Tourist Attractions – Page 12

Into the Texas Plains

April 18, 2015May 26, 2015Posted in Historic Sites, Road Trip, RV Parks, RVing, State Parks, Texas, Tourist AttractionsTagged Abilene, Buddy Holly, Buffalo Gap, Frontier Texas, Lubbock, The Crickets17 Comments

The landscape changed from vibrant green rolling hills and roads lined with bluebonnets to flat, brown plains as we drove north to the small town of Buffalo Gap where we camped at Abilene State Park. Huge buffalo herds once traveled through the area where the town is today. Many of the cattle drives also came through the area.

Visiting with my friend Tim was the highlight of the day!

We had a great visit with my high school friend Tim, a 7th generation Texan who has lived in Arlington most of his life. He picked a beautiful, sunny day to drive over to Buffalo Gap to see us.

We drove to nearby Abilene to see the western heritage exhibits at the Frontier Texas museum in Abilene. We learned a lot about the history of the area from the prehistoric days to the wild west. Everything was very well done through exhibits and two excellent films.

Outside the Frontier Texas Museum in Abilene

Buffalo Skulls

Closeup of one of the skulls

Map of Texas Cattle Trails

Buffalo Hump was the name of a fictional character in Lonesome Dove

Buffalo Weather Vanes

Giant buffalo skull at Frontier Texas

From Buffalo Gap we continued through the Texas panhandle driving through miles and miles of plains to Lubbock. Around Sweetwater we saw huge wind farms on top of the buttes and lots of oil pumps across the plains. As we approached Lubbock there were huge cotton fields on either side of the road.

The highlight of our trip to Lubbock was a visit to the Buddy Holly Center. Buddy Holly was born and raised in Lubbock and began his music career there. Two of his biggest hits with Buddy Holly and the Crickets were “That’ll be the Day” and “Oh Boy”.

Buddy’s music was a big inspiration to many of the British bands who became superstars later. The Beatles, the Rolling Stones, and Elton John all credit Buddy Holly as a big influence in their music. The Rolling Stones first hit, “Not Fade Away”, was a Buddy Holly song.

Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens, and J. P. Richardson (“The Big Bopper”) died tragically in a plane crash on February 2, 1959 while touring across the Midwest. One of the members of Buddy’s touring band for the tour was Waylon Jennings. Waylon was supposed to be on the plane but gave up his seat to J.P. Richardson who had the flu.

Buddy Holly Statue and West Texas Hall of Fame

Buddy Holly

We toured the house where “That’ll be the Day” was written

McCartney Oak commemorating Sir Paul McCartney’s concert in Lubbock on October 2, 2014

Crickets Avenue in downtown Lubbock

Chopped brisket sandwich at Triple J Chop House, Lubbock

The Lubbock Railway Depot now houses art exhibits at the Buddy Holly Center

Buddy Holly Center, Lubbock, Texas

To visit Abilene we stayed at Abilene State Park in Buffalo Gap. Our site was a large back in surrounded by woods with water and electric hookups, a picnic table and fire pit. Go here to read my review of this park.

To visit Lubbock we stayed at the Mesa Verde RV Park in Wolfforth. Our site was a large pull through with full hookups. The park has a swimming pool (not open when we were there), two laundries, free WiFi, two enclosed dog walks, and very nice, helpful owners. Go here to read my review of this park.

Hiking Enchanted Rock and the Llano Fiddle Fest

April 11, 2015May 26, 2015Posted in RV Parks, Texas, Tourist AttractionsTagged Enchanted Rock, hiking, Llano Fiddle Fest, Llano River, Spencer and Rains9 Comments

We weren’t ready to leave the Texas Hill country just yet. With Inks Lake full for Easter weekend we had to vacate our lake front campsite and find another place to stay. We really liked the town of Llano and found a private RV park beside the Llano river that had a site for the three nights.

Llano River Bridge in Llano

Gazebo in Llano, Texas

Llano Train Depot

Llano Museum

The old cabin was moved to the Llano Museum

Llano Courthouse

Enchanted Rock State Park is short drive south of Llano so on Saturday we set out early in the morning in hopes of beating the Easter weekend crowds. We arrived at the park entrance before 9:30 only to find a line of cars waiting to get in. It only took a few minutes to get our parking permit, park and head for the summit trail. Many families were out enjoying the climb to the top.

