All our required stuff was done for a while so today was dedicated to aimless wandering. We bypassed our usual home-cooked breakfast and got a pretty early start. Our first stop was at Shipley Bakery in Columbus where they offer some tasty sausage rolls. Peggy popped inside and snagged a few and quickly returned with her loot.
The sausage rolls might be kolaches, local specialty baked items that are basically a puffy piece of roll with a meat core, with or without the addition of cheese, jalapenos and other things I can’t remember. The meat does not stick out the ends; the things look like rectangular dinner rolls on the rack. I am certain they are bad for me because they are very savory.
We started our exploring in earnest by cruising the streets of Columbus admiring a few of the stunning residences downtown. Then we hopped on a two-lane blacktop west to Hallettsville, another small rural Texas town with the city hall at the center of a main square surrounded by business storefronts. They remind me of towns I passed through on vacations when I was a kid. It is nice.
From Hallettsville, we took more pleasant narrow two-lanes to Schulenburg, another town with a city hall in the middle of a square and businesses facing the square. In all the other little towns we have visited in this area, the city halls have been impressive domed structures with clocks facing out from the cupolas. Schulenburg’s city hall is a low, government-looking masonry structure with a flat roof. No clocks.
From Sculenburg we got on US-90 and headed back to the Columbus area and our traveling home. Since we got such an early start (due to a psychedelic sunrise), when we returned to the Invader, it was not yet noon. We decided this was unacceptable.
We made preparations and soon departed for Attwater Prairie Chicken National Wildlife Refuge about 35 miles southeast. The visitor center is near the south border of the refuge so we approached from the southwest. That drive took us through some gorgeous Texas prairie and forest areas, over many small rivers and alongside many ag fields. Just before entering the refuge, we stopped to admire about 100 sandhill cranes with their spiffy red topknots that were browsing a rice paddy.
Attwater Prairie Chicken NWR is a recent addition to the list of federal refuges. There is a small visitor center, a 5-mile driving loop and some trails. We took the driving loop and we spotted a bunch of hawks actively hunting, some soaring black vultures, four deer and many lightning-fast songbirds but no prairie chickens. Maybe next time. There is no entry fee at the refuge.
We took the long way home on the back roads. We like the back roads.
The sunset was stunning again this evening. Got great sunsets and sunrises in Texas.
See today’s pix by clicking here