Texas Hill Country

By Ilona Biro

Published in Vancouver Sun, Nov. 29, 2003

AUSTIN - Deep in the heart of dry and dusty Texas lies a green oasis ofhills, lakes, and rivers. Texans call it Hill Country, and it's where people from nearby Austin and San Antonio have retreated to for generations. Canadians are discovering Hill Country too, thanks to discount savings programs like Buckaroo Bucks, which make Texas even more affordable than old favourites like Florida, California and Arizona.

The sheer size of Texas had always seemed a bit daunting to me, but Hill Country presented an opportunity to get acquainted with Texas a bit at a time. So I embarked on a week-long road trip, starting in the Tex-Mex capital of San Antonio, doing a loop through picturesque cowboy country, and ending in Austin - Texas' hippest city and state capital.

Despite being America's 9th largest city, San Antonio's downtown is compact and easy to get around on foot. I started at The Alamo, the Spanish mission where colonists and Americans battled the Mexican Army for control of the state in 1836. I had great expectations and perhaps inevitably, was a bit disappointed. Packed with tourists and hemmed in by downtown buildings, it lacked the atmosphere I expected to find in such a revered monument.

When I visited the Mission San Jose - one of four Spanish missions in and around San Antonio - I found the real mission I'd been looking for. Built in 1720, its high stone walls enclose a sprawling compound with towering mesquite and yucca trees. In this vast space, for almost a century, Franciscan friars helped the Spanish Crown colonize Texas, by christianizing the local Indian population and teaching them skills in everything from weaving to stonemasonry. The mission church is glorious evidence of their high level of craftsmanship, especially the ornate sacristy window, often cited as a masterpiece of Spanish colonial art.

Back downtown, not far from The Alamo, is the Institute of Texan Cultures - a tribute to the more than 25 nationalities that built Texas. Beautifully rendered exhibits explain how Lebanese salesmen, Mexican horsemen, German builders, Hungarian saddlers, and countless other nationalities contributed to the development and unique flavour of Texas. Each year in August the Institute's Folklife Festival brings together the 40 different ethnic groups living in Texas today, for a four-day bash celebrating multicultural Texas.

Another favourite event is the Tejano-Conjunto Festival held each May, which celebrates these two unique styles of music, which originated when German immigrants introduced Mexican musicians to the accordion and the polka rhythm. But the largest party of all in San Antonio's festival calendar is Fiesta, a 10-day celebration of Tex-Mex culture held annually in April (in 2004 from April 16Ð25). People book rooms a year in advance to be here for the non-stop parties and lavish parades that turn the city upside down.

I was in town a few weeks ahead of Fiesta, but already the mood was upbeat. In search of a bit of nightlife, I strolled the Riverwalk - two-and-a-half miles of outdoor restaurants, bars and hotels, strung along the San Antonio River. Colourful barges ply up and down, offering tours and serving candlelight dinners catered by some of San Antonio's best restaurants. And during the Christmas season, hundreds of candles bathe the Riverwalk in magical light.

After a day exploring San Antonio, it was time to get on the road. A 45-minute drive northwest along Highway 16 took me to Bandera - the rootin' tootin' self-proclaimed Cowboy Capital of the World. Despite its tiny population (only 787 souls), seven world champion cowboys come from Bandera. The town is home to three honky-tonks, the largest spur manufacturing company in the US, and about a dozen dude ranches. The cowboy theme is carried on all over town, with a Frontiers Times Museum, a John Wayne shrine in the local cafŽ, and a classic cowboy watering hole called The Forge, on Bandera's main street.