The highest point of Enchanted Rock 1,825 is feet above sea level. Climbing the Rock is like climbing the stairs of a 30- or 40-story building. My fitbit said I climbed 56 floors that day!

Enchanted Rock

We hiked the Enchanted Rock Summit Trail

The camel on the way to the summit of Enchanted Rock

The trail was pretty steep as we got near the top

At the Summit of Enchanted Rock

View from the summit of Enchanted Rock

Kids can’t resist climbing on the huge rocks

View from the summit of Enchanted Rock

We had a great time at the Llano Fiddle Fest. After a picnic lunch at the bottom of Enchanted Rock we returned to Llano to go the LanTex Theater to hear some of the fiddlers in the 38th Llano Open Fiddle Contest. I don’t know anything about Texas Fiddling but I know I enjoyed all of the contestants we heard.

On Sunday morning we drove to the Llano Museum to hear some more fiddling and eat a Cowboy Breakfast put on by the Llano Historical Society. We got there as the ladies were starting to put everything away but they told us to come on into the kitchen for some biscuits and sausage gravy. The volunteers were so friendly and nice. I love small towns!

Spencer and Rains were playing old time fiddle tunes in one of the rooms in the museum. Tricia Spencer grew up in Kansas and learned to play from her grandparents. Howard Rains is a native Texas artist. We enjoyed listening to their music and bought one of their CD’s.

LanTex Theater was the venue for Llano Fiddle Fest Contest 20

Llano Fiddle Fest 2015

Spencer and Rains Easter morning at the Llano Museum

Saturday afternoon after climbing Enchanted Rock and listening to fiddling we returned to Cooper’s BBQ to get some take out for our Easter dinner on Sunday. The line was wrapped around the building but after a short wait we arrived at the pits to choose our meat right off the grill. We chose a chicken half, brisket and pork tenderloin. We got some beans, sauce, and jalepenos to go with it and were back at the campground to rest after our busy day.

Cooper’s BBQ

Riverway RV Park was our home while in Llano. This private park takes Passport America and Good Sam. All the sites are large pull through sites with full hookups, WiFi, and cable. There is a large clubhouse with kitchen, meeting room and a very nice laundry. The RV park is located on the Llano River only about a mile from downtown Llano. There is a short trail to the Llano River. Wildflowers were blooming beside the trail when we were there. Go here for my review of this park.

More of the beautiful Texas Hill Country around Inks Lake

April 7, 2015August 13, 2015Posted in Birds, Restaurants, Road Trip, RVing, State Parks, Sunset, Texas, Tourist Attractions, WildflowersTagged barbeque, birding, bluebonnets, Cooper's BBQ, Devil's Waterhole, Inks Lake, Llano Texas, Longhorn Caverns, Scenic drives, Texas brisket13 Comments

Bluebonnets lined the roads around Inks Lake

Inks Lake State Park in Burnet (pronounced BURN-it DERN it) was our home for the 4 nights before Easter weekend. Thanks to my friend Tim in Arlington for recommending this park.

We arrived early in the day and were able to get a beautiful waterfront site. The bad news is we would have to leave on Good Friday because the park was full for Easter weekend. I knew we would love the area when we saw bluebonnets lining the roads to the park.

Our waterfront campsite was a great place to watch ducks, geese and all the water activities. We saw people paddling canoes and kayaks, floating on tubes, and fishing from motor boats. The sunsets were gorgeous.

Mallards at Inks Lake

Dove at Inks Lake

Canada Geese at Inks Lake

Hooded Merganser at Inks Lake

Turtles on a log at Inks Lake

Sunset at Inks Lake

I love talking to locals to find out the best places to see. We stopped at Longhorn Caverns State Park one morning to ask about the tours. The ranger had seen me taking pictures of bluebonnets beside the road and he told us about a great scenic drive south of Llano. We were headed to Llano for lunch so we were off on a bluebonnet hunt after we stuffed ourselves with brisket and ribs.

Cooper's Barbeque in Llano, Texas — Cooper’s Barbeque in Llano, Texas

Indian Paintbrush

Bluebonnets and Indian Paintbrush along Park Road 4

Bluebonnets beside a stream

Boots and bluebonnets

Beth in the bluebonnets

One afternoon we toured nearby Longhorn Caverns. During prohibition the cavern was privately owned and the cavern was run as a honky tonk and restaurant. In one of the large rooms was a bandstand with tables set up all around. When prohibition was repealed the owner gave the land to the state of Texas.

