Wednesday, May 31, 2006

The Trains Of Kenedy County

(Click on the photos to enlarge)
The best way to get to South Padre Island is US77,
which passes through Kenedy County south of Kingsville.
The Union Pacific tracks parallel the highway much of
the way and when I spotted headlights coming towards us
it was a simple matter of pulling over and waiting.
And waiting. And waiting some more.
You see, it's a desolate place even by Texas Standards and
objects in the distance are farther than they appear.
This is my first train photo with prickly-pear cactus in
it so I'm kind of proud.
(How desolate is it? Maybe three small towns.
If you want excitement, hang around at the Border Patrol checkpoint.

On the way home, in the same area, we passed
another northbound UP train. Rather than try to get ahead
of it, park the car and walk across the highway, I took the safer
option and shot this out the window while driving at 60mph.
This explains the motion-blurred foreground, and it's my
favorite 'pacing shot' to date.

As an aside, yes it's Kenedy with one 'N'.
Most of the county is behind the fences of the Kenedy Ranch.
Think of the biggest ranch you've seen, supersize it, then
admit you have no idea what a truly big ranch is like. Multiply by ten and you're getting close.
The King Ranch is bigger, but the Kenedy is still beyond huge.
And these Kenedys have
lived in America much longer, owned more land, engaged in more
honest business endeavors, and have probably done way more good
for society than those drunken politicians, smugglers, and
killers from up north.

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