But it's the dude ranches that draw people from far and wide to Bandera, each ranch offering up a unique menu of cowboy activities including horse riding, rodeo skills, campfires, cook-outs and cowboy breakfasts. One of the oldest ranches is the Dixie Dude, which has been operated by the same family since the 1930s, when most of the dudes were US servicemen based in San Antonio. The Dixie Dude has retained the atmosphere of a real working ranch by avoiding the golf courses, tennis courts and fancy trappings of some of the others. You won't sit down to a Dixie Dude cowboy cook-out with folks in tennis whites. Instead, to the strains of hurtin' tunes played by a cowboy band, I joined a group of cowpokes from England, Canada and Australia who were tucking into barbequed sausages, ribs, brisket and corn with all the zeal of hungry cowboys finishing a day of riding the range. After dinner, champion roper Kevin Fitzpatrick put on a skillful display, roping audience members into his act (literally), and performing all kinds of tricks on horseback.

After the show, I mosied down to The Silver Dollar, one of Bandera's three honky-tonks. On weekends, they're packed with cowboys and cowgirls (urban and genuine) two-stepping, boot-scootin' and kicking up sawdust. As I made my way to the back of the bar, people I'd never seen before tipped their hats, and yelled: "Where y'all from?" Bar none, it was the friendliest drinking establishment I'd ever been to.

One of the Dixie Dude cowboys recognized me and waved me over yelling: "You sure clean up nice!" over the raucous live band. "Aw, thanks," I beamed right back at him, feeling like I belonged.

But the highlight of my night was a brief conversation about varmints. Earlier that day I'd overheard two cowboys discussing varmints with straight faces. I had to know. So I picked on a skinny cowboy standing next to me at the bar. ÒWhat's a varmint, exactly?Ó

"Well, a varmint can be a raccoon, a skunk or a fox. Something like that," he drawled.

"And would a ferret be a varmint?"

"Yes ma'am."

"A rabbit, then, would that be a varmint?"

"Nope."

"But, but what about Bugs Bunny?" I sputtered. "He's the most famous varmint of them all!"

"Well...he's not technically a varmint. But as he's a real annoying critter, I guess you could call him a varmint." Case closed. 

Back on Highway 16 the next morning, I drove the 50 or so kilometres north to Kerrville - retirement capital of Hill Country and blessed with the finest, cleanest air in Texas. Attracted to the enormous cypress trees that flourished along the Guadalupe River banks, Kerville's settlers established shingle camps here in the 1840s. Despite frequent battles with Comanche Indians, by 1859 10 permanent cabins had been created, putting Kerrville on the map.

Kerrville's most famous citizen, Captain Charles Schreiner, rode into town in 1870. Within a few years, he had left his mark by establishing the Schreiner Bank, the local telephone company, and numerous other ventures. But it was Schreiner's legendary YO Ranch that made him famous all over Texas.

For a century, the YO's 100 square kilometers were dedicated to cattle ranching. But the current patriarch, Charles Schreiner III (or Charlie Three as he's known locally), has taken the ranch in a decidedly different direction. Today, gazelle, waterbuck, giraffe, eland, zebra and ostriches all roam the range at the YO, along with several endangered species of deer like the pere david and the barasingha. Visitors to the YO can take one of the two daily tours of the property which includes a meal cooked by the ranch cook. Before setting out with guide Jim Hawks, I lunched on pork chops, green beans and potatoes under the watchful gaze of at least 40 pairs of stuffed antelope eyes mounted on the dining room walls. It dawned on me that hunting must be part of the YO's operation as well, and as if to confirm my suspicions I watched as a group of men in camouflage piled into jeeps to go on a wild turkey shoot. Heck, it sure wasn't the Dixie Dude, but it was another part of the real Texas I'd come to see.

At this point, feeling a little cowboyed-out, I was looking forward to Fredericksburg - my next stop along Highway 16. While Kerrville was settled by Englishmen and Scots, Fredericksburg is where early German immigrants put down roots. It all started in the 1840s when the Adelsverein Company began advertising passages to North America in German newspapers. Hundreds of middle class Germans signed on and made the trip under the leadership of a baron, John O. Meuseback. Most of them were merchants and intellectuals woefully unprepared for the hard life they were going to have to lead. Droughts were common and the European crops they tried to grow failed frequently. But as luck would have it, a hardy colony of Mormons provided early assistance to the newcomers - that is, until they decided to join other Mormons in Utah. But by then the Germans had adapted to their new home. Despite cholera and influenza epidemics that sent the mortality rate up to 50 per cent in some years, they stayed and eventually prospered.