Crystals in Longhorn Cavern

This dog was formed naturally

Longhorn Cavern

Eastern Pipistrelle bat about three inches long at Longhorn Cavern

Longhorn Cavern State Park

Built by the CCC in the 1930’s at Longhorn Cavern State Park

One morning we took a hike on the Valley Spring trail in the state park. The trail started out beside the lake and wound through the woods with wildflowers growing beneath the trees.

Blondie getting her feet wet at Inks Lake

Deil’s Waterhole on Inks Lake

Bluebonnets beside the Spring Valley trail at Inks Lake

Top of the waterfall

Beside the waterfall

Waterfall at Inks Lake

Inks Lake State Park has moved up near the top of my list of favorite state parks. Our site was a back in paved pad with water and electric hookups, a picnic table, fire ring, and lantern hook. We had a huge area beneath shade trees to set up our chairs and watch the world go by. There are two fishing piers, a marina and boat launch, canoe and kayak rentals, playground, camp store, and several hiking trails. Click to read my campground review of Inks Lake State Park.

Exploring the Texas Hill Country around Canyon Lake

April 5, 2015May 26, 2015Posted in COE Park, Parks, Road Trip, RVing, Sunset, Texas, Tourist Attractions, WildflowersTagged barbeque, bluebonnets, Canyon Lake, Cranes Mill, Dripping Springs, Fredericksburg, LBJ Ranch, Luckenbach, Salt Lick, Texas dance hall, Texas Hill Country, Wimberley13 Comments

There is so much to see and do in the Texas Hill Country we could have stayed a month and not seen in all. Unfortunately, we only had about two weeks to explore this beautiful area in the heart of Texas. The hill country includes San Antonio and Austin and extends west about 200 miles. Driving through the area on mostly twisting, two lane roads we saw canyons and creeks, dance halls and wineries, historic sites and ranches, quaint small towns and old homesteads, green grass and more wildflowers than I ever imagined. We dined on barbeque and schnitzel and I bought a cowboy hat!

Our first home base in the hill country was Cranes Mill, a beautiful Corps of Engineers park on Canyon Lake near New Braunfels. We enjoyed driving on the country roads to explore the area. The bluebonnets were really starting to bloom and we saw more and more each day.

The first order of business was to eat some Texas Barbeque. One of my brothers lived in San Antonio for a few years and told us not to miss the Salt Lick in Driftwood, Texas. We started out our first full day in the hill country driving the back roads to have our first taste of brisket, ribs, sausage and turkey. After our delicious lunch we stopped to visit the Dr. Joseph Pound homestead. Dr. Pound and his family settled there in 1853 and raised 9 children. His descendants lived in the home continuously until 1983.

Salt Lick Barbeque

Buckboard used by the Pound family

Ball Moss on live oak at the Pound Homestead

Pound Homestead in Dripping Springs, Texas

On a beautiful sunny Friday we took a drive to Luckenbach and a winery near Fredericksburg.

Luckenbach, Texas

Luckenbach Dance Hall

Music on a sunny Friday afternoon

Down in Luckenbach, Texas, ain’t nobody feeling no pain

Luckenbach, Texas

Fat Ass Winery, Fredericksburg, Texas

We enjoyed touring the LBJ State Park and Historic Site in Stonewall. Lyndon Johnson was our 36th president and spent much of his presidency at his ranch on the Perdanales River. Adjacent to the ranch is the Sauer-Beckmann Living History Farm, a working farm which recreates a Hill Country farm at the turn of the 20th century.

The driving tour of his ranch goes around the air strip where he would land in a small plane he called Air Force One Half because Air Force One was too large to land on the landing strip. President Johnson left the ranch to be enjoyed by all the people so there is no charge to tour the park.

Hog at the living history exhibit

Saddles at the LBJ Ranch

At the LBJ Ranch

In the show barn at the ranch

Bluebonnets on the LBJ Ranch

Air Force One was to big to land on the landing strip so he called this plane that flew him from Austin “Air Force One Half”

We also enjoyed visiting some of the towns in the area. Many of the older buildings in the hill country are made of stone because of the lack of wood for building.

