The charming little town of Llano is located seventy-five miles northwest of Austin. Situated along the banks of the Llano River, this historic town is the county seat of Llano County. This region of the Lone Star State is known as the Llano Uplift, a rock formation created when underlying granite pushed its way to the surface and gave us the Texas Treasure known as Enchanted Rock.

Llano is also home to one of the newest festivals in Texas. Held in March, the Llano Earth Art Festival, also known as LEAF, attracts folks from far and wide — especially those who love to stack rocks or who have a close connection with nature. LEAF features all sorts of cool activities, including earth and land art installations, a variety of workshops, a fashion circus, live entertainment, food vendors, and piles of rocks for novice and more accomplished rock-stackers.

The festival is held at Grenwelge Park on the south bank of the Llano River. Car camping and tent camping sites are available by reservation. I haven’t seen so many VW vans in one place since I was growing up in the sixties. This iconic vehicle continues to be a favorite of those who travel light and free and call the open road home. Very cool, indeed. My son and I pitched our tents among some of the friendliest and nicest people we have ever met.

At the heart of the Llano Earth Art Fest is something that is near and dear to my son’s heart — rock stacking! Jonathan started stacking rocks for fun about ten years ago and has left his temporary cairns along the banks of many a Texas river. I can barely stack one sheet of paper atop another so I am quite impressed by anyone who can stack rocks. I thoroughly enjoyed watching Jonathan and folks from all over the country and a few nations do the same.

LEAF prides itself as the host of the Rock Stacking World Championship, offering various categories of competition from balancing, arches, tallest stack, and artistic creations. The completion is fun to watch but what I found even better was strolling along the banks of the Llano River and watching the various rock stacking artists at work. A — maz —ing!

As much as I enjoyed the rock stacking and the food vendors, what I enjoyed most was the opportunity to meet so many interesting people. And I do mean interesting and super friendly and nice. And that’s really the coolest thing about a festival like LEAF. It is an event that brings people together and encourages everyone to slow down, walk slowly, have conversations, and make new friends.
Please don’t wait until next year’s festival to visit Llano. If the road takes you anywhere near central Texas, swing by and check out this lovely little town. After all, the infamous Bonnie and Clyde enjoyed Llano. You’ll likely enjoy it, too — especially if you are not running from the law!