Thursday, April 15, 2010

Texas Hill Country


We just got back...  four days and over 900 miles on the Harley in the Texas Hill Country.  If you've never experienced the wildflowers, especially the Blue Bonnets, you must find a way to get yourself to Texas right now! 


Cliff did all the planning and GPSing of the route we took, starting out in Dallas, taking us through several amazing small towns with total Texas-style charm, and touring the Willow City Loop, near Fredricksburg.  Never in my life have I seen wildflowers so lush!


At the end of the Willow City Loop, we stopped at a cool little saloon for a beer... The Knot In The Loop.  We loved this place!  Even the bathrooms have surprises waiting for you.  


But first, let me start from the beginning... we live in Tulsa, Oklahoma.  We like to trailer the bike to a location, and start our journey from there.  Packing only what we can carry on the bike and leaving the rest in the car, we hit the open road.  We like to take our time, stop often to check things out, and only eat in restaurants that offer local flavor and patrons.  

From Dallas we headed to Glen Rose and stopped to see the dinosaur tracks at Dinosaur Valley State Park which was soooooo cool! 
 Cliff stands next to the footprint of a dinosaur in the river

One of the things we love about Texas... are all the small towns and the wonderful City Hall buildings.   Each town has so much State history and pride, you can't help but want to learn more about them and the people who live there.

We went through Lampases, Llano, the Buchanan Dam, and Willow City.  From there, we went through Johnson City and met up with some friends at their wonderful Texas Ranch just outside of Dripping Springs.
 
The next day, we went through Dripping Springs, Stonewall, Blumenthal, and Fredricksburg.  I must say... Fredricksburg is worth a trip all by itself.  What a wonderful place!


We hit Kerrville, Leakey, Comfort, Blanco and Henly as well.  While in Leakey, we noticed the town water tower with the town's name painted across it.  Cliff asked a local old-timer how long the water tower had been leakey!  With a chuckle, the man replied, "As long as I can remember!"


On our third day... we rode through Dripping Springs, stopped in Austin to say hello to an old friend, hit Leander, Briggs, Copperas Cove, Gatesville, Clifton, and Cleburne as we made our way back to Dallas.  Somewhere we stumbled upon a motorcycle museum...




The Texas Hill Country is amazing.  Go there.  
On a bike.

4 comments:

Linda said...

Randi, this is so well done! I enjoyed your writing style and am looking forward to your next post! Good job!!!

Sandra said...

Great blog, I will be a loyal follower!

knothead said...

Hi Randi, Thank You for inviting us Knotheads to follow your blog and also the nice things you had to say about our little Saloon. I blog about the things that happen around the Bar and will try to get you linked up. Happy Trails, Robin and Wayne

awilliams said...

I think you have found your calling! You have always been a great writer and your pictures are amazing! You make me want to go back to the Hill Country! (I plan to retire there someday!) The best part of your blog is your happiness! You deserve it and here's to fairytales Cinderella! love you!