We have had very dry conditions for the past 3 or 4 years in Tennessee, but I don’t think I have ever seen any place as dry as South Texas. I don’t know how much of this is normal for this part of the country, however, there have been several indications that this is not normal. For one, several have said things like, “it is so dry this year,” or “it hasn’t rained in so long”. Two or three times we have heard the statement, “it hasn’t rained since October”. At first, I thought that an exaggeration, but as I look around at the miles and miles of brown ground, I am beginning to believe it. One thing I do know—we’ve been in Texas since January 21st and it has rained either a few short heavy bursts or a few sprinkles a half dozen times—but nothing like a slow, steady rain which is needed. For another, in our driving around we have noticed the dry creek and river beds. We have driven over numerous bridges bearing the name of a creek or river below which turned out to be bone dry. Another indication that this is not normal is the numerous “pray for rain” signs we have seen posted along the roadways. Ranchers have them attached to their fence rows.
If there ever was a good day for rain, this was it. It has been overcast all day with heavy, dark clouds in the sky this morning. They floated on by, however, without so much as a sprinkle.
After our big day yesterday, we weren’t much in the mood to take to the road today. We sipped our coffee and had a big breakfast of turkey sausage and pancakes. Gene got busy with trying to get our reservations for a campground near Big Bend National Park and I worked some on moving photos from my hard drive to CD. Mid-morning we took a break to go for a walk around the campground, then made a quick trip to the post office and stopped at Wal-Mart for a couple items. You would have thought this was April 15th for the number of folks at the post office this morning. Then it seemed like they all ran over to Wal-Mart to stand in front of the tomatoes and avocados. I don’t recall having to wait my turn at the tomatoes and avocados before.
I had intended to do some laundry this afternoon, but I haven’t felt my usual perky self today. Peanut and I took a nap instead while Gene rubbed on the Montana some.
I expect tomorrow may be another day very like today, except I will definitely have to do laundry. We are planning another big day Monday with a drive to Johnson City for the LBJ stuff.
Don’t forget to spring your clocks forward tonight for the beginning of Daylight Savings Time.
Saturday, March 7, 2009
Friday, March 6, 2009
Fredericksburg, Texas
Today we headed north about 40 miles into the heart of the Texas Hill Country and the town of Fredericksburg (named after Prince Frederick of Prussia). Fredericksburg, as well as other communities in the area, was established by German immigrants in the mid-1840s. The German influence is very prominent all over town; all over the Hill Country for that matter.
We decided to do the Volkswalk on this visit. The walk box was located at the Quality Inn. The AVA Club in this community has several walks here. We chose the Pilgrimage Walk through the historic downtown district. The walk began at the Quality Inn which was a good place to leave the truck, however, the City Visitor Center downtown had a large free parking lot which would have been just fine. They also have a walking tour which included all the same sites that were on the Volkswalk.
One of the most interesting things along the tour were the “Sunday Houses”. These were small, one-room houses built by German farmers for use when they brought their goods to market in town. The journey to market from their homes and then back again was too far to be done in one day. These dwellings typically consisted of one room plus a loft which was accessed by a ladder or stairs from the outside and a lean-to kitchen. The farmers made their trip into town on Saturday, did their trading, went to church on Sunday morning and then returned home in the afternoon. There are three or four remaining—one in the pioneer museum complex and the others privately owned.
In the Marktplatz is the Vereins Kirche (translated “community church”), an 8-sided structure which is the centerpiece of this small park. This Vereins Kirche is a reproduction of the original which was the first public building in the settlement and stood near the center of town. It was a multipurpose building serving as a school, a church, a town hall, and a fort to protect the townspeople from the Indians. Also located in the park was a tall pole with various characters depicting community life. I don’t know what the purpose of this poll is (or was). I’m wondering if it might be a May pole.
