MidAmerica tour

[krigl]

Checking out some more of Austin, and heading out of town to get a cargo we'll be taking to Junction.


Great Scott!


That bare walkway stretching out of sight along an empty river is a little sus. Looks like a case of ran-out-of-time-but-who-cares-no-one's-going-to-look-anyway-itis. Sorry guys, I looked.


An old Datsun!


Austin has its own insanely convoluted intersection.






Large, low-rise hotel.


Two jobsites at this location, Newmont and Amish Furniture.




We're dropping this off at Amish Furniture.


Then we went for one last tune-up and new paintjob for the Volvo - nearing the end of Part 3 now.


Slammed on the brakes and headed in for tacos.




Then it was time to set off on our penultimate journey - Austin to Junction. Yep, we're back near Junction again.


Still caught a few decent views on the way out.










We're just cutting across the apex of the southern point of the upside-down triangle of roads around central Texas, and I didn't expect to see anything particularly special on the way.


Austin still visible, just about.


However, central Texas is the gift that just keeps on giving, and once again we found ourselves passing through some very pleasant scenery.








???!!!! The journey to the Robert Monday vineyards and on to Junction will have to wait till next time.
Cheers! Krigl

[krigl]

This time - we head to the Robert Monday vineyard midway between Austin and Junction, and then continue east to the interesting little scenery town of Fredericksburg.


A cowboy castle?




From Tuscany to the great plains...


...and back again.






Robert Monday's coming up.


Actually, I say it's a vineyard, but we're here to pick up lemonade.










The clocks have just changed, and autumn tiredness is crushing me right now.


Lemonadeyard behind us, and we're making the short hop to Fredericksburg.




Here we are.


Just noticed all the greenery growing on the walls.




Propane butane.


Here's Fredericksburg's Historic Downtown.




Elf store just chock full of Elves on Shelves. And... a Tasting Room. It's not cannibalism because we're not Elves, right?


Money doesn't grow on trees, you know.


Another courtroom.


The Vereins Church.




And a bona fide Bavarian Inn. This little town really does have almost everything.
Next set - the rest of the as-yet-uncovered part of the route to Junction, and then back to Austin.
Krigl

[krigl]

Continuing our journey towards Junction with a cargo of lemonade.


Just outside Fredericksburg.


Some last glimpses of the heart of Texas.




Smile!








Joining the San Antonio - Junction highway.


And now we're on said highway, heading NW towards Junction. No need to totally retrace our steps, so we'll leave our consignment of lemonade travelling on its merry way and teleport back to Austin.


We're south of Austin at the second industrial estate, heading for the 3rd industrial estate to the east via the big intersection.








Settling down for the night at the eastern industrial estate.


Waking in the morning...








We're going to see the giant intersection from above, this time.




Next time - the final set from Part 3 of the Texas tour.
Krigl

[krigl]

Back with a final set from Part 3 of the Texas tour - Austin to San Antonio.


First of all, Happy Halloween : )


So here we are, checking out the great views from Austin's giant intersection.










Alright, time to finish off this stage of the tour.


Heading southwest towards San Antonio, the place where we started this stage... and where we'll also start Stage 4 of the Texas tour in (hopefully) a few weeks time.


Aaargh... not again.


Okay, just this once. I think I'll be able to get back on again soon.




Yep, rejoining the highway. San Antonio can be seen in the distance, so we're not going to be on it for long.


The whole stretch from Austin to San Antonio has a decidedly urban feel.


And indeed soon we're coming off again.






We're revisiting an industrial estate NE of San Antonio.


And here's the delivery point.






Time to end this part of the Texas tour. It's been great, with plenty of detail and variety. Or so it seems to me.




My next posts will be in my other thread, back in Europe, with a tour of ProMods central Norway.
Cheers!
Krigl

[krigl]

Hey there... I'm back for the fourth installment of the absolutely gargantuan Texas tour. This state is HUGE, and just packed with content and detail, so I'm covering it in 6 parts. This time - eastern Texas, or rather, the red part of the map below.



