Rural Texas

The drive from Rockport to Waco, where our daughter goes to college, is almost 300 miles north on Texas Hwy 77. As I drove the route this weekend, I enjoyed this rural highway and all of the small towns along the way. Once I was past Victoria, (population 65,000) there was not another big town until I arrived in Waco.

Along the way are rolling hills, pastures, cattle ranches, horse farms, rivers, ponds and streams. Every now and then I would drive through a small town, many of them proud of their Czech or German heritage and all are proud of the high school athletic teams. This is rural Texas and it is beautiful. The towns are warm and friendly and they all boast at least one good BBQ place. (I hesitate to say restaurant because some are BBQ stands)

For this trip the weather was beautiful. It was sunny and warm when I left Rockport and got cooler as I traveled north, but the sun was out the whole trip. The trees are putting on new leaves , the pastures bright green, evidence of all the rain we’ve had this year, and the animals were all active.

As I drove, I marveled at the size of Texas and realized that even though it is the 2nd most populated state, most of the 22 million Texans live in 5 or 6 cities. The rest of us are blessed to live in small towns and rural areas in places like Rockport, Hallettsville, Schulenburg, Rosebud or LaGrange. I am so glad I get to enjoy this trip occasionally and hope to explore more of this beautiful state I call home.