Leaving Home, Back to the hills of Texas, that is!

Leaving Home, Back to the Hills, of Texas that is.
June 12th, 2006
Leaving the Kerrville Folk Festival after a great Sunday evening, hangin’ with my friend Renee. The final show, hugs & good-byes, we found one perfect campfire of musicians, including David Amram, one last night of song and a full moon to boot.
Leaving Monday morning, a Dirty Hippie no more. I break camp, say good-bye my friends, take a hot shower, collect my knives from the kitchen, say bye to the camp kitchen ,too.
Back on the road!
I decide to go see Luckenbach, est. 1849, where the late Hondo Crouch said” People can’t believe we have such a big moon for such a small place”.
SR 16N on to Kerrville leaving the ranch, all is quiet, only the smell of Dr. Bonner’s Peppermint soap is in the air, our shower soap at Kerrville. Right on SR27E, the back way is a nice drive, a few cars, I pass Comfort, pass Buzzy’s BBQ, then on to a really small road RR473E, views of the hill country to the south, rolling hills of pine, cypress, pecan trees and cactus. Ranches with their brand over the gate of their property. Land of wild pigs and big game hunting, no wonder Dick Cheney came here to shot things that move, so much for empty pop bottles.
Rolling up & down, pass First Coffee Hollow, up the hill, down the hill pass Second Coffee Hollow. I turn left near Sisterdale on toRR1376N, a gentle climb , then to my left are a group of dead trees, with what appears to be sculptures of large birds, cool, a small road turn around, I swing back for a picture, then there are a few more sculptures by the road, cool western art. As I drive back, I see a dead deer on the opposite side of the road with these sculptures, vultures eating it! Looking at the trees across the road, 30 more waiting their turn. Soon the bones of that deer may be someone’s western art. Maybe a sculpture!

On I go, Luckenbach, I turn right, instead of left to find large olive jars on this man’s lawn, they look artistic/ more sculptures maybe. The owner sees me, we talk, he notes my Oregon tag with McMinnville on it, and he has friends our way.


Back a quarter mile is Luckenbach, population 3. The cosmic cowboy’s Willy & Waylon and other notorious legends of Texas music played here, this place has opened the door for the rednecks and hippies to realize they all dig the same music. Time we all grow our hair out. As a boy I lived in Texas in the 60’s long hair was not cool, then!
It’s early here, 2 guys drinking a beer, what the hell, set me up. It’s quite the enterprising place now, variety of music, large beer gardens, BBQ, large wooden dance hall. Funky bar with pictures of the past and a gift shop to take your memory with you.
There are Lone Star Pickers on Tues., Wacky Waylon Weds., and Loco Locals Thurs., Friday & Saturday are dance hall nights. Come on down to Luckenbach were “Everybody’s Somebody in Luckenbach”.
Turn left up the road 290W to Fredericksburg, an old German Community, they are known for thier peaches, every area has its specialties, and here it’s peach pie and peach ice cream and preserves. In to Fredericksburg, quaint little cottages spot the town, ranchers built these small cabins, so they could come to town on Saturday with their families, to be clean and ready for church on Sunday.
Lot’s of German eats and shops, abit touristy, I drive around, go to the local tourist info center, then on to Llano, so I take SR16N
Heading north to eat BBQ at Coopers, voted the best in Texas, pass Willow, again back in the beautiful Texas Hill County.
Coopers BBQ, you order your BBQ at the pit, the cook cuts off close to what you order, giant slabs of beef ribs, pork chops, pork loin, German sausage, chicken, beef brisket to choose from.
They weigh it inside, they wrap your food on a parchment paper, you can order sides of coleslaw, potato salad, and there is also a large selection of pies and cobblers, too.
Big pots of beans and all the BBQ sauce you will ever need, as well as refills of iced tea, sweet or not, when you eat out in Tejas, you get a cup for iced tea, as you when you leave you can ask for a go cup, where they fill you up for free. I like this idea the Go Cup. There are large picnic tables with loafs of white bread for drips or to put meats in. I had brisket, excellent, tender and moist, German sausage, very good, and pork ribs, again very good, their BBQ sauce is more vinegary then I thought it would be, but what the hay, I am a tourist!

Lots of other BBQ joints here, too.
On to Austin, SR71E, slowly out of the hill country to the largest city on this leg of my journey. Its 3:30pm, I need to take Interstate 35N for a few miles, back to back traffic, 100 degrees, no AC, northern cars get less in trade down here.
I am headed to Bill & Janine’s house they live in an old Latino neighborhood I get a glimpse of the city.
5,326 miles so far, my travels from Oregon, to Washington, back down the Oregon coast, California, Nevada, Utah, Arizona, New Mexico and now in Austin, Texas.
55.6 MPG/ 214 miles traveled