We're going to start in the western 'corner' of the red part, with some rather urban trips focusing on the cluster of 3 major cities - San Antonio, Austin and Houston - and then head eastwards, roughly speaking. The region is, I suppose, some sort of introduction to the kind of scenery we can expect in the southern states of the US: lots of trees, muddy rivers... probably. We'll see, or rather I'll see, as everyone else who has ATS has probably already been there. But there's a difference between DRIVING through it, and actually SEEING it. Well, here goes...


Here we are, at a rest stop NE of San Antonio.


On this section of the tour we'll be driving an International FLB cabover truck, a brutally simple-looking thing that doesn't appear much different from the trucks of the 1970s, or 60s, or even earlier. It's a decent mod, however, with plenty of options for 'tuning' its exterior - but today we're going for the starkly basic no-frills look.


Grabbing some house prefabs north of San Antonio. Let's go and check out a side of the city we haven't seen yet.




Turning southwards.


Passing the western side of the skyline, there's plenty to see.


I wrote in the other thread that this would be in 1.49, but I forgot that I'd already made one trip in 1.48, so... not this time.


Great details!




More concrete spaghetti chaos.


Rrroaaarrrrr.... Brutally simple perhaps, but still a good-looking truck even in its most basic form. And a better turning circle than the long-nosed tractors, or so it seems to me. Makes sense, right?


The south side of San Antonio.


They really want you to drink milk here.


Antiques roadshow.


Eastwards, eastwards...






A rest stop that you can actually visit. Looks pretty exotic.


What does that say?


Nope, not even close. Just off the top of my head, it's definitely not halfway between my home and my workplace in the Czech Republic for example, so they must be lying. AND THAT'S JUST ONE EXAMPLE.




I love this road texture.


Houston's Space Park, i.e. NASCSA


The buzz of traffic mingles with the buzzing of bees.


Roadworks ahead.


We'll complete this first journey to Houston next time.
Krigl

[krigl]

Continuing our journey from San Antonio to Houston in this set - the last in ATS version 1.48.


Widespread roadworks on the route.




I guess this is where construction vehicles park before they are needed.


Ah, the first muddy river. A very different vibe from central, western or northern Texas.


This landmark tells us we're in the vicinity of Houston.


Date palms.


Houston's skyscraper skyline.






Yet again, you can look, but you can't touch. No jobsites amongst the tall buildings.


They sure make for a great view, though.




Driving southwards past the western side of the city.






Delivery time.








Looks like these prefabs are going to be moved onwards by rail. Well, alright then.


One last view. We'll be back here in a couple of sets, as the next job from Austin also ended up coming here, I think. Or perhaps it just looks similar.


Talking of Austin, here we are in the state capital, replete and content after a delicious meal at Taco Kingdom. The moon can be seen in the sky, which means we're using version 1.49.


The cab interior of the FLB is rather decent.


Let's see how Austin looks by night.




More next time, as we drive from Austin towards Houston once again while the sun slowly rises and smiles upon the land...
Cheers! Krigl

[krigl]

In this set - night-time Austin skyline, and the route from Austin towards Houston in the early morning.


I am the passenger, and I ride and ride...


Singing la la la la la la la la


Spent a little more time decorating the rig for this set.


The sun rises on our first day under the HDR skies of 1.49. And it's goodbye to Austin - I doubt Dan will return, as there are no more roads leading to/from the state capital. We'll meet San Antonio yet again, though, in Part 5.


Off to the SE industrial estate.




Looks pretty nice so far, the new visuals, though I'm not sure there's a major difference between new vanilla and old Brutal Weather or Weather 2.whatever which I was using before, as they were kind of more dramatic and colourful than vanilla.


Picked up some cars from Voltison. None of the usual mods currently work for me, not even the couple that claim they are for 1.49. The game still crashes. However, I've decided that I'm not going to use 'real companies and logos' mods any more for touring SCS DLCs. ProMods yes, but not what SCS have originally made, as it's interesting to see what their graphic designers have come up with, and sometimes amusing. I'll save the more realistic stuff for PM areas and my ATS 'trucker' profile.




Yeah, I dunno, can't see a major difference in the visuals. Occasionally the truck looks a bit more 3D, or there's a bit more of a glow. It was similar when they made their lighting update. Things looked a bit better to me, but not radically so. Probably comparing now and before the 1st lighting update would show a bigger difference. I'm glad they're working on this aspect though.




