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Natchez Trace Parkway to Nashville Pt. 2

After our sojourn to visit Oprah Winfrey and Elvis’s birthplaces, we rejoined the Parkway and took one of the walking trails.

A varied walk from lush green forests, to open grasslands it was an opportunity to stretch our legs.

And among all the greenery, there were small pockets of wildflowers and pops of colour.

We’ve discovered that America is a wonderful destination if you enjoy history. It’s not only travelling destinations, like the Natchez Trace or specific towns that provide historical information but across the country we’ve seen many signs that give historical information in a few short sentences. They’re similar to our Historical Markers in Australia. For the signs we see along the road we can rarely stop, and if we did we would never complete our lap, there are so many. We also notice that many of these signs, monuments and statutory are attributed to the Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR).

The above historical marker is an example. Today, we spoke with someone who told us that they are greatly esteemed in America, so it was about time we found out more about them.

They were founded on October 11, 1890 by four women, and now boast a membership of over one million women. There was a renewed patriotism at this time and women, being excluded from men’s organisations, sought a way to make an impact in society. As a result, Mary S. Lockwood, Ellen Walworth, Mary Desha and Eugenia Washington formed a female only organisation to perpetuate the memory of those who helped America gain independence, to preserve history, promote the “diffusion of knowledge” and to foster freedom, patriotism and liberty throughout America.

They raise money to maintain historical sites, including graves, headstones and monuments, contribute to restorations, memorials and commemorations and preserve historical archives and documents. They also provide scholarships, volunteer and support veterans past and present and provide awards and medals.

To become a member you must provide proof of descendance from an ancestor who helped America gain independence and provide their Revolutionary War service history between 19 April 1775 from the Battle of Lexington, which was the first major battle of the war and 26 November 1783, when British troops left New York.

So, now when we read historical markers like those here on the Natchez Trace Parkway, we can appreciate who was responsible for them. And, as we travel further north, we’re learning not only about the settlers and westward expansion but the ecology, geography and the original inhabitants of the land.

For example the Pharr Mounds

There are a number of locations along the Trace that have burial mounds like these, but this is the largest, and most important grouping in Northern Mississippi, containing 8 mounds. Some have been excavated by archaeologists and then returned to their original state.

They are deeply spiritual locations where members of the Chicasaw and Choctaw Indian tribes still come to remember their ancestors.

It wasn’t long that we passed from Mississippi into Alabama and another walk through the beautiful forest.

Shortly after, we crossed the Tennessee-Tombigbee Waterway on the Jamie L. Whitten Bridge. A navigable route from the Gulf of Mexico, for the early settlers however, the Colbert Ferry provided access across the waterway. Chicasaw George Colbert ran the ferry between 1800 and 1819 and also a stand that provided travelers food and lodging. He was one of many Chicasaw that owned plantations and used slave labour.

And shortly thereafter, we crossed another state line

During our last lap of America in 2008/09 we spent some time following the Meriwether and Clark history trails. Meriwether Lewis and William Clark were appointed by Thomas Jefferson to undertake an expedition exploring the newly purchased Louisiana region. Lewis was Jefferson’s protege and personally chosen for the expedition. They began in May 1804, reached the Pacific Ocean in 1805 and completed the journey in September 1806. Meriwether returned with detailed documentation, maps and journals, having established the presence of Americans across the new land as a deterrent to European arrivals and had favourable encounters with at least 24 Indian tribes. The endeavour was hailed a great success. Meriwether was appointed Governor of Louisiana as a reward but it was a posting that caused him great depression. While journeying along the Natchez Trace in 1809 he committed suicide and is buried where he died at Grinder’s Stand.

This monument was erected over his grave in 1848, the broken column symbolising a life cut short.

After we visited the small Meriwether museum, we did another of the hikes through the forest.

Finally, we’d come to the the end of journey along the Natchez Trace Parkway and Gordon House, one of the last historical homes. Built in 1818 by Captain John Gordon, it was one of the most imposing homes in the region. Gordon and his wife Dolly had 11 children and ran a ferry across the river and a stand for weary travelers. Gordon died not long after completing the house but his wife remained until her death in 1859.

And just like that, we were in Nashville, Tennessee, the home of country music, Ryman Auditorium built in 1892 and the Grand Ole Opry launched in 1925.

It was great to see our Keith Urban front and centre.

This mural is painted on the Honky Tonk Bar. How many can you recognise?

Fun fact: The fellow on the barstool sitting between Johnny Cash and Willie Nelson is Brad Paisley. His image replaces Taylor Swifts, because she “shifted away from her signature country sound”. Effectively, the locals complained that a “pop” idol shouldn’t share the same space as “country legends”.

Our sojourn into Nashville, the capital of Tennessee was on a warm but overcast day that threatened rain. We left Joey behind, about a 40 minute bus ride out of town, so he could have a scheduled service. With the booking for 7am, we arrived in Nashville city centre before the tourist crowds and enjoyed our walk around the famous streets, sans tourists.

As you can see, even at 8am in the morning, the neon lights were ablaze.

Cowboy boot shops were prominent too, but don’t let the street frontage fool you. There were long racks with hundreds of boots lined up in this store! We also noticed that a lot of tourists(mostly women) wear fancy boots around and some are quite amazing. If I thought for a minute that I’d actually wear a pair, I would have been very tempted! But I was told by a local, “they’re pretty uncomfortable to wear all day”. He said most tourists buy them, take them home and don’t wear them again. So I left without a nice new pair of boots.

Our city walk took us down to the Tennessee river front, with the intention of walking along the boardwalk to Riverfront Park and the Nashborough Fort. However, we discovered a slight issue.

Unbeknown to us, they’d had a lot of rain here, which we had pretty much managed to dodge, and the river front was flooded.

So, we wandered back to the happenin’ part of Nashville.

There were guitars everywhere and I lost count of how many establishments had drum kits in the windows. We discovered, as the morning wore on, that all these establishments have live bands playing from about mid morning until well into the night.

Artists sculpture of Charlie Daniels “Reflections”

Nashville city centre is certainly a colourful and vibrant city, that comes to life once the tourists venture out. By mid morning, live band music was playing from most establishments and the streets were quite busy. It’s hard not to immersed in the music vibe.

