Wharton, TX: The Teepee Motel

Built in 1942 and restored in 2006, the Teepee Motel is a "distinctive landmark motel from America's golden age of highway travel." It's a throwback to the days before the Interstate Highway System came to dominate travel across America; the days when the trip was as much a part of the vacation as the destination.

Certainly air travel and the Interstate Highway System have given us conven-ience, but in doing so, we've lost the experience of places like the Teepee Motel and roadside rest stops with BBQ grills, which, by the way, can still be found on many west Texas state highways. Though, I've never slowed down enough to see if people actually stop long enough to grill anything.

Qumran Cave 4

Qumran Cave 4 is without a doubt the most photographed of all the caves at Qumran. But I still like a couple photos I've taken. In this one, I like how the light is coming through the opening from the backside.

I like this one too, but you can't tell it's Cave 4 because of the close cropping.

Looking for Privacy?

If you are looking for privacy; you know, a kind of private prayer closet, the Western Wall probably isn't the most logical choice.

Texas and Israel Bluebonnets

This time of year in central/north central Texas usually means Bluebonnets. It's common for the girls/women in a family to sit among the flowers to have their photos taken with the natural beauties. Following the Bluebonnet theme of the last two posts, here are my girls: one born in Texas, the other in Israel.

Texas Bluebonnets

Here's the flower that I thought was similar to the "Bluebonnet."

Texas Bluebonnet - Lupinus texensis

 

Israel Bluebonnet

I've always thought this flower looks so much like the Texas Bluebonnet, that I named it the Israel Bluebonnet. Turns out that it's from the same family as the Texas Bluebonnet.

Blue Lupin - Lupinus pilosus

Happy First Birthday, Zach!

Yesterday was Zach's first birthday. One of his gifts was a t-ball set that looked pretty interesting . . . to me. He, on the other hand, demonstrated something we hear all the time: "Kids are more interested in the packaging than the contents!"

Thinking of the Cross Today

Texas Wisdom Says, . . .

. . . "trust but verify." So did President Ronald Reagan.

Rosebud, TX : Speed Trap!

I've got some friends that insist that Texas is ugly. We've gone back and forth on that point until I've simply given up; an anti-Texas bias (i.e. jealousy) is nearly impossible to overcome. We may not be able to agree that there is some beauty in the Lone Star State, but surely we can agree that Texas is, at least, interesting.

On a recent drive from Victoria to Arlington, we made our way through Rosebud, Texas, which is 38 miles south of Waco on Hwy 77. It's likely that you haven't heard of Rosebud (I hadn't), so I'll tell you that it has a (2009) population of 1,319 and a median household income of $26,635, and would correctly be considered "country."

My introduction to Rosebud was a "welcome" sign, placed by a disgruntled member of the community. I had already seen the "60 mph ahead" sign and had started to slow when my attention was grabbed by this: 

Even though I was already at 60 mph, that sign suggested (correctly) that I better slow it way down. So, I pressed the brake until I was creeping along at 30 mph. I finally arrived at the 60 mph sign, then the 45 mph sign, then I spotted him partially hiding behind a tree in a shade darkened alley, pointing a radar gun at me. Even though I was already creeping along at 30 mph in a 45 mph zone, I got a butterfly in my stomach. Probably because I was going so slow. I also had an internal smirk going. Probably because I felt like I beat him at his game - even though it was with the help of an anonymous Good Samaritan.

I immediately suggested that we should go back and get a picture of that warning sign (above), so I pulled into the car wash to make a u-turn and as I turned back to the street, I saw him coming. Not for me, I hoped, as I quickly reached for my camera so that I could take this shot:

A few cars behind me someone didn't heed the warning,  and they would soon realize the error of their way. After the traffic cleared, I made my way back to the warning sign, giggling all the way.

Thinking there must be an interesting story here, I stopped at a local business and asked about the sign. "Oh, a guy that lives here was always getting a ticket when he came into town, so he posted that sign." I asked if it was controversial in any way. "No, it's on private property, so there's nothing they can do. And there's one on both ends of town. It's just part of living here."

As we continued on through town, and before we reached the southbound sign, this is what we saw:

So, driver beware: There's a speed trap 38 miles south of Waco on Hwy 77 in Rosebud, Texas. I saw it, but thankfully avoided it. If Texas ain't pretty, it certainly is interesting.