After two days of driving south from Albuquerque to Las Cruces, and then east along I-10, we landed in Kerrville, Texas, Thursday, October 6, 2011. Thanks to a suggestion from fellow coachers who live in Texas, we landed in another beautiful coach site - Buckhorn RV Resort - to start our stay in Texas Hill County out right.
How much did we love the Texas Hill County? Let me count the ways (in no particular order): cowboy boots, small towns, friendly locals, beautiful scenery, boutique vodkas, polite drivers, clean rivers, stone architecture, the gates leading to large spreads, (did I mention boots?), music everywhere, the wine trail, open skies, and, of course, great food (although I will take a steak grilled by Benson over a Texas steak any day!)
One of our favorite local institutions that seems to have survived modernity are the dance halls. What pleasant surprises lurked behind inauspicious facades. In Bandera, what looked like a small run down saloon in the daytime ...
...turned out to be the oldest dance hall in this cowboy town, 11th Street Saloon, and a hopping place at night! We were lucky enough to participate in the weekly "meat night." Any time from 6 - 10 PM any Wednesday night, bring your own meat (or chicken, whatever) to grill on the communal kettle drums. Pay a few bucks to get a plate of sides and salad, then sit down at one of the high tops to enjoy your food, chat with your neighbor, and take a few turns around the dance floor, two-stepping to the music of a live band.
Another surprise was the famous Gruene (pronounced Green) Hall. As we walked past the hall, we heard music ...
...so we walked through the door, got a drink at the bar ...
...and then sat down to listen to some great rockabilly music.
Just missed Los Lonely Boys, who played at Gruene a few days before, and too soon for Lyell Lovett, who was scheduled to play the next week. It's not uncommon for Willie (Nelson) to drop by to play on Gruene's stage. The Guene Hall is a special place in country music.
The small towns of the Texas Hill Country, such as Bandera, Fredericksburg, Dripping Springs, Sisterdale, New Braunfels and Gruene offered a host of other interesting sights and sounds, shopping and sipping, and beautiful scenery all along the way.
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| Beautiful, clean rivers |
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| Missing a boot? |
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| Decorative metal forms adorn a ranch gate |
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| Apple strudel, anyone? |
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| New Braunfels, typical of the charming towns in the Texas Hill Country |
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| Could this hardware store be more organized? |
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| One of the many wineries in the Texas Hill Country |
The two major cities that border the Texas Hill Country are San Antonio and Austin. We did not spend too much time in San Antonio; took a carriage ride, took the usual walk and eat along the River Walk ... with Morty. As a nice touch, the restaurant gave Morty his own water bowl to enjoy while we ate. One of the biggest surprises for us was how huge and spread out San Antonio is!
Austin was the star of the show as far as large cities.
Literally. Texas lone stars everywhere!
Austin is also the home of Stubb's BBQ, a food/live music venue. You never know who will perform!
Austin is synonymous with music. Next time, we will need to spend more time there in the evening.
Next stop: the Gulf Coast
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