Biking Around Lake Brownwood SP

On our second day at Lake Brownwood, Donna went fishing near the fishing pier (see map). I've never liked fishing, so I decided to take a bike ride around the park. I had a great time.

Of all the places we had been the previous week or more, none had wildflowers any better than this park. That is not to say that the park had larger spreads or more, but the stands I saw were thick and bright.

I rode every paved road in the park, including the roads that led down to the cabins. Following are the pictures I took on my ride.

A good stand of bluebonnets at the entrance to the Willow Point campground

Notice how far below the fishing pier the water is. If you look closely, you'll see Donna seated between the end of the pier and the water line. She has yellow clothing on.

Another good stand of bluebonnets in the Willow Point campground

Notice the rich color of this patch of bluebonnets on the road that leads to cabins 14-17

One of the park cabins

The park has many facilities, including 17 cabins, 10 screened shelters, and numerous campsites. Unfortunately, most of the buildings are old and in need of repair. The current economic climate, however, has hit the park hard.

Screened shelters

The Group Recreation Hall

I like this picture with the bluebonnets framed by the dead mesquite limb

Lake Brownwood State Park

Lake Brownwood State Park is a 537 acre park located on Lake Brownwood about 20 miles north of Brownwood, Texas. There are few state parks in West Texas with full hookups for RVers, and this park is one of them.

We picked an excellent time to visit. Upon arrival, only 3 other RVs were in the Council Bluff campground where we would spend the next 3 nights (see map). In all, there are 20 campsites in this campground. Before leaving Fredericksburg, we used Google Earth to view the campground in order to find the best campsites. So, when we arrived at the park, we had a short list of 3 sites were were interested in. As luck would have it, our top site was occupied; it would turn out that that site (number 78) was, indeed, the best site, at least for this time of year. Instead, we opted for site 88, which had good shade from Black Jack Oaks.

Our trailer in site 88

As you would expect, the lake was way, way down. Formed by Pecan Bayou, a tributary of the Colorado River, and Jim Ned Creek, the lake is rather scenic, with hills and limestone outcroppings, at least in the area where we camped.

You can tell from the shoreline how far down the lake is. This was taken from a bluff near our campsite.

We enjoyed our time at the park; it was just what we were looking for. Few people were at the lake since we were there Monday through Thursday. The morning we left, only 7 sites in our campground were occupied, all by older people. Donna fished several times, while I enjoyed riding my bike. We also did some very short hiking. Mostly, we just enjoyed the quiet, cooked on the grill, and enjoyed a campfire. It was a good way to end our trip.

I took a lengthy bike ride around the lake, snapping pictures of whatever interested me. Those pictures will be in the next, and final installment, for this trip.

Brownwood, Texas

The next and final stop on our trip was Lake Brownwood State Park, located about 20 miles north of Brownwood. After spending 4 nights in a commercial park in a town, we were looking forward to some time in a park.

We were up fairly early on Monday, April 16. Although we didn't have a long drive, we wanted to get to the park as early as possible in order to get a good spot.

We headed north on US 87 out of Fredericksburg. We crossed the San Saba River about 20 or 25 miles out of town. For the 10 miles or so between the river and Mason, we saw good stands of wildflowers, probably the best we had seen thus far.

Mason is a lovely little Hill Country town. In a way, it is a smaller, less known version of Fredericksburg. It was settled largely by German immigrants, many of whom were talented stone masons who were instrumental in the construction of numerous buildings in the area, including Fort Concho in nearby San Angelo. Like many other towns along the edge of the frontier, a military post was established here. Fort Mason was located on a hill in the southern part of present day Mason in 1851.

Mason was the site of the famous "Hoo Doo War", which could basically be described as a feud between German ranchers and ex-Confederate soldiers. Johnny Ringo, who would later face off against the Earp brothers in Tombstone, Arizona, was involved in the feud.

The most famous native son of Mason is Fred Gipson, the author of Old Yeller and Savage Sam. The story lines and settings came straight out of the rugged countryside of Mason County, which was located on the Comanche frontier.

