Nothin’ much happened in Luckenbach this month,
‘Cept the potato chip man came by.
“Luckenbach Moon“, Hondo Crouch
This year we went to Texas Hill Country for thanksgiving, and stayed in a swanky tent, and gorged on huge meals. It was unseasonably cold, but at least the rain and flooding that swept through a month ago had subsided. The rains, and wind, and cold also meant that the fall colours, which we had read could rival those of New England, had passed their peak. So it goes.
We visited Luckenbach, which I had heard of from Jerry Jeff Walker’s album, “A Man Must Carry On”, because it included the bit of cowboy poetry from which the quote above is taken. Turns out that the story of Luckenbach, and its owner/mayor Hondo Crouch, is a lot more complicated than the poem.
The “town” – famously: Population: 3 – is little more than a dance hall, a bar, and a gift shop, but it is exceedingly cute. It was nearly deserted on the morning we visited, with only a few bikers and tourists taking photos and drinking beers from the saloon, just to say they had. But the weekend concerts at the dance hall clearly draw a crowd. I imagine hot Texan summer nights when the surrounding fields are filled with cars, and the air is filled with fireflies, the sounds of country music from the dance hall and the aromas of BBQ being served under the oaks down by the creek.
Then we drove to Austin, and toured the capitol. I added to my collection of miniatures.
b r a n n a n . o r g 