Today, Fredericksburg draws people from all over the United States who come to see its unique Deutsch-Texan architecture, and enjoy its eclectic shopping. The downtown historic district is a pleasure to stroll, the shady streets lined with sturdy limestone houses with tin roofs, shady verandahs, Bavarian gingerbreading and ornate ironwork.

One of the most unique and charming features of Fredericksburg are the tiny Sunday Houses, built by farm families for use on weekends when they'd come into town for church. Since they rarely used them for overnight stays, Sunday houses were usually one storey, with a single room and no plumbing. Today, about 40 of them have been transformed into gorgeous bed and breakfasts, equipped with state-of-the-art bathrooms, antique furnishings and complete privacy. To stay in one of these charmers, make sure to book well in advance.

The town's first public building, the hexagonal Vereinskirche, still stands in the market square, along with the Maibaum, or Maypole, depicting some of the sites and events important in Fredericksburg's history. On the main street, or hauptstrasse, I toured the Pioneer Museum Complex, which includes some of Fredericksburg's oldest houses, and finished the day sitting among German-speaking locals in Engel's Deli, savouring a delicious meal of homemade sausage and sauerkraut.

With little time to spare the next morning, I had to choose between the Admiral Nimitz Museum and the Fredericksburg Herb Farm - an award-winning bottler of herb vinegars and oils. Since it was a glorious sunny day, I decided to visit the Farm, but the Admiral Nimitz Museum, housed in the

Nimitz family's frontier hotel, is perhaps the biggest attraction for tourists. The museum documents the life of the American commander-in-chief of the WWII's Pacific campaign with vignettes from the war. I'd have to see it next time, along with the Bauer Toy Museum, and a working dulcimer factory. Lots to see in Fredericksburg, but it was time to get back on the road again.

The stretch of Highway 290 between Fredericksburg and Johnson City passes peach groves, a wildflower farm, fruit stands and vineyards. There are tours and wine-tastings along the route and a possible side trip to Luckenbach - an old general store-cum-dance hall, immortalized in song by Willie Nelson and Waylon Jennings. On Sunday afternoons, fiddlers, banjo players and guitar strummers gather under Luckenbach's giant oaks for impromptu jam sessions.

Soon enough you reach Johnson City, Lyndon Baines Johnson's birthplace and home to several generations of his kin. There are two national historical parks here - the LBJ Ranch, where Lady Bird Johnson still lives, and the Johnson Settlement, where LBJ's grandparents first settled in 1867. I watched a film about Johnson's early days, and toured the original farm buildings, where living history actors did a wonderful job of recreating the pioneer days. But the real living history was provided by Nelson Withers, who has been running a hardware store in Johnson City for the past 48 years. He remembered LBJ coming into the shop to chat - and leaving out the back door to give the secret service boys the slip. The way Withers spoke about Johnson, it was clear that LBJ was still a much-beloved figure in this part of Texas.

Less than an hour later I was driving into Austin along Congress Avenue, my eyes fixed on Austin's central landmark - the Texas Capitol Building. Modelled on the Capitol Building in Washington DC, but several feet taller (this was Texas after all), it's a wonderful place for a quick history lesson. Guides take visitors up to the assembly rooms where huge canvases depict scenes from famous Texas battles. In the rotunda, the crests of the six flags that flew over Texas - the Spanish, French, Mexican, Republic of Texas, Confederate States and the stars and stripes - are set into a mosaic in the floor. In the lobby where a giant portrait of Davy Crockett hangs, I learnt that he fought and died along with a band of fellow Tennesseeans at The Alamo, fighting for Texan Independence.

