Fredericksburg's Past

Feb 26/2019  Weather 74/54 and out came the sun in full.  It felt hot!    We met motorcycle friends from Kerrville today.  The gang rode over for lunch and it was fun to catch up with them.  Once again "out for lunch".  We ride to eat!  First stop was an old Sinclair gas station turned bar/restaurant/bikers hangout.  Looked like a cool place but no burgers till the weekend, so back into Fredericksburg town we went for a burger at  Tubby's Burgers on the patio.
After Dave & Bev, Dan and Larry headed back to Kerrville we stopped at 2 very prominent historical buildings.  Built by the Germans that came to settle in Fredericksburg back in the 1800's.  

Pecan Grove Ice House

Each time we ride by the Library I mention to Billy "we need to stop there".  It was originally the courthouse and community center on the second floor.  The limestone structure has ornate  gingerbread details attached to the windows, roof line, doorways and railings.  It is beautiful.  Now inside it is obviously like most libraries it is full of books and the librarian asked us to take a walk upstairs and see the 5' x 9' tapestry on the wall.  Stunning hand craftsmanship.   It depicts "Our Town" using creative stitchery, hooking, applique, collage, hand weaving and crewel embroidery.   It commemorates all the historic sites in Fredericksburg and the area.  

Public Library (old courthouse)

beautiful old door knob on the front library door

"Our Town" handmade tapestry on the 2nd floor of the library

take your time and look closely at the detail "in" the tapestry, Amazing craftsmanship

Across from the Library is the town's most iconic structure "The Vereins Kirche".  It was built soon after the first German settlers arrived in the 1800's.  It was located directly in the middle of town with a road on each side.  This building standing now is a replica and the main street no longer has the split lane downtown.  It was the first public building used by all for a town hall, school, fort and church of all denominations.  Known as "Society's Church".  

Vereins Kirche - Society's Church

Wild, Wild West fun

Feb 25/2019 Weather  64/38  
The weather is up and down so we are hanging out in Fredericksburg today.  You could spend a month here and not see all the cowboy shops, historic German influenced buildings and homes and restaurants and wineries.  This is the new Napa valley of Texas.   There are several wine tours you can take, and it is on our list to do maybe next time. 

German lunch sampler platter

We are trying to "eat" our way through town!!!  Everyday another lunch at another place.  If you like BBQ or German you will be a happy camper here.  Billy keeps thinking he should get a pair of cowboy boots so off we go in search of what will be a tricky expedition (maybe you need to be born a cowboy wearing boots?)  All the experts tell him if they fit properly they will be the best thing for his feet but his legs, knees and feet say otherwise.....  5 minutes into trying them on and walking around - from the knee down he hurts!  But it was fun and we went into a place where Cowboys like their boots and their hats, George Strait and Brad Paisley have been known to shop here.  What about a Cowboy hat ??? I think it would hurt less for Billy to get a hat. :)

When you enter the store , look up and see this sign!  Good Old George is held in high regard in Texas

Cowboys and their hats and boots

Headquarters Hats in the old Fredericksburg Bank

We parked outside Texas Jacks Wild West Outfitters.  We popped in there and snoop around.  All wild west stuff 1870's , clothes, boots, hats, buckles, ropes, dusters, and famous replica guns. The western firearms at Texas Jacks are Cimarron Firearms a top brand of imported western pistols, rifles and shotguns.

replicas of Sharpe rifles

We read all the Craig Johnson books of Longmire who is the Sheriff of Absaroka County in Wyoming.  (no he is not real, yet we talk like he is)    In the books there are often references to the old Indian Sharpe rifles.  Guess what is at Texas Jacks?  Yes the Cimarron replicas .   Not to mention all the firearms in The Good, The Bad and The Ugly, True Grit, Tombstone, Quigley Down Under.  We had no idea what we were looking at but the fellow behind the counter was a wealth of information and so friendly and interesting to talk to.

BBQ Joints are in the crossroads of the countryside

Feb 24/2019 Weather sunny, cool high 67, low 39.  

Llano River, low bridge at Castell crossroads, historical marker

Over the last few years that we have been frequenting Hill Country there has been a spot nagging at us to find.  It is a biker's ride/hangout and the best part is on Sunday you are rewarded with a 1 lb ribeye steak BBQ if there are any left when you get there.  The Castell General Store cooks till they run out of meat.  Our kind of place.  

