The Hill Country forms both the physical and the psychological heart of Texas. The proper geographical name for this area is the Edwards Plateau, a rocky region that rises to the west of Austin and San Antonio. Crisp air and superb views surprise the visitor accustomed to the humid pine forests and swampy lowlands of East Texas, or the dry prairies of West Texas. In spring the scrub oaks and cedar (actually juniper, but Texans dub it “cedar”) fill with songbirds, and prickly pear cactus poke through fields of wildflowers. Clear streams weave along limestone beds, often dropping into deep blue pools framed by willow trees.

Today, the Hill Country is best known for its recreational opportunities and retirement living. The mountains overlook a string of sparkling man-made reservoirs, jammed full each weekend with Jet Skis and motorboats. Expensive Italianate villas share the view with clusters of stucco condominiums, and bed-and-breakfasts offer nostalgic weekend retreats complete with log cabins, fly fishing, and goat milking. But for much of its history the Hill Country remained isolated, an unforgiving landscape of poor land and even poorer farmers. Lured there in the nineteenth century by the region's lush grass and clear streams, settlers soon found that cattle grazing exposed the thin layer of topsoil. Heat and drought scorched the bare earth, and streams dried to a trickle. Flash floods carved gullies into the hillsides and washed away the land's illusive fertility. Cedar brakes and tenacious hardwood brush took over the eroded hills.