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Hill Country Ride
Apr. 11-14, 2008 |
In mid April 2008, my buddy Jeff & I trailered our bikes down to the beautiful Texas Hill Country. The above picture
was taken just as we were about to depart Jeff's house in East Texas. It took us roughly 10 hours to make it all
the way down to Leakey, TX which is an hour and half southwest of Fredericksburg. It's a beautiful part of Texas!
I included a map at the bottom of this page that shows some of the roads we rode.
Check out some of the video clips at the bottom of this page too.
In Leakey, we stayed at the
Frio Pecan Farm Log Cabins
which is located on a working pecan orchard. The cabins were quite nice - each bedroom had it's own bathroom, the
kitchen was nice, and deer often grazed under the nearby pecan trees.
Jeff on RR 336, which is one of the famous "Three Sisters"
Me on RR 335, just north of Camp Wood, TX
After "doing the Three Sisters" (i.e. riding RR 335, 336, 337) we took the beautiful RR 1050 over to Utopia and then
we cruised to Tarpley, TX. In Tarpley we ate at the famous burger shack called
Mac & Ernie's Roadside Eatery. The burgers were great - they had a wonderful charcoal flavor. And the ride to
Tarpley was terrific.
RR 1050 - a typical Ranch Road in the Texas Hill Country
On our second day of riding, we rode up to Hunt, TX to see the strange & unique
Stonehenge II. A rancher built the replica out of plaster back in the early 1990's. RR 1340 which led up to
Stonehenge II was very scenic - it crossed the Guadalupe River in several spots. And large canyon walls overlooking
the river were often close by.
After visiting Stonehenge II, we headed south out of Hunt down to the
Lone Star Motorcycle Museum just north of Vanderpool. Again, the ride down to the museum was hilly and curvy
and beautiful.
After visiting the motorcycle museum we rode back to our cabin in Leakey, loaded the bikes on the trailer and drove
up to Fredericksburg. We immediately unloaded the bikes at our hotel in Fredericksburg and cruised over to one of my
favorite places on Earth -
Luckenbach, TX. That little spot under the
large Hill Country live oak trees has a uniquely warm and unpretentious feel to it.
Jeff on the Willow Loop
On our last day we woke up early and rode north out of Fredericksburg on RR 965. It was a chilly 42 degrees when we
first headed out, but it warmed quickly. We passed by the impressive Enchanted Rock and then circled back south on
Hwy 16 and intersected the famous Willow Loop. This 10-mile loop meanders through several granite outcroppings that
seem to burst through the normal limestone bedrock of the area. The loop also has several impressive views of the
Hill Country mountains and flora. The spring flowers (Bluebonnets, Indian Paintbrush, etc.) are normally abundant
on the Willow Loop this time of year, but lack of winter rain meant few flowers. Still, it was a beautiful ride.
After riding the loop we headed back to our hotel in Fredericksburg, loaded the bikes onto the trailer and began
the long drive home.
A map of the Texas Hill Country. The Three Sisters (335, 336, 337) are toward the left.
Windows Media Player Video Clips
If these clips won't play, you may need the most recent version of the Windows Media Player. Click
here for the free version.
Jeff riding on Hwy 187
Brad riding on Hwy 187
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