Finding Utopia | ||
| Sabinal River Dam in Utopia |
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| Welcome to Utopia, Texas |
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| Loop We Took |
Because Pat had been somewhat exposed to the Chinese Covid Virus, we chose not to visit with family members in this part of the world. But, we felt an almost desperate need to escape from our Covid prison in Bryan for a while. So, we decided to be as careful in possibly, and try to minimize exposure of others to Pat's -- and now my -- potential Covid.
Anyway, while chatting with (and possibly exposing) the receptionist at the Kerrville visitor's center, she mentioned some country highway loops we might enjoy. My first thought was that in our previous lives as motorhomers, we had surely driven most of the roads. But, what the heck, surely we could enjoy them again -- especially now that we drive more slowly and stop more frequently.
On the highway between Kerrville and Medina, we climbed up and over Bandera Pass, then down the other side to Medina -- the apple capital of Texas. We were disappointed to find FM highway 337 closed. It enjoys a reputation as "The most scenic highway in Texas."
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| FM 337 Closed |
Passing through the quaint town of Medina, an urgent need for some caffeine struck us, so we found a coffee shop where friendly Carolyn stuck us $2.80 for a large pecan coffee and graciously posed for this photo.
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| Here's Carolyn |
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| Kidnap the Skinny |
We resisted the urge to gobble some delicious-looking cakes -- so we remained susceptible to kidnapping.
But because so many ideologies promise "Utopia" I especially wished to visit the town to find out what real Utopians are like. We found out at the Lost Maples Cafe where I dined on lamb chops and Pat on chicken-fried steak.
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| Pat at the Lost Maples Cafe in Utopia |
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| Lamb Chops, Toast and Baked Potato | |
Often, when we order meals at a restaurant, one order is enough for both of us. So, Pat asked our happy waitress if the lamb chop order would be enough for two. She replied that we would leave hungry if we split this order, so Pat ordered chicken-fried steak.
The lamb chops were very tasty, but after cutting out the bone, there remained only about 3 bites of meat on each chop. Not enough for me and hardly enough for two. But the consolation was that I was introduced to the lady who grew the sheep that produced my chops. Nice lady! Pat's steak was a little thin, but we filled on sides of salad, potatoes, etc. The meal was OK otherwise.
But the atmosphere was delightful. Mostly composed of local ranchers, business folks and motor bikers with conversations spilling over from table to table and loud with laughter. Nobody wore Covid masks or maintained proper distances. Yes, this was Utopian.
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| No Lying |
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| Lost Maples Restaurant |
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| Lost Maples Cafe in Utopia |
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| Utopian Pie Fixes Everything? |
As I usually do, I wandered around the cafe reading posted messages and perusing photos. I happened upon this movie poster.
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| Seven Days in Utopia |
The movie -- starring Lucas Black and Robert Duvall -- was photographed mostly in this town of Utopia and in this Lost Maples Cafe. Pat and I had seen this movie before, but now it was worth watching again just for fun and to recognize locations we had now visited. Not a great movie, but OK.
This town of Utopia did not seem to fit my vague notion of a perfect Utopia -- but it was nice. Throughout history, folks have attempted to describe and attain the perfect "Utopia". Religions have their "Utopian" heavens and philosophers have theirs.
"Carl Marx described three necessary phases toward achieving his idea of Utopia. Phase 1: A revolution must take place in order to overthrow the existing government. Marx emphasized the need for total destruction of the existing system in order to move on to Phase 2.
Phase 2: A dictator or elite leader (or leaders) must gain absolute control over the proletariat. During this phase, the new government exerts absolute control over the common citizen's personal choices -- including his or her education, religion, employment and even marriage. Collectivization of property and wealth must also take place.
Phase 3: Achievement of Utopia. This phase has never been attained because it requires that all non-communists be destroyed (murdered) in order for the Communist Party to achieve supreme equality. (Stalin, Mao and Pol Pot came close but even they could not kill all the non-communists.) In a Marxist Utopia, everyone would happily share property and wealth, free from the restrictions that class-based systems require. The government would control all means of production so that the one-class system would remain constant, with no possibility of any middle class citizens rising back to the top." (https://people.howstuffworks.com/communism1.htm)
With this in mind, we thought we might run into Comrade Ocastro Cortez or Bernie Sanders in the town of Utopia -- but no such luck.
According to the Marx definition of Utopia, I want nothing to do with the destruction of folks with whom I disagree. The Marx view of Utopia is my vision of Hell.
Libertarians have their own view of Utopia. It's a place where nobody is allowed to initiate force on anyone else. It's a live-and-let-live attitude that calls for government to stay out of issues such as sex and drugs. These seem to be good ideas, but I don't believe that there will ever be universal acceptance of these ideals without the use of force.
So, Utopian ideology fundamentally leaves a bad taste in my mouth.
OK, so I'll step down from my soapbox and return to the post-utopian loop.
Our next stop was Garner State Park.
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| Garner State Park Sign |
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| Frio River Swimming Hole and Bald Cypress |
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| Garner Park Pavilion |
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| Pat on Pavilion Fence Eating Ice Cream |
The Sterling, Bair and Heacock families sometimes spent parts of the summer in cabins in Concan, Texas, so Garner Park was only about 9 miles to the north. Interestingly, dances have been held in this pavilion every summer since the Civilian Conservation Corp built it about the 90 years ago -- until Covid stopped them this last year. I have fond memories of this park and remember solo hiking cross-country about 18 miles over Ol' Baldy mountain to and from Garner Park -- at the age of 12 or so. At one time, Garner Park came close to fitting my childhood description of Utopia.
Pat serenely eating ice cream on the pavilion wall does no harm to these memories -- but we were not allowed to dance.
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