It had been recommended to us to go inside St. Mary’s Catholic Church. We went in both the old (built in 1863) and the new (built in 1908) buildings. The new St. Mary’s is a “painted church” and is beautiful inside. The sanctuary was far to large and too dark for my little flash to do it justice. In the picture I took you can’t even see the fabulous detailed stenciling.
Main Street is lined on either side by boutiques, antiques, and restaurants.
To round out our German experience for today, we had a late lunch at Der Lindenbaum Restaurant. Two restaurants had been recommended to us, however, the lady at the Visitor Center (who was obviously German herself) said Lindenbaum had the most authentic German food. Truly, it was very good.
We didn’t spend as much time in Fredericksburg as we would have liked, so I expect there will be a return trip before we leave the area.
The 6-mile walk, a healthy dose of history, a great lunch of bratwurst, German potato salad and sauerkraut, all made for a couple tired travelers this afternoon. Translated that means: sandwiches for supper and don’t ask me to get off the couch.
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| Old St Mary's Church |
We decided to do the Volkswalk on this visit. The walk box was located at the Quality Inn. The AVA Club in this community has several walks here. We chose the Pilgrimage Walk through the historic downtown district. The walk began at the Quality Inn which was a good place to leave the truck, however, the City Visitor Center downtown had a large free parking lot which would have been just fine. They also have a walking tour which included all the same sites that were on the Volkswalk.
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| Old County Jail |
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| A Sunday House |
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| Another Sunday House |
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| Vereins Kirche |
Main Street is lined on either side by boutiques, antiques, and restaurants.
To round out our German experience for today, we had a late lunch at Der Lindenbaum Restaurant. Two restaurants had been recommended to us, however, the lady at the Visitor Center (who was obviously German herself) said Lindenbaum had the most authentic German food. Truly, it was very good.
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| A May pole, maybe? |
The 6-mile walk, a healthy dose of history, a great lunch of bratwurst, German potato salad and sauerkraut, all made for a couple tired travelers this afternoon. Translated that means: sandwiches for supper and don’t ask me to get off the couch.
Thursday, March 5, 2009
Settling In and Getting Organized
This has been a very busy day for us. Gene spent most of the morning on the roof of our home. The Montana gets dirty just like the truck and has to be cleaned from time to time. The roof is especially troublesome. It collects dirt over time and a heavy dew or rain will wash that dirt over the edge causing black streaks on the sides of the trailer. So with hose, bucket, brush, and roof cleaner up the ladder he went. What little bit I can see looks a whole lot better. I worked on a few indoor chores, but mostly got caught up with e-mail and worked on my photos some.
For several days we have talked about the need to discuss when and where we are going from here. We have a general idea, but nothing specific. We know we need to be in Albuquerque mid April. We want to go to Big Bend and also to Guadalupe Mountains National Parks. Big Bend will definitely be next, but we hadn’t decided whether to try Guadalupe before the Rally in Albuquerque or save it until after hoping the weather will be nicer. Then there is the big question of what route to take to Oregon. We spread the map out on the table at lunch. That really helped. It was clear we don’t need to return to Guadalupe Mountains after Albuquerque. It is too far out of the way. We’ll do what we can the first week of April as the weather allows. Gene also called the Visitor Center at Big Bend National Park to get some driving information, but we don’t have a reservation at the campground yet. As far as the trip to Oregon, we both prefer to travel up the western side of Nevada from Las Vegas and cut across to I-5 near San Francisco. That is far as we got on those plans. It’s definitely a start.
After lunch, we went for a walk along the Number 9 Greenway trail, a rail-trail conversion. It was a paved walking path, but not very scenic. As we were walking, we discussed plans for the things we want to do in this area. Fredericksburg came up on the agenda for tomorrow.
Instead of coming straight home after our walk, we drove around the north end of Main Street for a bit looking at the old houses. We stopped in a bookstore to pick up a couple more Harry Potter books. We are nondiscriminatory in watching movies and reading books. We are about 10 years late with both. We also stopped at the Harley-Davidson store down the road from the campground. Gene wanted to purchase a gift for a friend. I had never been in a Harley-Davidson store before. Wow! That’s a whole nother culture.
