Vanishing Texas River Cruise

The Vanishing Texas River Cruise on Lake Buchanan near Burnet TX has been around since 1982. My first experience with it was as an event connected to a motorcycle rally my husband and I attended in Burnet many years ago. We actually did the eagle tour but that is only offered during fall and winter. My brother-in-law and sister-in-law saw a sign for the cruise and were interested in going on it. When we went online the morning of the tour, it said there were no more online reservations but we decided to drive out there just in case they had openings and, if not, so we could find it the next day. The road you turn off on is only 2 miles from downtown Burnet but it is a long but pretty drive along Lake Buchanan to get there. We arrived and they had plenty of room for us. I suspect they turn off online tickets early so people won't make reservations and then not have time to arrive at the landing.

We were on the far side of the dock. You can sit on the lower enclosed deck with A/C or on the upper deck with a roof for shade.

 

We opted for the upper deck.

It was a beautiful day with a nice breeze and we were very comfortable the whole trip even though the temp was pretty high.

Lake Buchanan is huge but it has it's ups and downs with water level. Texas is often in drought conditions and a few years ago, the lake was really low for a number of years. That led to bushes and small trees growing in what would normally be water which concerned the residents. There are lots of homes and cabins all around the lake. Now they have actually found that those bushes and trees in parts of the lake have really improved the fishing.....a silver lining.

This is the hill country so this is part of the scenery.

We made our way across part of the lake and headed up the Colorado River. This lovely waterfall was a nice surprise.

The tour narrator was really good about giving us all the history of the lake and area, pointing out all the wildlife, and telling us in advance of good photo opportunities.

The area along the river is almost all ranch land so you will see some cattle and deer along the way. See them to the right side?

Okay, now you can see them.

The bluebonnets are long past their time but we did see lots of other wildflowers both along the river and along the roads in the area.

It was a great cruise that we all enjoyed and would recommend.

Things Are Quiet at the Texas Chainsaw Massacre House

The Texas Chainsaw House is located in Kingsland, Texas, on the grounds of The Antlers Hotel. This 1900s Victorian house was featured prominently in the 1974 film The Texas Chain Saw Massacre as the home of Leatherface and his cannibalistic family, before it was moved to this location from Williamson County in 1998. The then-dilapidated farm house originally sat on Quick Hill Road during the July-August 1973 filming of the movie, then sat vacant and deteriorating. The original site is where La Frontera is now located, in Round Rock.

Built around 1909, this Queen Anne Style cottage was quite grand for its time with fish scale roofing and chamfered corners with gingerbread trim. Through its life, the Victorian house was home to a succession of families and students,. The house was purchased by The Antlers Hotel in 1998. It was then dismantled, moved to Kingsland and completely refurbished and is now home to Grand Central Café which was unfortunately closed the day we visited. Steve was talking to some other campers who told him about the house and led to our visit.

Right next door to the house turned café is the Antler Inn. The hotel opened in 1901 catering to railroad passengers. It became a family vacation home in 1913 and then reopened in 1996 as a hotel

You can also see the Antlers Station Depot across the street. It too has served different purposes over the years.

These railroad cars were purchased and refurbished by the Antlers Hotel as hotel rooms. That would be an interesting experience.

 

Even though the café and the coffee shop in the hotel were closed, we still enjoyed our trip to Kingsland and did a circle route through the countryside and along Lake Buchanan back to the park.

Fantastic Inks Lake State Park

Late Monday morning, Steve and I packed up and headed north to Burnet and Inks Lake State Park. Inks Lake is probably the most popular state park in Texas so it is really difficult to get reservations.....especially in light of the policy allowing reservations to be made almost a year in advance. A lot of people book every weekend for the year and then cancel a day or two before if they decide not to come. Even weekdays are booked up all summer but we lucked out and were able to get Monday through Thursday night before Memorial Day. My brother-in-law and sister-in-law also got a site for the same time.

Our site was really nice and BIL and SIL got the site to the left of us, not quite as nice because the picnic table was on the opposite side of the RV from their door, but still good. Check in at the park was a series of screw-ups because the young girl on duty booked us in under the wrong reservations, overcharged us each for an extra day, and charged me day fees for an extra person. We both had to go up the next morning. The older lady on the desk took one look at the mess and called the head ranger in to fix all the errors. I hate to think of what happened when that young lady was actually busy with a crowd checking in for the Memorial Day weekend. Bottom line, really scrutinize your check in paperwork to make sure it is correct.

The lake view was very nice. One thing that is really great about Inks Lake is that there is a dam at each end of it so the water level can be controlled. Even when other lakes are really low due to drought, Inks Lake always has the same amount of water.

The lake wasn't crowded but all kinds of families were there enjoying it including these Canadian geese. 

They came right up into the campsite to show off the little ones. I am always very conscientious about picking up weenie dog poo but it gets kind of hilarious when the goose poo is bigger than the weenie poo. Enough said.

We saw lots of flowers while we were out and about.

Lots of nice views too.

I'm happy to say that both my dachsies, Willy and Harley, as well as Angus the Am Staff are very well behaved around wildlife.....it doesn't phase them in the least to share the campsite.

 

Lots of ducks out and about too.

Other large birds were enjoying the water too.

And the sunsets were spectacular. It was really great spending time with family doing something we all really enjoy.

Wonderful Weekend at the Lake

Steve and I headed out to the lake with the RV on Friday morning. We got all set up in a great spot at Lake Pointe that was recommended by the office......much better than the one I had picked out.

We got in some relaxing and bone chewing before it was time to head up to Marble Falls to pick up the grandkids for the weekend. The kids were very excited when they realized we were not taking the regular route home as they are quick to pick up on the possibility of camping.



Swimming is always a big item on the camping agenda when it is warm but Morgan found time to get in some creative activity!

Cameron was more into relaxing and catching up on sleep, lol.

Unexpected clouds and rain in the distance made pool time a watchful activity. They swam and played ball in the water while I watched the sky.

 

Still okay but rain in the distance.

Okay, everybody out NOW and we were on our way back up to the RV before the weather hit us.

A little more relaxing on the agenda.

The TV wasn't pulling anything in and the DVD wouldn't load but Grandma had plan C and we watched a VHS movie.

The weather cleared and we had a nice walk before dinner. Looks like a great sunset.

Wait for it.....

Yes, it was a beautiful sunset!  We got some more swimming in Sunday and then it was time to return the grandkids to Marble Falls to meet their mother.

But Steve and I were not done with camping because the next day........well, stay tuned.