This sculpture was in an Ariat store (they sell riding apparel and country clothing) and very well done.

it seems Taylor Swift wasn’t ousted from everywhere in Nashville.

At one point during our wanderings we came across this police officer/security guard who was exceptionally chatty and very happy to give us some hints and tips for visiting his city.

There was a lot of road and building works causing road closures so I asked him some directions. We learned that a man had detonated a car bomb in downtown Nashville on Christmas Day 2020 which had decimated an entire city block. More than 50 buildings were either destroyed or damaged and the building works are ongoing to restore the city block that was destroyed.

But our friendly police man also pointed us in the direction of some iconic venues.

Chief’s, a music/bar/restaurant is quite famous and a must see, he said.

There are 5 floors in the venue and it’s open for anyone to wander through. So we did. The “stained glass” windows are actually stickers but in conjunction with the floor to ceiling artwork, it’s serious sensory overload. In the photo above, you’re actually looking at the floor and a wall. In the picture below, the ceiling is also covered.

The band were playing, people were sitting around the bar and it was barely 11 am! And this was the vibe everywhere! Numerous venues were serving food and alcohol and playing live band music. Including on the rooftops.

Determined to explore more than the country music scene, we took in some of Nashville’s food, the Capital building, learned about their push for women’s vote and visited their Parthenon.

Seriously, a heart attack in a jar!

And to go along with the milkshakes, a GooGoo. The “Home of America’s First combination Candy Bar”, according to the sign.

The novelty here is that you use a touch screen to customise your GooGoo biscuit by choosing the chocolate, nuts, caramel etc. You pay at the screen and it takes about 10minutes for someone to hand make it. We made a selection but at $12.95 for 1 biscuit, decided to give it a miss.

We walked around Nashville State Capital building which is situated upon a grassy hill, providing great views of the surrounding area. Like other state capitals we’d visited, they welcome the public, so we took the chance to have a look inside.

Although it wasn’t as ornate as Baton Rouge, it wasn’t any less majestic.

It was interesting to see the bust of David Crockett sitting in the company of Andrew Johnson and that his credentials were frontiersman and Militiaman.

As lunch time approached, we discovered the market and these interesting artworks.

After lunch we found out that our service was complete but that Joey had a leaky seal in the front hub that they needed to order a part for but they could finish it first thing the following morning, Friday. No worries, that meant another day exploring Nashville.

On Friday, we caught the same bus at the same early morning time then walked out past Vanderbilt University to the Parthenon. Apparently, for the 1897 world exhibition, Nashville movers and shakers decided to build an exact size replica of Greece’s iconic building. It was to be the centrepiece of the exhibition but also only a temporary construction built from wood, plaster and brick.

When the exhibition concluded, Nashville locals petitioned to stave off the demolition and it remained until 1921. By then, it was such an iconic part of the city that over the following ten years it was reconstructed in permanent materials. So, here it is, the Parthenon in Nashville.

If you ignore the wide expanse of lush, green lawn, you would easily think you were in Greece. It’s also not only to look at. They hold regular exhibitions, and give a variety of guided tours, including studies on the architecture.

Our walk back to Nashville’s city centre took us through the beautiful park that the Parthenon sits in, some stunning murals and a walk through the old Marathon Motors factory.

And I can never resist a cute squirrel photo!

Another lesser known fact about Nashville, it’s home to the Marathon Motor Works which began in 1907 and was relocated to Nashville in 1910. Although it lasted only 4 years, closing in 1914, it was the first factory to make automobiles entirely in the Southern USA and this was not surpassed until General Motors made the Saturn in 1990. In 1910, Marathon made 600 cars but also all the components. Today, there are as few as nine Marathon cars in existence.

The building now houses an eclectic collection of gift and souvenir shops, a micro brewery, a Harley Davidson apparel shop and a couple of art galleries/shops, however many of the original tools and machinery pieces are on display in the halls and there are information display boards detailing when and how the Marathon car was made.

As we walked back to Nashville city centre, we got a call from the mechanic. Grim news! No one could find the part they needed and being a Friday afternoon, everyone was going home. While they were confident they could locate a part, it would have to wait until Monday. So, instead of being on our way, Joey would be parked in their forecourt for the weekend and we were without transport. At least they hooked us up with power. We figured, if you’re given lemons, you make lemonade! So after some googling, we located a reasonable car to hire for the weekend, picked it up within an hour and drove it back to Joey. Now, to plan where to go on our unexpected extra weekend of sightseeing, with unlimited mileage.

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The Gulf of Mexico and Beyond

We’ve always been fans of a pioneer village because you can gather so much history about a region in one place. Google is such a wonderful tool that we didn’t have in 2008 when we were here, so a quick Google gave us a list of interesting places to visit along our roads less travelled and that’s how we found ourselves in Gonzales Pioneer Village.

The village was tucked away down a narrow lane, then a gravel road but we were pleasantly surprised when we entered. It had been raining all morning, so the girl in the office hadn’t opened any of the buildings because she thought noone would arrive. We explained that the rain wouldn’t stop us, so we paid our entry and she opened all the buildings for us.

There were 17 heritage buildings in all, each one having been removed from another location within the Gonzales area and donated to the village during the 1980s and 90s. Consequently, the buildings are also from different eras. The Presbyterian church for example, was relocated from Hamon, 9 miles south of Gonzales and like much of the village, was used for a variety of things, including a community centre and a hay barn before deteriorating and needing propping up with timbers and then being donated to the village.

The Greek Revival Muenzler house was built in 1892 and relocated to the village in 1989. The furnishings are original and came with the house.

This camera from the late 1800s was a wonderful find and in fantastic condition.

The Gates house was built in 1856 by Samuel Hardin Gates who received a land grant in recognition of his actions during the Runaway Scrape at the Alamo in 1836. Much of the timber was replaced when it arrived at the village but it was renovated using original techniques so the timber joiners are mortise and tenon, the joints half-lap and the entire structure is held with pegs and square nails.