For a stay-close-to-home day, it sure was busy. It may be early to bed for me tonight.
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| Kiosk with the history of the Railroad in Boerne |
For several days we have talked about the need to discuss when and where we are going from here. We have a general idea, but nothing specific. We know we need to be in Albuquerque mid April. We want to go to Big Bend and also to Guadalupe Mountains National Parks. Big Bend will definitely be next, but we hadn’t decided whether to try Guadalupe before the Rally in Albuquerque or save it until after hoping the weather will be nicer. Then there is the big question of what route to take to Oregon. We spread the map out on the table at lunch. That really helped. It was clear we don’t need to return to Guadalupe Mountains after Albuquerque. It is too far out of the way. We’ll do what we can the first week of April as the weather allows. Gene also called the Visitor Center at Big Bend National Park to get some driving information, but we don’t have a reservation at the campground yet. As far as the trip to Oregon, we both prefer to travel up the western side of Nevada from Las Vegas and cut across to I-5 near San Francisco. That is far as we got on those plans. It’s definitely a start.
After lunch, we went for a walk along the Number 9 Greenway trail, a rail-trail conversion. It was a paved walking path, but not very scenic. As we were walking, we discussed plans for the things we want to do in this area. Fredericksburg came up on the agenda for tomorrow.
Instead of coming straight home after our walk, we drove around the north end of Main Street for a bit looking at the old houses. We stopped in a bookstore to pick up a couple more Harry Potter books. We are nondiscriminatory in watching movies and reading books. We are about 10 years late with both. We also stopped at the Harley-Davidson store down the road from the campground. Gene wanted to purchase a gift for a friend. I had never been in a Harley-Davidson store before. Wow! That’s a whole nother culture.
For a stay-close-to-home day, it sure was busy. It may be early to bed for me tonight.
Wednesday, March 4, 2009
Paseo Del Rio river Walk
Whenever we mentioned that our trip included a visit to San Antonio, we were encouraged to be sure to do the River Walk. I guess everybody has forgotten about the Alamo after all. At least it is not the first thing they think of when you say “San Antonio”.
The River Walk is just that—a walk along the San Antonio River as it flows through the heart of downtown. This 2.8 mile stretch of river is bordered on each side by a walking path of cobblestone and flagstone. The river is some 20 feet below street level and is accessed at various points along the route by stairways leading to the path and the river below. The path which was completed in 1941 never attracted much attention and was all but abandon until 1968 when the city fathers decided to allow commercial development adjacent to the walkway. Restaurants, hotels, and boutiques drew the crowds and now it is one of the “must see” attractions for every tourist visiting the city.
We started our walk last Wednesday at the Visitor Center descending to the river by way of a stone stairway, past a waterfall, and through the Hyatt Hotel. At first, I was somewhat disoriented as we passed through what seemed to be outdoor cafes, dodging waiters and skirting diners enjoying lunch. Then I realized we were still on the path as it proceeds right through numerous riverside cafes. As we distanced ourselves from this initial congested area, the walkway took on a more relaxed atmosphere. Along the way, we occasionally took a stairway to street level to investigate a building’s architecture or to just look around at the city. We even stopped in for some cash when we passed the Bank of America.
The Southwest Craft Center was along the section we walked on last Wednesday. We ascended the stairs to see if we could get a peek at the Center’s French frontier architecture. The building was great and to our surprise it was open to the public and even had an exhibit for viewing. The building had been built in 1851 as a convent and girl’s school.
We continued our walk today, again descending to the river at the Visitor Center across from the Alamo. Turning left this time we walked along the path to it’s end then turned for the return trip along the opposite side of the river. Last night at Rudy’s, one of the staff suggested we stop at Casa Rio for a margarita. That we did this afternoon. I need to say just a few words about our allowance system then I’ll tell about our Casa Rio stop.
