|
|
|
||||||||
 |
||||||
|
Update 12 - 12/16/00
|
||||||
|
We are in the historic town of Lockhart, Texas
We have posted some new photos on our web site, check them out at:
www.hometown.aol.com/roadbikers
Riding east from Del Rio, we stopped just out of town as the road passed near the end of the runway at Laughlin Air Base. We watched and took photos of the jets passing just a few feet overhead.
In Brackettville, we stayed at Fort Clark Springs, a real oasis in this arid high desert range-land. A spring there that flows at over 7,000 gallons a minute feeds a beautifully built swimming pond with year round 68 degree water. The location was a favorite camping spot for Indians. At first Spanish, and then American settlers arrived, displacing the Indians and eventually building a military Fort. The Fort was sold to private interests after W.W.II, and is now a popular vacation spot where many people own second homes.
As planned, Jim took leave of our tour in Bracketville, continuing east on the more direct US 90. His goal is to be in Tampa to spend the holidays with his daughter and her family. We turned north into the "Hill Country."
The name is well deserved as we began climbing and diving, following a series of low traffic, and very scenic roads, twisting and turning our way east. It is not surprising that Lance Armstrong, who trains in these hills is such a great climber. This part of Texas does not look like the Texas most of us envision. It is a region of pine, maple and oak trees and many clear rivers and streams. In Camp Wood we spent a night at Wes Cooksey County Park, alongside a lake formed by a low dam on the Nueces River. The park has many maple trees, giving the spot a New England look.
After a day of challenging climbs, we arrived in Vanderpool. The B&B we had planned to stay at was closed for the winter, so we spent the night at Foxfire Cabins, next to Lost Maples Natural Area. We had a great stay, and learned about the legends of people disappearing, or being killed mysteriously in the region. The locals pass it all off as legend, but it sure makes you think before wandering off on your own.
We saw many wild animals along the road as we continued toward Kerrville. Deer, antelope, elk and of course many smaller creatures and birds. Some of the ranches here raise exotic animals, and we saw ostrich, emu, zebra and other animals that we recognized from zoo visits, but could not name.
The farm roads here go west to east and the rivers and streams drain from the north to south, so the route is a continuous cut "across the grain" from one ridge top to the next. The hills are very steep, but mercifully most are short, with only the occasional extended climb. We spent a lot of time either on the granny or the big ring. (translation for you non-cyclists: compound low gear to overdrive).
The weather turned bad as we entered Kerrville, dropping 50!!! degrees in just a few hours. We were in short sleeves and shorts at 2 PM and there was freezing rain and sleet at 7 PM. We decided to spend an extra day and wait out the weather. The nearby Interstate Highway was closed due to ice and all the traffic was diverted to our route, making riding a bad idea. While in Kerrville we rode a few blocks in the cold weather to do laundry. A reporter from the local paper saw us and took a few pictures, the result being a front page article about our ride and a color photo.
After another day of steep climbs and descents, the route began to descend and smooth out as we gradually left the trees of the Hill Country and entered farmland near Lockhart, a small city with many historic buildings. The City Hall is a fully restored Victorian style building, looking more like a structure one would see in London than Texas.
The people in Texas have been very friendly. We have met a lot of kind folks and look forward to visiting the Hill Country again.
George and Sharon Miner
Vancouver Bicycle Club, Vancouver, Washington
2000 da Vinci Global Venture towing Bob Trailer
Free as the Wind - Our one year self-supported tandem tour of the USA, Mexico and Canada
This email is intended solely for the personal use of the addressees. No reproduction rebroadcast, or other use is allowed without the expressed written permission of the authors.
|
||||||
| page created with Easy Designer |