Farmland as we head eastwards towards the highway that runs from San Antonio to Houston, i.e. the one we took for the first trip. We need to join that.










Grand entrance, and the ranch is for sale. A unique opportunity for prospective cowboys.


Rancher's eye view.


But... those aren't cows.


Buffaloboys then. Or perhaps these are beefalo?




Alright, we're back on the SA-Houston highway, passing those extensive roadworks, and these guys are still queuing for the john.


Why is it called the john anyway? It's apparently named after John Harrington, the British inventor of the flushing toilet (though he wasn't the first to invent such a thing)


Had to stop off at the scales.


And we're off again.


Houston awaits.
Krigl

[krigl]

In this set - finishing the trip from Austin to Houston, and then moving on to Waco.


Past those date palms again. The route is similar to, or even the same as, last time, but it still looks somehow... different. Maybe the new lighting is more impactful than I thought.


I know these guys, I know their style. Very determined to prevent ingress. They must have moved over here to Texas from Eugene, Oregon.






Really nice scenery around here. Really nice.




Concrete carpet.






Southwards ho.










Delivery time. Same spot as last time or not? I can't decide.






Did a 'hard delivery'. Don't need the XP, I've just acquired a taste for it...


Alright, we're done. Now to find the local teleportation device - we're starting the next trip from Waco.


Pyoinnnng. We're in Waco now, with a glitzy gold respray.


Quite a long trip this time, directly south from Waco to Victoria, which lies below the San Antonio - Houston route.




Picking up Waste Paper from what was the Coca Cola plant when I had the mod running.


Now it's USBB.


So, we'll get started on that trip next time. Lots of farmland and trees await. And cows. Real cows this time.
Krigl

[krigl]

Today we have a long, green (well, colourwise at least) journey down from Waco to Victoria.

Hauling a$$ out of Waco.


Over the bridge. We won’t be back to the city centre, so ta-ra!


Suburbs, maybe.


Horse trailers in said possible suburbs, plus… a horse? A statue of a horse? Going with the latter. Maybe all those trailers are filled with statues?


Lots of farmland, trees and rolling meadows on this southward trip.






Texas is famous for many things, cattle being one of them, and Texas Longhorns in particular.




Having a roadside barbie.


A one-street scenery town called Cameron lies on the route.






Well, evidently it has more than one street… but not for you and me. One day we will rise up against AI privilege...




Southwards once more from Cameron. What can I say but enjoy the green…


















A mother and her calf.


We got a ranch just north of La Grange. We call it: “The Ranch”.
Next time – the second half of the trip down to Victoria.
Cheers! Krigl

[krigl]

This time – a second set from a trip through eastern Texas from Waco down to Victoria.


Arriving in the small town of La Grange.
A-haw, haw, haw, haw
A-haw, haw, haw, haw
Rumor spreadin' 'round
In that Texas town
About that shack outside La Grange


Hands up who knows what’s special about that shack.
It’s not this place. This is Ned’s Bar and Grill.


That’s not it either, no no.


That’s the Texasske centrum ceskeho kulturniho dedictvi.


Nope.




So where’s the cathouse then?


A whathouse??? No idea what you’re on about. ZZTop were clearly referencing La Grange’s Inn of the Aztec Ancients, with Matthias and Saskia.






Not sure if this is still La Grange, or it it is Schulenberg, or some third place lying between the two. It’s pretty urbanised around here, in the neighbourhood of Austin and Houston.


This wouldn’t look out of place in an English country town. Probably not much more than a hundred years old though, if that.




Pretty sure this is Schulenberg, however. Halfway between Waco and Victoria.


Actually, no, it’s more like two thirds or three quarters of the way to Victoria from Waco.




That’s the highway from San Antonio to Houston behind us.




An underpass below the railway lines.


It’s fine to enjoy a picnic in the open air once in a while.


Last stretch to Victoria now.






We’ve arrived.


Victoria looks kinda ordinary, but these are just the jobsite-suburbs. We’ll check the city out more in Part 5 of the tour.


And we’ve made it to Wallbert. One double trailer of mould-encrusted used cardboard from the soft drinks packaging industry. Enjoy!
Next trip: From Waco eastwards to Lufkin. Cheers! Krigl