We had a wonderful visit with our oldest grandson, Brock. He is growing to be such an articulate artist and writer. With Brock now being 17, it is hard to put into perspective just how fast the years have flown by. We always enjoy the visit with our in laws and his mother. Good country folks who have always welcomed us with open arms. We always feel at home there. We certainly enjoyed the $2.29 diesel prices.
Heading south now on our abbreviated winter loop we arrived at Canyon Lake, just west of New Braunfels, Texas. It was a long trip with headwinds of 20-30 mph whittling our gas mileage to 11 mpg towing. This is one of our favorite places. Located close to New Braunfels, Austin, San Marcos, San Antonio, and even Blanco this is a good base of operations. Sensational BBQ, shopping, and dining abound here. The lake is a beautiful backdrop, although it is part of the reason the entire 'Hill Country' real estate market has BLOWN UP over the past 35 years. The surrounding cliffs abound with beautiful homes at unbelievable prices.
We set up camp at the USAF Fam Camp at Canyon Lake Recreation Park. www.militarycampgrounds.us/texas/randolph-canyon-lake-recreation-park It is located right across from the US Army camp on the lake and share some of the same facilities, but in all honesty it is much nicer. Full hookups here are $20/day or $120 weekly; equaling a daily cost of $17 a day. Level concrete pads with good gravel roads, fire pits, laundry, marina, and easy access to the lake as well as the surrounding New Braunfels, Blanco, San Marcos, and San Antonio area.
This far from Louisiana it is not unusual not to be able to find Tasso, so I decided to get some pork shoulder and make my own. After brining, I finished mine over the firepit by starting it off to the side to enjoy the oak smoke for several hours and then finishing over the coals. These Cajun Ham Chunks are used in many dishes so it is a staple I use several times a year.
In between we thoroughly enjoyed our time in camp relaxing and grilling ourselves. One of our favorite stops when we visit is Gruene, TX which offers a plethora of activities and shopping, being one of the oldest towns in Texas as well as the home of the oldest dancehall. Nothing like a walk through town, picking up some DELICIOUS Pecan Roca, and a cold beer and music at the Gruene Hall.
We always enjoy a trip to Coopers BBQ in New Braunfels. Although Texas rightfully boasts some of the BEST BBQ in the entire country, this place has the best brisket in my opinion HANDS DOWN. This, of course, will draw some staunch criticism from other aficionados. I am out of this world for the moist, tender mesquite smoked brisket with the best crunchy pepper crust imaginable. Add a few of the traditional sides, such as beans, corn o' cob, mac n cheese, red skin tater salad, coleslaw, pickles, jalapenos, onions, etc.....life is good.
Another day we took a trip and headed up to Luckenbach and Fredricksburg, TX. Luckenbach is a treasure with quaintness that can't be described. If you like cold beer and good country music, better! Our goal is to visit here someday during a weekend festival and camp on the grounds; just relax, drink beer, and bathe in good country music within walking distance of the RV (an important safety consideration) There is always a good party to be had here every weekend. www.luckenbachtexas.com/ Just ask Willie, Waylon, and the boys. This year we narrowly missed the Mud Dauber Festival and Chili Cookoff. Much as I would love (and as good as my chili is) to compete, I'm not sure my homemade chili would stand up. These dudes are seasoned professionals...….with guns.
Fredericksburg is a seat of German culture and lots of things to see and do as well. I can always find many a shop here with Texas sauces, glazes, jellies, jams, a variety of pickled vegetables, and BBQ sauces. There are several very good German Restaurants as well as local cuisine at which to dine. We have eaten a couple of times at Mamacita's, an excellent Mexican restaurant. The food here is 5 stars off the hook. Be sure to ask for the Green Pico de Gallo with your chips when you arrive. www.mamacitas.com/ I highly recommend it. One other eatery I HIGHLY recommend is Grandma Ds just south of the dam on Highway 306. Best breakfasts on the lake; they give you a BUNCH of food for the money. canyonlakerestaurants.com/granny-ds-restaurant.html
Our in-camp Mad Chef menu consisted of Baked Penne w/Ricotta Wild Boar Herb Cheese, Fried Razor Clams (Mac n Cheese Night), Fig Glazed BBQ Ribs w/corn o' cob, a BIG Chef's Salad, and Shepard's Pie to name just a few. The Ribs with Fig Glaze was a new adventure for us. Prepared and baked in the oven, then finished over the campfire with the Fig BBQ Sauce. We absolutely loved it. I even adapted several of our lunches towards Charcuterie with healthy selection of gouda, fruit, crackers, soppressata, genoa, and capicola.
Baked Penne
Baby Backs w/Fig BBQ Sauce
SUPER BOWL SUNDAY
Green Chile Chicken Wings w/Mango Shrimp Salsa & Ham Roll Ups
We were able to visit with several long time friends from our Air Force days. Tina and Randy Long invited us to their beautiful home in New Braunfels for a wonderful BBQ. Tina and I worked together 26 years ago in the AWACS Training Squadron and she hasn't aged a bit. It was a great visit.
We also met up with our very good friend Col. Jesse Shanks (ret) at the San Marcos BBQ for some great BBQ. Although we visit him nearly every year it is always a pleasure. Barb thinks of him as her father and he and I can discuss Scotch, BBQ, and the current state of messed up world affairs so the visits are always special.
The weather was good during our stay and we still find the countryside to be beautiful. Diesel here was a decent $2.49, but propane balanced it out a bit at $3.48 per gallon. Thank God for mild weather. We absolutely LOVE the Texas Hill Country, but our search for the perfect winter home goes on. The prices are steep. We did check out a nice piece of property at a fair price, but it was a bit farther north than we would like. We cruise a short distance now SE to Ottine, TX and Palmetto State Park. What a hidden treasure....our next base of operations.
"For my part, I travel not to go anywhere, but to go. I travel for travel's sake. The great affair is to move."
Robert Louis Stevenson
WiFi courtesy of Verizon MiFi
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