Day 33 - LaGrange to Navasota, TX

A great day! Moderate temps, blue sky, gentle rolling hills and swaths of wildflowers. A perfect day for riding.
We rolled around 8 am and rode 64 miles. Our first stop was in LaGrange at Lukas Bakery, one of the best bakeries on the ride, with Czech-inspired treats. Their flat pastry with cinnamon, apple chunks and nuts was out of this world. See photo of Bob Plant, Bob G, Andre and Jerry in front of the bakery, and photo of their half-eaten goodies. They wouldn't wait for me to finish taking pictures before eating.
Down the road we passed a hall with a "Turn Verein" sign (see photo). This reflects the German heritage of the area, as turnvereins were German gymnastics or sports clubs. We also saw signs for the Hermann Society.
The real star of the day was wildflowers. Field after field had swaths of the same flower, sometimes hundreds of feet long. And we finally had bright sunlight to heighten the colors of bluebonnets, indian paintbrush and buttercups. See photos. Rhodri, Carol and others got pix; look for their future posts.
The ranches we passed appeared to be prosperous, judging from their well-kept grounds, large houses and outbuildings, and herds of beef cattle, mostly angus. Fields were green grass, a real contrast to the brown of West Texas.
At one point we topped a hill, to be greeted by 20-30 genuine Texas longhorns over the fence. See photos of two of the bulls. I wasn't about to get out the tape measure, so estimated the horns at 4-5 feet wide from tip to tip. White Brahmin and hairy, dark red Scottish were present, among other types.
Bob Plant once worked on a ranch in Oklahoma, and said Brahmins are touchy. Once when his crew put a calf in a truck, the mother charged the truck, actually running into it. You had to work fast, Bob said.
Our route took us over a famous Texas river, the Brazos. Soon we came to Navasota. We are camped in the municipal RV park, right by a small airfield on the west edge of town.
Flynn and I cooked tonight. He made an excellent salad nicoise. I fixed rotini with spaghetti sauce, mushrooms sautéed in butter, and chunks of mild spicy Italian sausage. Dessert was banana cream and coconut cream pies. Flynn created a second dessert with left-over rotini, adding cinnamon and sugar to it.
At Navasota we graduate to Section (map) 5 of 7. See photo of Bob G holding our next section. Bring on Cajun cooking and music!
Bruce