Scenic Overlooks & Magnolia Silos {Road Trip Travel Journal, Pt. 2}

| Allison

Hello, my friends!

Yay, I’m back with the second part of my vacation series! Today I have a BUNCH of Texas photos for you guys, specifically from this gorgeous overlook we found and then our visit to the Magnolia Silos in Waco. I also added  phone pictures of funny vacation memories like that time Megan got stuck in the campground bathroom and when we narrowly avoided being smushed by leaning telephone poles… 😛

If you haven’t yet read the first part of the series, click here to do so. Otherwise, let’s get into it!

Before we get to the scenery, I have a couple phone pictures for you guys that I forgot to include last time. First… Megan and I went to the campground bathroom one morning and HER STALL DOOR GOT STUCK. We both kicked at it for a while but it wasn’t budging, so she had to climb out the top. OH MYYYYY. :’D I’m sure it was funnier in person, but we certainly laughed so hard.

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Also my best friend Aria and her husband Andrew met up with us at this same campground! It was so good to see them and talk to them again, ahhh. ❤ (This photo was a collaborative effort: taken by Mom on Aria’s phone and then edited by me. 😛 )

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Now we get to the scenery! We drove through this beautiful part of Texas just as the sun was setting. The valleys were deep in shadow but the tops of the plateaus were still shining red-gold. So, so pretty. I took this one out the camper window. 

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Soon after I took that last picture, we saw a “Scenic Overlook” sign and a shelter perched on a hill ahead. We were like… why not?

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At first we parked the camper and just stood in the parking lot taking pictures…

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But soon we couldn’t help exploring the little paths past the pavement. It was warm enough that I wore no shoes, but cool enough that I kept my coat on. I know it’s usually the other way around, but… what can I say? :’D

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Beyond the gravel parking lot, the ground fell away into a spreading valley of warm rock and cedar-looking shrubs. It’s so hard to convey the grandeur in photos – I wish you guys could have been there in person to see it! I’ll try and describe it for you anyway.

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At the end of this chasm rose grand, plateaued peninsulas, still and strong and silent. 

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The evening air softened the landscape beyond to blurry blue hills set off by a pink-washed sky circling the rim of the earth like a halo. Such a lovely contrast between the rough, angular rocks and muted, pastel sky. ❤

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We could see for miles and miles and miles. You know how it feels like the world is yours when there’s no other living souls around to claim it…?

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Sometimes a plane hummed by overhead. Once I heard coyotes howling off in the distance. But in between, even when we were talking and laughing, the sheer expanse of air muffled the noise like a blanket of snow does: a hushed, subdued sort of stillness almost as splendid as the scenery; the “be still and know” kind of quiet.

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At least that’s what I was enjoying.

My brothers, meanwhile, were having a high ol’ time throwing rocks into the valley. Boys… *rolls eyes* :’D

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I like the way the branches frame my parents in this one.

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Don’t you love the moments just before night makes up its mind to really be dark, when the sky is so smooth and clear like this? I edited this one differently so it’s more orange and less pink, but I like that way too. 🙂

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We stayed until the sunset was nearly over and you could see the half-moon through the trees.

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And then we climbed back into the camper for a short meal before getting back on the road again, leaving our little kingdom behind for someone else to claim another day. But… I have pictures of it, so it will always be mine, at least a little bit. 🙂

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We drove into Texas and then out of it into New Mexico, briefly, before driving back across the state border. My brothers and dad quite enjoyed whatever day of the trip this was because they got to see lots of huge dairies, feed lots, tractors, and flat farmland. 😉

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Another phone photo but GUYS, LOOK AT THESE POWER LINES. Yes, they really were leaning over that much – some of them even more! It was a most disturbing road to drive through, but thankfully we made it out un-squashed. :’D

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At last we made it to Waco, Texas. (This part of the post will make a lot more sense if you’ve heard of the show Fixer Upper.) We thought it would be a neat place to visit while we were in Texas, and it sure was! Our first stop was the restaurant Magnolia Table for possibly the best breakfast I have ever eaten. (And yes, Carmen was there – she was just taking a picture at the same time I was. XD)

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Okay, I promise I’m not usually “that girl” who takes pictures of her food for Instagram… but I kinda took pictures of my food for this blog. Oops. But guys, this restaurant was amazing! I got the “winter greens” juice (which tasted nothing like it sounds – it was SO DELICIOUS), and then Megan and I shared that breakfast sandwich and the oatmeal skillet. Yummm.

