Brownwood, Texas

The little Native American girl overheard the elders of her tribe talking about how to ease the great drought. The Great Spirit decreed that a sacrifice of their most prized possession was required. The young girl went out and threw her beloved cornhusk doll into a fire. Her beautiful doll, dressed in a deerskin robe with horse hair braids and BLUE feathers, burned completely to ash. She then scattered the ashes to the east, west, north and south.

In the morning the land was covered in green with magnificent patches of blue everywhere.

We saw those magnificent patches of blue all over the Texas Hill Country today, the famous Texas bluebonnets.

The orange Indian Paintbrush wildflowers bloom at the same time as the bluebonnets. There is a great legend about this flower as well.

Author Tomie dePaola's book of Native American legends was one that I often shared with my class. Check him out.

Denny and I started the day at the LBJ Ranch located in Stonewall, Texas. President Lyndon Baines Johnson loved it here. It is where he was born, where he first attended school and where he died and was buried in the family cemetery under two massive oak trees.

As we drove around the ranch, we encountered some of the direct descendants of Johnson's Hereford cattle. They still roam this Texas White House.

Joe and Marilyn, buddies of ours from our Chicago days, happened to be vacationing in Texas - they live in Kansas - so we hooked up with them for lunch today. We met at - where else - the Bluebonnet Cafe in Marble Falls.

A really great day.Read more