Our "front yard" on the pond at Buckhorn Lake ResortOn November 2 we began a ten week visit to Kerrville, TX, which is located about seventy miles northwest of San Antonio in the heart of Hill Country. The rolling hills of the area provide a backdrop for many small back road towns, some of which were settled by Germans in the mid to late 1800’s. The mix of north European, Mexican, and Texas cowboy cultures is a sight to behold! The nearby towns of Fredericksburg, Boerne, and Bandera are loaded with restaurants serving incredible dishes including schnitzel, enchiladas, Texas BBQ (the ribs and brisket are DY-NO-MITE!), steaks, and my favorite, fresh pecan pie. Shops in the area specialize in many local treats including preserves, sauces and relishes, crafts, and every sort of cowboy paraphernalia. Seventeen Texas State Parks are located in the area, each highlighting a historical or geological specialty.
BBQ and outdoor center at Buckhorn Lake Resort
Community center at Buckhorn Lake Resort houses large dining room, meeting rooms, and theater
Colorful storefront in nearby Ingram 
Die Alte Kirche in Fredericksburg
Biergarten at the Altdorf in Fredericksburg
Fredericksburg store with Texas hot and BBQ sauces, relishes, dips, preserves, and all sorts of neat stuff!I just can’t say enough about the friendliness of Texans! A big wave and a warm shout of “Howdy” are common on the streets, in the parks, and in the shops of Hill Country. As new Texas residents, we have been made to feel very welcome. Our Hill Country home at the Buckhorn Lake Resort has been converted into a Christmas wonderland with all the lights and decorations. We joined a large group in the park for a fantastic Thanksgiving meal and gather with all the folks here for the weekly “meet and greet” BBQ’s each Sunday evening. Each resident brings his or her own “road kill” to throw over the fire and a potluck dish to share. We have made a lot of new friends here that we hope to see down the road.
Thanksgiving dinner at Buckhorn Lake
Christmas lights dress up the park and make us feel right at home
Residents add their lights to the season
Top it all off with a Christmas light parade in Fredericksburg!The winter weather in this part of Texas is normally fairly moderate, but we have experienced colder than normal temperatures during the first month of our visit. The coldest morning at this point was 20 degrees, which was followed by warmer afternoon temperatures. Despite the cold mornings, the days are usually quite comfortable with temperatures in the high 50’s to mid 60’s. We haven’t seen any rain yet, and this part of Texas is really in need of some moisture.
Fall colors follow us to Texas at the Lost Maples State Park
More Lost Maples State Park...I just can't get enough of this!!
Our "backyard" pond at BuckhornWe took a big step and purchased a new tow vehicle while here in Kerrville. Our new Chevrolet Duramax diesel truck should provide more than enough power to haul our home down the road. While here we have taken many side trips out to the surrounding area including a four-day drive down to Rockport, Corpus Christi, Harlingen, and Laredo. On this excursion, we met up with Idaho road friends John Shepard, Georgiana, Arlene, Patti, and John Bullock from Red Rock Park in Island Park, and Roger and Pat from McCall, Idaho. We also explored possible winter homes for next year. It looks like Texas will be our winter home for many years to come.
T-Rex II was added to the stable to provide diesel power towing of our "home" down the road
John, a friend from Idaho, tries his hand at fishing from Port Aransas pier on Mustang Island
And we connect with good friends Roger and Pat from McCall, Idaho, on South Padre Island
We sure like the nice warm beaches of South Padre Island!
Bodie likes it here too....I guess we'll have to return next year!
1 comments:
Gordon and Juanita, we are RV Wannabes (maybe this spring) who happen to live just outside Austin close to Lake Travis. Ran across your blog a month or so ago and have enviously been following your travels.
My wife Karen and I both have friends and family in Kerrville and have talked about spending time there when we get our 5th wheel. Don’t think we are brave enough to sell our house and start full timing, but maybe that will come later. Try not to tell everyone how great it is here in Texas so there will still be room for us.
Since you are in the area for the Holidays, if you haven’t already done it, be sure to see the Christmas lights in Johnson City and Marble Falls. I was also going to suggest you drive on up to Burnet for “Main Street Bethlehem” which is an enactment by members of one of the local churches that depicts what Bethlehem might have been like the night Christ was born. It takes up almost a city block with permanent buildings, live animals, Roman soldiers and citizens of Bethlehem. Unfortunately last night, Dec. 10th was the end of it for this year. Maybe you heard about it and did get to see it.
Keep posting you are telling us about lots of places we will want to visit.
George & Karen in Bee Cave
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