I pulled into a rest stop/visitor center in Texas and discovered this wonderful diorama that shows the history of roads and travel in Texas.

Here is my car in front of the Texas rest area. I remember two things about this stop. First off is the diorama. It's a fun and informative diorama. Secondly I struck up a conversation with a groundskeeper who works here and he told me that every once in a while he will discover a rattlesnake in the building or in the rest rooms. He says they seek out the cool spaces.

Kind of interesting, and a bit scary! In massachusetts we don't have a whole lot of rattlesnakes!

While I was there I had the lucky break of watching the artisans actually installing and working on the diorama.

Closer look.

The diorama depicts the change in transportation in Texas over the past century. It is laid out like a time-line from left to right.

First you have walking paths. Then you have dirt paths for horses and carriages, then railroad tracks for trains, dirt roads for early automobiles and finally asphalt highways. (I have a larger version of this image here. It will open in a new tab in your browser.

I found this diorama in texas while I was on my adventure around America. I call in Medieval America and I visited all 48 states in six months. If you want to learn more about that it is all right here: Will's Medieval America Trip