The Knowles Townsend log cabin was built circa 1850s and relocated from fifteen miles away in Nixon. Archaeologists are able to date the timbers used and found that most of the “cutting dates” fall between 1867 and 1869, the oldest timber used can be dated to 1691. It is surmised that Artemis Knowles built the house as a temporary structure while his actual house was under construction. It’s a “double pen, central chimney” style cabin that was unusual for south Texas.

The furniture is a collection of pieces from the same period. Apparently the children slept in the loft so they were safer from wild animals and Indians, which also explains why the steps are so steep and narrow.

There was a schoolhouse, a printing shop and a broom shop which belonged to the caretakers grandfather and contained all the tools and equipment he used to make brooms during the late 1800s. It was relocated from San Antonio. The corn used for brooms is specially grown for the purpose.

While I found the buildings interesting, the memorabilia inside them was often more interesting. For example the print shop contained an original linotype printing press which was an innovation in the late 1800s, enabling a 90 character line of type to be selected at once. Before this, each letter was selected by hand.

The schoolhouse had original desks, complete with ink wells which were the same desks I remember when I first went to school in Sydney.

The washer and wringer were hand operated. Washing was put in the tub and spun using a crank handle then each item was fed through the ringer to press the water out. My grandmother used one of these when I was little. If I could send a note back to my 3 year old self, it would be “don’t put your thumb in the wringer when grandmar is wringing the clothes!”

It took us about an hour to look through all the exhibits and we learned more about the local history. We said goodbye to their resident potbelly pig, Penny and headed off.

One thing we know Texas is famous for are their longhorn cattle and I’ve been hoping to get some photos the entire time we’ve been in the state. A short distance out of Gonzales, we finally saw some and were able to stop on the road.

They’re the most amazing cows. I can’t imagine how annoying it must be to have two feet of horn poking out either side of your head to get caught in things.

We were also well past the dry, desert-like terrain we’d become accustomed to seeing in southern Texas, passing miles of lush green pastures, waterways and sugar cane.

After Gonzales our road less travelled took us through Yoakum, Edna, Bay City and Freeport until we joined the coastal scenic road, with 45 miles to Galveston.

This road traverses a narrow land spit between the Gulf of Mexico and West Bay and like many of the regions we’ve travelled through, its was unexpected.

We had a brief stop and walk along the beach at Quintana’s Bird Sanctuary, and found they have a foolproof way of deterring people from going into the sand dunes! And I thought rattlesnakes preferred hotter, more arid regions.

We had planned to stop at Gavleston for the night but after driving the 12 miles to Galveston Island State Park and discovering they were full, we decided to take the ferry and stop on the other side.

Galveston beachside was another place that surprised us. There were many houses built on stilts, right on along the coast. Being aware that this region has suffered a number of hurricanes, we marveled at how unconcerned these people were, stilts or not, building so close to the water. We discovered the most recent hurricane to hit Galveston was in September, 2008, when we were in America last. Luckily, we were in the New York State region. It hit as a category 2 with a storm surge of 20 feet (6 meters), certainly enough to engulf many of these residences.

It’s obviously a popular seaside destination, with amusements on the jetty’s, numerous large hotels, restaurants and even show rides.

Before we decided on this route we confirmed that Joey was able to go on the ferry, and found that it was a free service. We arrived as the returning ferry was about half way across the East Galveston Bay so didn’t have long to wait. The ferry is “free-wheeling” so unlike ours that traverse the Murray River by cable, this one travels under its own steam to the other side. The water wasn’t calm and our ferry certainly rolled about a little. Our docking was also skew whiff, so the driver took a second go at lining us up before letting the ramps down. It was already 6pm when we docked and the road we’d chosen along the intercoastal waterway was almost 80 miles, with only a couple a minor towns along the way, so we parked by the ferry terminal for the night.

The following morning we took a walk to a small inland village, popular with fisherfolk who were already out in force and managed to capture some of the water birds.

Most of the drive was indispersed with seaside houses on stilts but as we drove we started to see the results of category 4 Hurricane Ida that hit this part of the coast in August, 2021, with winds of 150 mph. It was one of the most severe hurricanes to hit Louisiana.

We were also surprised to see how very close the road was to the water and how little there was between them

And this house? Enough said!

As the name implies, the intercoastal waterway traverses a number of waterways. The bridges that span them certainly don’t give you a run up before heading for the skies! They are very steep up and very steep down!

The terrain was also more reminiscent of the Texas we’d seen previously with oil wells and electricity infrastructure.

And then all of a sudden we were in Louisiana.

The first thing that struck us was the French on the sign and as we started learning about Louisiana history, we realised their French ties are still strong. The second was that once we left the coast it got decidedly warmer and more humid.

We travelled towards St Martinville, stopping at some of the smaller towns along the way to appreciate their 18th and 19th century homes.

We were also in awe of the magnificent trees growing along the streets and among the houses.

In Broussard we were introduced to Arcadian history and began to get a better understanding of the strong French influence even today. This region of Lafayette is considered “Cajun Country” a term that came from the French “le Cadiens” which was Americanised to Cajun. In the 1600s almost 18,000 French-speaking Cathlolic people settled in Acadie, now Nova Scotia, during its Spanish rule. When the region became English ruled, they refused allegiance to the British crown or the Anglican Church so in 1755, were ejected. They scattered among numerous locations, but a number made their way to Spanish ruled Louisiana and settled between 1765 and 1785 in regions along the Vermillion River.

In St Martinville, we also learned about the Native Attakapa Indian tribe who inhabited this area and were christianised and civilised by missionaries.

At the outskirts of the town we discovered the Longfellow-Evangeline State Historic site, named after the Henry Wadsworth Longfellow poem Evangeline which detailed the Acadian expulsion and relocation to Louisiana. It is dedicated to the diverse people who inhabited the region, a true melting pot of cultures, including Acadian, French, Spanish, Creole, Native Indian and African peoples who each brought their own culture and heritage to the region. French was the main language and remains very strong today.

They even had two horses and two long horned cattle.

Our next stop was the Living History Museum and Folklife Park Vermillionville, so called because it lies on the banks of the Bayou Vermillion. During the early 1800s the land was a sugar cane plantation but as the settlement grew it became the town of Lafayette. The village represents the different communities that lived in the region.

