Travel of any kind, and especially the kind that includes hotel stays was so far off my radar after twelve months of COVID protocol, that I actually recoiled a bit at the thought of it – so uncharacteristic for a travel addict. Something had frozen static on the inside, at an almost subatomic level. But by early Spring I had been vaccinated for a couple of months and I somehow found the gumption to take on a small overnight trip to Austin.
Partially motivated by a connection with the movement to protest for voting rights, I ventured down to the Texas capital to rally for something I felt strongly about, something that had the power to “unfreeze” me. But in all honesty it was also to connect again with place in a meaningful way.
I had wanted for quite sometime to get down to Austin as a sort of pilgrimage. Three authors that I’ve taken to heart have deep roots there. Frank Dobie who wrote extensively and authoritatively about folklore, especially Texas folklore, Walter Prescott Webb a Texas historian and Roy Bedicheck a naturalist formed a friendship that took on a fame of its own. The statue, a tribute to that friendship in Austin’s Barton Springs Pool, has worked like a powerful magnet sort of calling to me.
There’s an old tree there in Austin also, on Baylor, between 5th and 6th Streets. It’s called “The Treaty Oak.” As one of the fourteen Council Trees, a sacred meeting place of the Native Americans, it was the location of the signing of the first boundary treaty in Texas by Stephen F. Austin. But for me, its significance is even deeper. It was already one hundred years old when Columbus made his voyage to the Americas. Its age speaks to me, its tenacity, its persistent survival, its faithful witness. I had to see it. And I did. As a matter of fact it was the only site I was able to visit while I was there.
The statue of the three friends at Barton Springs and one other site will have to wait until another pilgrimage can be arranged. I was mostly on foot during my stay and so my pace was much slower than would have been otherwise and time was limited. Yet, I prefer it that way. My wanderings are often times on foot. That slow pace forces awareness that I always appreciate once I’m in the rhythm of it.
The other place I’ll have to return for is Jacob’s Well, a little outside of Austin in Wimberley, Texas. It’s the site of the second largest fully submerged cave system in Texas. The well is an artesian spring that releases thousands of gallons of water every day. It’s greatest depth reaches down 140 feet and its main cavern is 1,431 feet in length. I share the Celtic love of caves and wells as symbols of the womb of the earth. I’m just glad we have one so worthy here in Texas, and so close at hand. I’m already plotting my next trip. Wanderlust has reasserted its grip. Story has come to call.
What magnet is pulling you out of your comfort zone?
Writing Prompt for the Week: Sacred Place
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