Monday, October 25, 2010

TEXAS IS BIGGER THAN IT USED TO BE







Sunday, 10-24-10, was a rest day in Kerrville. The most enjoyable part to a nice relaxing day was the opportunity to go to dinner with Tim and Nikko, whom we had met in Navasota a week ago. (You may have seen them on a previous post dressed in Renaissance garb) They live fairly close to Kerrville and were nice enough to drive over and chauffeur us to a lovely spot on the Guadalupe River for dinner. We had a ball sharing stories and watching the sunset. Nikko wowed us in his new kilt. What a delight, thanks Tim & Nikko!

Monday, 10-25-10, we got a late start in order to let some heavy fog burn off. We headed south on 173. Despite a steady wind blowing from the southwest, the scenery was awesome as we climbed our final hills of the Texas Hill Country. Nikko informed us last night that the Texas Hill Country is as large as the country of Scotland, but only a small part of the State of Texas. We have been riding in this beautiful hill country for 6 days and have thoroughly enjoyed both the scenery and the people we have met. At mile 14, we came upon the Camp Verde General Store/post office/cafe. The present 2-story stone building was built at the turn of the century after a flood washed away the original building founded in 1857. In 1854, Jefferson Davis (who later became president of the Confederacy) petitioned Congress to appropriate $30,000 so the army could experiment with camels for military purposes. In April 1856, 33 camels arrived from Egypt to Ft. Camp Verde located one mile from the general store. By 1865, the fort had 100 camels that reportedly outperformed the horses/mules usually used as pack animals. However, after the Civil War, the War Dept. did not have the funds to continue the camel experiment. Today the Camp Verde General Store remains as a popular gathering place for people living in the area. During our stop at the store, we were once again pleasantly ambushed by friendly Texans who easily convinced us to stay awhile and get acquainted. We did finally make our way to Bandera, the Cowboy Capital of the World. Once again, we had an opportunity to visit with our new friends, Tim and Amy over a pleasant dinner. Thank you Tim and Amy, we hope our paths will cross again! Is it true what Mark Chestnut sings: Texas Is Bigger Than It Used To Be?

5 comments:

Kelly said...

Nikko's kilt is awesome! The only thing better would have been to see it on Norb. Congrats on making it thought the hill country. Good luck on the next portion of your ride!

Norb and Ann said...

Maybe on Halloween we can find a kilt and matching cowboy hat.

Tim said...

Perhaps Performance Bike will start selling "cycling kilts" and Norb can enjoy the freedom and airflow that makes kilt-wearing such a joy. :-).

Amy and I had a great time with y'all! We'll plan a trip to your hometown soon!

Kelly said...

Those are both GREAT ideas!

kidzwriter said...

So glad you enjoyed the hill country. It was a great place to grow up. If I weren't terribly allergic to the cedar trees (really juniper but we call'em cedars), I'd be there still.