In our budget, we each get an allowance each month. That is money we each can do with as we please. I’m pretty good about saving mine. There really isn’t much that I need or want that falls outside of the regular household budget. Gene likes to spend his on coffee and ice cream. He’s always saying to me, “I’ll buy you a cup of coffee” or “how ‘bout an ice cream.” I always say “sure”. That way I get the treat but it comes out of his allowance. Occasionally, I get to feeling a little guilty about that behavior, so today, I told him I’d treat for the margaritas. The waiter came and before I could even fully determine what I wanted, he had ordered to top shelf margaritas. I haven’t had a top shelf in maybe 20 years and he’s never had one. I guess he could see the look of surprise on my face so he quickly announced something like “only the best for you”. He really should have stopped talking at that point, but he went on to say, “money is no object”. He really should have stopped talking at that point, but, sort of as an afterthought, he adds, “especially when you’re buying”. My only comment was to remind him that I write the blog. I can hardly wait until he offers to buy ice cream again.
Today, we also stopped at the Mission Concepcion. This is the best preserved of all the missions. Again, we took the tour with a very knowledgeable ranger.
I have included photos of Mission Concepcion along with many taken both last week and today of views along the River Walk.
The River Walk is just that—a walk along the San Antonio River as it flows through the heart of downtown. This 2.8 mile stretch of river is bordered on each side by a walking path of cobblestone and flagstone. The river is some 20 feet below street level and is accessed at various points along the route by stairways leading to the path and the river below. The path which was completed in 1941 never attracted much attention and was all but abandon until 1968 when the city fathers decided to allow commercial development adjacent to the walkway. Restaurants, hotels, and boutiques drew the crowds and now it is one of the “must see” attractions for every tourist visiting the city.
We started our walk last Wednesday at the Visitor Center descending to the river by way of a stone stairway, past a waterfall, and through the Hyatt Hotel. At first, I was somewhat disoriented as we passed through what seemed to be outdoor cafes, dodging waiters and skirting diners enjoying lunch. Then I realized we were still on the path as it proceeds right through numerous riverside cafes. As we distanced ourselves from this initial congested area, the walkway took on a more relaxed atmosphere. Along the way, we occasionally took a stairway to street level to investigate a building’s architecture or to just look around at the city. We even stopped in for some cash when we passed the Bank of America.
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| Casa Rio |
The Southwest Craft Center was along the section we walked on last Wednesday. We ascended the stairs to see if we could get a peek at the Center’s French frontier architecture. The building was great and to our surprise it was open to the public and even had an exhibit for viewing. The building had been built in 1851 as a convent and girl’s school.
We continued our walk today, again descending to the river at the Visitor Center across from the Alamo. Turning left this time we walked along the path to it’s end then turned for the return trip along the opposite side of the river. Last night at Rudy’s, one of the staff suggested we stop at Casa Rio for a margarita. That we did this afternoon. I need to say just a few words about our allowance system then I’ll tell about our Casa Rio stop.
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| San Antonio |
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| Mission Concepcion |
Today, we also stopped at the Mission Concepcion. This is the best preserved of all the missions. Again, we took the tour with a very knowledgeable ranger.
I have included photos of Mission Concepcion along with many taken both last week and today of views along the River Walk.
Tuesday, March 3, 2009
Wal-Mart and Rudy's
We had a great day to move to Boerne, Texas. We left late enough that we missed the morning rush hour traffic in San Antonio. We arrived at our new campground and were all set up in less than 2 hours from the time we left Hondo. We were all happy about that.
