In order to get from San Antonio to Big Bend, we needed to break up the journey and cover the distance in a couple of days of driving. So we decided to do some exploring of Texas Hill Country.
First stop was the Cowboy Capital of the World, Bandera. This little town definitely has an old world feel to it. It was unfortunate that we visited on a Monday, as at the weekends they have cowboy showdowns and rodeos but we walked down the high street and into a couple of shops selling western wear.
We stopped off for some brunch here. We went to a smoke house called Busbee’s Bar-b-que and it was lovely! Slightly drier than the one in Fort Worth but not as dry as Memphis and the BBQ sauce that came with it was yummy! I think we’re going to have to buy a smoker when we get home!
One thing we noticed during our journey through Hill Country was the number of trucks on the road. There were far more trucks than any other car. I guess this is cowboy country and cowboys need trucks! The Ford F150 seemed to be the truck of choice.
We didn’t have long to explore Kerrville but it looked like a cute little town with modern bars, restaurants and shops. The river had been dammed to make a lake which I expect is nice to canoe around.
After Kerrville, we headed to Fredericksburg. There are a number of place we’d love to come back to and spend more time, this is definitely one of them and it would be high up the list! Fredericksburg is another German town but it has a lot of wineries and breweries, there are tours you can do to see these outside the main town area. If we came back, we would definitely try one of these tours and probably end up buying a bottle or two to take with us! We walked up and down Main Street which had so many shops selling everything from arts and crafts, wine, fudge, pickles as well as boutique clothing and homewares. You could easily spend a whole day just exploring the shops. After tasting the prosecco in Andreucci Wines, I was kindly given a free one to walk around town with whilst we looked at the shops. Once the wine was done, we came across a shop called Rustlin Rob's which had every type of sauce you can think of including different peanut butters, honey butters, BBQ sauce, hot sauce, jams, chutneys, pickles. The best thing was that they were all to try without being harassed by a sales assistant. We got through quite a few and if we hadn't been travelling for 6 months, we would have bought a lot from here!
There are also a lot of Dude Ranches around this area. These are ranches you can stay at and learn to be a cowboy. I think I’ve convinced Lee to give it a try one day.
We could only stay in Fredericksburg for an hour as we wanted to see Enchanted Rock before heading to our campsite in Junction.
Enchanted Rock sits within the Enchanted Rock State National Area. It is basically a very enchanting pink rock and an area that an area that is protected from too much human interference. It usually costs $7pp to get into the park but we explained to the ranger that we only had 30 minutes and she gave us a free promo pass. We drove around the parking areas and then walked a little down one of the trails to get a good look at the rock. If you had time (and were feeling slightly mad given the heat!) you can hike to the top of the rock.
Our campsite was the Llano North RV Park in Junction. We had a lovely primitive site near the lake and with some shade. This park firstly had a pool which we very much enjoyed cooling off in and the best toilets and showers we’ve seen so far at a campsite!
Lee cooked some yummy fish on the propane and we had it with salad and salsa. A nice healthy dinner for a change!
Before bed we headed to the toilet block and was greeted by a herd of deer munching on some grass on one of the empty campsites! They ran as soon as they heard us but not very far and remained on the campground all night. We didn't manage to get any decent pictures due to the low light and by the morning, they had all disappeared off the campground and to the other side of the river:
Wow some of the best photos so far;
ReplyDeleteI loved the BBQ place, and the sauce shop looked good, glad Lee stayed away from the really hot stuff, don't need him having another whoopsie!!
COuldn't really see the pink of the enchanted rock but good to see a Spurs booze store :-)
The Campsite looked good with a nice shady spot and the pool must have been great, the toilet and shower area did look very plush and nice of the Deer to stop by and say hello