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"Marathon," a hulking, abstract steer/longhorn sculpture of welded chrome and rusted steel by artist Bettye Hamblen Turner, marking the turnoff to the Benini Sculpture Ranch and Galleries on US 290 near Johnson City -- described by Texas Highways as looking like "what might happen if a bull mated with a Harley." Locally nicknamed "Robo-Cow," it greets thousands of annual visitors to the 145-acre sculpture ranch (once owned by Lyndon B. Johnson) and has been photographed for the Library of Congress's American Folklife Center as a distinctive piece of Texas roadside/highway art.
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Marathon Robo-Cow steel steer
This pin marks the Big Thing itself. If stopping, choose a safe and legal place nearby.
Site-level location · 30.2280° N, 98.4394° W
FIELD GUIDE
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PRACTICAL
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WHAT TO EXPECT
Free to view from the roadside at the ranch entrance; the ranch/gallery itself is best visited by calling ahead.
ACCESS
Entrance to the Benini Sculpture Ranch and Galleries, 377 Shiloh Rd (via US 290 and County Road 204/Flat Creek Road), near Johnson City, TX.
COMMUNITY
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TRANSPARENCY
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