After lunch, we decided to search out the local Wal-Mart. I needed a few items from the grocery anyway. Only about a mile and a half from the campground we found the most amazing Wal-Mart we have ever had the privilege to visit. The first thing we noticed as we pulled into the parking lot was the Boerne Visitor Center. It was located in an old ranch house. We went in to see what we could learn and picked up a few brochures. We looked around the original, smaller ranch house and then we noticed the live oaks. Apparently, someone just couldn’t cut these grand old trees down when they put in the Wal-Mart parking lot, so they left them. There are several and they are fenced off protected from crazy drivers.
We finally got around to doing our shopping. The antler man was parked near us when we came out. What a hoot.
It has been several weeks since we had a taste of Texas BBQ so that was what we wanted for dinner tonight. Gene went into the campground office to ask their opinion on the best BBQ place near here. The unanimous vote was for Rudy’s. When we stopped in the Visitor Center, we asked those ladies their opinion of a good BBQ place nearby. Again, the answer was Rudy’s and you must try the creamed corn.
Rudy’s was something else. Originally, this was a gas station and general store called Rudolph’s. It came up for sale and Mack “Doc” Holiday bought the property. He turned it into a meat market which eventually evolved into the Rudy’s of today. You enter and select you drink from a long trough of iced beverages, stop at one end of the counter and place your side order, then continue down the counter to place your meat order and pay up. Gene had brisket and I had a half rack of ribs. We each had a side of corn and shared an apple cobbler. Plain sliced white bread comes with every order. We have had BBQ three times since arriving in Texas. Gene ordered brisket at all three places and he says they were all equally good. I had brisket the previous times, but my ribs tonight were far and away better than the brisket. The creamed corn, on the other hand, was to die for. It may have been the best corn I have ever put in my mouth. The cobbler was okay. It would have been better warmed with a scoop of ice cream on top.
The atmosphere of Rudy’s was fantastic. It is still a market and it still sells gas. At the back of the market are long folding tables with red checkered table cloths. You get your food in a dairy crate; you eat off of waxed freezer paper with plasticware. If I lived here, I’d have to go there at least once a month.
Tomorrow we are planning to head back to downtown San Antonio to finish the River walk and visit the Mission Concepcion.
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| Boerne Visitor Center |
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| Original Ranch house |
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| Windmill and water tank are also on the property. |
It has been several weeks since we had a taste of Texas BBQ so that was what we wanted for dinner tonight. Gene went into the campground office to ask their opinion on the best BBQ place near here. The unanimous vote was for Rudy’s. When we stopped in the Visitor Center, we asked those ladies their opinion of a good BBQ place nearby. Again, the answer was Rudy’s and you must try the creamed corn.
Rudy’s was something else. Originally, this was a gas station and general store called Rudolph’s. It came up for sale and Mack “Doc” Holiday bought the property. He turned it into a meat market which eventually evolved into the Rudy’s of today. You enter and select you drink from a long trough of iced beverages, stop at one end of the counter and place your side order, then continue down the counter to place your meat order and pay up. Gene had brisket and I had a half rack of ribs. We each had a side of corn and shared an apple cobbler. Plain sliced white bread comes with every order. We have had BBQ three times since arriving in Texas. Gene ordered brisket at all three places and he says they were all equally good. I had brisket the previous times, but my ribs tonight were far and away better than the brisket. The creamed corn, on the other hand, was to die for. It may have been the best corn I have ever put in my mouth. The cobbler was okay. It would have been better warmed with a scoop of ice cream on top.
The atmosphere of Rudy’s was fantastic. It is still a market and it still sells gas. At the back of the market are long folding tables with red checkered table cloths. You get your food in a dairy crate; you eat off of waxed freezer paper with plasticware. If I lived here, I’d have to go there at least once a month.
Tomorrow we are planning to head back to downtown San Antonio to finish the River walk and visit the Mission Concepcion.