We were there on a Sunday so there were people in period costume in some of the houses who explained life at the time. A band began playing at 1pm for the afternoon and the restaurant was open, serving a buffet of local delicacies.

There were numbers of information panels throughout the houses that explained numerous things about the era, including who resided in the dwelling, how it was constructed and where, and how some of the implements were used.

For example, this is a wall panel that’s been laid bare to show its construction. The walls are a mix of Spanish moss and mud, a technique used by the Indians and called bousillage by the French.

Armand Broussard House (above) was a plantation home built circa 1790 and is an authentic French Creole style of the period. It’s one of the oldest buildings in southwest Louisiana and considered a large family home of the period.

Attakapas Chapel was Catholic and a reproduction based on two different churches in the region from the 1760s and 1770s. Enslaved people were baptised catholic by law (Noir Code) and both enslaved and free coloured people sat in different areas of the church.

The forge, also a recreation from the era, represents a blacksmiths shop with a large, open indoor space and earthen floors to dampen sparks. Blacksmiths were important members of these communities and often individual plantations had their own blacksmiths who fashioned everything from wagon wheels to tools, nails, cookware and horse tack.

Boucvalt House was a village dwelling from the late 1800s. This house is French Creole with some Victorian features, for example, there is no central hallway. It also had an authentic early gramophone.

We also had fun pulling ourselves across the lake on la petit Bayou ferry (guide rope ferry). This method was used to cross reivers and bayous before bridges were built. It was actually quite hard to pull across so I can’t imagine how tough it would be with any current or across a wider river although the guide ropes are intended to prevent it from being swept downstream.

Rope Ferry

I found the Beau Bassin House particularly interesting because the interior displays are tools of the textile trade. The loom is an original 200 year old Cajan loom, used by Arcadian women to weave wool, flax and cotton and became renowned for the intricate designs they wove.

The quilt was made in situ and by hand using a small and incredibly neat running stitch by the lovely lady in period costume, sitting at the back. It took her three years and is supported on a traditional frame from the era. We had a lovely conversation about quilting, sewing, knitting and crocheting and she told us about her grandmother who taught her to quilt.

She also explained how the moss, which hangs from almost every tree in Louisiana, was collected, washed, combed and used in pillows, quilts and stuffing for furniture.

We spent a very interesting 2 hours at Vermillionville but it was time to move on. Since leaving the regions of National Parks we’ve missed the wide open spaces and hiking so we decided to spend the night at Lake Fausse Point State Park and do some of the hikes the following morning.

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The Roads Less Travelled

In 2008 when we visited Texas we spent several days in Dallas and traversed the upper part of the state. This trip we decided to stay south, away from the major highways, and visit some of those gems that aren’t broadly promoted. Our road less travelled took us through Gage, a tiny town on Hwy 90 where we discovered this small but stunning garden.

We weren’t sure why there was a painted cow but we have seen some others along the way.

For such a small garden it was very diverse, and incredibly well kept. There were beautiful flowers in bloom, a pond with a fountain and several small courtyards to sit in.

Our next stop was Del Rio, along the Rio Grande and another hidden gem. It’s predominant claim to fame is the Laughlin Air Force Base, however we also found that Texas has a burgeoning wine industry and the oldest winery in Texas, Val Verde, is in Del Rio.

Del Rio also has a fantastic creek scape along the San Felipe Creek. There are the remnants of a past thriving water playground for swimming and boating and a greenspace area along each side.

I even managed to capture these amazing red birds and a very cute squirrel.

Continuing on Hwy 90, I was enthused to stop at Kickapoo Cavens. Not so much to visit the caverns, after having spent so much time in Carlsbad, but because it was such a cool name! Disappointingly, as a lesser known park, it was shut on the day we arrived, but I couldn’t resist taking a snap of the sign just to prove it really was a place. I’ve since discovered that it was named after the regional Kickapoo Indian tribe.

State and National parks and forests are often wonderful places to explore and we try to include them in our travels if we’re passing nearby. We were told that Austin should be on our our list of towns to visit in Texas, and to make sure we visit the ‘Hill Country.’ On the way we stumbled across South Llano River State Park and decided to stop in the campground for a night.

Situated on the South Llano River, we have Walter W. Buck Jr. to thank for donating the land unconditionally, to Texas in 1977, under the proviso that it would remain “intact, in a natural state and open to the public.” It was to be used solely for wildlife conservation and opened officially in 1990. It’s promoted as a great place for swimming, fishing, paddling and floating on the river. The ranger station even hire large inflatable tyres to float on. The day we were there was warm but according to the people who were floating, the water was chilly and not flowing enough to actually float anywhere.

It was a beautiful park that had lush green and wooded areas adjacent the river and drier desert-like terrain surrounding it. Over 250 different species of birds are found here, and it’s one of 60 International Dark Sky Parks, that minimise light pollution at night for animals and people.

We walked around the bushland and river in the afternoon, then did the perimeter rim trail the following morning. There were abundant wildflowers and one of the ranger stations had bird houses and feeders that attracted the tiniest humming birds. About the size of my thumb, with a very long slender beak for drinking flower nectar, we sat and watched them feeding one early evening but, try as I might, getting a photo was incredibly difficult. Their wings flapped so fast you could barely see them and they flitted so quickly, one second they were there and the next, they were gone but you didn’t see where they went.

Our walk the following morning took us on an 8 mile (12km) loop around the park. As soon as we started climbing up along the border and into the back country, the terrain changed from the lush green grass and cedar elm, pecan and oak trees by the river and camp ground, to dry, rocky terrain with mostly mesquite, yucca and prickly pear, that we saw so much of in the desert of Big Bend.

This park is popular with birdwatchers and there are several bird hides, but deer, jackrabbits, squirrels, foxes, rattlesnakes and armadillos are also found here. I really hoped to see an armadillo and after seeing so many signs about rattlesnakes I was also keen to see one in the wild. But an ‘Oh, look over there on that rock 20 feet away, there’s a rattlesnake,’ kind of seeing! Not a *#%$*!!! a foot in front of me on the trail that I did not see until I almost stepped on it and it did their famous, coil into a circle, rattle their tail and stand up in front ready to strike, kind of seeing! I jumped back so fast, yelling snake! Then, when I felt we were sufficiently far enough back to admire him from a distance, and I caught my breath, I took numerous photos and a video of course!

