2021-10-20 A Look at Blanco TX

 I had a post about Blanco in September but it was really mostly about the Blanco State Park. It's a nice small park but one of the big draws is it's close proximity to Blanco. You can walk to the downtown area.

As with most Texas towns, the town square is anchored by the courthouse. You might want to check to see if they still have the free Hill Country Passport boooks which work just like a National Park Passport books.

One side of the square is anchored by Cranberries Antiques.

City Hall is on another side of the square.

And right next store is the City Council Chambers.

There are several other stores along this side as well. Lots of Fall and Halloween decorations.

This store has lots of outside decor items for sale but the inside items are more along the lines of clothes and jewelry.

Across the street is the Old 300 BBQ place.

It's very popular. The food was good but not inexpensive. I missed a picture of the Redbud Cafe which is the anchor on another side of the courthouse. It has great sandwiches and also has music on the weekends. There is a forth side of the square but I didn't get a photo there. I know it would be well worth another look. I think there is another restaurant and possibly a textile store there. It is always nicely decorated but there is no parking right in front.

There is also a hat shop.

Give Blanco a look the next time you head up Hwy 281 from San Antonio.

2021-10-18 Glen Rose Texas

While a large group of women that stayed another day were busy watching the Dallas Cowboys football game on Frankie's outside TV, I decided to see a little more of Glen Rose. Right across the road from the Oakdale RV Park is the City of Glen Rose Big Rocks Park. This is a nice place to walk or hike. 

It's right along a river and there is a dam with a way to cross the Paluxy river.

And then there is a whole field of very large rocks.

After checking out the park, I headed a few blocks down the road to the town center. As is the case with many Texas towns, the courthouse anchors the town square.

These are the Barnard's, the first family of Glen Rose. The main street is named after them.

Charles and his brother George operated a trading post on the Brazos River. They did a lot of trading with the Comanche Indians and treated them fairly. One of their barters included the freeing of captive Juana Cavasos, the daughter of a wealthy south Texas family. Charles and Juana were married in 1848. Sometime later, after most of the Indians were relocated to reservations, they bought land and established Barnard's Mill which was later renamed Glen Rose. In 1870 they moved back to the Brazos River site but Glen Rose survived.

There is a museum which I will check out on my next trip to the area.

Many of the stores were not open since it was Sunday.

Somerville County history......

Lots of Halloween and Fall decor.

Two places that were open were "Step Back in Time" and "Pie Peddlers".

Step Back in Time had counters of candy to tempt.

Lots of items to look at on the old fashioned shelves.

And an old fashioned lunch and soda counter. They had different kinds of sandwiches which were made in a kitchen at the back of the store as well as........

Lots of ice cream and fountain type items.

Right next store was "Pie Peddlers". One of the other women gave their pies a try on an earlier day and reported that they were very good. I can vouch for the ice cream at "Step Back in Time".

2021-10-17 Glen Rose TX Texas Ramblin' Roses Rally

 We have had several rallies at the Oakdale RV Park in Glen Rose Texas. The original family campground was opened in 1925 as a campground and motor court built around the largest swimming pool in Texas at that time (300,000 gallons). It was owned by the city for many years. It is now privately owned and one of the only private RV parks in the country listed on the National Register of Historic Places. There are 120 RV spaces with full hookups, 20 tent sites with electric, 20 cabins, two bunkhouses and a 95 year old dance hall which is now an event center or rally room in our case.

Friday morning, Tricia Harvey taught us the ASL alphabet. It was fun and gave us all a better understanding of the deaf and their special language.

Friday afternoon, Olivia Dyer taught quite a few women a new craft. It involved a pizza pan, some rough rope, and a glue gun.

The finished product looked great. Unfortunately, I didn't get a photo of a completed product but everyone thought it was pretty neat. Someone put press and seal plastic wrap over hers and used it to serve appetizers. Another woman was going to put some decorations on hers and use it for a wall hanging. The weather was nice so we were able to enjoy sitting outside.

 

Saturday morning Olivia gave a Newcomers Orientation. We had 7 new members at this rally.

Next up were rig christenings...sort of like christening a ship for anyone's new or new to them rig. Members usually tell us a little about their rig, share the name of the rig if they have given it one, and offer tours if they are comfortable with that. Our president Jimmie uses a large watergun for her christenings. There were quite a few christenings this rally but I only got a couple of photos.

Friday night about 43 of us descended on a local Mexican restaurant. Mary Ann coordinated with them in advance and they managed to get enough tables set up on the outdoor patio for us.

Sunday, Harley managed to head out the door without his leash which he never does. He was smart enough to wait for me though. He just wanted to make sure he got to visit with everyone too.

While visiting, we often share some of our new toys as well as methods of doing things. 

We managed to find time to discuss possible upcoming rallies.

Saturday was our potluck dinner. There was a big crowd and a ton of food. No one ever goes hungry at a potluck.

Puzzles and games are always popular at rallies. Farkle has been especially popular at the last several rallies. 

I should have mentioned that there was coffee every morning at the rally hall. Sunday, there were donuts and kolatches as a treat since many leave Sunday. This time quite a few of us stayed until Monday and some even longer. There was a huge crowd sitting outside Sunday afternoon watching the Dallas Cowboys game. Not being a huge football fan, I took the opportunity to do a little more sightseeing in Glen Rose.

See more of Glen Rose in the next post!

2021-10-14 Fossil Rim Wildlife Center

A number of rally attendees arrived before the actual rally started and some of us decided we would like to visit the Fossil Rim Wildlife Center. We picked Thursday afternoon and a self-guided tour. The Center has been around for over 30 years. It was started by Tom Mantzel in 1973. He was a Ft Worth business man with a love for exotic animals and making money in the oil industry. He opened the ranch to the public in 1984 when the oil industry was on the downswing. There is an history to read about the Center which you can find at   https://fossilrim.org/history/.

An interesting sidelight to this visit was the young lady we met at the check-in station. She made a comment about seeing a number of ladies who rv coming through so we told her about the rally. Turns out that she herself is a full-time rver who lives in her RV and has worked at the center for a number of years. We also found out she belongs to our RVing Women and Friends Facebook Group which is open to all women over 18.

I don't have a copy of the little guidebook we got so I am just going to let everyone look at all the photos. We spent two hours driving through the park.

This guy was definitely in line for a food handout.

You are supposed to throw the feed out with the exception of the giraffes that you can handfeed.

Horns are everywhere and of all different sizes and shapes. Doesn't this look like the rack on a moose? It's not.

There are various kinds of deer or animals that look like deer to me. They are definitely eager for a handout.

I'm next. Don't forget me!

I'd like some too please.

You can handfeed the giraffes. there were a number of them but only a couple were right by the road just waiting for the next car to pull up.

They were very gentile but slobbery.

This was a baby back off the road.

More horns!

There is a Cheetah center where they have successfully bred many cheetahs.

This was a black rhino

I think these are wildebeasts.

And, finally a bison near the end.

 We all enjoyed the tour. It was a great way to spend the afternoon.