Oatmeal, TX

[username]

today we had perfect weather - 70F was the high and it was sunny. it seemed silly to sit at a desk when i could be out riding... so i rode.

i didnt have a destination in mind, i just headed west-ish. i ended up finding a new little place, and i know what i'll be doing next labor day.

first, i checked with my cat homey, to make sure he would be ok at home alone. he was cool with it.

http://leetonium.com/oatmeal/oatmeal_02.jpg

i got out of town, and out on the nice texas two lane roads that i love so much.

http://leetonium.com/oatmeal/oatmeal_18.jpg

my yoga lessons are paying off...

http://leetonium.com/oatmeal/oatmeal_20.jpg

dog are always interested in how my bike sounds. this fellow was no different.

http://leetonium.com/oatmeal/oatmeal_31.jpg

[username]

i happened to drive by longhorn cavern, and thought i'd stop this time.

http://leetonium.com/oatmeal/oatmeal_66.jpg

http://leetonium.com/oatmeal/oatmeal_62.jpg

it's apparently a pretty serious cave. the next tour wasnt until 3pm, and it took 1.5 hours, so i decided to save it for another time.

check out those women all dressed in white. what do you think they are doing?

http://leetonium.com/oatmeal/oatmeal_60.jpg

if you guessed that they are inmates from a local prison out doing work, you're right. see the guard over by the van? we had some severe weather come through here yesterday, and they were helping to pick up tree limbs at the park.

http://leetonium.com/oatmeal/oatmeal_39.jpg

the park had an observation tower.

http://leetonium.com/oatmeal/oatmeal_38.jpg

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and this neat area to eat a picnic lunch.

http://leetonium.com/oatmeal/oatmeal_41.jpg

i decided to head up and check out the view.

http://leetonium.com/oatmeal/oatmeal_46.jpg

almost there!

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ahhh, the texas hill country.

[username]

http://leetonium.com/oatmeal/oatmeal_52.jpg

but wait, what the heck is that? it looks like a castle. i think i'll ride over and check it out.

http://leetonium.com/oatmeal/oatmeal_54.jpg

my bike, patiently waiting while i...

http://leetonium.com/oatmeal/oatmeal_59.jpg

check out these ants. let me tell you, if one of these buggers bites you, you will wish it was only a bee. not only that, but no one ever gets bit just once. about 20 of them will climb up your leg, and then bite simultaneously. it sucks.

http://leetonium.com/oatmeal/oatmeal_59a.jpg

look at the size of the tunnel they drilled into the ground!

http://leetonium.com/oatmeal/oatmeal_68.jpg

here i am getting closer to the castle.

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and this is as close as i got. read more here. (http://www.falkensteincastle.com/)

[username]

http://leetonium.com/oatmeal/oatmeal_71.jpg

a nice view.

http://leetonium.com/oatmeal/oatmeal_76.jpg

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heading down the hill.

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to "devils waterhole."

http://leetonium.com/oatmeal/oatmeal_87.jpg

i guess this is it, i couldn't figure out why there was a sign. weird.

http://leetonium.com/oatmeal/oatmeal_91.jpg

i shouldve used the kbasa fill flash here...

http://leetonium.com/oatmeal/oatmeal_92.jpg

not today fellas!

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i had some "turtle" cheesecake in burnet, TX. after i ate, i checked the GPS and saw a nearby town with a weird name. i decided to ride over to check it out.

http://leetonium.com/oatmeal/oatmeal_100.jpg

there was no town, just this big cylinder, and a couple of buildings...

http://leetonium.com/oatmeal/oatmeal_103.jpg

wow. i never heard of this before. an oatmeal festival? how can i not go to this next year? i want to see who else goes to an oatmeal festival!

http://leetonium.com/oatmeal/oatmeal_105.jpg

i guess this is where they have it? i'll find out, and report back!

thanks for reading.

[John Brase]

OOO, that castle (link) is a very scary place. Run away, run away!

John

[cjack]

That was interesting. Some really weird places but thanks for the photos and trip report.

[SNC1923]

Cool ride report. You're lucky to have such a cool cat. Mine will never let me go anywhere. . . .

[Burnszilla]

I goes to show that you don't have to travel far to find weird and interesting places. It's a great idea to buy the Lonely Planet guide for your state or area. You'd be amazed at all the stuff you can find.