Texas Palmetto, La Grange , and Rancho Salado

       Moving on our shortened winter adventure we set up camp in Palmetto State Park just south of Interstate 10 and north of Gonzales, Texas.  We have stayed here several times before while wild pig  hunting.  This is a wonderful campground on the banks of the San Marcos River in an environment of wild small Palmetto bushes.  Nice, paved campsites with electric and water for $18/day.  I am not They have nice hot showers and a supply of firewood is available.  There are miles of trails and nature to explore as well.  I am not wild pig hunting this year as our plan this winter is to save $$$ for our upcoming Alaska trip this summer.  Our freezers still have some room for yummies.  We did

arrive to temps in the low 70s, but humid as well.  Nice to be able to camp with the doors open though.  Our next morning we hit the road for our longest sojourn of this stop as we headed to Bastrop.  The home of Southside Market this venue has very good BBQ as well as a meat market full of goodies my freezer asked me to check out.  I found what I was searching for:  Southside Market Hot Beef Sausage.  This stuff is delicious, but the name is misleading.  The 'hot' refers to extra ground black pepper added for flavor, but only a bit of additional heat.  We love it.  www.southsidemarket.com/      Of course while there we had lunch.  Their brisket was as good as I have ever eaten.

Southside Market Hot Beef Sausage (Hot Gut) 

Southside Market Lunch Combo Brisket and Hot Gut w/sides

      We also visited the Capital of Texas BBQ, Lockhart TX during this stay.  We ate ribs and sausage at Kreuz and  Black's.  Barb always orders Black's Famous Beef Ribs which are enormous.  They average 1-2 pounds each and are loaded with meat.  She whittles on it a bit at dinner and then brings the rest home to snack on later.  Of course, Roux gets the bone.  We also picked up another MONSTER Beef Rib for our freezer.  YUM!  We were lucky enough to have our good friend join us at Black's in Lockart for dinner one evening.  Jesse Shanks is always a treat with which to dine.  

Black's 1 1/2 pound beef rib 

Barb & Jesse Shanks

      If you're in the South Central Texas area, this is the Capital of Texas BBQ.  There are no wrong choices, only incredible food.  Be ready cause this is Texas BBQ, which means no forks, no sauce.  Food is served on brown butcher paper with white bread, plenty of sides choices, and a roll of (needed) paper towels.  Ice tea is the 'House Wine of the South'.  

      We traveled to the nearby town of Shiner to visit.  This is the home of Spoetzl Brewery and the famous Shiner Beer, Pride of Texas.  www.shiner.com/  Yabba dabba do

Spoetzl Brewery   Home of Shiner Beer

      Shiner is also the home to one of the oldest and largest Catholic Churches in the entire state of Texas, Sts. Cyril and Methodius.  The structure is one of the largest of the painted churches of Texas and has six beautiful stained glass windows made in Munich, as well as a huge mural of Christ in the Garden of Gethsemane over the altar.   
      The first Czech and German families arrived here in 1887.  They settled the new area of Shiner, but attended church in either Halletville, Yoakum, or Praha.  On June 17, 1890, Father John A. Forest met with a group of Catholic men to plan the building of a church in Shiner.  Two acres of land were purchased from Moritz Richter, and the home of the Catholic Church in Shiner was established.  The church, 85 feet by 40 feet with a steeple 112 feet high was completed May 31 after just 5 months.

Saints Cyril and Methodius Catholic Church

      We also took a day trip to La Grange to visit an old fishing friend.  That's right, this is the town made famous in the ZZ Top song.  The infamous 'venue' no longer exists, but the town thrives nonetheless.  Sean still lives there and has changed from driving Enron FRAC trucks to a very successful welding business.   Sean and his wife Anna have lived here for years.  I first met them through Sean's brother, Buck who worked for me in the USAF in Oklahoma.  We always had a helluva good time bass and catfishing in nearby Fayette Lake.   La Grange is very nice area with considerable ethnic history as well as reasonable cost of living and home prices.  It still retains much of it's German, Czech, and Polish heritage, customs, and traditions.

Anna & Sean Best

     Of course no trip to this area would be complete without a visit to Nolan Ryan's Texas Burger.  As I have said before it is my favorite burger on the planet.  txburger.com  It is the finest All Beef Burger I have ever eaten.

Pictures courtesy of TX Burger

      Some of the meals we I prepared here in camp included Turtle Soup, Turkey Tacos, Boudin Mac Choux, and Razor Clam Po Boys to name just a few.

Turtle Soup w/Crusty Bread

Boudin Maque Choux w/Pork Tamales

Razor Clam PoBoys w/Broccoli Slaw

      We spent another week with our friends at their ranch in Salado, TX.  I worked for Jody Arnold for several years towards the end of my US Air Force career.  A finer man you'd be hard pressed to find.  He and his wife Juanita have a small horse ranch just outside Salado, TX.  We were able to enjoy the full hookups next to their barn where they camped as well while their house was being built back in the 90s.  Jody worked in education and health care after his USAF retirement, finally enjoying working with horses on his ranch.  They have a wonderful home with a spectacular view from the hills just outside of town.  Juanita entreprenerd a highly successful bakery.  When she sold it she settled into sewing custom made nurse and doctor smocks which has turned into a highly lucrative business as well.   She has scaled back a bit now as she settles into full retirement.  Additionally they both volunteer for mission trips with their local church group, helping to build needed facilities wherever needed.  During our visit they were looking forward to their Ireland vacation this summer.

      We always love our visits.  Picture parking your RV at 'home away from home'.  We have always felt very welcome here.  Barb and Juanita easily immerse themselves into 'girl talk' as well as completing as many projects as possible during our stay.  Unfortunately, I have been much less ambitious, working on my photography, but this trip I hope to help Jody with the livestock.  We arrived to find Juanita taking a break from her work so she and Barb could have some welcome 'girl time'.  They also welcomed a new 'puppy' into the family. I say puppy, but 'Daisy' is a Great Pyrenees, Sasquatch, 3/4 ton mix.  Loveable as all get out, you can just tell she's gonna be a big one. 

      We were able to attend a couple of their grand daughter Sophie's high school softball games during our stay.  Although the weather was a bit on the COLD side, it was fun.  She is a catcher that plays several different leagues throughout the year, including a SELECT LEAGUE for the very best.  Jody and Juanita are proud grandparents.  

 

      This trip I had planned Seafood Gumbo as my contribution to the stay.  It turned out pretty well.  We had another great visit as it is always fun to catch up on things with old friends and reminisce about 'back in the day'.

Rancho Salado

Juanita, Daisy, and Jody

      We head back north now to visit our grandson for a few more days in Oklahoma.  With our being gone this entire summer to Alaska as well as his turning 18 we are maximizing our opportunities for spending time with him.

"We are the people our parents warned us about" 

Jimmy Buffet

WiFi courtesy of Verizon MiFi & The Arnold Ranch