Utopia. The name says it all.

In the Texas hill country, maybe 90 miles West of San Antonio, exists the intersection of serenity and nature. The town hugs State Road 187 as it wanders south from Vanderpool, rooted near where the West Sabinal flow feeds the wide shallows of the Sabinal river.

Back in the mid-1990’s, I was living in San Antonio. Between working as a stagehand and studying for a psychology degree, I spent what little time was available between two major hobbies: eating the amazing food of the area, and camping.

Utopia quickly became my location of choice to bivouac. It is far enough from the sprawl of San Antonio to get out from beneath the pink umbrella of light noise the city opens in the sky. You forget what the stars look like, how deep the night sky can be. Experiencing it is a reminder of how small you are in the scheme of things. The honest view of a dark night – a sky pricked full of winking holes of light, yet you can’t see your hand in front of your face.

I preferred to set camp on the flat shale and weathered limestone lining the river. The water-eroded stone offered natural camp amenities. A crackling fire built into a rounded hollow in the rock heats a simple meal in a can. The hard seats of stone formed by resisting the water’s effects more than their neighbors also provide a shelf to block the breeze from the river.

Near the moving water, the heat of the day dissipates faster, and depending on the time of year the nights there carry a chill. Not cold enough to crawl into a sleeping bag, and too cool to sleep on top of one. The rocks that baked all day radiate their heat under you, keeping you just warm enough to fall asleep to the sighs and gurgles of the river easing by.

It’s been almost twenty years since I’ve visited. I know the area has changed. Been changed. The population has grown, and it seems the disparity of wealth has become more pronounced in the area. What was a pass-through for tourists on their way to find a river tubing excursion has become a destination of its own, offering upscale rentals, camping, and my favorite: treehouses! I want to visit again, but I’m afraid to replace the feeling the town gave me so many years ago.

For more information about Utopia, please see https://www.utopiatexas.info.

The Setting

Much of my novel Season of Waiting takes place in this area. I found the natural beauty a compelling foil to the dark themes of the story. My physical and mental longing to return to this place helped me understand and motivate the primary characters.

And where better to ignite the end of the Universe than some place named “Utopia?”

Please join my mailing list below to be among the first to experience the story!