Fredericksburg to Luckenbach, Texas

Before the cold front blows into Texas we headed out to Fredericksburg to visit the town and to have lunch at a German restaurant with a couple Larry and Gail met during their travels.

A quaint town with many old limestone buildings and the scattered reminders of a German heritage.

Originally a private residence and general store, built in 1833.  Converted to a hospital in 1938.  It's now a retail kitchen supplies store.  

Many wine tasting shops and upper end furniture and accessories shops line the streets.

We had lunch and a long visit with Mike and Linda.  We parted, leaving  Fredericksburg behind and Luckenbach in our sites.  All I knew of Luckenbach wss related to Willie Nelson's song.

The braids gave it all away.

Luckenbach,  with a population of 3, is a community in an unincorporated area 13 miles from Fredericksburg.

And what a fun place! Just plain fun walking around the grounds.  This is country music Texas style. Maybe 50 people were there milling around. I would love to be there with a capacity crowd.  What a hoot.   I think.

A sweet yard cat.

Jimmy could play anything from Willie to Jimmy Buffett  to Donna Summer.

We sat outside and enjoyed the music while quenching our thirst on soda.  This is a great picture of Larry.

Shannon and me enjoying the music.

This ones just for Bill.

Boy can we kill a day goofing around.  Ain't retirement grand.  Come back again.

Susan 

Bandera, Texas - Cowboy Capital of the World

Bandera, cattle drives of the late 1880s and Cowboy Capital of the World go hand in hand.  Also the Apaches, Comanches and Spanish Conquistadors  had ongoing bloody feuds for decades  over hunting grounds.

Breakfast was in town at OST with Larry's nephew Randy and his wife.
.

If you always wanted to ride a horse but haven't, then this is your last (almost) opportunity to get the feeling.

The OST had a beautiful tin ceiling.

There was a wide variety of shops awaiting us outside of OST. The General Store with resident entertainer was once an old fashioned soda fountain. 

We found ourselves on an auxiliary town road off the beaten path.  Oh my, what have we here?  Motorcycles parked up and down the streets.  Dozens of bikes. We had to go check out the 11th Street Cowboy Bar - The Biggest Little Cowboy Bar in Texas.

The entrance raises no red flags.   Procede with caution.

Okay, now here's a double take and a definite indicator of wild times past.  I doubt that has changed.

Alright, this is a hardy party zone.  A real fun place to kick back and watch the wild and fearless unfold.  

HEE HAW Y'ALL. 

"Other" live entertainment takes the stage, providing the less wild an outlet for fun and dancing.  We'll need to go back another night.

Had a good breakfast, fun shopping and bought a 50# sack of deer corn for calmer nights of entertainment.  

Home Again.

Our site is so pretty with Texas wildflowers and cactus. Oh, and not to be forgotten, we also have traveling Alaskans nearby.

And deer. Larry and Gail got a 50# sack too.  We're going to fatten up these deer before we move on.

Bill, Shannon and I took the girls on a walk along Medina Lake.

Saw a skunk waddling through the grass with a lady attached to it.  Meet Tank.  He's tame, destinked and willing to be placed in our arms for a photo opt.

More fun stuff ahead.  Your comments are welcome.  Please visit us again.

Susan

Hello San Antonio

After a night at Wal Marte' in Fort Stockton and restocking our fridge and pantry, we headed toward San Antonio just before dawn.

A beautiful sunrise in a cloudless sky. 

Entrance to Medina Lake, about 35 miles west of San Antonio, Texas. 

We sat outside enjoying the beautiful day with Jerry and Ing. Deer were everywhere.  Don't rattle a bag because every deer in earshot will be there in seconds.

A young 3 point.  Very tame.

You know, most of us will be content to be near or just to have a deer eat from your palm.  But no, Larry wants to challenge one.

This one was a little shy.

More better.

Roo keeping a close eye on deer threats.

It's good to finally be near San Antonio.   So many places to visit.
So many shops.
So little time.

Susan

So Long Lajitas

A recovery day from hiking gave me an incentive to clock some steps and satisfy my curiosity about the town cemetery at the entrance to Maverick Ranch.

Now a Historic Site, the Lajitas Cemetery quietly holds the remains of 26 locals, primarily Hispanics and settlers.

Keeping a steady eye out for snakes or any other creepy slitherers, I walked through the gates.  What I noticed first off was the lack of any rows or plan to the graves placement.  Many were marked only with iron cross markers.  Possibly the wooden name plates long withered away.  

Rock mounds mysteriously set haphazardly around the cemetery.  Some with only an iron cross, some with just rocks.

A veteran.

Scattered about were a few headstones of various sizes, including a family plot.

I left by the side gate with a prayer in my heart.  Rest in peace.

A parting shot.

Rounding the bend in the road I look up and see the Lajitas Peak through the trees.  This really is a peaceful place to rest for eternity.

Tomorrow we head to San Antonio,  after a stop in Fort Stockton. 

Come visit again.

Susan

Santa Elena Canyon, Big Bend National Park

On the road by 9 a.m. we headed back into Big Bend National Park. Everyone was looking forward to our planned hike. 

Santa Elena Canyon.  Mexico just the other side of the water.  We walked into the canyon with awe but not without mishap.

A passing hiker said this egret had been standing motionless and patiently for 2 hours.  It would stay until it caught it's fish.  It was gone when we returned after our hike.

We had to move 50 yards upstream to get across the water and hike into the canyon.  A few wet feet resulted from our absense of graciousness  and direction control.  Larry was wondering why his legs got wet.  Shannon and Gail watch in wonderment. Bill's checking the banks for lurking predators one last time. I'm safely up the bank having some giggles.

Though the Rio Grande fell short on the grande, it made up for it by it's beauty and scenic quality.

We began our upward climb taking a moment to soak up the vista or catch our breath.

Entering the canyon you realize it's size and how we pale in contrast.

It was challenging to capture the height while inside the walls.

In the distance you see the sun reaching across the far wall.

Almost to the end we reached a giant boulder resting on the river bank. Since our rock climbing days are over and the unappealing other option of swimming out into the river to pass the boulder wasn't happening, we turned back.

Our granola hiker emerges from the overgrowth.

Gail and I are having a great hike.

Here comes Larry, Gail and Bill.  Granola girl and I are out ahead scaring the snakes away.

The snake back trail below is the beginning of the hike and doubles as the end.  Down to the beach it leads us through low hanging brush.

We all used our now refined graciousness and direction control to scamper back across the stream.  All but two.  Enjoy. We got a good laugh.

Safe at last.

We piled back in the car and drove 8 miles to Castalon Visitor Center.  The most interesting was the view back to see Santa Elena Canyon.

The ranger station.

Some rusting cotton picking and processing machinery.

A beautiful panorama view as we drove back to Lajitas.

Now that was an excellent senior hike. Tomorrow we recover and make ready for our drive to San Antonio.  We've had a fun week at Maverick RV Park,  seeing the sites and taking our hikes, snakes and all.

 See you real soon.

Susan