This week I was lucky enough to spend a morning with my fabulous niece and nephew, Iris and Carlos. They suggested that we go to the Japanese Tea Garden.
I think these are Cherry Blossoms. I couldn’t find anyone to verify that, so I’m just going to believe it is true.
This is a picture of a corrugated metal building smack in the center of downtown Comfort, Texas. It seems to be held together with duct tape, leftover bits of metal strapping and a handful of rusted screws.
And this is a quote from the 2010 Pulitzer Prize winning book, Tinkers, by Paul Harding.
“be comforted in the fact that the ache in your heart and the confusion in your soul means that you are still alive, still human, and still open to the beauty of the world, even though you have done nothing to deserve it. And when you resent the ache in your heart, remember: You will be dead and buried soon enough.”
Our travels took us through the ghost town of Telegraph TX, 13 miles west of Junction. To call it a ghost town seems pretty generous. I might just call it an abandoned building.
Interesting fact about Telegraph, according to the towns biographer, Robert Caro, “the town had no telegraph; it had been given its name because telegraph poles had been cut from trees near there during the 1850s.” Weird!
We took a detour off of Interstate 10 on our drive home from Tucson. We dropped down on to Highway 90 to check out the tiny towns of Marfa and Alpine, then spent a couple of days at Seminole Canyon State Park. We had planned to take the Ranger guided tour of the ancient rock art that can be found in the canyon. Naturally we didn’t check out the tour schedule ahead of time so no tours available during our stay. Poor planning on our part.
We did see some beautiful scenery and a gorgeous sunset. That was more than enough to make us happy.
We’re on our way home from our trip to Tucson. I’m always glad to be back in my home state of Texas. We crossed Arizona, New Mexico and into Texas on Interstate 10. Here is the sign as you enter Texas on the far west of the state in the town of Anthony.
Interstate 10 travels all the way across the state from the deserts and mountains of West Texas to bayous and beaches of East Texas, a grand total of 877 miles. Luckily, we don’t have to cross the entire state. We’ll jump off at mile marker 537.
We’ve been in Tucson Arizona for the last month. The saguaro cactus can be seen everywhere and they are incredible. But it’s the huge variety of amazing little cactus that really catch my eye. I just can’t get enough of them.
Interesting note: the plural of cactus is cacti, cactuses or cactus. All good!
Seen at the Sonora Desert Museum, Tucson, AZ.
Seen at South Llano River State Park, also called a Christmas Cholla. A little splash of color!
We are on our way to Tucson AZ where we will spend a month. Our first driving day was rainy but we didn’t have far to go – 100 miles to Junction TX.
The skies cleared just in time for this beautiful sunset over South Llano River State Park.
Four years ago today, December 21, 2014, my brother Ronnie died. It was a terrible blow for our family. Because his death fell so close to Christmas I marked our loss on the Tree Skirt.
I added a small silver angel beside Ronnie’s name. I used the same signifier for my Grandmother, my Father-in-Law, and our very kind Brother-in-Law.
The Christmas Tree Skirt which once felt very joyful to me now feels less so.
Hark, now hear the sailors cry
Smell the sea and feel the sky
Let your soul and spirit fly into the mystic
~ Van Morrison