Billy parking the bike in front of Castell

The tiny village is on the banks of the Llano River, which in the fall of 2018 took a kicking with floods.  We expect to see it not as picturesque as before, there has to be debris left from the high waters.   Even calling it a  village is exaggerating, now that there is a post office, an abandoned car dealership and the quirky general store.  History is that the store was built in 1927 by a local blacksmith, the town was founded by German freethinkers.  

The BBQ pit - the stack burns the wood to make coals which are moved to the pit for cooking

Not long ago they were also the home of Duke the rooster who was the pet of the place, unfortunately he went to the big chickencoop in the sky and a new Duke with his friend Henna Henpecker are making friends.  Thus the stores indoor space is known as the Roost.  Tuesdays to Saturdays are different venues of BBQ and Sunday is the big day with Ribeyes.  Order at the pit, then go inside to start a tab and grab a cold beer at the bar.  Then help yourself to fixings to accompany your beef:  baked potato, mushrooms, green beans, salad, buns.  

After filling our need for red meat, we meandered along the Llano River to Llano then headed south on a farm to ranch road thru the countryside back to Fredericksburg.   Wouldn't you ride 45 miles for a Ribeye? 

Robert F. Rowntree House plaque

riding along farm to ranch road in the distance is a historical home

What is a Pacific War Museum doing in the Heart of Texas?

Feb 20/2019  Weather - nasty cold, and overcast.  High 55, low 37.  Brrr.....   But the great thing is we have friends!!!   (at least 2,  haha)  Pam and Eric came over from Kerrville to pick us up and take us with them to the Pacific War Museum today.  How do we know they are our friends?  They brought Billy a surprise!!!!!   Jujubes........  oh my gosh. 

Billy's favorite candy

I happened to tell Pam that we ran out of them and you cannot buy them in the USA.  They live in Minnesota and Eric went fishing in Canada before they headed to Texas ..... and yes he brought bags from Canada to Minnesota and along on their trip to Texas.  Amazing.  

Pacific War Museum sits on 6 acres

Today is the perfect day to spend in a Museum.  It turns out that Fredericksburg, Texas is the boyhood home of World War II US Pacific Fleet Admiral Nimitz.  

story boards in the museum

The museum will walk you through time and history of the heroic, triumphant and tragic human story of the 1937 to 1945  Asiatic-Pacific Campaign of WWII.  Numerous displays and story boards, interactive maps and movies help you understand what happened in 8 years.  
In 1991 The George H.W. Bush Gallery was opened, which includes a Japanese midget submarine, Japanese float plane, and much more.

Japanese Float Plane

Plaza of the Presidents is a tribute to the 10 presidents who served in World War II.

Plaza of the Presidents

The Pacific Combat Zone is a re-creation of a Pacific island battlefield, and includes a Quonset hut hospital, a PT boat and base, Japanese tank, palm trees, and machine gun placements. 

Battlefield

You can take 2 days with your pass to absorb it all.  We started at 9:30 am and left for home at 5 pm when the doors closed.  So much information.   There is a country song called "You should have seen it in color".  I kept thinking of that melody all day.  We have no idea how lucky we are. 

80 foot PT boat

Simple Sunday Houses

Feb 19/2019  Weather  sunny, 67 cool at night 39.  Our RV park is all about location, location, location.  We are only 2 miles out of  the little town of Fredericksburg.   Driving in town you find the most unique properties called Sunday Houses. These charming houses date back to the mid- 1800’s, They were built by Fredericksburg’s first settlers; 125 German immigrants who arrived there in 1846 with deeds to ten acres of farm land and one in town house lot.

Once in Fredericksburg the settler’s first priority was to start farms. Their farm land parcels were located twenty miles out, rutted roads made it difficult for them to get into town. The solution; they pitched tents on their in town lots, staying there on weekends so they could shop, visit with friends, and attend church.