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After breakfast, we went to tour the Silos, which is a collection of cute shops owned by Chip and Joanna Gaines. Here’s a bit of Waco scenery first:

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To be honest, I thought the Silos would kinda be a tourist trap, but it was honestly really well-done and we had a lot of fun wandering through the pretty buildings and neat shops!

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This renovated church was charming inside and out. (Excuse the cute little photobomber, hehe.)

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Isn’t this gorgeous??

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The sun and shadows from the windows…!

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Now the shops. I didn’t get many pictures of the… I don’t even remember what this was called. Magnolia Market? Magnolia Home? Something like that. It was filled with beautiful and extremely expensive home decor, as I figured. 😛 Super fun to walk around and admire, though.

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Here’s a picture from probably my favorite little shop. It had stationery! And watercolors! And art stuff! Megan and I could have stayed in it forever, hehe.

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Of course, the iconic silos were pretty hard to miss. I thought maybe you’d be able to go inside, but nah. We just enjoyed them from the outside.

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One of my favorite parts of that morning was finding a photobooth and taking pictures with all my siblings. Oh my goodness, we were squeezed in there so tight, let me tell you. :’D IT WAS A BLAST. The resulting pictures make me so so happy.

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We convinced Mom and Dad to do it too and theirs came out so cute. *grins*

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(Man, I’m remembering why I never post phone photos on here… Anyway.) Guys, LOOK WHAT I BOUGHT AT MAGNOLIA. I didn’t realize what it said on the tag until Jeff showed me when we got home! :’D It’s literally called the “Allison Watering Can.” HAHAHA. How perfect is that? 

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I’ll end with this picture from the… other Magnolia shop. Magnolia Market, I think? Anyway, the words seem fitting for our road trip. I think that’s one of my favorite things about family vacations: they make it so easy to behold the beauty of the here and now. ❤

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Phew, I managed to fit all those pictures in there after all. I actually have more Texas photos, but since they’re all beach pictures, I decided to save them until next time and post them on their own. 🙂 Stay tuned! Until then…

What is your favorite funny or lovely vacation memory? Have you ever been in a photobooth?

Thanks so much for reading, dears, and have a lovely day!

***Allison***

P. S. Photos taken with my Nikon D3400 and a 35mm lens. Edited with Lightroom and picmonkey.com.

56 thoughts on “Scenic Overlooks & Magnolia Silos {Road Trip Travel Journal, Pt. 2}”

  7. Oh wow! What a neat place! I’ve heard of Chip and Joanna Gaines, and we actually have their really sweet picture book called ‘We are the Gardeners’, but I had no idea they had any place like that. o.o Also, that silo with ‘Chip loves Jo’ in John Deere green is too perfect… and reminds me of a country song… 😀 Do you ever listen to country?
    Those plateaus, combined with the sunset-lighting, are just gorgeous…
    Aw yay you got to see Aria and Andrew! As I usually say when I see them in your photos, they are really so cute together. 😊
    I can’t wait to see more of your vacation photos!!

    I have way too many funny and lovely vacation memories to think of just one… let’s see… oh, when our family went back east in November 2019, we visited Historic Williamsburg (which was partially fun, partially way too much to see all in one day, and partially a tourist trap), and we had my one-year-old sister with us of course. For a good portion of the time we were there… she was screaming. And screaming. It was because she was tired and hungry, so it was understandable, but… very, very embarrassing. We drew enough attention just having six kids. >.< 😂

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    1. Oh, you have their book? That’s neat! HAHA I KNOW, Chip’s silo is hilarious. I used to listen to country radio but now, to be honest, I really don’t like the genre for the most part. XD Do you?
      They seriously were. ❤
      Agghhh YESSS. You're absolutely right.
      I can't wait to post them!

      HAHA, that's hilarious but also oh goodness, I can see how it would be super embarrassing too. We've been to Historic Williamsburg as well! It's definitely a lot to see…

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  10. I loved seeing all these vacation photos! It makes me want to go on a road trip to somewhere like Florida or Texas. Also, I love that the watering can is named Allison. That’s perfect. 🙂 How many states did you visit on this trip?

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    1. I’m so glad you enjoyed, Sassafras! Ahh yes, Texas and Florida are both fun because they’re so different than where I live. HA, I know, isn’t it?? We visited… um, I’m not entirely sure. Maybe fourteen?

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      1. Yes, Texas is so different! I especially recall the fast driving speeds, horizontal traffic lights, big pickup trucks, and the heat. What do you most associate with Texas?

