Old Mason Road

A closeup of bee balm flowers along a roadside. The flower stalk is vertical, with radial groups of small, purple flowers arranged around the stem, one over the other.

May 25, 2024

This is the second in a series of posts about our explorations in the Texas Hill Country in late May 2024.

Old Mason Road runs from Ranch Road 386, just north of Mason, Texas, to Ranch Road 1222 in Katemcy (pronounced “ka-TIM-see”), located in northern Mason County. It crosses the Mason Mountains, and part of it forms the western border of the Mason Mountain Wildlife Management Area.

Our drive began at the intersection with Behrens School Road.

Route: Old Mason Road

The wildflowers were in abundance along this route, just as they were along Behrens School Road. One unusual flower, though, was a lone prickly pear bloom. Most of the cacti had bloomed long ago and had fruits (tunas) growing on them. But this one little cactus sported a bright yellow flower. A group of ladybugs (or possibly lady beetles) were huddled between a couple of the petals.

A large, yellow bloom on a prickly pear cactus.
Of the countless prickly pear we saw, this was the only one that had a bloom. All the others had bloomed much earlier in the season.
A vertical stalk covered in red, trumpet-like flowers.
Indian spur, also called Texas spur or flame flower.
A dirt road curves out of sight behind some trees. A low, flower-covered hill is visible in the distance.
Old Mason Road is wide and well-maintained.
A patch of purple bee balm flowers amid prickly pear cacti.
These flowers are known by several names, including beebalm, lemony balm, and horsemint.

Mason County lies within the Llano Uplift region. The uplift is a complex geological formation composed of rock that formed between 1.1 and 1.3 billion years ago. It was covered with sedimentary rock during the Paleozoic Era and Cretaceous Period. Much of the sedimentary rock has eroded away, leaving limestone hills and exposed granite. Enchanted Rock is the most famous granite formation in the region, but there are a lot of other interesting and beautiful things to see in the Llano Uplift. Take, for instance, these granite boulders located within the Mason Mountain WMA:

Giant pink granite boulders sit atop a hill that is covered in yellow flowers. A tall game fence is in the foreground.
Granite boulders.

Mason Mountain Wildlife Management Area was once a privately-owned exotic game hunting ranch. The land and animals were purchased by Texas Parks and Wildlife in 1997 and converted into a WMA. Hunting is allowed here, within the proper seasons and with permits. The WMA also serves as a laboratory for studying the effects of African ungulates on native habitat.

Granite hills on the far side of a creek.
Granite hills along Comanche Creek.

The real stars of the drive were the wildflowers. The pastures were thick with them!

Prickly pear cacti, yellow flowers, and lots of granite.
A dead tree stands in a small meadow that is covered in yellow flowers and purple bee balm flowers.
Mesquite trees in a meadow of yellow, red, and purple flowers.
A closeup of bee balm and other flowers along the roadside.
A closeup of bee balm flowers along a roadside. The flower stalk is vertical, with radial groups of small, purple flowers arranged around the stem, one over the other.

The Mason Mountains are a small range of limestone hills, mostly located near the northern border of Mason County. Granite outcrops surround the range on the north, south, and east sides.

A dirt road in the foreground curves to the left. Limestone hills are visible in the distance.
The limestone hills in the distance are on the southern side of the Mason Mountains.
A roadrunner sits on a tree limb.
This roadrunner was kind enough to pose for us.
A dirt road runs straight ahead, disappearing through the trees in the distance.
The Mason Mountains are behind us. Ahead lies the granite outcroppings around Katemcy.
A limestone hill stands in the distance. Yucca, mesquite, prickly pear, and a few flowers are visible in the foreground.
One of the hills on the north side of the Mason Mountains.

Old Mason Road ends in Katemcy, a small community along RR 1222. It was named for Comanche chief Ketemoczy, with whom commissioner general of the Adelsverein, John O. Muesebach, had signed a treaty.

When we reached Katemcy, we turned east onto RR 1222, and then north onto Katemcy Road.

An old, metal barn sits next to a line of round hay bales in a meadow covered in yellow and red flowers.
Old barn along Katemcy Road.

Katemcy Road is fairly short. It ends at U.S. 87.

From there, we drove north into Brady, Texas, where we ate lunch, visited the Heart of Texas Country Music Museum, and then did some shopping at our favorite Dollar Tree.

We returned to the Lindsay Ranch, where we were staying, and enjoyed the evening relaxing and talking about the day’s adventure.

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