Too Early or Too Late

Early last Sunday morning, my husband I headed to Texas so we could see the bluebonnets in bloom. It was a long drive, taking us through the NW corner of Arkansas, into Oklahoma and then down to Ennis, Texas. We arrive late in the afternoon after being in the car for almost nine hours, checked into our hotel, dropped our bags and headed back out to capture the beauty. But, alas, we were about a week or two too early for the true beauty the bluebonnets bring when they are in full bloom, covering the hills and valleys with their vibrant color. We found a couple of small pockets of them and then returned to our hotel and dinner. The next morning, we called the visitors bureau which had been closed when we arrived and they were wonderful and directed us to an area that had a lot more of those beautiful wildflowers - and off we went again. I managed to capture some nice images, but nothing like I had hoped for. We had originally planned to stay two days but, having captured all we could, we decided to go to "Plan B" and headed for Tyler, TX - to see the Azalea Trail. We got there in time to stop at the visitor's bureau and pick up some maps - but were told that the Azalea's had bloomed much earlier than usual and many of them had already died. The big, annual festival - which is scheduled to start next week - is going to be a major disappointment to many, I'm afraid. We still managed to take some lovely shots around the area - and of one really lovely home in particular - but after those images were taken we felt we might as well start heading back. We stopped in Shreveport, Louisiana for the night and had a truly marvelous dinner at a Cajun restaurant. Headed out early on Tuesday morning and arrived home at 4 or so that afternoon. Total mileage? 1,150 miles. Total number of pictures? About 4-500. Total GOOD pictures? Still not sure - but it will at least be in the double digits! Below are some of those that have made the cut.