Tag Archives: Scenery

#ranch #texas #travelTexas #HillCountry #dirtroad #elk

Relax, Rewind and Breathe

Texas is a lot of things. Dallas is the hustle and bustle which I refer to as the “New York City of Texas”. Austin is the college town where everyone wears burnt orange (Hook ’em!). Fort Worth is the laid-back, kick-back big-small town where jeans and boots are more than acceptable. It’s more about personalities and friendliness than appearance. Small town Texas is small town, sometimes the middle of nowhere. Abandoned buildings are sometimes familiar, old town squares, community and rustic charm is evident. Texas is many things but it’s not Vermont for this Vermonter and sometimes I just miss those dairy farms, country roads and everything being familiar. (As you can see, I’m approaching needing a serious trip back home soon.)

Texas does have a certain charm about it and along my travels find things that bring me back. Whether it be that country road, finding old milk cans, sap buckets or even seeing a tractor in a field and nothing is better than white-face Herefords. I have a special place in my heart for those cows. One of my favorite places has to be a friends ranch because it takes away all that wallpaper, glitz and glam of the world and brings you to what it’s suppose to be.

Beauty. Peacefulness. Nature. Fresh air.

For New Years weekend, we spent some time out on his families property where I shared some photos of some of the magnificent animals that we saw (that we don’t even see in Vermont). In this post, I wanted to share some of the items that remind me a little bit of my home state and some of my favorite things, including those great white-face Herefords.

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When you think of home, what comes to mind first? 

#ranch #texas #travelTexas #HillCountry #dirtroad

New Years at The Ranch

Last August, I may have found one of my top three favorite places in Texas. This ranch in the middle of the Hill Country is amazing. Beautiful, relaxing, peaceful. It’s my perfect getaway. I have way too many photographs to share in one post so I’ll start off with some of my favorites.

Cows. I have a soft spot for these herefords.

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There’s also these African animals. Wildebeests, kudu, oryx… amazing.

The wildebeests and the cows, well it turns out they’re friends. They were hanging out peacefully. (I’m still trying to figure out if I should or shouldn’t be surprised by this.) Wildebeests are pack animals. Turns out you can be exiled from the group. We saw a solo wildebeest who was out on his lonesome.

The kudu (the animal with the twisty horns below) were terrified of us. It was hard to grab a photo of them up close. Maybe next time.

Its so amazing to see these animals roaming around. I’m pretty certain this was a day in paradise to photograph and watch.

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Then there were the turkeys simply taking a stroll.

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Now I’m really excited – the elk! (I’ve saved the best for last.) This past summer, I saw one or two elk from afar hanging out in a lake. This visit, I was in for an incredible surprise. Our tickets were front row and center. First off, there was no fence between us and elk. And they are so beautiful. We had stopped to take some photos of the African game and the elk followed us over. They were ready for their photo-opp and to photobomb. How many can say they’ve been photobombed (or taken selfies) with a herd of elk? I’m fairly certain that we could’ve just grabbed some chairs, opened a cooler and sat and watched them all afternoon.

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I couldn’t have thought of a better place to be at the start of the new year. The perfect company, beautiful scenery and the best place to enjoy the outdoors.

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Cheers for an amazing 2016 to you and yours!

Honey Grove, Texas, Small Texas Town, Small Town North Texas, Davy Crockett, Abandoned Buildings

Welcome to Honey Grove!

Honey Grove, Texas.
Traveling down Highway 82 in North Texas, I knew I had to swing over and check out this little town as soon as I saw the name on a sign. Honey Grove. Can we be any farther in the South? Or Texas?

Honey Grove was established in 1873. Just under two hours northeast of Dallas, this little town is reminiscent of Texas history. Story goes, Davy Crockett camped here on his way to to join the Texas Army in San Antonio. He wrote letters home to Tennessee telling of the “honey filled trees”, calling his campsite a “honey grove”. Davy Crockett also married the towns first settler, Samuel Erwin.

Along the way, you’ll pass the Smiley-Woodfin Native Prairie Grassland, the biggest field you’ve ever seen (the largest in Texas). Within this tiny town, population about 1,600, I have a good idea what you see is what you get. The buildings and quaintness of this town is what I fell in love with, as well as the name. I’m pretty sure I could’ve hung out all day exploring and taking photographs. It’s amazing to think what this town would’ve been like when all of these buildings were in their prime and businesses taking shape.

Lets let the pictures speak for themselves, enjoy!

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Honey Grove, Texas, Small Texas Town, Small Town North Texas, Davy Crockett, Abandoned Buildings, Texas Weather Rock

“Texas Weather Rock
Rock Wet, Rain
Rock White, Snow
Rock Gone, Tornado.”

Honey Grove, Texas, Small Texas Town, Small Town North Texas, Davy Crockett, Abandoned Buildings

What’s the most unique small Texas town you’ve seen?