New Braunfels, Texas: Conservation Plaza

After attending church in New Braunfels, we made our way to Conservation Plaza, a collection of 19th century buildings that have been moved to the site. Upon our arrival, we were greeted by George, a New Braunfels Conservation Society member, who asked us which version of the tour we wanted. We were the only guests and were given one-on-one attention for the next three hours or so, as we went from building to building, George toting a large ring of keys to unlock each door for us. It was an unusual museum in that we could see everything. You know how in most old house tours, you don't get to see every room? Not so, here.

New Braunfels was founded in 1845 by Prince Carl of Solms-Braunfels. He was a German nobleman who headed the German settling of the town. New Braunfels, even in the heavily German Texas Hill Country, is a showplace of German heritage. Next month, approximately 100,000 visitors will fill the town during its annual 10-day Wurstfest, but today was quiet.

I had left the house without my DSLR camera, so today's photos come to you from the Smartphone. While I was grateful to have it, I really missed my "real" camera, and was very annoyed with myself.

A saloon; only men were allowed within. Women could come to the back door for a little beer to go.

 A popular card game.

 There is a complete woodworking shop; also, many pieces in the various buildings are by Jahn.

 A Sunday house. Sunday houses were small houses in town where the family could stay when they came into town from the farm for church or for other reasons.

 This 1907 REO is one of the Society's proudest displays. It is completely restored and operative.

 This organ has 360 pipes; most of them are not visible in this picture. I actually got to play it--how many times does that happen in a museum? The Society put in great effort to restore it and make it operable.

What a beautiful Sunday afternoon! There was so much to see that even Damien, who is 13, said he didn't think his legs could take one more building. (The stairs were the narrow kind you have to back down.)

Texas Hill Country Excursion: Blanco

We fortuitously visited Blanco this afternoon, which happens to be a Saturday. I say that because it happens to be a market day, and this evening is the Gala, a big fundraising event at the old courthouse, so the town was company ready.

This Second Empire styled building was the original Blanco County courthouse, but only a few years later, the county seat was relocated to Johnson City, leaving this beautiful building searching for a new occupation. Currently housing offices and a visitor center, it has also tried its hand at being a school, a bank, and a hospital. It also had a brief role in the remake of the movie "True Grit," where its courtroom was a movie setting.

Tonight, there will be a Gala, and the downstairs hallway is full of silent auction donations, beautifully arranged and with stiff opening bid requirements.

The hallways are lined with historic photos, like this one of local women preparing a barbeque for a Lyndon Johnson campaign visit.

There were all sorts of vendors on the lawn and along the sidewalks, so once again I kept my Christmas list in mind as I visited the different stalls. I couldn't help but be captivated by this one; since I am The Accidental Trailerist, the reason is rather obvious.

I stepped inside the traveling store; it was beautifully done, but I didn't take any photos as it was a popular shop and I didn't want to make the customers inside uncomfortable. The store is called The Gypsy Couture .

Across from the square was an antique mall where we spent some time browsing first upstairs and then downstairs.

We finished our visit to Blanco with a walk in the park--the city park, that is. It adjoins the state park, and we could see the river from the boundary;

but we didn't feel comfortable going further. We're still trying to figure out the Texas state park structure, but from what we see, they're very expensive, and if I understood correctly, going for a walk there would cost $4 apiece. Park prices vary; many are more than that, like the Guadalupe River State Park; we drove to the gates a couple days ago but turned back because of the high entrance fee, again per person. There is a pass available for $70. If we have some extra money next month, we might have to get one.

A Stop in Mineral Wells, Texas

One more stop before we reach the San Antonio area: Mineral Wells, Texas. This is a town of nearly 17,000, named after the mineral waters of Crazy Well, discovered in 1885. The water was said to be able to cure mental illness and other diseases, and therefore attracted many visitors in the late 1800s and early 1900s. You can still obtain the original deep-well mineral and reverse osmosis waters from Famous Mineral Water Company and a historical marker stands at the site of the first well.  A huge hotel was built to accommodate the health-seekers, which today is derelict, its towering presence standing sentinel over the rest of the city.

Our arrival happened to coincide with the annual Crazy Water Day, with food booths, car displays, and much more--the town was crammed, but we had the trailer behind us and I had left my camera in it. So, the above photo was taken the next day, when the town was back to normal.

We spent a couple nights at the Rocker D RV Park just south of town, where we saw two units like this, just parked among the regular RVs. These sure are cute. I'd love to see the inside of one.

These are not the "Tiny Houses," which I am familiar with. I think they may be park models of some sort.

We found an Episcopal church to attend; it had quite a few absolutely beautiful stained glass windows, which I was told have drawn the attention of stained glass experts.

 The St. Luke's congregation was small and, shall we say, mature, but very welcoming. Both before and after the service, we had an opportunity to learn a little more about Texas life. I think I'm going to like it here. We came away with a plate of cookies and an invitation to "y'all come back."

A Little Adventure

Often, when we meet people and they learn we are full-time RVers, we hear, "Oh, the adventures you must have; the stories you could tell!"

I just smile and nod and wonder how to answer them. The whole full-time RV thing IS an adventure, but what stories? Do they mean boat trips and zip-lines, or wildlife safaris? Our sight-seeing is pretty tame (read: whatever is low-cost or free, with the exception of a very rare splurge). We're happy, but adventures? We wander around historic districts and visit a few museums and look at the scenery a lot. Not many hair-raising stories there.