Still in a historical frame of mind, I decided to visit the Lyndon Baines Johnson Library and Museum, the most popular U.S. presidential library. The central feature is a commanding flight of stairs, leading up to the library itself. Through plate glass windows, I could see some of the red binders containing the 35 million documents relating to LBJ's term in office. Apparently, if you'd written to LBJ, your letter would be somewhere up there on file. I made a mental note to write to Dubya, and continued along to the exhibits recounting LBJ's early years in the Senate, the Kennedy years and the tumultuous years of his Vietnam-plagued presidency. Up on the 8th floor, a replica of the Oval Office was strangely moving, as was the teleprompter tape of LBJ's resignation speech. After picking up some old campaign buttons in the gift shop ("LBJ for the USA"), I was finally finished with the Texan president.

It was good to be in Austin, which has a reputation for being offbeat and an oasis of liberal thinking deep in the heart of Texas. Part of the reason may be that the University of Texas exerts a considerable influence on daily life here. One in 10 Austinites are U of T students, and the day I arrived, revelers could choose from a medieval festival, something called Eeyore's Birthday Party, and Spamorama Ð a one-day festival dedicated to that notorious tinned meat.

It was fitting then, to be ending my Texas road trip on an unusual note, in a bar across from the Congress Avenue Bridge. This is one of the best spots in town to witness a spectacle unique to Austin. Every night at dusk, from March to November, a million-and-a-half Mexican fantail bats fly out from under the bridge on their nightly hunting expeditions. Austin's bat colony has drawn so many curious onlookers that an organization called Bats Conservation International has established interpretation kiosks near the bridge.

I had been keeping a watch on the bridge for almost an hour by the time the first few black dots made their appearance. Thousands more followed, forming a long undulating black ribbon which slowly stretched across the lemon sky. For three or four minutes, the spectacular exodus continued while people sat transfixed. With the last few critters airborne moments later, it was all over. We were back in a Texas bar, and I was fixing to go home.

IF YOU GO:

Getting there: There are no direct flights to San Antonio or Austin from anywhere in Canada. From Toronto, I flew American Airlines to Dallas, and then took a short commuter flight to San Antonio.

INFORMATION: For a free copy of the BUCKAROO BUCK$ coupon book, (good for discounts from October through March), along with a free Texas State Travel Guide, Canadians can call 1-800-8888-TEX or download the coupons by visiting www.TravelTex.com.

The Texas Highways magazine site is also worth a visit for its great road trip ideas: www.texashighways.com.

HOTELS, DUDE RANCHES AND B&B'S: In San Antonio, I recommend staying in a hotel on or near the Riverwalk, since that's where most of the dining and nightlife is. The Hilton is a good choice as is La Mansion del Rio, a smaller, colonial-style hotel, with rooms overlooking the Riverwalk. Check out www.traveltex.com's accomodations guide for bookings.

There are 10 dude ranches around Bandera, each with a different range of amenities and activities in Bandera. The Dixie Dude and Flying L are both excellent. Bookings can arranged for those two ranches among others through the Travel Texas Web site: http://www.texaslodging.com. Booking a B&B in Fredericksburg is easily done through the same Texas Lodging Web site: http://www.texaslodging.com. In addition to Sunday Houses there are log cabins, farm houses, barns and smokehouses as well as more conventional accommodation.

FIESTA SAN ANTONIO:For information on America's liveliest 10-day Latino festival, which takes place April 16-25 in 2004, visit the website: http://www.fiesta-sa.org. There are literally hundreds of events associated with Fiesta, from live music stages and a children's festival to an old-fashioned Mexican charreada (rodeo).

YO RANCH TOUR: Tours of the YO Ranch with its 30 different species of wild game includes lunch or dinner in the ranch's Chuckwagon dining room. Check out the Web site for more information and reservations for an overnight stay in one of the ranch's 1880's-era cabins. Visit http://www.yoranch.com for more information.

HILL COUNTRY FOOD AND WINE FESTIVAL: If you visit Hill Country in April, not only will you see spectacular wildflowers, but you can do the circle tour in reverse and experience this amazing food and wine festival in Austin before heading to San Antonio for Fiesta, which happens later in the month. Visit  http://www.texaswineandfood.org for more information.