Feeling Thankful
Caverns of Sonora
The music on the radio as we were driving through west Texas is George Strait, Dolly and Willie. We see a lot of cowboy hats, boots and tight jeans and hear lots of "yes, ma'ams". We have crossed over into a strange new land.
The Caverns of Sonora, in the middle of Texas ranch country claims to be the most beautiful show cave on the planet. We thought "yeah right" as we ponied up our $20 each
for the long tour.
We entered the dormant section of the cave and it looked just like a hole in the ground, interesting but it was a cave. It was a warm 70 degrees and a 98% humidity. Which made for hazy photos but I could feel my wrinkles plumping up.
We came around the corner to the living section and it looked like someone had decorated for Christmas. You can't see the sparkles but they were shiney.
The calcite that makes the water hard here made beautiful formations. It also had a higher concentration of CO2 as we walked lower into the cave making us feel like we were
walking at 7000 feet.
walking at 7000 feet.
The 1 hour 45 minute guided tours allow for no more than 12 people at a time to protect the cave.
The soda straw stalactites are hollow as the water runs down the middle and forms on the end.
Of course, we had the lights out section as we all sat on benches.
We have been through a few caves and agree that this was the most beautiful one we had see so far.
We camped at the campground for 2 nights one of which was Thanksgiving. The family that owns the cavern and ranch invited all of the campers to join them in the hall for Thanksgiving dinner. We broke out the pie in the freezer. It was fun sharing dinner with other campers and the ranch and cavern staff. The local deputies were even invited.
Two fireplaces made it cozy on a drizzly day. And there was so much great food.
Junction, Texas
We always stop at Lum's BBQ in Junction if we are nearby. Who cares if it is 10 am.
Now that is a Texas Longhorn.
Fredericksburg, Texas
We head to Fredericksburg a day early to catch the tree lighting. It seemed almost everyone it Texas had the same idea. Even with hundreds of campsites in the area, we were lucky to score a site at the KOA that someone happened to cancel but a required 2 night stay.
There were carolers in the park before the lighting of the tree and German pyramid followed by cider and cookies. The city had a video that was far better than my pictures.
Thanksgiving weekend is a huge deal in Fredericksburg. There is a huge craft festival and a polo tournament across from our campground that ended with 30 minutes of fireworks and hot air balloons. No wonder there weren't any campsites or hotel rooms available. Everyone we spoke with made reservations months ago. The parking lots to the wineries were packed.
As we walked through town there were musicians and bands in the outdoor restaurants. We followed the sound of music from a band in the courtyard and had a beer. They were quite good.
A person can find music playing every day of the week somewhere in town.
A person can find music playing every day of the week somewhere in town.
We are heading 13 miles east to Stonewall and LBJ State Park as volunteers. We agreed to 3 months of volunteering since we had plenty to keep us interested and other things adults just have to do.
We will see how living in Hill Country is in the winter once the weekend crowd clears out. So far so good.