As time went on many farmers built small houses on these lots with one main room downstairs and an outside staircase leading to a sleeping loft. All had gingerbread lace trimmed front porches for sitting and visiting with friends. After Sunday dinner they returned to their farms. Hence the name Sunday Houses.    Sunday houses were also used when a member of the family needed to stay in town to conduct business or receive medical attention. Some Sunday houses became the residences of retired ranchers when their land was turned over to their sons.  Although in Texas Sunday houses were almost exclusively confined to Germans in Hill County, particularly Gillespie County, the phenomenon was not unique to Texas. Similar houses were used in the 1660s in Middlebury, Connecticut, and a counterpart to the Sunday house exists in the Pennsylvania Dutch country.

Now in  2019 these 100 + year old homes sell and rent out for extremely high prices.  There are approximately 100 of these historic homes in the immediate downtown area of Fredericksburg.  

The historic marker reads:  "Built of native stone in 1871, soon after Knopp and his wife Katherina (Stein) came to America. From Germany they traveled six weeks by clipper ship to Indianola and by oxcart to Fredericksburg. They bought this homesite for $70 in gold. Knopp was a stonemason; family farm, a mile from this home, was worked by the wife and children. (Of the 15 children born to the Knopps, nine reached adulthood.) House, restored in 1939, was extensively remodeled in 1968. Recorded Texas Historic Landmark - 1971."  There is a second marker just below the first that says, "In 1939, Fredericksburg's historical preservation era was opened when architect Albert Keidel restored this house.  Later (1968) remodeling was done by Mrs. Marschall D. Altgelt, a member of the family of the city's founder, John O. Meusebach."

 The historical marker reads, "Log room and loft were built by German emigrant Gerhard Rorig as his home in first winter of Fredericksburg's existence, 1846-47. Noted cabinetmaker Johann Martin Loeffler added typical rock and half-timber rooms and cooking fireplace, 1867; his son-in-law, J. Charles Weber, in 1905 restored the southeast lean-to. For Loeffler-Weber family, this was home or Sunday house for 90 years.  Recorded Texas Historic Landmark - 1971." On a plate added near the base: "Restored 1964 by Mr. and Mrs. George A. Hill, III - Consultant: Albert Keidel, Architectural Designer."

Why We NEVER drive after dark

Feb 18/2019  Weather good for travel, sunny about 60 sunny low 34..... next day was crap.  Misty rain all day, gray and cold.  The high was 46, low of 35.  Furnace on all day.  We travelled from Fort Stockton to Fredericksburg (Hill Country) to a new RV park called 
The Vineyards of Fredericksburg RV Resort 

Fredericksburg is just below the title of this cartoon map

It's a big park with long pull thrus, all new facilities and a nice view of the hilly area.  We are only 2 miles outside of Fredericksburg which is a beautiful historic German town.   

About 9 pm we could hear someone in the site next to us; no one was there before that.  We could see a fellow with a huge flashlight walking around and around his coach.  We could hear him opening and closing the basement doors.  We were snoopy and watching out our window and thinking "what's with this guy".   So next morning coffee in hand Billy went outside and oh yes something was up.   This area is prolific with wildlife, especially deer.  Oh yes, you guessed it.  The guy hit a deer!   Brand new coach, first time out with it.  He was coming from Dallas, hit alot of traffic and got behind schedule and did not get here in Fredericksburg till way after dark.   Apparently about 30 miles from here he hit a deer and it went right under the coach.  He is so lucky - could have been much worse. The deer in Hill Country are small compared to back home..... in the north the deer are big!  Billy compares the Texas deer to the size of a Great Dane dog.  Same accident with a northern deer and he would not be driving this. 

Grill coming off

brand new coach - maiden voyage

Tumbleweeds & Traffic

Feb 16/2019  Weather cool 55, sunny but super wwwwwwiiiinnndddyyy!  Wind alert all the way to Las Cruces, New Mexico.  258 miles.  We left Tucson and drove east on I10 with west winds and some sideways gusts 25 to 45 mph.  Thank goodness most of it was pushing us. 

tumbleweeds blowing everywhere

  At times we had tumbleweeds blowing right into our coach.  Billy was shocked when a few hit us really hard!  No swerving.....   Early on (2:30 pm) we found a good spot at Las Cruces KOA.  The wind alert was on till 10 pm so we did not open any slides, no use looking to tear our toppers!    It was cool and down to 35 by morning (elevation here is 4,000 ft) but the campground has a great view from high up over the city at night.  We snuggled up and the wind let up by bedtime.  

