I have a little story for you today… and it goes something like this.

A few years ago, my parents came into town to visit. My poor parents, I just kept them on the go the entire time because I wanted them to see everything that I get to experience (it really happens to everyone I know – sharing is caring, right?). So, I took them to the Dr. Pepper Festival in Dublin, TX. While we were there, my dad went and wandered around the little shops and came back with a couple pictures. One of them was this one…

I took a picture of the print. I hope you get the gist of it.

It’s a picture by George Boutwell who is a Texas artist. I’ve come to love his work through the two prints that I have. More importantly – how awesome are the tractor and the old truck in this picture?! People know me well!

On the back of the print, the following was written:
“HYE, TEXAS, is on U.S. Highway 290, between Johnson City and Stonewall, Texas and I’ve been itching to paint this store ever since I discovered it in 1973 on the same trip that I discovered Luckenbach. Rumor is that Lyndon Johnson was one of the regulars that hung out at Hye. – GEORGE BOUTWELL”

Well, I don’t know if it’s the traveler in me or just Curious George but I knew where U.S. Highway 290 was, Luckenbach is one of my favorite places in Texas and quite frankly there is a John Deere Tractor and old pickup in the photo. Next time I was headed that way, I was going to find this place.

So I did….

Here lies the Hye Post Office. The main building is closed. There is nothing there. This building is basically the town. It sits along side Highway 290 where cars literally fly though. I was a little nervous taking the pictures and had to be quick to take the photo. Across the street, looks like an old garage with some cars sitting out front but how awesome is it that I was able to capture a picture of this building that grabbed the attention of George Boutwell 40 years ago. The building still looks great.

Imagine the history. Between Johnson City where Lyndon and Lady Bird Johnson were from, just down the road from Luckenbach where Willie and a ton of other musicians have crossed through. Highway 290 carries a lot of history in this great state. What a treasure! Think about it!