Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
BLUEBONNET FIELDS FOREVER
One of Texas's most enjoyable spectacles is the kaleidoscope of wildflowers that car-
pet its roadsides—the result of decades of planning. Beginning in the 1930's, the state
harvested tons of seeds from donors and planted them along the highways (thus elim-
inatingmowingexpenses).In1982oneoftheprogram'smostardentchampions,Lady
BirdJohnson,foundedtheNationalWildflowerResearchCenterinAustin,wherevis-
itorscanenjoythesightofsuchnativewildflowerspeciesastheTexasbluebonnet,the
official stateflower(shownhereinthescattered companyofredIndianpaintbrushes).
6.
Kerrville
Before turning northeast on State Rte. 16 at Kerrville, stop at the Cowboy Artists of Amer-
ica Museum for a look at historic and recent artwork that captures the romance and vitality
of the largely bygone era of open range ranching. Nearby Kerrville-Schreiner State Park,
along the Guadalupe River, is a fine spot for a short hike, a picnic, or a refreshing swim.
7.
Fredericksburg
Shortly after German immigrants settled here in 1846, the town's leaders offered a peace
treaty to their fierce and feared Comanche neighbors. While talks were under way, one
family's children became frightened by Indian signal fires on nearby hills. Their mother
calmed them by saying that the Easter Rabbit had started the fires to boil eggs for the hol-
iday. To this day, Fredericksburg celebrates a yearly Easter Fires Pageant in memory of
Search WWH ::
Custom Search