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Old 04-27-2008, 08:35 PM
 
2,312 posts, read 3,907,673 times
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I've filled up my gas tank in Bulverde.
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Old 04-27-2008, 08:44 PM
 
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Really, I had an enjoyable time in the Marble Falls area. I was with a geology class and the lakes were full because of a previous large amount of rainfall. It was really cold because it was late Nov/Dec, but I still had a nice time.
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Old 04-27-2008, 08:58 PM
 
Location: Texas
8,064 posts, read 17,961,447 times
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I taught in a small Border town right on 281 so I drove it twice a day to Brownsville and back. In Brownsville, 281 becomes Military Highway and then Boca Chica Blvd. That part of 281 is "interesting," to say the least. Unfortunately, I had my windshield severely cracked twice because of trucks from Mexico kicking up big rocks and flying down the highway, grrrrrr.

And, once, I was pulled over late one night by state troopers and Border Patrol! I was exhausted after a long day of teaching and then staying to help my students run the concession stand at the basketball game that night. I still don't know why the staties and Border Patrol stopped me! I didn't have any moving violations or anything wrong with my car! They kept asking me why I was on the road, where I was going, and why I was at school so late, while shining flashlights all over my car and looking it over! They finally let me go on my way without an explanation or apology, grrr.

When I told folks at school about it the next day, they said it sounds like they had gotten a report about a smuggler driving a car similar to mine! Lovely!!! Apparently, the south end of 281 is popular with drug and human smugglers! Geez, that made really happy to hear since I drove it twice per day!
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Old 04-27-2008, 10:28 PM
 
14,637 posts, read 34,910,241 times
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I love heading north out of San Antonio and driving into Marble Falls--the view just as you get over the little hill and see the Colorado River is breathtaking!

Blanco is a cute little town, too!
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Old 04-28-2008, 12:17 PM
 
1,101 posts, read 4,316,863 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by case44 View Post
I mentioned pictures a while ago, and if any of you have any, then by all means, share them with us.
Here are a few of mine from 281 - these are all from the Johnson City - Marble Falls - Burnet area:






























Last edited by TriumphOfTheSprint; 04-28-2008 at 12:37 PM.. Reason: Found a few more...
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Old 04-28-2008, 01:10 PM
 
45 posts, read 149,543 times
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HWY 281 was quite literally in my back yard. I grew up right off 281 in Alice and you can still see my house from the highway.

I was about 7 or 8 years old when arcade games were in the height of its popularity. There was a store on the other side of 281 that had a mini game room in the back of the store. Me and my friends were in heaven as we had a arcade within walking distance our neighborhood. Of course, our parents frowned upon us crossing a busy highway, just to play Pac-Man and Galaga. But we did it anyway. One day, we got caught and my friends mother took us home. I begged her not to tell my parents. My begging was all for not as I got a good spanking when I got home.

*sigh* Summer time as a kid was the best.
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Old 04-28-2008, 02:53 PM
 
Location: SW France
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Thank you so much for those great shots Triumph.
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Old 04-28-2008, 04:24 PM
Status: "Astros need a strong spring." (set 5 days ago)
 
Location: Suburban Dallas
52,595 posts, read 47,758,254 times
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Thumbs up Great Pics

Yes! Fantastic shots along the highway, with fabulous vistas. Love the animals, too. Those bridges have to be from the ever-quintessential Hill Country burg, Marble Falls. The water is a beautiful blue, and the trees green as ever.

Picturesque.
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Old 04-29-2008, 01:14 PM
 
Location: Live Oak Co. in the Great Republic of Texas!
160 posts, read 636,523 times
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Highway 281 has always been one of the more picturesque highways to traverse the state, in my opinion. South of George West, on Spring Creek, there is a beautiful grove of live oaks in the median that has always been one of those spots in the state that has always stuck out in my mind. The only thing that makes it better is when the Bluebonnets and Indian Paintbrush are in bloom.

I need to find the box my digital camera is in and put the camera to work for this along with some other promised photos.
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Old 04-29-2008, 08:25 PM
Status: "Astros need a strong spring." (set 5 days ago)
 
Location: Suburban Dallas
52,595 posts, read 47,758,254 times
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Default A Texan's Highway Portrait

Through many years, hundreds upon thousands of stories get told. You see so many people and pass by so many places, with neon lights flashing, and signs beckoning. Towns have that special feeling of escape. The elements are there. You've experienced them. A burger with an order of fries. A song on a jukebox. An RC cola from an old drink machine. Elements from what we would call "the good old days". You notice what looks like a simpler America. There is always something about driving through countryside and heading into a town. That alone is a study in contrasts. Country drives don't have to be lonely, as some might have you believe. Highway 281 is loaded with adventure, and I haven't even driven all of it just yet. I'm not about to tell you that I've seen enough, because in Texas, you never get enough. And let me assure you this: Enough will never happen. Sure, there are other mother roads that offer more legend and have the rich history and grandeur worthy of telling a story or taking a photo. You already know about Route 66 and the trek west from Chicago. Some of you already know about U.S. Highway 80 the way it used to be, from the West Texas deserts once upon a time to the East Texas pine trees. But 281 does a different approach and has just as much "mother road" effect as any other road, and probably does it better.

More stories and legends will be told about this road and the things associated with it. My journey doesn't have an end. Not yet, anyway. Highway 281 carries tradition, with the feeling that you're really in Texas. From great barbecue to the escarpment cuts to the quiet rivers, from jackrabbits to birds and longhorns and Hill Country settings, and from one small city to one big city, you really do get it all. Even a past president used to settle in the area near the highway at Johnson City (that ranch is close to Stonewall), and a current one has his ranch a half hour from another location of same. And every town has a different vibe. Every day is a different day. This highway has made me appreciate more about our great state than even I'll ever know or think.

My next time on 281, I'm not sure where I'll go. I really don't know when it will be, but I am determined that I will seek the experience when that day will come. Where will I go? I don't know. But you know something? It won't matter. Not if I do some impromptu road trip. That's because when I'm in my car, I couldn't go wrong with wherever I stop. 281 is that kind of highway. Oh, I mentioned the "good old days", didn't I? Well, these are the good old days. Imagination can take me only so far, but the real thing, what I see in front of me on a highway, can whisk me away to whatever I'm led to, without having to wish upon a star. What's in front of me is what's in store. The journey won't end. It would continue. And, quite possibly, there will likely be a thousand more words somewhere down the line. Now isn't that what one single photograph can purely and distinctly describe??

It sure can.

Last edited by case44; 04-29-2008 at 09:03 PM..
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