Commuting outside Austin

There is a point in my homeward commute where it switches from stressful chore to stimulating pleasure. That point is north of Georgetown where I get off I-35 and onto series of state, county and local roads that eventually bring me to Killeen.

At this time of year, it's rare I will see fewer than 10 deer. It's also likely that I will come across feral hogs, wild turkey, quail, foxes, coyotes, possums, raccoons, jackrabbits, cotton-tails, armadillos, turtles, tortoises, frogs and snakes. Plus vultures, ravens, several varieties of hawk, cardinals, jays, redwing blackbirds, flycatchers, swallows, grackles, starlings, night-hawks (actually not a hawk, but a big sort of swallow), and an occasional eagle. I saw a rattler slinking across a county road last night and carefully steered around it.

It is the custom on these roads to raise one or two fingers in greeting when you encounter certain vehicles in the opposite lane. The protcol is a bit tricky. A pickup, regardless of driver, gets two fingers. Other non-commercial vehicles with male drivers usually get just an index finger raised slightly from the 12 o'clock position on the steering wheel. As for commercial vehicles, the local limestone trucks get one or two fingers depending on how much of the road they are taking up. Sheriff's and Highway Patrol vehicles are never acknowledged.

I don't claim to have a particularly stressful job, and I-35 is only occasionaly Hell's Highway, but the relaxation I find beyond the exurban fringe is still a noticeable contrast and one of the reasons I can keep doing this.