Bandera!

Well, unfortunately we have been unable to spend much time in the Cowboy Capital of Tejas. Two cats that have needed medical attention have kept us in Houston for this whole month.

Recently, I got a letter from the RV park in Bandera warning that from time to time there is a risk of our rig floating away if a huge thunderboomer blows by. Seems the area is flood-prone! The city will actually fine you if your rig floats down the 'river'.

We just spent a little time in Bandera and we'll be returning in a couple o' days. The creek didn't rise, and the weather looks good for a while.

Last night, some of the folks in the park did a little pickin' and grinnin'. Nothin' like some home-grown Hill Country country music to make yew think of.... beer. Barbeque. Big ol' steaks. Beer.

Makin' some music.

Mo' Hill Country

Wednesday. Austin, TX. Blue skies. Slightly chili, er, chilly. Lotsa hot air from the Capitol building.

Thursday. On the road to Marble Falls, TX. Wandering along a ridge trail. A herd o' wild turkeys wanders past. There goes a fox! Blue skies, room temperature. Inks Lake, near Marble Falls, TX. Watching a red-headed wood pecker a' pecking. There goes a racoon...

Friday, Near Boerne, TX. Colorado River flowing slowly over loose, polished gravel. Steep sandstone cliffs on the other side o' the river.

Bandera, TX 77 degrees. Sunny. Blue skies. It's so dry that my wrinkles have wrinkles. Et some 'Hubba Bubba Barbeque' boneless ribs. Every other vehicle is a pickup truck. There goes a cowboy riding a horse in town. Ooops. Someone needs to clean up the horse doo on the street. Chili cookoff starts Saturday. Um, well, I have to be at work this weekend, so's I'll be missing the heartburn.

Bandera, Tejas

Dubbed the "Cowboy Capital of the World" by locals as well as visitors, Bandera is a historic and inviting city full of antique shops, arts and crafts stores, dude and guest ranches and hunting opportunities. The city's namesake park is an idyllic 77 acres of woods and crystal clear waters nestled on the Medina River and State Highway 173 in Bandera, Texas. The bald cypress-shaded Medina River provides opportunities for day use activities such as swimming, tubing, kayaking and fishing, as well as relaxing riverside picnics and bar-b-queues (BBQs). According to the Texas Parks & Wildlife Department, this segment of the Medina River is the fourth most popular for floating in Texas and has exceptional water quality. A small spillway dam on the west side of State Highway 173 maintains a fairly constant water level in the park.

At 1/2 mile in length, the park provides hikers and nature lovers with views of native vegetation, such as Ashe juniper, sycamore, hackberry and live oak. Over 200 birding species have been identified in Bandera County, including yellow-throated warbler and summer tanager. Bandera City Park is part of the Heart of Texas Wildlife Trail (East) -- one of several driving trails in Texas that have been developed to help birders and other wildlife enthusiasts discover and celebrate Texas nature.

Overnight camping is not permitted within the park, but there are numerous RV parks, motels, bed & breakfasts (B&B's) and dude ranches in Bandera.

~Wild Texas

Farm Fresh Onions

Robert Earl Keen's song, 'Farm Fresh Onions' epitomizes what's good about the Tejas Hill Country. This bit o' heaven is becoming more popular as many retirees are building retirement houses on the beautiful hillsides. Never-the-less, the spirit o' the Hill Country will live on as more and more folks move there to enjoy natural beauty.

Farm Fresh Onions:

Truth is all I'm looking for
From town to town
And door to door
Happiness is nothing more
Than Sunday at the zoo
Ridin’ high inside the wires
Is the sum of all my desires
Earth and rain
All I want is love for me and you
Farm fresh onions

Big and round
Sweet and real
Good to eat and they appeal
To anyone who wants a meal
It’s sure to fortify
Kiss the stars
And sweat the ears
It appears that all your fears
Won’t bring to you those happy tears
It feels so good to cry
Farm fresh onions...

Now that's poetry.

Movin' the Windy to Bandera

In the next few weeks we'll be enjoying the livin' at the friendly town o' Bandera, Tejas. Always popular for its dude, er, guest, ranches, Bandera has become a great place to park the RV and wander about.

Fotos will be forthcoming.

Waelder, Old Moulton, New Moulton

One of several old Victorian homes in Waelder, Tx. Looking a little forlorn, and wearing odd siding, this house barely reflects the charm that must have been evident when it was built. This house was built in Waelder's heyday.

Waelder is just off I-10, west of Houston and it is an example of a town that declined when the interstate highway system bypassed it. A new sign of life is evident in town where a new food processing plant is in operation.

A Baptist church in Old Moulton, TX. The original town was blown away by a hurricane in 1886 (gee, a strong hurricane before global warming). Shortly after the storm, a railroad located nearby, so the town rebuilt on the railroad. This church is all that remains of the original town of Moulton.

Two important bidnesses in New Moulton! Not much of downtown was opened on this Saturday late morning.

A rainy drive back to Houston. Most fitting.

Tejas Hill Country '07 - '08

Campin' in the Hill Country at Buckhorn Lake RV Park near Kerrville, TX. This is the view out the front window. I believe the word is 'bucolic'...


This is the view out the side winder. Ducks are around this park. They were swimming in the stream even when the temperature was below freezing. Tejas has strong ducks.

Home on the range.

Roofs.

The Beast at rest. It was such a hard drive.

I don't care what England sez, 'Stonehinge' is in Tejas. Their's is just a pile of rocks.

I guess evil English lawyers got to the mysterious being who created 'Stonehinge' eons ago, and made the being call his creation 'Stonehenge II'. But I know better. It's a conspiracy.

Texas trailer park.

A winter scene near Gonzales, Tejas.

Rocks.

Some people are never content with the beauty around them. Imagine owning acres in a beautiful Hill Country setting. Why would anyone have the gall to dig up a purdy stream and pile up mounds of dirt? I can only hope this person is making a pond. Of course, it'll be quite a while before this area looks natural again. A shame.

A Nice Thanksgiving

The deelicious turkey cooking for 12 hours in the crock pot. MMMMMMM!

The table, waitin' for eats.

Merry Christmas 2007!

The tree is all decorated and waiting for Santy!

Dusty Britches Tour, 2007

A desert road in Big Bend National Park.

More green than you might expect! There's been lots of rain 'round heah.

The Chihuahua Desert in Tejas.
Lunchtime for kitty in Big Bend National Park. Between a picnic area and a campground.

When the Sunset Limited goes by, the population of Marathon, Tejas temporarily triples!

Sunset in Marathon, Tejas.
The view to the west from our Marathon campsite!

McDonald Observatory. No Big Macs.
A green valley near Ft. Davis, Tejas.

Hill Country streams.

Yummy! A crawdad!

Frog eggs in a Hill Country stream.

A place to sits in Llano, Tejas.
Quats checkin' out the groceries.

Nothin' like good cookin' outdoors!

World's largest beer can!
Wild flowers at Wildseed Farms in Fredericksburg

Sunset near Fredericksburg, Tejas.
Rv'n in the Tejas Hill Country.

The Dusty Britches Tour Begins!

September 1st.

We'll start in the Texas Hill Country and from there, who knows?

See 'ya later in the month!

Savin' the Kitties in the Midwest

Flooding continues in the Midwest. This guy knows what's important!

The Crib is Done

The Eclectic Sitting Room upstairs.

Watchin' the Concert For Diana in the den.