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TEXAS HILL COUNTRY

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     San Antonio sits at the southern edge of Texas Hill Country so it was a short drive to access this unique area.  Hill Country is full of rolling hills as well as lakes and meandering rivers. The towns are all small, well preserved western towns with a Texas twist.  The towns of Fredericksburg, Gruene, Wimberley, and Luckenbach were some of our favorites. A Texas Santa in Luckenback, Texas.      First, we were able to score a Corp of Engineers lakefront campsite on Canyon Lake.  The campground was overstuffed with deer and on my 5 mile walk along the local roads I spotted a couple of hundred deer.  In fact, after our departure, the campground was closed for a hunt.  The deer are so used to people, the hunt hardly seems fair. Potter's Creek COE Campground      One of the best things about our visit was that Nancy was able to reconnect with Linda Dueker (formerly Linda Kyte), a neighbor growing up and her ...

ON A MISSION TO THE MISSIONS

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     On our way to San Antonio, Texas we got a little side-tracked to the town of Langtry.  Langtry is the home of Judge Roy Bean...the "Hanging Judge"..."The Law West of the Pecos."  The Judge is famous in Texas as he was quite a character.  Apparently, his rulings were highly creative in finding conduct, malicious or not, to justify the imposition of hefty fines.  And, by the way, the Judge pocketed all the fines for himself.  In fact, there is no evidence that the "Hanging Judge" ever sentenced a person to be hanged.  I guess he found hanging to be less lucrative than fining.  At any rate, the State of Texas established a beautiful museum to celebrate this colorful character and we couldn't resist stopping for a visit. Judge Roy Bean Museum Langtry, TX      San Antonio is a gorgeous city on the San Antonio River and features the famous "Riverwalk." Somebody way back in 1926 had the foresight to "save" the river...

ON A "BIG BENDER" WITH GOOD FRIENDS

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     We made it to Big Bend National Park on the Rio Grande River in Texas.  Big Bend is an isolated desert park with its own mountain range.  It has an endless supply of wilderness opportunities including great hikes, wonderful scenery for car touring and gorgeous river float trips on the Rio Grande. Big Bend National Park.      Travel to the park turned out to be quite an adventure.  I checked several map sources including the internet before traveling on the road through Big Bend Ranch State Park.  Seeing no "red flags" off we went.  Although the road was paved, it was no place for an RV of our size.  The road was narrow with no shoulder.  Over its 50 mile length, it had giant, steep dips every few hundred yards for the washes.  It was twisty and featured a 15% grade over a 1 mile portion.  A 15% grade in a car may not be a big deal, but in a 34' gas motorhome it is tighten the seat belts, shift in...