Where Art Leads Us (Oh, The Places You Will Go!)

If there is one thing that Zuzu loves, it’s an adventure, particularly one dotted with an interesting cast of characters. The world of art can’t always guarantee a steady paycheck, but the one thing it surely provides is an interesting cast of characters.

Case in point, Zuzu recently ventured out to the far western reaches of the Texas Hill Country to meet with Mr. John Roberts and tour his 300+-acre Rafters 7 Ranch near Montell. Last month Zuzu was selected to participate in the Art & Conservancy program in Boerne, Texas. The premise of the show (which will be on display in April 2011) is to match artists with Hill Country landowners and to create an exhibit featuring the work the artists create based on their time exploring the land. Zuzu was fascinated by the idea and was thrilled to be selected as one of the artists. So this past weekend Zuzu headed west, accompanied by Mr. Eaves and Lil’ Zu. 

The drive alone was spectacular. Just west of Boerne, the terrain becomes more rugged, the canyons deeper, the hills more pronounced. A wet spring has made the hills uncharacteristically green and the wildflowers make the highways look like Jackson Pollack paintings in splashes of yellow, red, blue and white. Many of the ranches along scenic RR 337 sport exotic animals including buffalo, kangaroo, gazelle and antelope. (Zuzu picked up a lovely stainless steel pot perfect for encaustics at garage sale at one of these fabulous ranches.) We ate homemade apple pie (with apple ice cream) in Medina and settled into our cabin at The Lodges at Lost Maples. For dinner we headed over to Tarpley, Texas for some amazing roadside cuisine at Mac & Ernies Roadside Eatery (make sure you check out the video where Mac & Ernies was featured on the premier episode of Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives on the The Food Network...the shack has been replaced but the yellowfin tuna with wasabi mayo, ancho chili honey basted pork chops, catfish and bbq shrimp are still to die for! Word of warning...order your chocolate cream pie when you place your order at the counter or risk being shut out. We learned the hard way that they run out every night.) 

But Sunday was the real point of the trip. After breakfast and saying good-bye to our borrowed guard dog Remy, we headed past Leakey (pronounced Lakey) towards Camp Wood. Towns out this way come and go quicker than you can blink. Even gas stations are a bit of a novelty.  Mr. Rogers had given us excellent directions ("go to Camp Wood and turn left, then turn right at Montell"—please note, these turns are at a town, not a road, which gives you some idea of the size of the places we are talking about—then take the 4^th bump gate into 'headquarters.'")

Now, for you city-slickers (unfortunately this includes Zuzu) a “bump gate” is a swinging metal gate across the road that you literally bump into with your vehicle (ideally, this vehicle is a very large, dusty truck and Zuzu was greatly relieved she had not insisted on driving the Mini for this outing, particularly when the next turn required driving across a river bed that would have swallowed the Mini whole).

Mr. Rogers and his dogs met Zuzu and Company in front of the house, but quickly loaded everyone into the Kubota (that’s a type of all-terrain-vehicle or ATV for the aforementioned city-slickers) and set off driving up the side of the mountain, along the edge and ultimately straight up the river bed (which was very exciting for Lil’ Zu). Mountain goats hung precariously on the side of the mountain while domestic goats and cattle whiled away the day in the fields. Mr. Rogers’ grandfather bought these 800-acres in 1945 and Mr. Rogers himself grew up on the land, inspiring an apparent love for the land and a degree in botany from Sul Ross State University. He pointed out the native plants and endangered flora species as well as the Native American caves cut into the limestone cliffs where he played in as a boy. (The University of Texas has excavated these caves and discovered evidence of four civilizations and a 26-inch saber-tooth tiger tooth!) 

Mr. Rogers showed us the old homestead and barn built in the late 1800s, drove us to various site advantages of the numerous waterfalls along the river and ultimately led us to a fabulous 23-foot deep swimming hole. Lil’ Zu looked wistfully at the spring-fed swimming hole but even she admitted the water was a “tad bit” cold and opted for wading further down stream. Mr. Rogers had other appointments but encouraged us to spend the rest of the afternoon enjoying the river and the land, which we were only to happy to do. He invited us all to come back in the fall for his annual roping event…he’ll be cooking up 150 pounds of fajita meat so it appears there may be a few other invitees!

With her camera laden down with images and bags full of rusted wires and detritus, Zuzu & Company headed home. What to do with all of it? Can she capture any of the magic in a single piece of artwork? We shall see, we shall see.