Tag: David Crockett

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.