Abigail stuffed us with breakfast and Bobby Joe and I readied ourselves to set off together, our first bike trip as a duo!
Here’s the plan for the day:
Our first stop was to be Gatesville, seat of Coryell County, but we took the long way around, passing through Crawford, where George W. Bush had (and has) his Texas White House. I had never figured out exactly where Crawford was, but now I know.
Apparently the Bush Ranch is unmarked, so instead of looking for it, we headed on to Gatesville, famous for hosting the majority of penal facilities for Texas women, including their Death Row.
On the road from Gatesville to Meridian, seat of the gloriously beautiful Bosque County, we came upon a meeting of the local Democratic Committee, planning their next steps to support Beto…
We passed the women’s prison, and they were out working on the prison grounds, but I did not dare stopping for a photo shoot. Texas State Correctional Service – an equal opportunity employer.
Route 182 that runs from outside Gatesville almost to Meridian is one of the most beautiful, and fun, motorcycle rides in Texas. Highly recommended (but keep it a secret).
From Meridian, we headed east toward Hillsboro, seat of Hill County. The movie Bottle Rocket, with Owen Wilson, was filmed here. Even more interestingly, Bonnie Parker and Clyde Barrow, both Texans from near Dallas, carried out a robbery in 1932 in Hillsboro in which a store owner was killed – though Clyde was only the driver, he wound up being accused of murder.
Willie Nelson is from Abbott, which is in Hill County.
From Hillsboro, northwest to Cleburne, seat of Johnson County, and located on the southern side of the Fort Worth-Dallas metro area. Along the way, an amusing religious reminder.
Lifelike and interesting murals in Cleburne…
From Cleburne, due East to Waxahachie, seat of Ellis County. What an eye-opener this little place was! Beginning with the courthouse:
Waxahachie is an unbelievably prosperous little town – called Ginger Bread City because of Victorian architecture and Gingerbread-style homes. As we were driving in, home after immaculate home lined the street, making you feel like you were riding in on a red carpet. A place to go back to, for sure.
I could not figure out how this prosperous little oasis came to be, but it turns out that Waxahachie has become a bedroom community for the big-money folks from Dallas and Fort Worth. Hence the showcase homes…
From Waxahachie, south-east to Corsicana, seat of Navarro County. Named by Navarro (who gave the county its name) for the island of Corsica, where his father had been born.
Corsicana was the birthplace of Lefty Frizzell, David “Fathead” Newman, the jazz saxophonist, and the quirky Billy Joe Shaver.
From Corsicana, due east to the seat of Henderson County, Athens.
With lengthening shadows, we headed due east to Tyler, seat of Smith County, expecting that to be our final stop of the day. We managed to get a photo of the courthouse by the dying sun…
…and then we set off to the southwest toward Palestine, seat of Anderson County. We expected to find a motel and liquor store to get some beer and a small bottle of sipping whisky, but we drove…and drove…we passed Palestine Lake…
…we found a liquor store but the lady behind the counter admitted that she would not personally stay in any of the local motels…so we drove on and on until we arrived in Palestine, well after dark. But we immediately found a good motel, with a restaurant next door so that we could respect Abigail’s admonition not to drink and ride the bikes, and settled in for a great evening.
An evening during which Bobby Joe and I caught up on 40-odd years of tales, fueled by all the beer and all the whiskey. We did not get to bed until 2:30 – at least that’s what Bobby Joe says…