We went out to Doeskin Ranch last night to see if the Monarch butterflies were coming through yet after I thought I had seen a couple in our neighborhood last week. We didn't see any Monarchs and I almost thought sunset was a bust since most of the clouds had been low on the horizon. But as I was walking back to our van I saw this scene with the crescent moon chasing sunset and knew the photographic trip wasn't a complete bust. The Indiangrasses were as tall as I've ever seen them at the preserve and the horsemint and other flowers made for a nice hike through the Texas Hill Country on this early autumn evening.
When I see scenes like this I know why the German immigrants that moved to the Texas Hill Country found it so inviting. Views like this are why I love living close to this area of the country. It's not mountain majesty, but the hills have their own special beauty that can infect ones soul.
Unlike other caves that I have been in where they use colored lights in many areas of the cave to illuminate formations, this is the only area in Longhorn Cavern that colored lights were used. They were used in this area to show off the crystals in the walls that were only found in this area of the cave. Quite a contrast to the white lights that were used to light up the cave in the other areas with smooth swiss cheese like walls. This is also one of the few areas of the cavern that have stalactites as seen in this shot.
