My ‘Expedition’ Through Texas Day – 1

On Monday April 23rd, 2017 I set out to explore the southern and western areas of Texas. They were the only remaining areas of Texas that I had not explored since moving here in 2016.

I had no desire to travel through major cities, or deal with traffic. Leaving Roanoke, I decided to follow SR 114 west to SR 51, and then follow SR 51 through Weatherford and Granbury to US 377. Turning west of US 377, I followed that to SR 16 in Comanche, and then turned south on SR 16.

SR 16 will take you all the way to Fredericksburg, but I detoured in Llano. I decided to turn east on SR 29 and head over to Buchannan Lake. Buchannan Lake is a man-made lake northwest of Austin. It was made by building a dam along the Colorado River. I turned north on FM 690, and then north again on FM 2341. I followed that to Burnet County Park, where Marley and I got out to stretch, have a snack, and check out the view.

Walking out on the break-wall to see the water, I stopped to try and take a photo of some flowers with the lake behind them. As I looked down, I noticed a snake curled up in the rocks about 10-12 feet away.

There’s actually (2) snakes in the photos. I’m thinking that they may be Diamondback Water Snakes. Is so, they are intimidating, but nonvenomous. They grow to an average length of 30-48 inches. The record length is 69 inches. Texas is definitely home to venomous snakes, so you need to always watch your step.

After taking a few photos, stretching, and having a snack, Marley and I were back on the road. I headed back south on FM 2341 to SR 29. I followed SR 29 east to Burnet, and then went south on US 281 to Marble Falls. I had hoped to find some scenic areas here, but was disappointed. There are some beautiful homes and scenic views, just not what I was looking for.

I headed west on FM 1431 to Kingsland, and stopped along the way at an overlook of Lake Lyndon B Johnson.