02-Apr-2010 -- On this Good Friday afternoon I drove from Austin to Dallas to visit friends in town. I had plenty of time and opted not to take my usual path of Interstate 35, arguable the ugliest highway in Texas. My target was the degree confluence of 33N/98W near Weatherford. Along the way on US 281, I remembered that Hico has its own confluence nearby, but I was leery of attempting this point without researching it first. Almost at this exact moment, I saw a sign for "Free Wireless in Downtown Hico." I couldn't believe it! A town of 1341 people in rural Texas is more internet-friendly than my neighborhood in hipster central Austin. Not only that, this was the perfect opportunity for me to pull out my laptop and do some last minute research on this confluence. Several prior visit summaries confirmed that it should be doable, so I continued the remaining few miles along county road 242 and parked right at the gate, about 400 m NW of the confluence point.

I hopped over the gate and found no signs of activity, so I continued on and reached the point. There had been some rains recently, as evident by the luscious greenery all around. Sadly, no Texas wildflowers were present at the spot, but I saw plenty on the drive up.

Had I visited the next day, I could have been part of "Billy the Kid Day!"

Story continues at 33N 98W