We would all love to drive to the Texas Hill Country for a weekend getaway to experience clear skies and quiet nights. However, this fast-paced society may only give us a few hours on a Sunday to escape the outskirts of Houston and enjoy some countryside.

Right now, the bluebonnets are in bloom. This last set of storms pushing through this weekend will likely set up the sun to provide the final touches on one of the most beautiful wonders in the Lone Star State. Fields of wildflowers only sixty to ninety minutes northwest of the city.

Recently, I took a Sunday trip to Chappell Hill. During that trip I ventured off the main corridor Highway 290, and cut through the quaint town down FM 1155. After about four or five miles of slow driving I started to notice cars pulling off on dirt roads.

I joined them and jumped out of my truck to see a field with bluebonnets and cows and a fence. All perfect for a picture. But when I turned around, I looked at my date and just dropped my jaw. I saw an endless landscape with blue hillsides. The entire time I drove through the fields I failed to notice the beauty. Then I stopped and glanced behind me. The sight was magnificent.

Sure, you can drive from Houston to Brenham or even Austin and see tons of picture-perfect ranches. Then you can pull off the side of the highway and hope to avoid the traffic rolling eighty miles per hour on their cell phones.

Or you can get off the beaten path, find a back country road, and figure out why the people in Washington County don’t mind driving into Houston for doctors appointments or a Texans game. You see why they enjoy the slower life. You see Texas. Have you ever seen Texas?

At 11:00a.m. I picked up my shotgun rider in Katy. We rolled through Chappell Hill, took some selfies, drone pics, even walked around briefly at Washington on the Brazos. Around 1:00p.m. we made our way down SH 105 thru Navasota and over to Tomball where we enjoyed some amazing crawfish at Han’s Crawfish off FM 2920. Made it back to Katy by 3:00p.m.

Moral of the story, got some nature, enjoyed some great food, and had an amazing smile on my face for 4 hours. It only cost me a half-tank of gas and lunch. The rain doesn’t present much of a scene on Saturday,, but for two weeks after Easter, if you can get away for half a day, go enjoy what mother nature has provided. 

Feel free to take my route or make up one of your own.