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RED CREEK AND ALONG THE JAMES RIVER: Sometime after Red Creek (first photo) we headed for the Bat Cave along the James River, a piece of Texas that is a must see on any backroad adventure.
                               

THIS SIDE OF NOWHERE 
When lost ain't really lost.
Story & Photos by IRA KENNEDY

If anyone ever tells you to "get lost" don't get upset.  It could be a novel experience. How else are you going to see anything unexpectedly new?  And if you can't get lost just surrender control to someone like Denise the Guide. You can feel lost without actually being there.

ost took on a whole new meaning after we left nowhere. On mostly unpaved county roads that generally come out someplace, we passed through some spectacular country.  As anyone who has been relegated to the back seat knows, you may miss out on a little conversation but you have the luxury of irresponsiblity.  A mode of behavior I have never been accused of shirking. 
       All in all, I was in Photo Heaven. I'd have Ms. Intrepid pull over every now and again, jump out, take a few pictures, chase down my hat, hop back in Nigel the Land Rover and then start the process all over again somewhere just down the road. 
       Along the way we stopped at Red Creek with its little waterfall -- most likely a major gathering place back when the Indians held the land.   Then there was The Old Mill Road with its limestone spring house, the open cement block spring house on the James River with some of the sweetest water on Earth (photo left), the James River Bat Cave which was closed and the stretch of road that ran parallel to the James. All places of beauty and wonder.
       I've been a guide a time or two myself and had the privelege of showing off places rich with memories which you can't point to and are beyond expression.  But there's something about process of sharing that lends an extra dimension to the moment.  Those folks who've entrusted themselves to your care know deep down that you've sifted through all of the possible landmarks and brought them to the best of the best.  You may never find your way back there again and you may be the last person to be hauled on the adventure.  But, likely as not it's an experience you will long remember.  And if you can share the experience later on you're double lucky. 
       So, the credit for this tour is dedicated to the women-folk of Texas who are generally navigating behind the scenes anyway; and in particular to the Sue Baugh at the Pedernales Electric Cooperative in Junction who kept their promise after a whole year, Ms. Intrepid who conspired to make it possible, and most of all to Denise the Guide who really knows her way around the Northwest Hill Country of Texas.        

     PAGE 1: HEADIN' OUT  /  PAGE 2: FROM 700 SPRINGS 
PAGE 3: MIDDLE OF NOWHERE  / PAGE 4: THIS SIDE OF NOWHERE
3-D PHOTOS

 
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