Lizbeth54's Journeys: Texas

Lockhart, Texas Courthouse

As my friend, Janet, would say, I'm back on the blog again. It has been way too long since I have written an update of our whereabouts.

TEXAS

We left Bernalillo, New Mexico in February and headed for Kerrville, Texas, to meet our friends, Bill and Char. They were on their way home to New Mexico after an extended RV trip. One of the best parts of being on the road is meeting up with friends along the way.

Char and Bill

We spent 2 weeks with Bill and Char at the Buckhorn Lake Resort. Hanging out with them is so much fun! We joined them on a bus trip to the town of Bandera to see the Mardi Gras parade, where I earned an enormous amount of bling! (Don't ask!)

Mardi Gras getup!

Bandera Bar Ceiling

"Float"

Another "Float"

We took one day to drive into Fredericksburg, which is steeped in Old World German heritage. We walked up and down the main street, Char popping into all the little shops, all of us stopping in Fischer and Weiser's shop to taste all of their yummy concoctions. (They make the Raspberry Chipotle sauce that I love and buy at Costco.)

Bill sampling all the goodies!

Char in Fredericksburg

Chester W. Nimitz statue in Fredericksburg

Fredericksburg is the hometown of Chester W. Nimitz, the Comander-in- Chief of the Pacific Fleet during WWII. It is also home to the National Museum of the Pacific War. We didn't visit the Museum but it looked to be worth the time. We just ran short of time that day.

The streets of Fredericksburg

Jim relaxing

Another day, we all went to the Nature Center in town and walked along the Guadalupe River. That is the place I saw my first Red-eared Sliders. These turtles were lined up along a log laying in the water. When we got closer to have a look, they scattered in all directions, sliding right off the log effortlessly. Hence, the name....and no photos! They are quick.

Along the Nature Trail

Cypress Trees on the Guadalupe River

Our visit to San Antonio was a wonderful experience. We walked up and down the River Walk and took the River Cruise guided tour. The four of us also visited the Alamo while we were in town. What an awesome bit of history!

San Antonio River Walk

River Cruise on San Antonio River

Our visit to the Alamo with Char and Bill

The Alamo

We shared several campfires with Char and Bill, many meals and some fun times. We were very sad when they had to continue on their way. We stayed another week after they left to deal with some issues with our truck. We had to have some warranty work done on the exhaust system.

Sights around Kerrville

One of our stops near Kerrville

March 7th found us checking into our next RV park, Cottonwood Creek RV Park, just west of the town of Dripping Springs, Texas, which is located southwest of Austin. There, we settled in for a month's stay among the oak and cedar trees so prevalent in this Hill Country of Texas. This park is literally nestled in among the trees and situated on acres of wooded land, threaded by over 2 miles of walking paths. Really nice.

Blanco River in Blanco State Park

Interesting Birdhouse Complex in Blanco State Park

While in Dripping Springs, we had opportunities for so many excursions. Close proximity to several State Parks and a National Wildlife Refuge prompted us to buy a yearly Texas State Park Pass for $70.00. Admittance to each park costs $5.00 or $6.00 per person, so we only need to use it a few times and it pays for itself. We were only about 15 miles from Pedernales Falls State Park, 25 miles from Blanco State Park and about 65 miles from Balcones National Wildlife Refuge. Pedernales Falls State Park had several bird blinds set up so Jim and I took the opportunity to shoot birds close up.

One of Jim's birds from our Pedernales Falls State Park sessions in the bird blinds

One of our first trips was to meet some friends we met on the internet. Jim and Mark started corresponding on a photo website probably about 8-10 years ago. Then I "met" Mark on a photo website Jim started. From there, we progressed to being friends on Facebook. Last year, we became friends with his wife, Linda, as well.

Another view of the Lockhart Courthouse

We drove to Lockhart, Texas, to meet up with them the first Sunday we were there. I find it interesting to meet people in person that I've only spoken with via computer. We had a "get-to-know-you" lunch over some Texas BBQ. Fun time. Before we left the area, we drove over to the town they live in, Belton, and visited one more time. Now we have faces to match the computer personalities.

When we arrived in the Austin area, unbeknownst to us there was a festival going on....only the biggest one they have: South by Southwest (SXSW). We drove into Austin in search of a store and ran into all the crowds and traffic. Thought we were never going to get out! We did not venture into Austin again until the festival was done.

We are lucky to have another couple that we know living in the Austin area, Vanessa and Greg. I used to work with Vanessa at Topform Data many years ago. When she left Topform, we continued to see each other for wine dinners and book club meetings. We converse on Facebook all the time too, so when I learned we were going to be in the Austin area, I made arrangements to visit with them.

Wine tasting with Vanessa

We had a few dinners with both Greg and Vanessa, then Vanessa and I had two "wine outings", visiting wineries in the area. The first time we visited three, one that both of us loved, Duchman Winery. It is located in Dripping Springs and has some fabulous wines. The second time we went we saw four wineries. Two of them were not good at all, the other two were okay. But we had lots of fun traveling around and seeing the countryside. She had not been to any of the wineries since she moved there, so my visit gave her a good excuse to check out the Texas wine country.

While we were in this area, Jim and I went to Stonewall, Texas and toured the Lyndon B. Johnson ranch grounds and the Texas White House. That was extremely interesting for me. His presidency took place when I was a child and was very ignorant about politics.

LBJ's Airforce One

Seeing where he and his family lived, where he was born and raised, really helped me understand what shaped LBJ politically. Part of this site is located in Junction, Texas, the childhood home when they "moved to town". All in all, a tour I highly recommend. (No photos allowed inside the house unfortunately)

We left Dripping Springs and moved to the Houston area, staying at the Heartland RV Park in Huntsville, not too far from Trinity. We spent two weeks there, from April 7th through the 21st. The Camp Host was next to us and he had several bird feeders set out, as well as a squirrel feeder.

Unidentified bird

Raiding the feeder

We spent many mornings and afternoons watching the antics of the squirrels fighting over "ownership" of the feeder. They were very entertaining. There were so many different types of birds that hung around. We are woefully ignorant of bird species so Jim downloaded an app to help us identify the various birds. Both of us spent time taking photos of the birds.

Ken and Jim waiting for a photo opportunity

Friends we met in South Dakota and whom I wrote about in my blog, (see "Southern Hospitality in South Dakota", July 2012) Ken and Barbara, live in Houston, but have an RV site in Trinity. They were staying there for several weeks so we were able to connect with them.

Barbara got caught!

The real culprits!

We spent the better part of 4 days with them, hanging out at their site on Lake Livingston, sharing some restaurant meals and visiting the Texas Prison Museum in Huntsville. This museum is indeed unusual. Quite interesting too. Some famous criminals spent time in the Huntsville prisons, including Clyde Barrow of "Bonnie and Clyde" fame. We got to see the actual electric chair, "Old Sparky".....eerie.

"Old Sparky"

Ken and Barbara's campground in Trinity is beautiful. We really enjoyed our time with them, sharing several camp fires and meeting their neighbors. We were sorry to leave their company but I'm sure we will see them again down the road.....

While we were in the Houston area, we took a day and went to Johnson Space Center/NASA and took the tour. It wasn't really much of a tour, but I did find it informative.

Russian Soyuz capsule

The Hill Country and East Texas are absolutely beautiful, much more so than I ever imagined. When I thought of Texas, I thought of desert, hot weather and cattle....it is much, much more. Now I understand why Texans are such proud folks.