Monday, November 1 - Making a short move this morning to another section of Texas Hill Country, we headed about 50 miles north to Lady Bird Johnson Municipal Park and RV Park in Fredericksburg, TX. It is right on TX-16 so we couldn't miss it. Seems like a nice place with paved streets and sites, full hook-ups and nice size sites. We are in Site 75 in the Horseshoe Loop. There is tons to do in the Park…huge swimming pool (closed right now), ball fields, tennis, golf, trails, etc.
Our site.
Looking around the loop.
Once settled in we headed out exploring. We've got lots to do and little time.....ha ha! We went directly to Enchanted Rock.
It’s about 18 miles north of town. Enchanted Rock State Natural Area consists of 1643.5 acres on Big Sandy Creek. It is a pink granite dome dominating the horizon. From the start of the trail to the summit it is 3/5 of a mile and 425 vertical feet. It was actually a pretty strenuous climb. Of course we forgot our hiking boots and bottles of water....YIKES! The Rock is only a small protrusion on a HUGE granite mass.
The trail which isn’t really a trail. You just climb where ever you can get a foot hold.
Only 10% of the granite mass is visible above ground. We serpentined up this slab, stopping several times to catch our breath and enjoy the sights. After about 30 minutes, we reached the summit and enjoyed the view.
Top of the Rock. The view is amazing.
Paul had a bit of a struggle on one part of the trail. Look how far down the road is…Marsha said her knees could barely hold her up. Remember there is no railing just wide open steep rock.
We decided to take the Echo Canyon Trail down the mountain. We found it was less steep and not as scary for Marsha. She wouldn't look down....only at her feet. She yelled at me for talking......”quiet and concentrate!” Jeesh! This is me, Marsha, now listen…it is way UP there! It is very scar-eeeeeeeee! At one point, I didn’t think I could go any further up or down. I think that is the most terrified I have been in my entire life. Faint of heart…DO NOT ATTEMPT THIS CLIMB!
Paul saw a boulder located right where we wanted to walk. Being the gentleman he is, he pushed it out of the way for Marsha. Thanks hon!
This is what is called exfoliation sheeting. It means peeling. Granite expands slightly breaking into curved sheets to form a kind of hill.
Just outside of the park, we stopped at a little beverage store. Two girls were running this tiny shop selling all types of refreshments and snacks. Out back is a stage and a bar for enjoying live music. Cool.
We then headed to the Visitor's Center in Fredericksburg to pick up a ton of pamphlets on things to see in the area. This is a much better stop than Bandera, in our opinion.
Next stop.....Luckenbach, Texas.....population 3. Luckenbach was established in 1849. One of the first settlers in the area was Jacob Luckenbach (1817-1911). In 1977, Bobby Emmons and Chips Moman – penned an idyllic ode to the burg—“Luckenbach Texas (Back to the Basics)”—which became a massive hit for Waylon Jennings & Willie Nelson, bringing Luckenbach to its ultimate worldwide fame. The story of Luckenbach is rather interesting. Read all about it here.
One and only way in and out of the town.
It was only about nine miles out of Fredericksburg. It consisted of a post office/general store,
a huge dance hall (We weren’t allowed to go in.)
and a bar. (Small bar)
Big bar and stage.
The bar had live music out back. The singer, Jimmy Lee Jones, serenaded Marsha after asking her where we were from. Everything rhymed with Ohio....a fun guy and a neat song.
Next was a tour of several historic one room school houses. There are twelve schools on the entire tour but we only stopped to see two. Interesting stops since we are both retired school teachers.
Luckenbach School – First log schoolhouse in 1855 with native limestone addition in 1881.
Lower South Grape Creek School – Log cabin school built in 1871. Present school built in 1900.
We could see through some of the windows in this school.
After that exploration, we headed into Fredericksburg to check-out all the little shops. Fredericksburg is seventy miles west of Austin. The town was one of a projected series of German settlements from the Texas coast to the land north of the Llano River, originally the ultimate destination of the German immigrants sent to Texas by the Adelsverein, Society for the Protection of German Immigrants in Texas.
This is another neat town full of quaint little shops. We spent a couple of hours strolling through the stores and even purchased a couple items.
One of our favorite stops was Rustlin' Robs Texas Gourmet Foods. We tasted about 50 different sauces, salsas, dips, chili, and other spicy products.....ummmmmm!! We purchased two jars of sauce.
German restaurants are very popular here.
We also stopped in several wineries and had a couple tastes of local wine. We learned that we were permitted to walk the streets with a beer or glass of wine.
We arrived back at the Park about 5. Bella was ready for a walk. We are surrounded by Pecan trees. A gal told us how to spot a good Pecan nut…Never pick them off the tree only off the ground. So, found a few and brought them back to the motor home.
Looks like these may yield some good eatin’s.
We guessed wrong…but they were good! Now we see why Pecans are so expensive.
A few neighbors stopped by to chat later in the evening. One neighbor was walking with her dog, who wanted to befriend Bella. Well this is what it looked like.
All looks like it is going fine.
Oh no, the paw is up.
Thanks for stopping by. Hope you join us again real soon. Have a great day!