Gazebo in New Braunfels, Texas

Henne Hardware in New Braunfels – since 1857

Comal County Courthouse in New Braunfels

One of the stone buildings in Fredericksburg

Home in Gruene, Texas

On a sunny Palm Sunday we strolled through the town of Gruene where we enjoyed music at one of the oldest dance halls in Texas. Our Sunday drive continued to the artistic town of Wimberley and a walk along the banks of the Cypress Creek.

Gruene Water Tower

Gruene Hall is one of the oldest dance halls in Texas

Gruene Hall on a Sunday afternoon

Totem beside Cypress Creek in Wimberley

Cypress Creek in Wimberley

While driving around we passed many interesting ranches and the Albert Dance Hall and Twin Sisters Dance Hall. Although we were still a little early to see the bluebonnets in all their glory we enjoyed seeing patches of them beside the roads.

Sculpture at the entrance to a ranch

Gotta love Texas

Bluebonnets near Stonewall, Texas

Bluebonnets and Indian Paintbrush

When we weren’t sightseeing we enjoyed our large lake front campsite at Crane’s Mill.

Cranes Mill Campground on Canyon Lake

We saw deer almost every day at Cranes Mill Campground

Deer, Canyon Lake

Sunset over Canyon Lake

Good Eats, Hot Sauce, and rain in Cajun Country

March 13, 2015November 23, 2015Posted in Birds, Louisiana, Parks, Rainy Days, Restaurants, Road Trip, RV Parks, RVing, Tourist AttractionsTagged Andouille, Avery Island, Breaux Bridge, Cormorants, crawfish etoufee, Great Blue Heron, gumbo, Poche, Poches Fish N Camp, Snowy Egret, Tabasco11 Comments

After a rough ride traveling west in Louisiana on the worst section of I-10 in the United States we arrived at Poche’s Fish N Camp in Breaux Bridge, Louisiana for a couple of days. The campsites are arranged around a large fishing pond lined with Cypres trees. Most of the sites have a paved pad, full hookups, and WiFi. There are several ponds for fishing, a clubhouse, swimming pool, and laundry. The staff was great. Many thanks to them for recommending Fun in the Sun RV Repair to repair our heater and many thanks to the repairman who came out in the rain the same day we called him and got it fixed.

It rained off and on the whole time we were there so we couldn’t do too much exploring in the area. I had to do my bird watching at the campground. A Snowy Egret walked along the pond right behind our campsite in the afternoons and Cormorants and ducks were in the water every day. A Great Blue Heron even made an appearance.

Office at Poche’s Fish N Camp

Clubhouse at Poche’s Fish N Camp

Our site from across the pond

Campground at Poche’s Fish N Camp

Ducks on the pond

Picture taken through our back window of Snowy Egret behind the camper

Great Blue Heron

The rain couldn’t stop us from enjoying some amazing Cajun feasts! Crawfish etoufee, rice dressing (dirty rice), slaw, fried catfish, fried shrimp, chicken and sausage gumbo, Boudin, Andouille sausage and more! We ate several delicious meals at Poche’s Market and Restaurant. Their market has a large selection of sausages, meats and seasonings so I filled the freezer with Andouille sausage and Boudin to take with us and now my pantry has some of their seasoning mix and File powder.

It’s so good we had three meals here!

Poche’s Cajun Cuisine

Our meal at Poche’s – Crawfish Etoufee, Dirty Rice and Slaw – Sooooo good!

A visit to the Tabasco Factory on Avery Island was a must see on this trip. Henry is a hot sauce aficionado and Tabasco is a staple on our table along with the salt and pepper. We visited the factory 30 years ago when our kids were young and we both have memories of walking into the aging room with the aroma of the sauce so strong that most of the other people in the tour got out of there as fast as they could. Not Henry! He loved it! Unfortunately, they no longer take the tours through that room.

The sauce is aged in barrels that were first used to age Jack Daniels Whiskey. We watched a short video and then watched original Tabasco sauce being bottled and labeled before browsing in the museum. We had our first taste of Boudin sausage (yummy and spicy) from a food truck and spent a few dollars in the gift shop before heading back to Breaux Bridge. A stop at Walmart for some necessities and we were back at camp in time to watch the rain come down the rest of the day.