After my initial fright, this was the highlight of our visit. He certainly was a lovely, well fed snake. We didn’t spot an armadillo, which I also hoped to see but we did enjoy the park.

Our next stop was Lake Buchanan and Inks Lake State Park, another unexpected find en route. Situated in the famed Hill Country that was recommended, Lake Buchanan and Inks Lake are only an hour from Austin. Formed when the Colorado River was dammed in 1937, it provides hydroelectricity to this day, and stores water to stop the flooding issues Austin previously encountered.

Similar wildlife abounds in the area which consists of 1,200 acres, 29 miles of hiking trails and numerous opportunities for waterborne activities from fishing to canoeing, but the flora is far more diverse and lush than the desert and arid regions we’ve experienced in Texas so far.

The afternoon we arrived, we hiked around the end of Inks Lake on the Devil’s Waterhole and Devil’s Backbone Nature trails.

We marveled at the continued abundance of wildflowers and the variety of flora we saw.

The following morning, as in South Llano Park, we headed off on a longer hike to experience a broader area of the park. Our hike led us to the end of the camping area, which in itself was massive, around the other end of Inks Lake and into the Park proper, via Pecan Flats and Woodland trail, then returning via Lake trail, each of which described the areas they covered. In all we hiked 9.5miles (about 15kms) and it’s one of the most varied and enjoyable we’ve done so far. So let me regale you with pictures, rather than text that never does the visions we’ve seen justice.

Some critter cuteness to begin.

In many areas, the carpets of wildflowers were extensive, some like this and others scattered with pops of orange, white or purple.

We were very lucky to see this white-tailed deer doe. The likelihood of seeing the fauna is one of the reasons I like to hike early in the mornings. Being the first ones out on the trail, means we see wildlife before it’s retreated for the day. I heard this deer before I saw it and for such a large animal, it was incredibly well camouflaged. Blink and you’d lose it among the foliage. Luckily, it seemed as interested in me as I was taking its picture.

We arrived back at Joey after almost 3 hours of thoroughly enjoyable hiking and headed for our next stop in Texas Hill country, the German heritage town of Fredericksburg, described as having “Texas Heart, German Soul”.

The town reminded us of Solberg, the Danish village we visited in California and also Hahndorf, the German village in our Adelaide Hills. A more extensive town than both of these, it was an elective mix of German, Mexican and Texan and obviously the ‘go to destination’ for girls trips and hens parties going by the numbers of female groups, pink stretch limos and buses that we saw.

It certainly had its fair share of pubs, bars and restaurants and of course, tourist shops, many of which we ventured into. The shops that sold condiments, and there were a number, displayed very extensive collections and had tastings of all their wares. This was a great incentive to purchasing. We got to try before we bought. This is also, according to the literature, the centre of Texas wine country, with over 60 wineries and tasting rooms. We certainly drove past many miles of wineries, one after the other, along the road.

Not that we were inclined to try either of these!

Any guesses?

On the left, in between the chocolate covered melon and strawberries we have chocolate coated jalapeno chilis and on the right?

I can’t even imagine how you come up with the idea to coat crisp, smokey bacon with chocolate!

Moving right along! The shops were as varied as their wares. Some were very exclusive and expensive, others not so much, but all were interesting to wander around.

This was the most amazing chandelier!

Boots anyone?

I was so tempted! But which pair to choose? And this was only part of one of the 6 racks of shelves!

Once we’d ventured into enough shops, we visited Marktplatz, in the centre of town. The historic Vereins Kirche is in the middle of the square and is a replica of the original, built in 1846. The town embraced its German heritage during the 150 year celebrations in 1996, by renaming the Market Place Marktplatz and revamping the entire area.

It pays homage to pioneers of the community like the US 36th President Lyndon B. Johnson who grew up in the county and also past residents like Admiral Chester W. Nimitz and Jacob Broadbent, an early aviator.

A life-size bronze statue recognising the yet unbroken treaty between Fredericksburg’s founder John O. Meusebach and the Comanche Indians sits adjacent a replica wooden water wheel similar to those used for milling in the region.

The following morning we took a walk around the suburban streets in the town looking at the classic homes.

We then walked up to Cross Mountain, which was really just a hill. It was used as an Indian lookout, according to the history, because it gives a great vantage point over the surrounding area. When the early pioneers first arrived, the legend has it that they discovered a timber cross on the hill, so they named it Kreuzberg (Cross Mountain). A permanent illuminated cross was built in 1946.

Among the tourist literature we collected was a flyer for Fredericksburg Pie Company, so of course we had to stop in to sample some pie. Americans don’t do savoury pies like we do in Australia. There were no steak and mushroom or tandoori chicken pies here. There were however, 3 shelves of cream, fruit and pecan pies. We opted to try 3 different slices. A chocolate meringue, a key lime and a traditional pecan pie slice. The hardest part was choosing which slices to try.

Our drive on from Fredericksburg took us past Old Tunnel, a now disused railway tunnel that is another stopping point for the Mexican free-tailed bats we’ve been learning about.

After a short walk to see the tunnel, we continued our journey towards Austin and found another little gem of a town along the route called Dripping Springs. It wasn’t on our radar to stop but as we drove into town we passed lots and lots of people walking and cars parked every which way on the side of the road. Then we joined the traffic snarl and saw where everyone was headed. It looked like a state fair as we drove past so we made a snap decision to take a right turn and find a car park.

We walked into the grounds and found that every person within a 100 mile radius was there too! It was absolutely packed. We also discovered that it was Dripping Springs Founders Day Fair, which actually went from Friday to Sunday. By now it was 4pm on Saturday, so we figured all these people were here for the night.

We wandered down the aisles trying to get a vantage point to see what the stalls were selling eventually coming to the sideshows and rides, which were extensive and also packed with people. We discovered the usual county fair foods, but also some unique offerings to the region.

As we made our way back we discovered these little beauties.

