![]() ![]() Luckily, as my dad pointed out, this was just the beginning of the fun! We had plenty of other adventures to look forward to together. The next two hours rushed by, nearly as fast as the scenery and when we chugged into the Cedar Park Station I wasn’t ready for our day to end. 45.īy the time we boarded our Flyer to head home, our ears were ringing from the showdown, our bellies were full and we were planning our next great adventure together. It was a great way to get Parker interested in the show, but enough to keep him from asking us for a colt. Before the show, they gave a brief presentation on gun safety and talked through the concept that firearms are not toys. As part of The Burnet Gunfighters Inc., the actors are volunteers who travel performing gunfight reenactments with hilarious slapstick humor and improvisation. In true outlaw fashion, we couldn’t miss the Wild West Gunfight, so we picked up some lunch and headed over to find a front row seat to the show. ![]() Before grabbing lunch, we took some time to explore the little western town and had some fun fancying ourselves Texas outlaws. The Hill Country Flyer and Bertram Flyer run nearly every weekend of the year providing riders with a memorable journey on a great rail. I was listening more intently, Parker was holding my hand and my dad was looking at me in that knowing way that only dads can. When we disembarked in Burnet I could tell that we were already feeling closer as a family. Though we were men of few words on our way to the historic small town of Burnet (a two hour ride from depot to destination), it didn’t matter, because I knew that we were sharing an experience that would be talked about long after. From the wooden trestle bridge over San Gabriel River to the rolling hills that make Hill Country what it is-there was something to marvel at in every direction. It was Parker’s first time on a train, and he wanted to check out everything.Īfter we had explored the interior of the train car, we found our assigned seats and took advantage of the scenery that was flying by. The Silver Pine and Eagle Cliff cars looked as if they never left 1948 and the P70s were straight out of the 1920s, down to the functioning open and close windows. Every car was different and each was perfectly refurbished to its own time period. Once on board, the three of us were in awe of the pristine train. ![]() When the conductor called out, “ALL ABOARD!” we boarded, all three of us fully embracing the spirit of our adventure. For example, did you know that the initial 20 miles of track between Harrisburg and Stafford’s Point became the second railroad west of the Mississippi River and the oldest component of the present Southern Pacific? I think I was more intrigued by his stories than even Parker, and that’s hard to do. He knew random facts about everything from the importance of the Diesel locomotive to the history of the train in Texas. The mission of the Austin Steam Train Association is to preserve, interpret and re-create the first-hand experience of historic steam-era railroading for the enjoyment and edification of today’s families and the generations to come. We had some time to walk around the depot and I felt a renewed appreciation for how interesting my dad is. ![]()
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