What Next Wander Tour

[TheGirlfriend]

I can't believe you've only had Mexican food once!?! What's up ? So was It wonderful? I can't wait to hear if you like the BBQ today. Let me know when you want to go back to that hotel, or just the ride like A princess! I'm always up for some romance! Ride safe! Love you!

[edstoll]

Keep up the reporting Kelly.

[blacktruck]

I'm in. Can't say I'm envious of you getting to do this but I am interested. I'm still working but one day soon hope to do something similar. Keep going and have some great times and post them up when you can.
Ride safe man...

[Evomx971]

Originally Posted by blacktruck

I'm in. Can't say I'm envious of you getting to do this but I am interested. I'm still working but one day soon hope to do something similar. Keep going and have some great times and post them up when you can.
Ride safe man...

Thanks for the note and based on your location, THANKS for everything you're doing.

[Evomx971]

Woke up in downtown Austin not too much worse for wear. A look outside verified it had rained in the night but based on radar it didn't look like it would rain much if at all the rest of the day. Cloudy and going to be in the mid-70's. Hung around and got as much good out of my overpriced room as I could since I'd planned a relatively short, relaxing day. Cruised to the other end of downtown past the impressive Texas capitol building, which of course is just a few feet taller than the national capitol building.

Visited the Bullock Texas State History Museum. Named after Bob Bullock, a former Lieutenant Governor, and not Sandra.


Great museum so I could totally get my history geek-on. One of the best parts was watching one of the short movies they had playing that walked through the different battles that occurred for Texas independence and at the end, when Texas wins at the battle of San Jacinto, a bunch of the people in the room clapped and cheered. Love it.

Scooted out of Austin and headed south for a late lunch/early dinner at Salt Lick BBQ in Driftwood, TX based on the advice of a buddy that had been down here before. I was expecting a small rural establishment. In actuality, this place is a BBQ compound. Lots of old stone buildings with tons of inside and outside seating. It was in the middle of the afternoon but there was still a lot of people there. They are making their own wine too so there's also wine tasting rooms. You eat at long tables in huge 'banquet' type rooms... at least that's where I was.

Not a good pic, but you get the idea that the place isn't a shack along the side of the road, much neater looking from the highway side.


They are apparently well known for their brisket... sounds good to me:


The meat was very, very good. The bread was fantastic. The sauces were good, but I really like a mustard sauce so was wanting a little there. The potatoes and beans were just ok.

Ugh... stuffed. When I'm traveling I tend to just eat granola or Clif bars and bananas for breakfast and lunch and I think my stomach shrinks. Then when I get to a big evening meal, I just about can't eat it all. I'll push through.

Back on the road headed for Fredericksburg where I plan to spend a few nights and do some loops around the Hill Country. Stayed off the main highway as much as I could. Went by Pedernales Falls State Park... man, I have a huge pet peeve with public parks that charge just to drive through. Would have liked to see the Falls, but just didn't want to pay the $5 to drive in and drive out. Bleh.

Rode through Lyndon B. Johnson Ranch park. His ranch sits right along the Perdernales River. Neat layout. This church is across the river from the ranch and I thought the color and the way the sun was hitting it was neat.


Nice curvy roads making my way to Fredericksburg through ranches. Came up on a guy in a nice old T-Bird. Plugged fuel filter. He had help coming and I was plum out of Thunderbird fuel filters so pressed on.

At 5:24pm... the cold front hit. Went from 75 degrees to 60 degrees in about a 1/2 mile and the wind picked up. Was still about 20 miles from Fredericksburg and it was starting to feel pretty chilly. Just 97 miles today.

Found a really nice, affordable mom-and-pop (and-son actually) motel on the north side of town. Park in front of the door. Can push it into the breezeway if bad weather would pop up. Nice people.

Fredericksburg appears to be a popular destination for folks wanting to get away from Austin and San Antonio for the weekend. Tons of shops, antiques, restaurants, etc. This is a slow time but there was still quite a few people still out walking the main street when I got to town.