Monday, March 2, 2009
A Quiet Day at Home
I don’t want to say it was a lazy day because we both got a lot of things done, especially stuff which needed to be done in preparation for moving tomorrow, but one in which we enjoyed. I even got the dreaded defrosting of the freezer done. I also did another load of laundry to clear out the dirty clothes hamper. The washer is only a dollar here and a dryer is 75 cents. Very few places are that cheap so I took advantage before our departure. Gene got the truck windows cleaned and trailer tires aired up. He also reviewed our bank e-statements and declared we have enough money to last til the end of the month. Well, that was good news. We each spent a portion of the afternoon with good books. So, even though a great deal of work was done, it was still a very relaxing, lazy sort of day.
This day started out on the very cool side at about 35. Thank goodness it didn’t get as cold last night as they were predicting—28. However, as the sun came up things warmed up quickly and in the end we had a glorious, sunny afternoon with temps around 70 and very little wind. As we went for our walk around the campground this afternoon, we saw many folks out enjoying the day. There were several who appeared to be readying their rigs for travel. We have noticed over the past couple of weeks that the campgrounds are showing several empty spaces now as the “winter Texans”, or “snowbirds”, are starting their northern migrations.
I just have to say a few words about tea. Good southerners that we are, we enjoy a big glass of iced tea. My favorite glass of the day is the one I have after dinner. For some reason I don’t enjoy any of the others as well. Since we have been in Texas, we have been having some difficulty with making tea with the water we get at the campground. My tea recipe is simple and I got it from my good friend, Rich Shaw. I have modified it a little bit because he makes his tea in the microwave, but I took his basic instructions along with a few words Barefoot Contessa said on her Food Network show one day to come up with what we like. I bring one quart of water to a boil on the stove. When the water is boiling, I turn off the heat and put in one family size tea bag (Lipton). I set the timer to let it steep for 5 minutes. When the timer goes off I take the tea bag out of the tea. I let it cool in the pan and never pour it into tea made previously (Alton Brown said not to do that on one of his Food Network episodes). This makes the strength of tea we like and it is a crystal clear light amber color. The water from the campgrounds here in Texas makes a very dark tea (about the color of cola) which has a light scum on top. Within 24 hours it is very cloudy. We started buying bottled water for tea and that has worked out well, though a bit inconvenient. However, today I was very discouraged when even the Hill Country brand bottled water made a dark tea. I guess I need to stick with Wal-Mart brand water.
Tomorrow is a travel day, but it shouldn’t take long as we have less than a 100 miles to go. Our new campground will put us in a better location for exploring Fredericksburg and the Hill Country. It will also be closer to Austin and closer to San Antonio than we are now. We have enjoyed being at this Escapee campground, but we have very poor TV reception and are, for some reason, in a dead zone for our Verizon phone service. Now that has been a bother.
This day started out on the very cool side at about 35. Thank goodness it didn’t get as cold last night as they were predicting—28. However, as the sun came up things warmed up quickly and in the end we had a glorious, sunny afternoon with temps around 70 and very little wind. As we went for our walk around the campground this afternoon, we saw many folks out enjoying the day. There were several who appeared to be readying their rigs for travel. We have noticed over the past couple of weeks that the campgrounds are showing several empty spaces now as the “winter Texans”, or “snowbirds”, are starting their northern migrations.
I just have to say a few words about tea. Good southerners that we are, we enjoy a big glass of iced tea. My favorite glass of the day is the one I have after dinner. For some reason I don’t enjoy any of the others as well. Since we have been in Texas, we have been having some difficulty with making tea with the water we get at the campground. My tea recipe is simple and I got it from my good friend, Rich Shaw. I have modified it a little bit because he makes his tea in the microwave, but I took his basic instructions along with a few words Barefoot Contessa said on her Food Network show one day to come up with what we like. I bring one quart of water to a boil on the stove. When the water is boiling, I turn off the heat and put in one family size tea bag (Lipton). I set the timer to let it steep for 5 minutes. When the timer goes off I take the tea bag out of the tea. I let it cool in the pan and never pour it into tea made previously (Alton Brown said not to do that on one of his Food Network episodes). This makes the strength of tea we like and it is a crystal clear light amber color. The water from the campgrounds here in Texas makes a very dark tea (about the color of cola) which has a light scum on top. Within 24 hours it is very cloudy. We started buying bottled water for tea and that has worked out well, though a bit inconvenient. However, today I was very discouraged when even the Hill Country brand bottled water made a dark tea. I guess I need to stick with Wal-Mart brand water.
