Going the Wrong Way Can be Right

No, I haven't suddenly turned into a cyclist that rides against traffic. Rather, this is an observation that even a route ridden frequently can, when viewed from the opposite direction, reveal a whole host of curious and odd sights never before noticed.

This morning, for no particular reason, I decided to ride a route that I only ride once every week or two on the way home from work. As with many commuters, there are differences between the morning commute route and the evening route. In addition, I will sometimes take this particular route because it has good shade. Good shade is not something to search out in the early morning.

Well, amazingly enough, though I've ridden this route in the OTHER direction at least a dozen times, all the photos below were noticed today, for the first time. Yup, going the wrong way really CAN be right!

Many Texas Mailboxes Have Stone Surrounds. This is the First That I've Seen That Looked Like a Cat

One of Two Gargoyles Keeping a Watch Over the Street

I'm Not Sure WHAT This Is, But it Looks Pretty Odd!

A Sign of the Locale. In Washington State, it Would Have Been a Picture of a Salmon. I'd Never Actually Noticed These Tags Anywhere Before

ET - I Think We're Gonna Have a TRACTOR Convoy!

Regular House - Decorated Fence. Including the Obligatory Texas Star

Tetrahedral House - Obligatory Texas Star and More in the Skylights, Finished Off by a Flagpole with a US and Texas Flag

In Some Ways, the Oddest Sight was this Private Residence that Looked a Lot Like the Parthenon. Southern Style! No Texas Stars Here. Home to Tara?

Flat Tire Tower

Liberman Tower, Rosston, Texas

Even a route one has travelled before often holds surprises. And so it was during the Country Ramble yesterday. You see, on the way, it turned out the tallest structure in Texas; nearly six hundred feet taller than the Empire State Building, stood just outside little ol' Rosston.

When I saw this, I immediately harkened back to Limon's post about amateur radio here. That provocative post prompted a counter post about short wave tradition by John Romeo Alpha, here. My working description of this mysterious tower I didn't even notice last year: "The Flat Tire Tower." I guess we are influenced and sensitized by things we read.

As it turns out, with added research, things ARE bigger here in Texas. This thing is no backyard ham radio antenna. It's actually 2000 feet tall, which is nearly six hundred feet above the spire of the Empire State Building in New York City. Rosston, besides being home to the Rosston General Store, is home to the ERA LIBERMAN BROADCAST TOWER. While the main function of this tower is to broadcast Spanish Country music, it also serves as an amateur radio repeater. So, I might note that this tower is a distant relative of those "big" backyard antennae that ham radio operators are noted for.

Oh, not only is this much taller than anything in NYC (or Chicago or Los Angeles), it is tied with several other towers as the highest anywhere in the US. Apparently, there is an FCC rule that limits tower height to 2000 feet.

In passing, you will note the little blob way down in the lower lefthand corner of the tower photo? Well, that blob is a collection of cool, rusting, old cars (mostly Fords) that I showed after last year's Ramble. One of them, a touch rustier than last year, may be seen below:



Rusting Away Near Rosston