Las Cruces KOA view over the city

Feb 17/2019  Weather warmer 64, sunny.  Wind nothing like yesterday, a bit behind us still.  On our way to Fort Stockton today.  300 miles.  There is not much across this part of Texas once you get past El Paso.  Darn that city always seems to be a bit of a snag for us.  One of our least favourite drives on I10.   Last year we had to detour off I10 for a short closure thru downtown..... Billy thought of it first thing this morning.  And yes there is another 2 mile stretch down today!  Crap.  We really need to get a handle on this.  We have a route around the city using the N375 loop and avoiding most of the Franklin Mountains which have unfriendly grades to deal with.  After today we are printing the friendly bypass route out and keeping it with our map for Texas.  No more going thru El Paso on I10.  Weekdays it is always extremely busy, and now two years in a row on a Sunday part of I10 is closed and a detour is setup. 

while we wait to get to the exit; cars flying thru the median to get out of gridlock

So here we sit in gridlock inching to the exit and the detour.  2 hours later,,,,,, ugh.  Yes 2 hours from coming into El Paso and getting out of El Paso.  Never again.  The Co-pilot (Rosey that be you girl) needs to print out those driving instructions and have them ready for next year.  Rest of the trip was a breeze to Fort Stockton RV Park where we will have a nice home cooked supper in the small cafe.   Small things make our day good again :)

Saguaro's

Feb 13/2019 Weather feels warm today 74, night 48.  Going to get a few warm days in a row.  We talked to a fellow at the park today and he has been at Voyager's for 15 years... he thought it was the coldest winter yet!  It happens.

on the ride in Saguaro National Park - East

There is a short ride just outside the city limits of east Tucson in the Rincon Mountain District.    A one way, one lane road for about 10 miles takes you throughout the Saguaro National Park.    There is desert scrub, desert grassland, oak woodland, pine-oak woodland, pine forest and mixed conifer forest.  

lush vegetation this year with the rain a couple of times in the last few months

There has been a few times where there was rain in the last couple month so the cacti look like they are really flourishing this winter.   Spring should bring some bountiful flowers out here in the desert.  The desert really does come alive when the blooms come out.   Because of the higher elevation in the Rincons, animals like the black bear, Mexican spotted owl, Arizona mountain king snake, and white-tailed deer .... today we didn't see anything alive except for the cactus.  That's probably a good thing for chicken Rosey! 

riders of a different kind  ??? 3 wheels

It is a pretty ride with nice vistas.  Hunger is catching up to us and we saw a cool looking 1950's sign 1 mile away.   Let's check it out...  Yes it was Great spot outside and good food too. 

bar and restaurant outside the park

Who won a Door Prize?

Feb 10/2019  Weather sunny but cold !  We had two days of mid 50’s with frost at night..... then warmer days mid 60s low 40’s at night.  I guess if you were in Arizona this past summer this is a relief!   Ok.  Today is nice 69, feels good.
Big Canada party tonight, potluck, Canadian trivia, prizes,  red & white, games and friendship.  Who won a Door Prize?  Way to go Rosey!!!  And it was such a good one - Tim Hortons Coffee, 2 mugs and a bottle of Irish Cream. We are liking this :)

our Door Prize at the Canada  Party

Provinces at the event were mostly Westerners, especially British Columbia.  We had an interesting couple (Flo & Ed) we sat with, they are from Calgary but building a home in the Magdalen Islands, Quebec.  Do you realize where that is?  It is out way out in the Gulf of the St Lawrence - with a land area of 80 square miles.  That’s tiny!  

Magdalen Islands

Gosh, why would you build a house there, we had to ask. Flo has a Mum, sisters, brothers, there and it was where she was born and raised! Wow!  To get there you can catch a 5 1/2 hour ferry ride from Prince Edward Island.   It’s an arpegelo of 8 islands with one highway 60 miles long!  A segment of the population are descendants of survivors of the more than 400 shipwrecks on the islands. Some of the historic houses were built from wood from the shipwrecks.  This is like the land that time forgot!  What an interesting night and we got the “Timmies” , Bonus! 

a settlement on Magdalen Islands

Treasure Hunt

Feb 05/2019  Weather  cooler high of 64 and cloudy.  Big cold front coming so we are out today on the motorcycle.  (next two days will be in the 50's and freeze warning at night - Yikes).  

inside one of the tents at the Kino center

Every year the first two weeks in February the city of Tucson is an international city (people come from all over the world) for the Gem, Mineral and Fossil Show.  To us it doesn't mean much.   We did hear about the hotels where vendors setup.  The hotel rooms(bedrooms)  become open door.  The vendors invite you into each and every room to look at their wares!  Kind of bizarre sounding, maybe we will do that another day.  Today we are walking the Kino Sports Complex venue.  Huge and so interesting.  Beautiful raw gems, stones and all kinds of equipment to mine, cut, polish and display your treasures. 

it goes on and on

gorgeous blue !

