Our Trip to Bountiful ... aka Princeton, Texas

From 2009 11 Strawn

Google says it's only 30 miles. But driving from Richardson to Princeton seems more like a trip to Oklahoma, then a right turn and on to Arkansas. And when you finally get there and step out of the car, it's like you've traveled not just to another state, but to another time and place altogether.

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I'm speaking of Rusty's ranch... or farm... or whatever he calls it. He's got cows in the pasture ... and one in the freezer. When he puts hamburgers on the grill, he identifies the source of the beef by name. The eggs and honey on the table are also produced right there. There's a hungry brown spider that appreciates a moth tossed onto its web. And stories of coyotes and hawks and owls that prefer bigger prey. Rusty is stabling a neighbor's horse. There's even a proud peacock that struts around the property at will. There's a tree swing hung from a branch high enough to give adventurous boys a thrill ride as good as Six Flags. Maybe even better because the risk to life and limb is real. That tree and others provide fallen leaves to build the biggest leaf pile you can ever want.

When Rusty and his wife invite friends to their home on a sunny and warm fall afternoon, it's like stepping into another time and place, a million miles from the cares and crowds of the city. It's hard to believe it's only 30 short miles from home.

To see photos, look here.