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  14. Loved the photos! My family and I are currently in Texas and are considering going to the Silos so I was excited to see you post and say that it was enjoyable. The chapel is BEAUTIFUL! 😍 I loved the way the sunlight streamed through those windows, it is the picture perfect chapel.

    My favorite family vacation memory has to be going to Costa Rica. a
    We did a jungle waterfall tour day, and also got to feed and hold monkeys. ♥️ 🐒

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    1. I’m so glad you enjoyed them! Ooh, really? I hope you get to go and enjoy Waco too! I KNOW. The chapel was beautiful.

      Oh my goodness, that is such a wonderful memory! How lovely. ❤️

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  15. Awww so so so beautiful!! I love the all of the pictures and that’s funny that she got stuck in the stall! Hahahahaha!! And oh my goodness, I adore the Magnolia Silos!! I have eaten there when they have had food trucks which was fun, although I haven’t ever eaten at the restaurant there!!
    Aww sounds like you had such a wonderful time!! And I love the beautiful yellow of your watering can!
    *hugs
    -kaelyn 😛

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  18. Ooohhhh Allison……So Beautiful 😀 ❤ ❤ ❤
    I love TX…I'm a native-born Texan, so I may be a bit biased… 😉
    LOVE all of these gorgeous photos!! I love your scenery descriptions. I can feel the pressing quiet of the enormous amount of sheer air taking up all of that space. And the rocks. And the shrubs. So arid and quietly magnificent… God is definitely THE ultimate Artist. ❤ ❤
    And oh Waco!! I think my family and I have driven through a few times before (like a LONG time ago)…'cuz I don't think we went to see the shops…but Love Fixer Upper & it all looks so cute!! (Btw your breakfast looks to die for ❤ )
    Funny memory…oh my. XD Hard stuff here. Narrowing it down, I think it'd have to be one time on the 5-hr trip up home from Mom's parents when we got a flat part way through the journey and our wonderful spare was messed up…had to take it to the nearby Walmart to get it fixed so we could go on, and so while we were waiting, my entire family of 7 spent a few hours wandering around a Christmas-laden Walmart, drawing stares and being goofy to pass the time worthily. ❤ We were all very tired, but it was a quirky kind of adventure that only comes around when the tires get flat lol ❤
    Looks like y'all had such a BLAST ❤ Such fun!! Thanks for sharing these special moments with us!

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    1. Ahh I loved reading this comment, Callie! Hehe, well I enjoyed Texas too. 😉
      I’m so glad you like the scenery descriptions. YES. He most certainly is.
      It really was cute! And the breakfast was amaaaazing.
      HAHA, that’s such a great memory. I love it. XD Thanks for making me smile, Callie! It’s fun to hear from someone who lives in the state we visited!

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  19. Woah! Looks like you had a lot of fun. I have actually never been in an photo booth.
    As for the lovely memory, I remember once when I had visited Russia. We had stayed in a hotel in Kazbegi, and tere was a beutiful view of the mountains from the hotel rooms and the outdoor lounge. I think I liked that hotel most of all because it was the only which had a small bookshelf or library, out of all the ones I had visited. I don’t exactly remember- it was two years ago.
    Oooh, I can’t wait for the pictures of the beach!

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    1. We sure did! That was my first time in a photo booth and I loved it!
      Ahhhh, that is SUCH a lovely vacation memory indeed. That sounds beautiful!
      I can’t wait to post them! 🙂

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  23. Ooh, I’ve been wanting to visit the Magnolia things in Waco since the show started! It looks so cool, especially the stationary shop! And the Allison watering can! So cuuuute! ❤ I really loved the photo booth pics too 😀

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  24. Oh, looks like so much fun! Ha, ha, poor Megan! 😂 (And yikes, those power lines! 😬) Looks like you had a great time! I really enjoyed seeing all of these pictures: the church looked beautiful!

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  25. wow allison you got a good time spent with your loved ones and those views are so amazing allison i also miss taking pictures at home i bet you have a good time with your family…take care and your so gifted

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  26. I’ve stumbled upon your blog a couple times and each time I am equally amazed. The pictures you take are always stunning and radiating energy, like as the viewer you can see the story and sense the emotions. Anyways, the pictures on this post of the Texas valleys were absolutely stunning and honestly brought me a sense peace that I didn’t know I needed. Thanks Allison, love your work!

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    1. That… was incredibly kind. Thank you SO MUCH for those encouraging words! I’m happy to hear that you enjoy my posts. Ah yes, the Texas valley brought me peace too, so I’m glad I could share that with you.

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