word.

I went on a short camping trip during the middle of this week to gather some of my thoughts, get in some good hiking and cycling, and just generally clear my head. I Headed out to Lost Maples Natural Area State Park, knowing very little about the area other than it is popular in the fall when the leaves change (being Texas this means November!).

At this point I should say that having lived in Austin for 4 years now, I have developed some ingrained opinions about Texas. I love Austin. But after growing up in WA and going to college in western NC I’ve never felt Texas was particularly pretty. The “hill country” west of Austin has always been a bit of a disappointment. Boy did that all change near Lost Maples! This area was absolutely gorgeous. The picture from this post was taken during a 75 mile bike ride I took on Wednesday near the accurately named town of Utopia, TX.

We just got back from Explosions in the Sky at the new Moody Theater. No one else does anything like them. 90 minutes with not a word after an intro of “we’ll play with all of our heart if you listen with yours.” No other band can have zero vocals, and still capture an entire audience. Seeing them live, especially in our mutual hometown of Austin, was a complete treat.

Austin, Texas

via Trey Ratcliff at www.stuckincustoms.com