faded we decided that a visit to the Broken Spoke was called for...
 
day07_57.JPG (159818 bytes)  day07_58.JPG (227645 bytes)  day07_59.JPG (190497 bytes)  day07_60.JPG (250898 bytes)
 
day07_61.JPG (182893 bytes) The honorable James M. White, the Broken Spoke's owner, joined in...
 
day07_62.JPG (134001 bytes)  day07_63.JPG (166573 bytes)  day07_64.JPG (195052 bytes)  day07_65.JPG (101713 bytes)  day07_66.JPG (108131 bytes)
 
day07_67.JPG (111053 bytes)
 
day07_68.JPG (214997 bytes) Jeff with Roy Rogers...
 
day07_69.JPG (158511 bytes) A few old hats...
 
day07_70.JPG (204965 bytes) James White with Lyle Lovett...
 
day07_71.JPG (432383 bytes) James White with Capt. Augustus McCrae, Texas Ranger... I mean Robert Duvall...
 
day07_72.JPG (168392 bytes) I talked with the man who snapped many of the photographs displayed in the Broken Spoke...
 
day07_73.JPG (164096 bytes)  day07_74.JPG (132119 bytes)  day07_75.JPG (177221 bytes)  day07_76.JPG (203137 bytes)
 
All future passes through Austin will include an evening at the Broken Spoke...