Some are wholesale where you buy the crate or flat of gems.  It appears most things are sold by weight as well.  Jewellry makers will also find everything they need to make their necklaces or bracelets. 

love the hearts

this was striking - the colours

raw precious stones

stones already polished

Tucson becomes a playground for the world of international gem and mineral trading, and collecting.The showcase is more than just one show. It takes place at multiple locations  focused mainly in downtown -midtown Tucson. Treasure hunters from near and far come to hunt for jewelry, track down jewelry-making supplies, and browse collectibles and treasures, both rare and bargain priced. It is the city's largest public event and said to be the largest in the world.   Tucson's gem show actually includes more than 40 different shows at dozens of locations around town, from exhibit halls to hotels and sprawling camps of roadside exhibit tents. 

  Along the I10 corridor you will drive by white tent tops on both sides of the freeway.  Almost all shows are free and have shuttle buses running between them.  While this event brings serious collectors from around the world, it's the "cool" factor that makes it one of the biggest and best events of its kind. Thousands of people from all walks of life come to gawk at gold, oooh over opals, and dig dinosaur fossils.  Ok Billy lets be one of the "cool" people today; even though we have no clue what we are looking at. 

Tony Znaniecki's artwork on rocks

Sccccccccrrrrrrreeeeeaaaaammmm!

Feb 2/2019  Weather 74, sunny low 52.  They say rain is coming for Superbowl Sunday.   We are out cruising around our end of Tucson today and we keep driving by the Davis-Monthan Air Force Base which the sound can just about throw you off the Harley if you time it when one of the Warthog's is taking off!  Seriously.   Plus if you stay at the Voyager RV Resort on Kolb Road be prepared to hear these guys most of the day; they do seem to stop at night - yeah!!!   These fighter planes are nasty.   There are two interesting things about the DMAF base;  the first being that the huge scccccrrrreeeettttccchhhing fighter jets we hear coming and going every day is a training squadron and the second is that this base is also the largest boneyard in the world of military airplanes(another posting for that).  Today we can let you know about the A-10 "Warthog".    

The Warthog A-10

People would say the A-10 was a plane designed around a gun—its 30 mm GAU-8 Avenger rotary cannon, to be specific.  When the last of more than 700 A-10s was built in 1984, the aircrews and maintainers who worked on this lumbering plane thought it was so ugly they called it the "Warthog." Today, after decades of wear and tear and blood and toil, that nickname carries with it a nickname of affection and respect, five squadrons and over 300 personnel employing 83 A-10C aircraft. 

the Gatling gun

The A-10's cockpit and portions of its flight control system are protected by 1,200 pounds of titanium aircraft armor, called the "bathtub." The bathtub can withstand direct hits from armor-piercing projectiles up 23 mm.  But the design logic dictating its configuration goes well beyond that mean machine gun in its nose. The A-10's large, unswept high-aspect ratio wing and large ailerons give it excellent low-speed, low-altitude maneuverability. The wing also allows short takeoffs and landings. That's handy, because this plane frequently needs to operate from primitive forward airfields near the front lines the Warthog isn't fast—not by a longshot. Pilots say it has three practical throttle settings: full-throttle, 50 percent, and off.   It's  reputation-maker is the gun. The seven-barrel GAU-8 Avenger measures nine feet long and fires 30mm armor-piercing shells housed in six-foot-diameter drum. The Gatling gun hoses shells at a rate of 3900 rounds per minute.

GAU-8

It represents about 16 percent of the aircraft's weight.  When the gun is removed for maintenance, the Warthogs tail must be supported to keep the nose from tipping up!

A-10 Warthog - see the seven barral gun in the nose