Meandering Thru the Hill Country

Today we spent some time just meandering through the East side of Hill Country. What a beautiful way to spend a hot, sunny afternoon. Our first stop was Driftwood (population 1583). In several places throughout our guide book, the author raved about a BBQ place just outside of driftwood -- The Salt Lick. Oh. My. God. That author was correct. Their ribs, brisket, and sausages were fabulous. This is the pit where they create the magic.

I really needed a nap after the meal, but we forged on.

Our next stop was in Wimberley (population 2626). The main purpose for visiting this little town was to go see the Wimberley Glass Works. Unfortunately all the glass blowers were at lunch while we were there. Bummer. So I had to console myself with shopping in their funky little downtown area. Grin.

We struck out at our next couple of stops too. I wanted to find the town square for a little town called Dripping Springs. But all we managed to see was the urbanized area that is now considered a bedroom community to Austin.

Next we drove to Hamilton Pool park. This is located out in the sticks, at the bottom of a box canyon. It is supposed to be a gorgeous (and large) swimming hole, fed by a spectacular waterfall. But we struck out because of the recent rains. Apparently that causes the bacteria levels to be so elevated that no contact with the water is allowed. And here we are with all of our swimming gear! That's what I get for not calling first. Ah well.

We ended the day by driving out along Mansfield dam to get a better view of Lake Travis. We convinced the park ranger to let us in for a few minutes without paying the day fee. And then got run out by another park ranger because we were parked too close to the boat ramp. Wry grin. Some days ya just can't win! I did manage to get a few pics before we fled. This is the back side of Mansfield Dam.

And this is the water side of the dam.

This next pic is for our friends, Ron and Judy. Judy, you would freak if you had to back the truck and boat trailer down this ramp. It is very long and VERY steep!

With all the rains last week, they say that the level of the lake has risen 5 to 6 feet. But they still have a loooong way to go in order to get it back to full. See all the land out in the middle of the water? That is supposed to be UNDER water by quite a bit. I'm guessing that navigating this lake in a boat might be kinda tricky.

And so we come to the end of another adventure for the Johnson's. Rochelle will bring Mom to meet us tomorrow morning and we will start the journey home. The nice thing about traveling with a fifth wheel (among many things!) is that we don't make the loooong drive all in one day. Yay!

Cheers,

Dr J