The Eclipse in Texas post is here. That was on Monday. I was flying out on Wednesday, but in the meantime Dan and I had a day to find something to do. Kids were at school and Katie and Kurtis were at work. We drove to the town of Blanco to see what we could find.
We ended up at the Buggy Barn Museum where there are over 250 buggies, wagons, and carriages of all types. There is also a street with the Old West look and buildings that can be rented for photoshoots or gatherings.
We wandered around the Old West and explored the buildings.
We found a donkey (plastic) peering out of a stable.
Then we found the interconnected buildings that house the buggies. There are signs on some but not all. I don’t know what this wagon carried–something that needed to be confined to a cage.
Detail of the wheel on that buggy.
I can’t tell you all the different types, but there are a lot. Some of the buggies have signs that list movies or TV shows in which they have been used. Some have been restored for those shows. Others are replicas.
This is a view from an upstairs room that was also filled. There were several times I glimpsed a person driving or riding in a buggy and I had to look twice to realize it was a mannequin.
This person, however, was not a mannequin, but he dressed for the period. He was glad to see us and spent quite awhile telling us stories about some of what we were seeing.
Metal vultures overlooking the fence on the way out.
Back at the house I went on a walk. This is above the gate at Katie’s neighbor to the east.
This is across the road. That’s a bongo that we mostly saw under this tree. There are also zebras and springboks on the property.
One last photo of my new favorite flower. I find this one fascinating. It is called Antelope Horn for the look of the seedpods. No resemblance at this point. Maybe if I go back in the fall I’ll see some.
We spent over a half hour parked on a bank overlooking the main road and watching cars and trucks go by. That entertained Kasen, but I was more entertained by the diversity of flowers there and on the way back–so many more than I expected in September. Unfortunately I didn’t ID any of these while I was there and I just spent some time on-line looking for them, but I gave up. I’m just going to enjoy the photos and maybe use Katie’s wildflower book next time I’m there.
Once Kasen was out of the stroller than I was more involved in keeping him out of trouble than playing with my camera.
The view from the back walkway.
There is the decorated tree just inside the gate on the right.
Everyone else was still in bed but I went for a walk up the road as the sun was coming over the hills.
I got back to the house and checked inside the truck. Dan had chosen to drive to Texas instead of flying. He says, now that he has retired, “everyday is Saturday” and he preferred to throw a road trip into the plans. He had left five days before I did and spent time hiking and camping along the way. He met me at the airport in Austin on Tuesday. Now that all the kids were at the house we had to spread out with sleeping arrangements and he decided to continue with the camping mode and sleep in the truck.
Eventually everyone else came out into the snow.
Kirby started a snowman with the help of…
…Uncle Matt…
…and Aunt Meryl.
I love these kids.
The first was a rigid heddle weaving class with four students.
The second class was a new one I developed using the Schacht 
I couldn’t bring 16 different cones with me but I had wound off several groups of all those colors in 8 yards (enough for a Zoom Loom square) each. It wasn’t difficult to separate the colors.
Students learned how to use the loom and went home with flowers and the knowledge to go further with the little loom.
After that Sunday morning class Katie and Kirby and I walked around the vendor buildings.
These are batts of fiber ready to felt…
…on the needlefelt loom that this vendor brings to the shows. Customers can needlefelt the fiber they buy from her for no charge or pay a fee to use the loom for fiber that they bring.
Angora goats are common in Texas and there were some at the show.
Where you have Angora goat producers you’re going to have dyed mohair.
First we stopped at Katie’s office and went to lunch with her co-workers. Then we drove to San Antonio.
The Alamo site is an interesting juxtaposition of the old and the new. The lower stone wall surrounds the Mission grounds.
The Alamo site encompasses a block in downtown San Antonio with newer buildings rising around it. 
After a long drive and a lot of walking around in the heat what better way to end the day?
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