Today, Mason is a quiet community with a beautiful courthouse and some sturdy stone houses that reflect their German builders. Ranching and farming dominate the landscape, but the downtown area has some interesting businesses to attract the tourist passing through. Sounds like another trip to me.

Next town was Brady, which touts itself as the geographical center of Texas. Brady is a bustling community of about 5,500 people. We stopped briefly at the Walmart as we entered town to replenish our supplies. We've passed through Brady off and on for over 20 years but have never really spent any time there. There is a lake on the west side of town I've always wanted to see, but have never taken the time to do so.

After our stop, we got back on the road, taking US 377 the remaining 40 or so miles to Brownwood.

Brownwood, the home of Howard Payne University, is another of those places we've passed through for years. We've spent the night there many times in our travels across Texas, but we've never taken the time to do the tourist thing. One place we've always wanted to stop is Underwoods Cafeteria. Underwoods is sort of a legend in the area, and we've promised ourselves we would stop one day. On a recent trip through town, we planned to stop; however, on arrival we discovered it was closed on that day of the week. This time, however, it was open, and we enjoyed it.

Underwoods doesn't serve the best food around, but they do serve some good, homestyle food. There are basically half a dozen or so meats on the menu, and you select the one you want. I opted for German sausage while Donna had a hankering for fried chicken. After that selection, then you get unlimited side dishes. I had mashed potatoes, corn, and chile beans, and all were good. Cobbler is also included; from the selections of apple, peach, and blueberry, I chose the apple, and that was an excellent choice. Service is excellent, and our drink glasses were kept full and the warm yeast bread kept coming. It was a good day.

After the meal, we stopped for gasoline, then headed to the park.

Fredericksburg, Texas

I've mentioned elsewhere on this site that Fredericksburg, Texas, is one of my favorite cities in Texas.

Fredericksburg has a truly interesting history, which begins with the German immigrants who settled the area in 1846, built the town we know today, and named it in honor of Prince Frederick of Prussia. For years, residents of the community refused to learn English, and they attempted to insulate themselves from state and national politics. A German language newspaper was printed well into the 20th century.

Today, Fredericksburg is a thriving community of over 10,000. It's Main Street (Highway 290 running east/west) is lined with shops visited by tourists. On Main Street, you can find several German restaurants and bakeries, gift stores, book shops, arts and crafts shops that sell items ranging from candles to quilts and everything in between, a brewery and winery, and many other shops of interest.  Bed and breakfast establishments are scattered throughout the community, many just a block or two off Main Street.

Attractions abound throughout the area. These include

• Luckenbach, the legendary town purchased by Hondo Crouch in 1970 for $30,000, and later memorialized in song by Willie Nelson and Waylon Jennings, and the site of Jerry Jeff Walker's breakthrough album, Viva Terlingua!.
• National Museum of the Pacific War. Fredericksburg, by the way, is the hometown of Fleet Admiral Chester W. Nimitz, who signed the surrender documents with Japan to end WWII.
• Fort Martin Scott Historic Site, a pre-Civil War military outpost on the Texas frontier.
• Wildseed Farms
• Fredericksburg Herb Farm
• Various restaurants serving up Hill Country fare, German food, and other cuisines

The Fredericksburg area is being touted by some as the "New Napa" because of the number of wineries in the area. And there are a few breweries as well. A list of area wineries is found here.

And don't forget the fresh produce and fruit available in season. Fredericksburg peaches are popular throughout the state, but they grow other fruits and vegetables there as well, and most stands can be found along US 290 between Stonewall and Fredericksburg.

The above is just a sample of some of the things we like about Fredericksburg. These and many others keep us returning to this quaint German town again and again.

Hiking Report: Enchanted Rock State Natural Area

It's hard for me to go to Fredericksburg without hiking at Enchanted Rock State Natural Area, located about 16 miles north of Fredericksburg on Ranch Road 965 (North Milam Street in Fredericksburg). We've hiked the loop trail there twice, but the place looks different each time we go there, depending on the time of year, the weather, and other conditions.

According to the Texas Parks and Wildlife website, Enchanted Rock is a "huge, pink granite exfoliation dome, that rises 425 feet above ground, 1825 feet above sea level, and covers 640 acres. It is one of the largest batholiths (underground rock formation uncovered by erosion) in the United States."

