Alpine, Texas is in a valley, surrounded by three different mountain ranges near Big Bend. You can see some of the grassy peaks in the shot of the Big Bend Wool and Mohair Company, which was not too far from our hotel. Like most of the wool and mohair warehouses we saw, it was next to the railroad track.
Alpine is the home of Sul Ross State University, where Charles was attending a conference. The university may be one reason why such a small town is such a great place for book lovers! We spent a long, long time at Front Street Books, which has new and used books. I bought a stack of old needlework and craft books. Charles chose a bunch of books for me to give him for Christmas.
Volunteers run a bookstore called Re-Reads, which helps support the Alpine Public Library. I struck gold there: a Perry Mason casebook, featuring four full-length Perry Mason novels, three of which we didn’t already have! And for only $2.00. A bargain at twice, three times, four times the price. We are fans.
Alpine has a yarn store, but it closed at 11:00 a.m. on Saturday. I arrived, ready to shop, at 11:45. Inside, I saw sun-faded sewing notions on the window sill and a sad little display of crafts on a table. A lone bag of yarn was strewn on a shelf. A room further back was too shadowy to see into, but I feel certain I didn’t miss much. I won’t give you its name, because you can look it up if you’re ever there.
As we drove back eastward, we saw the Texas Wool and Mohair Association warehouse in Mertzon, Texas, which is west of San Angelo. The sign at Ballinger Wool and Mohair looked like it was recently painted, so I think they’re still in business. I’d like to check back at these places in the spring when the wool comes in.