It's a 40-minute drive from Austin to the quintessential Texas ranch town of Bastrop, where cowboy hats, cowboy boots, and pickup trucks drift along frontier-style storefronts and main streets whose layout has changed little since the 1830s.
People who live in the 12,000-person town, home to 131 nationally registered historical sites, describe it as a rare preserve of Old Texas—a hunk of land that has managed to stay outside of Austin’s grip and sprawling growth.