Actually, the park consists of 5 "rocks", or hills. They are, from west to east, Little Rock, Enchanted Rock, Turkey Peak, Freshman Mountain, and Buzzard's Roost. All reach an altitude of at least 1500 feet.

If you look at a map of the park, you can trace our path to some degree. We began on the west, following the loop trail. Near Moss Lake, we split from the Loop Trail and hiked into Echo Canyon and spent some time there. From Echo Canyon, we followed the Base Trail around the base of Enchanted Rock. All along the base, we took several little trails up to the base of Enchanted Rock and inspected numerous interesting rock formations. These trails also lead to where rock climbers begin their ascent up the rock.

Farther to the east, we followed Turkey Pass Trail, we took us between Enchanted Rock and Freshman Mountain and Turkey Peak. After passing Frog Pond and crossing Sandy Creek, we then reconnected with the Loop Trail to end our hike.

Granite dome of Little Rock

This picture of Little Rock shows how the "exfoliated" rocks gradually slide down the hill side.

Monarch butterflies seemed to like these flowers

Donna, with Moss Lake and Little Rock in the background

Can you see the trail? Much of the trail is on granite; there are wooden markers and rock cairns to locate the trail at these times.

These rocks are in Echo Canyon. You can actually walk between the larger rocks; you can see the top of the slit behind the smaller rock in front.

Enchanted Rock. Rock climbers from all over like to climb these slopes. Too steep for me!

Another example of "exfoliating" rocks sliding down the side of Enchanted Rock.

And this is what it looks like when those rocks reach bottom. Of course, this can take dozens, hundreds, even thousands of years.

View from the top of Turkey Peak Pass

Wildseed Farms

If you like wildflowers and gardening, then you have to stop in at Wildseed Farms on US 290 about 6 or 7 miles east of Fredericksburg. There are 200 acres of wildflowers here, and different flowers appear at different times of the year.

When you tire of wandering the grounds admiring the color of the wildflowers, then stroll through the Market Center, where you can find other plants, seeds, pots, and just about any other item appropriate for a garden. If you get tired, then stop in at the Brewbonnet Biergarten for snacks, ice cream, sandwiches, and other refreshments, including beer and wine.

But the best thing about the Wildseed Farms is outside. Below are some of the pictures I took while there.

Wildseed Farms Market Center

A field of wildflowers

A field of wildflowers, perhaps primrose

Petunias

Red Poppies

Rocket Larkspur

Fredericksburg RV Park

We left Junction on Thursday, April 12, for the second destination of our journey -- Fredericksburg RV Park in Fredericksburg, Texas. We would stay here for 4 nights.

Although the park has good amenities -- cable TV, WiFi, clean laundry facilities, clean and private bathrooms -- it is not the type of place I prefer to stay. Sites are very close together, and no fires are allowed. There is a lack of privacy since RVs are so close together. But the amenities are good, and it is located conveniently to many area attractions.

We always try to get a feel for the community in the RV parks where we stay, and this park definitely has a community. Although many residents are short term, like us, many are here for months on end. Across from us, for example, was a couple from Ontario, Canada. Several residents had wooden porches constructed for their RVs, so they were certainly here for the long haul.

But many of the residents were like us and were here only for a short time. To our north was a row of Born Free class C motorhomes, who were in town for a rally. During the 4 nights we were there, we had 3 different neighbors in the site just to our east. On the last night, a retired army officer and his wife pulled in. They had come from San Diego, where they were trying to sell their home now that they planned to RV full time. They were stopping to see friends in San Antonio, then continuing on to Georgia to a college graduation of a relative.

And that is one of the most interesting things about these parks -- the people you meet. I also enjoy watching how other folks set up and take down their rigs when they arrive and leave. I pick up a few tricks from time to time by doing this. And I enjoy looking over the gear and equipment they use.

But really, we just more or less bide our time in these commercial parks. What we really enjoy is staying in state parks where we are closer to nature and the sites normally are a bit roomier. But for 4 nights, we'll make the best of this park while we enjoy the sites around Fredericksburg.