A number of vendors were selling them by the scoop, so your serve was a massive one. Spicy crawfish we were told. Like our yabbies but a bit bigger. All the meat is in the tail, so they were a lot of hard work for not much food, hence the size of the serving. And these were very spicy we were told. I would have liked to try one but didn’t want 50 to get through.

We also learned that if you bought a giant commemorative tankard for $US24.00, you could refill it whenever you wanted and as often as you liked, with a choice of soft drinks like root beer, sweat tea or huckleberry. That explained the constant long queue.

The whole time we walked around the BBQ smells were amazing. And that’s coming from a vegetarian! The food stalls in the side show area were obviously selling their food, but there were numerous tents with huge BBQs and smokers cooking and serving BBQ meat. There were no prices and it didn’t look like people were paying. Curious, we thought. Seeing all the meat, Peter was feeling hungry too so when we found a stall with no customers and asked the question.

So, it turns out that Founders Day each year is traditionally a massive BBQ meat competition. Anyone can enter, so you could be a club or a family or a butcher that has a “secret recipe” for any kind of BBQ, or smoker.

The competitor we spoke to said there were 121 competitors this year and they were all judged on Saturday with the winners being announced on Sunday. Each competitor cooks their BBQ entry all day Friday, Saturday and Sunday and the meat is given away for free. In fact, the rules state they’re not allowed to sell anything. They can ask for a donation.

This was the happy chappy who explained the competition to us. I think Peter had three of his tortilla wraps filled with meat and they weren’t small servings! He also very proudly told us he came third overall last year.

By now it was after 5pm and people had been gorging on BBQ for two days, so the trade had slowed a little. Now we knew how it worked, Peter made his way around the stalls to try a number of offerings. There was chicken, pork, beef and sausages all with their secret cooking spices or rubs and methods of BBQing and smoking. I’m told the best was a slow cooked pulled beef. Some were served just in a small tray, some offered help yourself sauces and some included a tortilla wrap, salsa or salad.

This was certainly one of our best random finds so far.

We woke to an extremely foggy morning and a walk though Twin Lakes Park, in Austin. It was a lovely and extensive area with many miles of paved paths. We walked the length of the paved paths along Barton Creek and the Greenbelt to a large lake and dam and then looped back through some suburbs to meet the trail again.

The night before we’d had some heavy rain that lasted a number of hours and this area had also had a few days prior of rain so the creek was flowing strongly.

We walked past this railway bridge looking quite striking with its heavy timber trusses and assumed it was old and disused. No so, it seems, because on the way back a train passed over.

After Austin we hadn’t decided which way to travel. South to San Antonio then across to Houston or north through some of the smaller towns. Several people suggested we shouldn’t miss visiting the Alamo in San Antonio so south it was.

We found a very large car park by San Antonio zoo that was surrounded by playing fields and parks and about a 3.5 mile walk to the Alamo, taking in the the famous Riverwalk. So off we walked through the parks and along the Riverwalk towards San Antonio centre and the Alamo.

By now you must know I can’t resist a critter and this squirrel was so cute and photogenic and not the least bit concerned that I’d stopped to take his picture.

The park also has a trainline that travels from the zoo through the park and around the perimeter of the playing fields. On our return walk it crossed our path twice, almost full of people.

The park was very picturesque and given the early morning, there were few people about.

The Riverwalk was quite surprising, in that it is a 15 mile long canal that winds its way through San Antonio, including 5 miles through the downtown city. It’s beautifully maintained with gardens and water features along its length, ornate bridges with sculptures and apartments, shops and restaurants in the downtown area.

The history of the canal system is fascinating.  In 1921 a severe downpour flooded the San Antonio River and rose 9 feet in the streets, killing at least 50 people and encouraging ideas to mitigate future flooding.  In 1926 a bypass channel was constructed and plans for draining the river and converting it to a storm drain were put forward.

In 1929 Robert H. H. Hugman presented his plans for a bypass channel which included a small dam to check the flow, but further alterations were halted by the Depression.  By 1936, moves were afoot to beautify the river and a San Antonio River Authority was formed. 

A tax was levied to raise the $US75,000 required for the project and in 1941 the walkways, stairways, footbridge and rock walls were completed.

Alterations and improvements continued throughout the 1940s and 50s until in 1961, a company who were instrumental in designing Disneyland put forward plans to enhance the commercial potential of the Riverwalk, including retail, entertainment and restaurant precincts, sculptures and murals and in 1964 $US500,000 in improvements were approved.

Since then, it has become a world-famous venue, holding festivals, theatre and arts performances and the downtown area has numerous restaurants, bars and shops on the canal frontage. 

There are also the famous motored canalboats, each a different, vibrant colour that take tourists on tours along the canals.  Driven by suitably attired and informative skippers, they provide a commentary along the journey, interacting with patrons and vendors on the shore and regaling city and canal history.

It was a short walk from the Riverwalk to the centre of downtown via Historic Houston Street and the Alamo, which is in the centre of downtown San Antonio.  We spent 2 ½ hours taking in the historic site and learning about Texas history.  The Alamo is a sacred and revered site, like Gettysburg, or Gallipoli and a legacy for those people who fought and died for Texas.  At the completion of our visit, we had a greater understanding of how Texas became a state and a better understanding of its people. 

For example, Texas is one of the few states so far where we’ve seen many businesses and private citizens flying the State Texas flag either with the American flag or by itself.  Texans are proud to be Texan.  We understand how interconnected Texas heritage is with Spanish and Mexican history and how these cultures continue to influence much of Texas today. 

We learned about the heroes of the Alamo, names we’d heard of like David Crockett, for example.  Anyone of a certain age will remember the TV show from the 1970s where Fes Parker, wearing his animal skin coat and possum tail hat was Davy Crockett, “king of the Wild, Wild West.”  But I never realised he played a prominent role fighting at the Alamo.

So, a brief history lesson of Texas and the Alamo.  During the 1700s, both Spain and France laid claim to regions in what is now the state of Texas.  Spanish missionaries travelled throughout the region, establishing missions to convert the Pamposa’s, Coahuiltecan’s and other Indian tribes.  In 1756 a stone church was built by Indian stonemasons, and this is the famed Alamo shrine.  By the 1790s Antonio de Valero ceased to be a mission and the land was distributed to nearby Indians.