The closest we come to an adventure is when something unplanned happens, which we pray won't. Like last week, when we almost got caught in that early October snowstorm that hit Wyoming/South Dakota/panhandle Nebraska. We barely outran that.

Or when something goes wrong with the trailer or the pickup truck. Like yesterday. We were headed south from Elk City, Oklahoma, toward Texas, when we realized our air conditioner wasn't blowing cold; not even cool, and it was warm out. Not knowing the cause, and keeping to our practice of addressing mechanical concerns immediately, we used the Smartphone (yes, again--love that Smartphone!) to find a Ford dealer in Altus, Oklahoma, the next town.

Yes, they could look at it. We could drop the trailer in their adjacent parking lot.

As I said, it was hot, but it was also very windy, so even without electricity for air conditioning, the trailer stayed comfortable with all the windows and the door open and the wind whipping through it.

Not wanting to lose a chance to make good use of the unexpected stopover, we got Damien busy on a math lesson. He wasn't thrilled.

All afternoon we waited, hoping for a good outcome. We had heard of air conditioner service costing in the high three figures, and such a bill would definitely force us to be even more frugal. Finally, at the end of the afternoon, it was done. They'd recharged the Freon, and the bill was only a hundred dollars and some cents! It was too late to get to our destination, so they kindly let us dry camp in the parking lot overnight.

So, this is a story of an adventure that turned out well. In other words, nothing much happened. And that's the way we like our adventures.

(Get Your Kicks On) Route 66

We got out of Dodge and headed south to Elk City, Oklahoma, battling a fierce headwind almost all the way. Even though the terrain was pretty flat, the transmission cooling fan kept coming on, just as if we were driving uphill. When we fueled, we found our towing mpg was down by at least a quarter, somewhere in the neighborhood of 7. Oh, well. I guess that evens out the tailwind we got traveling east in Nebraska.

Here in Elk City, we discovered we were smack dab on the (in)famous Route 66, one of the great American road trips. A must-see is the National Route 66 Museum, which is part of a museum complex that includes Old Town Museum, the Blacksmith Museum, and the Farm & Ranch Museum, set in a complex of a facsimile old town and adjacent to a beautiful park.

This museum stop is a MUST if you are in the area, and the admission fees are very reasonable. We spent a couple hours here and could have spent much longer without a 13-year-old rushing us.

Jan fits right in with the Popeye collection, don't you think?

These little teardrop travel trailers have made a comeback. You can even buy plans to build your own, as many travelers did 60 years ago.

Damien got to try a fireman's pole.

Here we are traveling down Route 66.

 Complete with roadside attractions!

Oh, look! It's the Joads, of The Grapes of Wrath.

Some views of the grounds.

An interior scene.

There's a rodeo hall of fame--Oklahoma is BIG rodeo country.

There's way too much to cover in a single blog entry!

I used to have one of these! This is a 1950 International Harvester pickup truck. Mine was a 1951, and yellow, and, by the time I bought it, was using almost as much oil as gasoline.

Anyway, if you're passing through Elk City, which sits on I-40, make time for this museum. It's only closed four days a year (guess which!).

Get the Heck Into Dodge!

At least that's what the billboards and brochures say, and we took their advice, traveling from Gothenburg, Nebraska, to Dodge City, Kansas, in a single day's drive. It was the furthest we've gone in one day, and we were happy to see the end of the trail when we pulled into Gunsmoke RV Park. We're staying in Newly's Circle, right across from Festus Parkway.

After a good night's rest, we spent the morning on Damien's school lessons, then set out for a little sightseeing.  We headed down Wyatt Earp Avenue to Boot Hill, where there is a museum and visitor center. At the visitor center we picked up a couple brochures and a couple decks of playing cards, gratis. Kansas had the first state-owned casino (it's just up the highway) and now has a couple more. By law, each deck of cards may be used only once, so the visitors' center has a constant supply of once-used played cards to give away.

The Boot Hill Museum is set up like an historic western town.

Incidentally, Dodge City is situated on the old Santa Fe trail. Thousands of wagons traveled through here. Nearby Fort Dodge was established to protect wagon trains, and a few years later, in 1872, Dodge City was founded .  Named for the fort, it was initially a trade center for buffalo hunters and wagon trains. Then the railroad arrived, and for five years buffalo was the primary "product" shipped out, until the huge herds were destroyed.

Soon, Texas Longhorn cattle were the primary cargo, as Dodge City was the destination of the great cattle drives until 1886, when the drives had ended. Meanwhile, Dodge City had earned the reputation of being the wildest town in the west. It was during these times that lawmen Bat Masterson and Wyatt Earp became legends.

Across from the museum is engine No. 1139. The sheer size of this engine is amazing.

Further down Wyatt Earp Avenue, a Longhorn looks over his former domain

and Wyatt Earp stands larger than life.

About 16 miles of the city's streets were paved with bricks in the early years of the 20th century. At intersections, a diagonal pattern of brickwork helped the streets hold up to turning vehicles.

Medallions set into the sidewalks commemorate both local historic figures and actors who starred in the Gunsmoke television series and in movies set in Dodge City.

We enjoyed our brief visit, and the best Internet we've had at any of the RV parks we've stayed at this year, but tomorrow it's time to get the heck out of Dodge.