I was still stuffed from the BBQ but the innkeeper said to go down to Hondo's for a beer. I swung by the grocery store and grabbed a few breakfast/lunch type items to have in the room then stopped at Hondo's. The "Almost Patsy Cline Band" was gearing up to play and I nabbed the last stool at the bar. Had my first Lone Star beer which turned out to be damn good.



Great mix of young and old in the place and I was actually surprised at how many songs I recognized since I'm not a big country music fan. The highlight for me was when they played 'Pancho and Lefty'. Love that song. Great conversation with Mike-in-the-Big-Cowboy-Hat from Austin. Got a lot of info regarding the Big Bend area. I'm really intrigued by the McDonald Observatory and their "star parties". Might have to try and make that work.

Going to be cold on Sunday, but planning to do a loop and go through Luckenbach.

[#1 Sister]

some cowboy hats! Funny how they stand out to me since we don't see that in Iowa much.

This is Amy...in case the # 1 Sister username wasn't enough of a hint

It's fun to read your posts...scratches my travel itch a little bit - good thing considering this new momma won't be doing much traveling for awhile yet!

[exoff-roadgoat]

If no one mentioned it yet you should ride the three sisters as long as your in the neighborhood. Perhaps the best road riding in Texas...Go west of Medina on 337 to Leakey, take 336 north to 41, west to 335, south to Camp Wood and then back to Leakey on 337. These roads are made for a Tiger and should be deserted this time of year.......for grub the Old Spanish Trail in Bandera is the best bet for breakfast and for a burger/pie Love Creek Orchard in Medina is a must stop.

[Evomx971]

Originally Posted by exoff-roadgoat

If no one mentioned it yet you should ride the three sisters as long as your in the neighborhood. Perhaps the best road riding in Texas...Go west of Medina on 337 to Leakey, take 336 north to 41, west to 335, south to Camp Wood and then back to Leakey on 337. These roads are made for a Tiger and should be deserted this time of year.......for grub the Old Spanish Trail in Bandera is the best bet for breakfast and for a burger/pie Love Creek Orchard in Medina is a must stop.

Thanks for the message!

That's the area I rode today but I think I only nailed one sister.

About halfway through my ride I stopped and got food at the "Frio Canyon Motorcycle Stop" just west of Leakey. Food was ok. Neat establishment that I bet can have some great gatherings in warmer weather. I then did 337 going east out of Leakey. Fantastic road! I went through Comfort and Sisterdale and ended up on Grapetown Rd... deserted and another fantastic road that dumped me out close to Luckenbach. Where everybody is somebody.

Tomorrow I think I'm going to do a loop up through Mason and fit in some more non-paved route.

[exoff-roadgoat]

Good choice, 337 is the prettiest of the sisters. Old San Antonio Road to Grapetown to Luckenbach is a great road on a bike like yours. North of Fredricksburg is another classic, Willow City Loop.

[Evomx971]

One full week on the road

Woke up to 31 degrees in Fredericksburg, TX... but it was sunny. Let it warm up a few degrees, ate some breakfast, and struck out on a 201 mile loop SW of town.



First part of the ride was a nice, swoopy run that hugged and crossed the Guadalupe River. Lots of really neat cabins and resorts built up along the river. Reminded me a lot of riding along the Mississippi in Iowa and Illinois (one of my favorite things to do back home). Most of the crossings are set up so that if it floods, it just runs over the road.


Ran down a section of faster, four-lane road that had great views.





An Iowa Tiger in the Texas Hills...





Any road that has the word "creek" in it... likely runs alongside AND through the creek...




Stopped at the Frio Canyon Motorcycle Stop in Leakey, TX. Of course it was dead at 2:00 on a Sunday with the temps only in the 40's but it's a neat establishment. They have parts and accessories on one side. A restaurant and bar on the other with a huge breezeway in between, big patio, and shelter out back with a nice view. Had the "Fury" sandwich (grilled chicken, pepper jack cheese, and chipolte ranch sauce) with some great tater tots. Good food. I bet this place can have some great parties. Any of you in the area should check it out if you haven't.





The sun was really warm and it was actually quite comfortable sitting outside. View from my seat...