By the early 1800s, a Spanish military unit arrived in San Antonio, repaired and occupied the site, calling it Pueblo del Alamo.  During this time, Mexico began revolting against Spanish rule and in 1810 the unrest spilled into San Antonio.  Control over the Alamo varied between Spanish and Mexican rule for the following decade, until in 1820, 300 American frontier families made their way to Texas, settling in the Alamo area and becoming citizens under the Mexican constitution.  Increasing numbers of American settlers also provided an impetus for Texas to become a separate state.  However, the colonists agreed to remain loyal to Mexico, under the Turtle Bayou Resolution.  By 1835, however, disputes arose between colonists and Mexican authorities causing skirmishes, and the blockade of Mexican supply ships and troops.

On March 6, 1836, Mexican troops attacked the Alamo and killed those defending it. 

Prisoners were executed, women and children massacred, and the Mexican army pursued the retreating Texian army.  Hearing of this, settlers fled from the advancing Mexican army, and became known as the “Runaway Scrape.”

On April 21, 1836, the Texians attacked the Mexican army and according to history shouted “Remember the Alamo! Remember Goliad!”  The scene of the massacres.  The Texians defeated the Mexican army in 18 minutes and won independence for Texas from Mexico.  All Mexican forces were ordered to withdraw south of the Rio Grande but on their way the Alamo was all but destroyed.

On February 19, 1846, Texas joined the United States.  During the ensuing years the US government undertook the rebuilding of the Alamo and much of the grounds was sold to private citizens.  In 1903 the Daughters of the Republic of Texas (DRT) persuaded the state to purchase the Alamo and preserve it as a shrine to the Alamo defenders. Today, according to the literature, “the Alamo is known worldwide as a symbol of patriotism and the shrine of Texas Liberty.”

Also situated in the Alamo precinct is a museum of the Alamo and Texas Revolution which houses the preeminent collection of artifacts, including weaponry, saddles and tack, porcelain and tableware, manuscripts and books and a scale reproduction of the Alamo site which highlights how the battle transpired through illuminations and dialogue.  Most interestingly, the collection was donated to the Alamo site in 2014 by none other than rock star extraordinaire, Phil Collins!  The Phil Collins.  His introductory blurb states that he was fascinated by the adventures of Davy Crockett and the frontiersmen as a boy, and this grew into a lifelong passion.

It’s amazing how quickly the time goes when you’re engrossed in something like Alamo history, so it was early afternoon by the time we headed to the Riverwalk to find lunch.  We settled on a Mexican restaurant that was established in 1972 and clearly a talking point for the canal boat skippers as they passed us by. 

Then, realising we had only walked halfway through the downtown Riverwalk area, we continued until a T junction signaled the end of the shops and restaurants.  We retraced our steps back to Joey and after a long but very enjoyable day, it was time to find more roads less travelled.

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Happy Easter!

In 2008 we arrived in America on July 4, so we experienced Independence Day. We were here for Halloween which we spent on the east coast and was the absolute best time of year! We also experienced Thanksgiving and spent Christmas and New Year in Las Vegas. The only holiday we missed was Easter, which we’ve now had in the Phoenix area. I imagined it would be similar to Halloween. Houses decorated, Easter treats filling supermarket shelves and public holidays. But no! It was rather underwhelming.

Easter in America is very different to Easter at home. It’s not a National holiday here and only 12 states have Friday as a public holiday.

They don’t have hot cross buns! Imagine our dismay!

We also didn’t see any chocolate Easter hunting eggs, or much in the way of Easter chocolates. Mostly bags of the usual chocolates like M&Ms or Hershey’s. There were a lot of Easter bunnies though.

They do have many different variety packs of coloured egg shaped plastic containers that you put small lollies, like jellybeans, or plastic novelties in. These are strewn around or hidden for children to find.

The main things we noticed on supermarket shelves were egg collecting baskets, large numbers of Easter themed trinkets and gift baskets of various sizes done up with cellophane, and filled with toys, games and some lollies or chocolate.

In a mega Walmart supermarket this was the extent of Easter chocolate.

Notice the Bluey egg?

So, without having to worry about Easter holiday closures or excessive crowds we spent Friday at Arizona Boardwalk. What a fantastic place!

It’s a collection of attractions in one area and you decide which ones and how many to visit. On offer were Butterfly Wonderland, Odysea Aquarium, UFO experience, Ripley’s Believe it or Not, Lazer Mirror Maze, CyberQuest, Panagaea Dinosaur World and Museum of Illusions. We opted for Butterfly Wonderland because it’s the largest natural butterfly habitat in America and UFO experience because I wanted to visit Roswell in New Mexico but this had far better reviews. There were the obligatory themed gift shops of course and also several different food options.

We arrived early before the attractions opened and had it all to ourselves. So we enjoyed wandering around and having some fun taking photos.

The butterfly habitat was amazing! It’s very well set out and informative. The 3D movie about the Monarch butterflies migration was fascinating. Did you know that they are the only butterfly that migrates north to Canada and then returns south to Mexico again, like birds? And they take 3 generations to complete their journey. Being 3D, you really can’t help reaching out to touch the butterflies you’re sure are right in front of you!

Next, is the hatching room where hundreds of chrysalis are transforming into butterflies. Each morning and afternoon they transport the new butterflies into the habitat which visitors are free to wander around.

There were thousands of butterflies fluttering around the habitat! All shapes, sizes and colours and it was difficult to know where to look. Needless to say, I took a hundred or more photos!

Here are just a few

There was a pond with Koi fish that were over a foot long and a small collection of bugs, reptiles and also several aquariums with tropical and river fish and stingrays.

After lunch we went to the UFO experience. Considering the reviews, and as someone who can’t imagine we’re alone in the universe, I was quite looking forward to it. It started off with earphones that played actual excerpts from notable people about UFOs and included several air force pilots and even Bill Clinton. There were TVs replaying parts of the recent Pentagon inquiry into UAPs (unidentified aerial phenomena) which were interesting and numerous information boards which outlined various encounters since “the big one” in Roswell in 1949, including primary source documents that detailed what happened.

