Hated the drive through Houston and the miles of construction after it.
Glad to get on Hwy 71W, a beautiful drive through rolling hills of large ranches with great Texas entrance gates. Stopped in Ellinger at Hruska's Store & Bakery, a very busy place!
Glad to get on Hwy 71W, a beautiful drive through rolling hills of large ranches with great Texas entrance gates. Stopped in Ellinger at Hruska's Store & Bakery, a very busy place!
LONGHORN RV RESORT on hwy-21 just south of Austin near Lockhart. Staying for three nights, mainly to gorge on barbeque.
The rv park is extremely nice; gated, all paved grassy sites, pool, lake.
Only negative, the roads are very rough and in need of repair.
Too hot during afternoon (97) to do much. Great park to walk around in the evening. Nice landscaping, crepe myrtles blooming, as well as sunflowers. Pretty lake area with pavilion, fire pit, picnic tables, smoker for barbeques.
The rv park is extremely nice; gated, all paved grassy sites, pool, lake.
Only negative, the roads are very rough and in need of repair.
Too hot during afternoon (97) to do much. Great park to walk around in the evening. Nice landscaping, crepe myrtles blooming, as well as sunflowers. Pretty lake area with pavilion, fire pit, picnic tables, smoker for barbeques.
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LOCKHART: This was a cowboy town along the Chisholm Trail.
Now it's dubbed the "Barbeque Capital of Texas."
Goal for the next two days: "indulge the holy trinity of meat perfection, known as Black's, Smitty's, and Kreuz."
Tried the brisket, pork ribs, and sausage in each place. Meat is ordered by the pound.
Our Review:
LOCKHART: This was a cowboy town along the Chisholm Trail.
Now it's dubbed the "Barbeque Capital of Texas."
Goal for the next two days: "indulge the holy trinity of meat perfection, known as Black's, Smitty's, and Kreuz."
Tried the brisket, pork ribs, and sausage in each place. Meat is ordered by the pound.
Our Review:
Black's: hands down the best brisket we've ever tasted--juicy, melt-in-mouth tender. Also their smoked turkey was so tender with a great smoky flavor. All their meat was good, but the brisket was truly the star!
Smitty's is just across the street from Courthouse square. Neat seeing the old-time open fire pits as you enter. Stifling hot on this hot summer day; don't know how the workers tolerate it. Meat is served in butcher paper and should be so tender, no utensils required. Liked their glazed ribs.
Kreuz - Favorite sausage of the three. Smoked prime rib totally disappointing; tough.
Kreuz - Favorite sausage of the three. Smoked prime rib totally disappointing; tough.
The meat at all three were good; however, Blacks overall was the best.
HISTORIC DOWNTOWN LOCKHART:
Really enjoyed spending time admiring the old buildings..
Caldwell County Courthouse: Absolutely stunning. No wonder it's been featured in quite a few tv shows and films. Three-story building with red trim is really something with the central clock tower and surrounding towers jutting into the sky towering over the town.
Beautiful landscaping around the square; myrtle trees in bloom.
Walked through inside; nothing remarkable compared to the outside. Nice posts on the old wooden stair railing and courtroom.
Really enjoyed spending time admiring the old buildings..
Caldwell County Courthouse: Absolutely stunning. No wonder it's been featured in quite a few tv shows and films. Three-story building with red trim is really something with the central clock tower and surrounding towers jutting into the sky towering over the town.
Beautiful landscaping around the square; myrtle trees in bloom.
Walked through inside; nothing remarkable compared to the outside. Nice posts on the old wooden stair railing and courtroom.
Dr. Eugene Clark Library: Built in 1899, it's the oldest operating library in Texas. Inside beautiful floor-to-ceiling stained glass windows framed with thick wood trim; pretty red spiral staircase. Loved the old school desk next to the window.
Museum is a couple of blocks away. Five-story Norman-style, castle-like building built in 1908. No wealthy residents, only the areas inmates until 1983. Now the historical jail is a museum.
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Museum is a couple of blocks away. Five-story Norman-style, castle-like building built in 1908. No wealthy residents, only the areas inmates until 1983. Now the historical jail is a museum.
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Don't often find a golf course and swimming pool at a state park. Very pretty small park with campground--sites on the golf course were full--have electric, water, sewer. The other area was very nice-some empty spots. Large swimming pool-Great!
Things are dry now so there wasn't much water coming over the dam falls along Clear Fork Creek. Didn't spend much time walking the trails as it was already quite warm by 11:00.
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Things are dry now so there wasn't much water coming over the dam falls along Clear Fork Creek. Didn't spend much time walking the trails as it was already quite warm by 11:00.
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DRIFTWOOD, TX
Accomplished tasting Lockhart's barbeque. Had to go to Saltlick BBQ again to see if it's still as good as we remember. Pretty half hour drive along Hill Country roads.
Stopped at a few historic spots along the way:
Accomplished tasting Lockhart's barbeque. Had to go to Saltlick BBQ again to see if it's still as good as we remember. Pretty half hour drive along Hill Country roads.
Stopped at a few historic spots along the way:
Salt Lick BBQ: Same impressive "pit" full of meat cooking.
Shared Thurman's Choice: ribs, brisket, sausage, potato salad, coleslaw, beans. Peach cobbler alamode for dessert. Still a great place with good food, even though the brisket was a bit dry. Black's spoiled us forever.
Shared Thurman's Choice: ribs, brisket, sausage, potato salad, coleslaw, beans. Peach cobbler alamode for dessert. Still a great place with good food, even though the brisket was a bit dry. Black's spoiled us forever.
AUSTIN - BAT WATCHING
About half hour drive. Stopped at Radna Madhav Dhan, one of largest Hindu temples in US. Beautiful, elaborate building; the gold glowed in the afternoon sun! It's after 5:00 so not open.
About half hour drive. Stopped at Radna Madhav Dhan, one of largest Hindu temples in US. Beautiful, elaborate building; the gold glowed in the afternoon sun! It's after 5:00 so not open.
Drove downtown to see the bats. Parked in the Hyatt parking garage and walked down to the lake. There is a trail that goes to the Congress Avenue Bridge, which the bats live underneath. Instead, we took the double-decker boat bat cruise.
Good guide giving a history about the various buildings, fabulous sunset, then under the Congress Bridge waiting for the bats to emerge--1.5 million, the largest urban colony in the world. The mothers just had babies that have just begun to fly. Saw them flying around under the bridge, but didn't see a huge mass fly away into the sky. The bats were a bit underwhelming; however, spending ninety minutes at sunset on the lake was definitely a great way to end a very busy day.
Good guide giving a history about the various buildings, fabulous sunset, then under the Congress Bridge waiting for the bats to emerge--1.5 million, the largest urban colony in the world. The mothers just had babies that have just begun to fly. Saw them flying around under the bridge, but didn't see a huge mass fly away into the sky. The bats were a bit underwhelming; however, spending ninety minutes at sunset on the lake was definitely a great way to end a very busy day.
2025-02-16