March 26-April 2, 2023

Since I had been to California numerous times for the spring flowers, I thought that I would try the super bloom Texas Blue Bonnets both east and west sides of Austin, which were about a week earlier than usual. Prior to the trip, I had done extensive research to find the best roads and likely places for the wildflowers. Traveling in the RV van from Phoenix to Texas takes two and a half days at 400 miles per day. The second night in the RV park in North Llano River, we had a nice sunset.

The third day we stayed in Junction, TX. By afternoon we found the first stopping points east of San Antonio and south of Sequin. So the next few photos are the first wild flowers in the fields. They are not Blue Bonnets. The red/orange flowers are Indian Paint Brush. The yellow are a type of daisy, and the white with yellow centers we used to call them cowboy fried eggs, but the true name is Prickly White Poppy. A farmer even went out of his way to invite me into his yard where the blue chair sat in the middle of the field.

The next stop was at Christ Lutheran Church founded in the early 1880’s by German Immigrants. This whole area around San Antonio and Austin has a heavy German influence to this day.

Our next three overnights, Mar. 27-29, were in a brand new RV Park slightly north of Brenham, TX. The first day I decided to go on all the roads on the east side of Brenham to towns like Independence and Chappell Hill. I was a little dismayed that the recommended routes were fairly busy with sharp drop offs for shoulders, so I soon turned off on a farm road and was rewarded with many views included the first fields of blue bonnets. The church is St. John Lutheran founded about 1875 by Germans. I also saw many examples of Texas Longhorn cattle, although I never got the iconic shot.

Not the best shot of a longhorn butt, but the one lying down will have to do. I found more cattle munching on the blue bonnets as well as a nice windmill on a hill.

Please go to the blog to see more photos. They look better on a computer screen than on your phone.

This photo is from the entrance to the RV Park! The pink flowers are Evening Primrose. I especially like the photo of the field of flowers with the single tree in the distance.