But I have to say the second half was not as interesting and some displays bordered on ridiculous and tacky. There was a whole room dedicated to people who believed they were abducted by aliens. Another room to aliens that appear in movies e.g. ET or Alien. There were displays of ‘alleged’ technologies of the future, e.g. time travel apparatus and finally a room which outlined previous civilisations’ feats and how they could reflect interactions with more advanced beings, e.g. the Mayan peoples and what could be interpreted as ‘otherworldly’ symbolism.

When we entered we were given a survey card and asked do we believe in UFOs? Yes, Maybe, or No. As we walked through the display rooms we ticked whether we believed what was outlined for each one and then tallied up our answers at the end to see if we had changed our opinion, or it remained the same. Mine stayed the same, notwithstanding the dubious displays. Peter started with yes and his opinion remained the same too. When educated, respected and well known people are prepared to make their experiences public, perhaps they shouldn’t be discounted.

By the time we had another walk around the butterfly habitat and revisited a couple of the gift shops, we’d spent an entire day here and it was thoroughly enjoyable.

On Saturday we had a very enjoyable walk around Papago Park, an extensive area near Phoenix CBD which includes playing fields, Phoenix Zoo, Botanical Gardens, a large number of walking/mountain bike trails and a cycling/walking path along the canal system.

Well, someone had to climb up to give an idea of the scale!

Indian civilisations that dwelled in the Phoenix region 1,400 years before European settlement built a complex system of canals over almost 500 miles. Subsequently, more recent settlers to the region continued building canals to transport water to areas previously underdeveloped. Today, there are 180 miles of canals that traverse the greater Phoenix region and on average are 16 feet deep.

It was a scenic and interesting walk. We discovered a man-made lake for fishing and an interesting mausoleum.

Apparently, George P. Hunt thought that this was the most scenic spot in Arizona and decided that he and his immediate relatives would like to spend their eternity presiding over this view. In a pyramid, no less.

Because it was Saturday, we decided to take a drive through Phoenix CBD and happened upon the Arizona Capital Museum. Over four floors there are very interesting displays outlining Arizona’s history including the judiciary, government, building construction and also exhibitions about Arizona’s history from 1845 and their campaign for statehood, the USS Arizona battleship and the legacy of the Buffalo Soldiers (African American troops).

We learned some interesting things about Arizona too.

President Abraham Lincoln made Arizona a territory in 1863 but it wasn’t until February 14, 1912 that President William Taft declared it to be the 48th state.

The Capitol building was completed in 1901 and housed the Arizona Territorial and State Legislature until 1960 and the Executive Offices until 1974.

They have 10 state Emblems: The Saguaro (pronounced Sah-WAH-row) Cactus white blossom is the flower, and the Cactus Wren is the bird and were declared in 1931. The Palo Verde tree (green stick in Spanish), in 1954. The critters were all declared in 1986 and include the Ringtail as the State mammal (not a possum but related to the raccoon), the Ridge-Nosed Rattlesnake as the reptile, the Apache Trout as the fish, and the Arizona Tree Frog as the amphibian. Turquoise is the State gem, and copper the metal. The most recent is the Sonorasaurus dinosaur, declared in 2018 after an 11 yr. old school boy wrote to the Governor to ask if the dinosaur, discovered in 1994 in southern Arizona, could become the state dinosaur.

They have a LEGO replica State flag built from 113,998 LEGO bricks which equals the square mileage of Arizona. The blue and red are custom colours made expressly by LEGO to reflect the actual colours of the flag.

On Sunday we visited the Saguaro West National Park and completed a 13km hike over an elevation of 572 meters! It was one of the most scenic and interesting hikes we’ve done so far. The wildflowers were so varied and abundant and at the peak of the hike we had stunning 360 degree views, including of the clouds and mist that rolled in as we were descending. Our visibility went from many kms to only a few hundred feet in a matter of 10 minutes! We arrived back at Joey just as it started spitting rain and within the hour, it was raining steadily. In fact, it rained almost constantly for the next 36 hours!

Because of the rain on Monday, we decided inside was the place to be so we visited the Pima Air & Space Museum.

I imagined I’d wander around for a couple of hours and then leave Peter to spend however much longer he wanted to view the displays. How wrong was I! What a fabulously interesting place! We arrived just after the museum opened and were some of the last the leave just before 5pm! It was so well set out and displayed with informative panels that gave details about the planes but also outlined much of the history of aviation.

There were 4 huge hangars over 250,000 square feet filled with planes from the Wright Brothers biplane to an F-14 Tomcat and some of the biggest, smallest and strangest planes I’ve seen. There’s a further 80 acres of land outside that is also filled with planes that we didn’t even get to. Partly because it was raining and very muddy around the planes but also because there were so many interesting things to see indoors.

The Starr Bumble Bee was built expressly to gain the record for the world’s smallest aircraft. It’s first flight was in 1984 and it still holds the record as the smallest bi-plane to fly.

Replica Wright Brothers Flyer.

Did you know that the first seaplanes were flown circa 1910?

This Mariner PBM-5A Amphibian was flown by the American navy between 1948 – 1956, and by civilians until 1971 when it made its last flight.

I found the historical information particularly informative. There were quite extensive displays that outlined women and African Americans in aviation from the 1900s until recently. It was surprising to read how difficult it was for these groups to be accepted in the aviation and defence industries.

There were also a number of prototypes that were great ideas at the time. Some, like this idea for a personal helicopter, didn’t make the grade, while others, like the first sea planes have continued to evolve and are common today. Did you know that the first sea plane flew in the US in 1910?

Remember back to our trip across London Bridge in Lake Havasu and the man that bought the bridge? Well, we learned some more history about McCulloch’s business enterprises. When it was founded in 1943, its prime business was building small gasoline engines. During WWII, most of these engines powered military radio-controlled target drones. This part of the business continued until 1967 by which time, more than 60,000 engines had been produced.

When we were last in America, Walmart’s were our often our accommodation spot for the night. This trip we’ve also discovered that a store called Cracker Barrel (a gift, clothes, knick knack store combined with a restaurant; odd but it seems to work) and Camping World also allow overnight RV stays. So, we made our stop for the night in the Camping World and hoped that the rain would stop by morning for our visit to Saguaro East National Park.