Still in Texas

Earlier this month (February) we left McKinney Falls State Park where we had been for at least a month and took our camper down to a dealership in Houston to be fixed...warranty stuff...which just happened to coincide with our friends from Maine, Priscilla and John, traveling through on their way to Arizona and New Mexico. We met up and after a night in Houston decided to head for Hill Country, Bandera specifically. Bandera is a nice little western town and calls itself "The Cowboy Capitol". This museum on the town square and very representative of what you find in lots of towns in the Hill Country of Texas..usually it's the court house and probably this was at one point. The stone used in buildings here is the color of the stone in this building and beautiful, I think.

Ever since Priscilla crossed the border into Texas she had been wondering where all the cowboys are, since you don't see them walking around the streets like anyone else....I guess you just have to be in the right place at the right time. The little motel we stayed in in Bandera had murals on the walls and ceiling of their rooms and this cowboy just happened to be in theirs. Sometimes you get what you ask for. Our room had deer and that was very appropriate if you know Bill's enjoyment of the hunt.

Priscilla and John left for parts west and Bill and I headed for San Marcos which is just south of Austin. Travel route review going on below.....

Medina River. I love the color of the water.

This town of Bertram is on the southern edge of Hill Country where the land turns into flat, brushy terrain with lots of oak and cactus. We ate in a little BBQ here and I liked the look of the buildings.

Back in Austin, Emile, Owen, Katie and I had lunch one day at an Ethiopian Restaurant we had all been wanting to try. Bill was out of town(which is why we went when we did as Ethiopian isn't on Bill's dietary list). It's not on Stacy's either so just the 4 of us went and it was excellent. We would recommend it.

When a storm pushes east and everyone north of us gets snow is seems Austin just gets rain. We're quite happy with that and enjoy the rain. It really doesn't rain all that often and lately there have been some good storms. They're dramatic here like they are in Florida and when the sky finally clears it's so beautiful. This is from our camper.

The next day Mango and Pearl were loving the warm sun. When it's been cold and inclement and the dogs have been cooped up in the camper or rushed from the camper to truck all day all they want to do is get out in the sun. Are they Florida dogs or what?

One day after the storm the deer were out in these woods in McKinney just when the sun was getting ready to set. They think you can't see them when they are in the middle of the woods and they're holding still but it just makes it easier to photograph.

We expect to be on the road again March 3 and heading west. Cheers for now!
Karen, Bill, Mango and Pearl