Jumped on Ranch Road 337 going east out of Leakey. Best road I've been on so far! Apparently it's one of the roads they call the "Three Sisters" around here. Twisted up and down through the hills. Reminded me of the mountain roads in Baja. Great fun.

Ended up on a route they call "Grapetown Road". Another great one. I've been very impressed with drivers down here. I've been given plenty of room and easily allowed to make lane changes in the busy city traffic and on the back roads, pretty much every car or truck I come up on moves onto the shoulder to let me by.

Grapetown Road goes by an old railroad tunnel that was very important to the economy of the area when they put it in. It's no longer in use and now, during the summer, is home to thousands of bats. Right now they are on vacation in Mexico but should be back in April I think.




Grapetown Road dumps out close to Luckenbach, made famous by Waylon, Willie and the boys as the song goes. Luckenbach was a ghost town when local rancher and folklorist Honda Crouch "bought" the town. It's a little hard to explain... it's set up for tourists, but it's rustic and those hanging about, at least when I was there... were not tourists. Roosters and chickens were all over the place wandering about. Since it was cold, most people were gathered around heaters in the Post Office, which is also the bar. A group of musicians were sitting around "picking and grinning"... pretty cool. Sorry for the poor pictures from inside...





A short ride got me back to my sweet place in Fredericksburg just before dark


I walked next door to Friedhelm's Bavarian Inn and Restaurant. I'll have to get a pic of this place in the light. Fredericksburg is a German town. I went with the sausage sampler platter... which was on the "lighter side" part of the menu. So much food... but very good.



Probably do another Hill Country loop on Monday...

[selkins]

Glad you're enjoying Texas! John Steinbeck has some of the most incisive quotes about the character of the state, which for this Texas native, continue to ring true today. Among them:

"Texas is a state of mind. Texas is an obsession. Above all, Texas is a nation in every sense of the word."

If you head out west, I highly encourage a few days in and around Marfa. Depending on your personal preferences, you could stay at the Thunderbird (hip, cool), Paisano (old school comfort), El Cosmico (artsy, funky) or Riata Inn (boring...). Wherever you stay, spend a day just wandering the town. Art museums and galleries, a great coffee shop/laundromat, restaurants ranging from the down home to haute cuisine. For a town of 2000 in the middle of nowhere, it is incomparable. Also, great day rides to Big Bend National Park (via Presidio and the River Road) and the Davis Mountains loop (which James Dean would drive in his Porsche every night during filming on the movie "Giant"). One warning, the town is slow and many places closed Mon-Wed. Fridays and Saturdays are best.

Wherever you roam, enjoy your adventure!

[exoff-roadgoat]

Hey, that looks like the same place that I stay at in Fredricksburg. I liked it because it had a picture window in the back and had a recliner to fall asleep in instead of the bed. Never ate at the Bavarian but always went to the place almost across the street. I always get catfish and the salad bar when I go there. I see its starting to warm up down there, time to head to BB. You must ride the River Road to Presidio. The McDonald Observatory is cool too. Ride safe.

[buls4evr]

Recliner to sleep in.... That is what I do about every night at 9PM now EXORG. Listen to the EXORG 971! He really knows the good places for chow.

[lsrdecker]

I see you tried the "Lone Star" and it got me thinking about something you need to do. I think it would be a good idea if you tried a new drink in every bar or postoffice/bar you stop in. You can then keep track of your impressions on each and then sell an internet guide to drinking in the southwest.

Just an idea.

I hope it warms up for you. Keep safe and ride straight.

[Evomx971]

Originally Posted by exoff-roadgoat

Hey, that looks like the same place that I stay at in Fredricksburg. I liked it because it had a picture window in the back and had a recliner to fall asleep in instead of the bed. Never ate at the Bavarian but always went to the place almost across the street. I always get catfish and the salad bar when I go there. I see its starting to warm up down there, time to head to BB. You must ride the River Road to Presidio. The McDonald Observatory is cool too. Ride safe.

Yes, has to be the same place. Dietzel's. The recliner is fantastic with a nice view out the back, really like this place. Love the radiant heaters. Like sitting by a campfire. I'm sitting on the floor right now trying to get my toes to thaw a bit after todays ride...