Tomorrow is a travel day, but it shouldn’t take long as we have less than a 100 miles to go. Our new campground will put us in a better location for exploring Fredericksburg and the Hill Country. It will also be closer to Austin and closer to San Antonio than we are now. We have enjoyed being at this Escapee campground, but we have very poor TV reception and are, for some reason, in a dead zone for our Verizon phone service. Now that has been a bother.
Sunday, March 1, 2009
Hill Country State Natural Area
It got cold overnight. We woke up this morning to temperatures in the mid 30s. Quite a change from the 96 of Friday. Because it was so cool, we didn’t rush out of the house for our adventure today. We took our time to sip coffee, enjoy breakfast, and read a bit before heading out the door.
Our destination was about 25 miles north of Hondo at the Hill Country State Natural Area. We got there about 11, went in the park office to pay our fee, and were on the trail by 11:30.
This is apparently a very popular park with the horse people. There were several horse trailers in the parking lot. There were campsites large enough to accommodate those trailers with picnic tables and fire rings. There were no hook-ups, however, and no running water at all. There was one Johnny-on-the-spot and a pit toilet. Several sites were occupied with RVs set up for dry camping.
We did a 4-mile loop hike. Because these are horse trails, they are very wide and because it hasn’t rained here in a long time (we’ve heard the last real rain was in October) the trails are very dusty. The area reminded us somewhat of the cedar glades in Tennessee. There was very little topsoil covering rock, grass, cactus (mostly prickly pear), and cedar trees. These were not the Eastern Red Cedars of Tennessee, however. The land is not so flat here, but rather rolling. There were no steep areas to climb but the ranger cautioned us about the rocks along one area of the trail, but obviously he has never been hiking in Pennsylvania or New Hampshire where there really are rocks. We had to look on the map to know when we passed this “strenuous” area.
It was very good to be on the trail again. Of all the wonderful things to see and do in this great land of ours, hiking is my favorite.
We had our picnic after the hike while watching the horsemen care for their animals then a pleasant drive home through Texas farm country. We’ve had our showers and are just waiting for ice cream social at the clubhouse.
We are planning to move our home to a campground a little closer to Fredericksburg and Austin on Tuesday. It will actually be a little closer to San Antonio for the rest of the things we want to do there. Anyway, tomorrow will be a day to get ready to move.
Our destination was about 25 miles north of Hondo at the Hill Country State Natural Area. We got there about 11, went in the park office to pay our fee, and were on the trail by 11:30.
This is apparently a very popular park with the horse people. There were several horse trailers in the parking lot. There were campsites large enough to accommodate those trailers with picnic tables and fire rings. There were no hook-ups, however, and no running water at all. There was one Johnny-on-the-spot and a pit toilet. Several sites were occupied with RVs set up for dry camping.
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| View from the trail |
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| Backcountry campsite |
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| Looking toward Comanche Bluff |
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| View from Comanche Bluff |
It was very good to be on the trail again. Of all the wonderful things to see and do in this great land of ours, hiking is my favorite.
We had our picnic after the hike while watching the horsemen care for their animals then a pleasant drive home through Texas farm country. We’ve had our showers and are just waiting for ice cream social at the clubhouse.
We are planning to move our home to a campground a little closer to Fredericksburg and Austin on Tuesday. It will actually be a little closer to San Antonio for the rest of the things we want to do there. Anyway, tomorrow will be a day to get ready to move.
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