I would never have made this trip had it not been for a friend of mine who just kept insisting I’d never experience anything more beautiful in Texas, than a trip to the Hill Country to see the wildflowers.  Besides the flowers, we’d read where Mason County is the only place blue topaz can be found.  People come to Mason from all over the United States to dig for this gemstone. 

With a challenge put forth to me to see these flowers and dig for topaz, I accepted.  Soon after packing up the Airstream touring van we set out for a three day girl’s trip to the small town of Mason. 

My thoughts of Mason, while driving through its one main street was, “this town is a bump on a pickle.”  In the middle of Texas, the less than 3,000 residents go about their daily living and activities, overlooking the rest of the world, except at wildflower season.  Then a steady stream of traffic flows through the town enlarging the wildflower trails.  You’ll find many surprises in this small Texas town.  While a cursory overview may seem to the observer that there isn’t much to do here, you’ll be pleasantly surprised. 

Spend a day or two meeting the people who live in Mason.  We met Doris and Oliver Grote, owners of Country Collectibles – an unusual antique store filled top to bottom with furniture, lamps, posters, t-shirts, wall décor, knick-knacks, and just about anything you could name – it was there!  Doris has been written up in Texas Highways, Southern Living, and Texas co-op publications.  She is an excellent resource for where the best wildflowers can be found.  Oliver has become one of Mason’s experts on topaz.  When you think you’ve found some topaz on your dig, take the samples by his shop and let him put the stones through the test. 

Mason County is the only area in Texas where one can dig for blue or white topaz.  Topaz is the state’s gem and can only be found within the borders of the county where outcroppings of granite occur – mainly in streambeds or ravines.  Having a market value of $100/carat makes hunting for topaz more enjoyable. Local ranches where topaz has been found are:  Seaquist Ranch $15/day for adults and children age 12 and up.  Call 1-325-347-5413 for reservations and directions to the ranch.  The ranch where  we spent the day t for our dig was the Lindsay Ranch   or “Cabin on the Creek.”  At $10/day, getting to the riverbed was easy and the digging was very easy.  The riverbed is full of various pieces of granite, quartz crystals, and elusive topaz! 

Considered the “gem of the Hill Country,” Mason holds up to its reputation.  The millions of wildflowers including bluebonnets, Indian paintbrushes, black-eyed Susan, just to name a few can be found carpeting entire pasturelands.  Add a historic church with steeple and a quaint countryside graveyard, scatter in a few glistening fat Black Angus cattle and you have a beautiful pastoral landscape.

Since you’re reading this now, you’ve missed the opportunity to see these magnificent pastures of wildflowers for the year; however, it is never too late to dig for topaz!  I’d rather you wait, though, and combine the two events.   And since I did tell you this was an RV trip, you’ll want to find the Llano River RV Park.  There you’ll find a fairly new RV park with full hook-ups.  The quiet flowing Llano River will be at your “front door.”  For info on this RV park check out      Happy Traveling!   

(Photos are from my recent trip to Mason County - Taken by Rhonda Pipkin)