Buckhorn RV Campground Kerrville, TX

Buckhorn Lake in Kerrville, TX is our base camp to tour the Hill Country. The amenities and large sites with great views makes this campground a good value.  It is $20/day on a monthly rate. This place is labeled a resort!

The windmill round-about is the main entrance to the various types of campsites in the park.

These RV sites face a series of ponds and landscape.

Across the creek which runs through the park is The Club where RV owners can lease the land and build Casitas or homes.

The pull thru sites are spacious with nice landscaping.

We picked the site closest to the bridge with a view of the creek and The Club.  The bridge sits on top of a dam that created a large pond at one end of the campground.   The adults only area called The Executive overlooks the pond.

One RV owner celebrated the Christmas season by erecting this railroad scene with three working trains and all the town landscape. It was lighted at night which created a festive mood in the park.  All the structures in the park are decorated with Christmas lights.

How about a Koi fish pond at your site in the Club area?

 

Our favorite Casita with RV pad has a Tuscany design.

This site probably would cost about $130k with refundable $40,000 deposit. You lease the land for 30 years at 5 year intervals.

 

 

 

 

 

Boerne & Gruene Texas

A driving tour took us to a couple of small towns on the outskirts of San Antonio.  Boerne (pronounced BER-nee) and Gruene (pronounced green).

Boerne was founded in 1849 by a group of German settlers who wanted to create their own utopia with clean air and beauty.

 Downtown has several unique buildings.

The local Farmers Market is held at the Herff Farm.

A three piece band entertained visitors with country music.

Lunch was at a local Texas BBQ that came highly recommended.

First stop when you enter the restaurant was to pick your meat. A group of firemen in front of us each took a portion of beef brisket, sausage, chicken and ribs.

Large jars of Jalapeno peppers on each table to spice up your meal even more.

Next stop was the Gruene Historical district outside New Braunfels. This Bed & Breakfast was the original house owned by Henry Gruene.

Gruene was founded by Henry Gruene in 1872.  He was a busy man.  Besides being a farmer/rancher, he built the first gristmill, cotton gin, saloon, dance hall and blacksmith shop.

One of the oldest saloon and dance hall in Texas.  The place was swinging with live music and line dancers.

Fredericksburg, Texas

The Marktplatz is the center for holiday activities in Fredericksburg.  The city was founded by German immigrant families in 1846  The Christmas tree contains handcrafted ornaments made by Hill Country Artists.

The 26ft. tall wooden Christmas Pyramid was handcrafted in Germany for Fredericksburg.  The wooden pyramid acts like a carousel as each level revolves with Christmas figurines. 
 

The historic buildings retain traditional German and frontier styles.  There are about 700 historical structures in the town. Note the elephant carving.

The former Bank of Fredericksburg is a standout building.  Tourists love the old world atmosphere, shopping & restaurants.

Arriving in Texas Hill Country

Kerrville, Texas is our home base for a month.  The city is north of San Antonio in the middle of the state.

 

Needles of Cypress trees turning color along the Guadalupe River.  Many scenic roads lead to small towns in Hill Country.

 

 

 

Camp Verde was established in 1857 with a General Store and Post Office. It is now a gift shop and restaurant.  The U.S. War Department used this site in 1857-69 to conduct an experiment using camels.

 



 



Comfort, TX bills itself as "The Antique Town" as we think most of the building are the National Historical Register.

 



 

The town was established by German Settlers in 1854.  They were known as Freethinkers who were seeking religious and political freedom.

 

 

Old country architecture shows on this home decorated for the holidays.

 

 

Cast iron traffic controls manufactured in 1910 dot the major intersections in the town of Comfort.  These buttons were used before stop signs and traffic lights. We assume there must have been red reflective glass in the crescent shaped front opening.

 







Las Cruces, New Mexico

Taking a break in Las Cruces, New Mexico to visit our favorite market and eat great Mexican food.

Downtown Main Street Plaza just reopened after a renovation.  The Saturday market was in full swing under a canopy of trees showing their Fall colors.

 

It might look messy but this plate sure was good.

 

 

 
Near the Historical Church Square, we purchased a new decoration made from locally grown red chili peppers.



Texas Winter Trip 2012

First visit on our winter trip was Tombstone, Arizona.

 

 

Tombstone was founded in 1877 and became the center of silver mining.  The fast growing town had over 100 saloons, many restaurants and a red light district. It is also the home to Boothill Cemetery which includes victims of shootouts.

 







The Gunfight at the OK Corral happened in 1881 between the Cowboysand Virgil, Morgan & Wyatt Earp with help from friend Doc Holiday.

 

 

 

The Cowboys lost Billy Clayton, Tom & Frank McLaury in the fight which lasted 24 seconds and 30 shots.

 

 

 

We met our friends Bob & Donna Shea and had lunch at the Crystal Palace. The real town Marshall who is the only person who carries a real six shooter shared stories with us about the town and his life history.  Born in Texas, he moved to England, married in South Africa and retired in Tombstone.