Texas Hill Country 2001

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Texas Hill Country 2001

The sites include : Visits to Longhorn Caverns, Inks Lake State Park, The Admiral Nimitz and South Pacific Museum and Enchanted Rock.

Star Date : 11/15/2001 - Thursday

Thursday evening. I packed up the car and headed for Evelyn's. Oh yes, it was her birthday and God forgive me if I forgot her gifts. So we crashed for the night for the big trip the next day.

By the way, we had really only known each for two weeks. Evelyn found me here :

Star Date 11/16/2001 - Friday

We finally loaded up the car and these Texas Road Runners were off. I honestly had no idea on what was ahead or planned. Evelyn planned it all. We took the back roads to Gatesville and I was given a brief tour of the Gatesville prison system. As it turns out, Gatesville is the county seat of Coryell county. I guess we were speeding, but we managed to loose them. Unfortunately, they were very persistent. We then proceeded west on Hwy 84 and then south on Hwy 281. There, in Event, TX, we stop at the local cafe and I had the best hamburger in my life for lunch. No Joke!!!

After a brief lunch, we continued south on Hwy 281. I had never been this far north on Hwy 281, so I had better consult the map :

This is one map of Texas that I highly recommend. The map has been divided into sections and is laminated so that you can fold it so you only need to read the area you need to read. The lamination also makes the map very durable to survive various spillages and other unpleasantness that may happen on the road. For you very own, click on the map to the left or on the link below to the book/map dept. of the gift store :

The Texas Road Runner Gift Store

We finally arrived to the Burnet area. There, we stopped for our first adventure, Longhorn Caverns State Park. Unfortunately, the next tour of the cave would not start for another couple of hours. So we headed down the road a ways toward Inks Lake State Park. On the way, we found this castle. We hiked around the park, made some friends and then headed back to the cave.

Our guide showed us the way in and gave us a history lesson of the cave. We finally made it in and began our decent. The cave only offered a few interesting formations. It did however, have some interesting calcite.

After the tour, we continued south on Hwy 281 till we hit Johnson City and then took Hwy 290 west to Fredericksburg. We found our B&B, The Inn on the Creek, and unloaded. For more information on Texas B&B's, check out the following books :

Hunger set in again, so we walked to the Fredericksburg Brewery for dinner and entertainment from a German ump-pa band. We then walked around the main drag of downtown and checked out the various trendy gift stores. You know the type, they sell fancy soaps and candles. It was then getting late, so we returned to the B&B and retired for he night. I really had no idea what was planned for the next day.

Star Date : 11/17/2002 - Saturday

Ok, up and early. The Admiral Nimitz and South Pacific Museum was just across the street. Time to check it out. I had been there once when I was just a kid and it was not more than just a warehouse full of military stuff. But, wow now! They really did an awesome job with all the exhibits. I saw my favorite gun, some outside exhibits such as, I don't know, some kind of a gun? A submarine that goes not just under water, but also under the ground. No wonder we won the war! And an old tank.

Well it was time to head to Enchanted Rock! Enchanted Rock is the second biggest granite outcropping of granite in North America. First you had to cross a little dam. Half way up were a bunch of boulders. Then on top you felt like you were on some desolate planet. I can't believe I carried that thing all the way to the top. Even though it was quite cloudy that day, the view from the top was great. Boy, you sure are a ham with the camera. Well, we made it back down and made a new friend. Enchanted Rock is an excellent State Park. There is plenty of camping and hook-ups for RV's.

We headed out to Kerrville. Evelyn made reservations at the Waltonia Lodges. Unfortunately, due to the recent rains, the natural bridge/dam across the Guadalupe river was impassable. So, we hung around Ingram and visited Miss Kitty's bar. We met an old gent who had his dog with him named snowball. He told us tale after tale, but we needed lodging. I finally got through to the local Best Western and once that was squared away we hit "The Ole' Watering Hole" The Cosmic Dust Devils were playing. Thank God there was plenty of parking. They were great!!! Mingling with the locals was also great too !!!

Star Date : 11/18/2001 - Sunday

Do we really have to go home? I am having too much fun down here. Breakfast was at the Cracker Barrel, then we headed back home. We stopped at Johnson City for a little antique shopping and of coarse to catch up on the news. In Marble Falls, we checked out the granite quarry. Though they process local granite, they also process granite from all over the United States. We had lunch in Lampasas at a local Mr. Gatti's (I thought they went out of business?) And finally back Evelyn's. Well, time for me to head for home. I have work the next day. If Evelyn is into all these Texas road trips, then I had better start doing my research :

So until next time, take care and I'll see You, on the road!!!

Francis