postaday2011 Archives - ETB Travel Photography

Day 228 – Door County Byways (Part 2)

Well, I thought I did a lot today, but I don’t have many
pictures to show for it. We toured Green
Bay’s countryside and passed through small vacation villages like Fish
Creek. Eventually we looped back to
Sturgeon Bay where we visited an old, Catholic Church, meandered through the
historic district, and walked along the harbor as some teenage boys jumped in
the form of a cannonball into the water.
Listening to their grunts, I asked, “Is it cold?” and they said, no, the
part that sucks is getting out. That was
my first thought when I saw them jump in…how are they getting out of there
without ladders? Somehow they managed to
heave themselves out!

I spent the evening with my great aunt Margie and her
daughter Margie. This was my first time
to meet my second cousin. Great aunt
Margie’s son has a restaurant on the water called Sunset Grill. We went there for dinner. The food was delicious and the company was so
fun! ETB

Day 227 – Door County Byways

I survived another storm yesterday. It came and left within an hour yesterday
afternoon, but it was ominous. Dark
black clouds rolled in as the wind swirled.
I was pulled off in a roadside rest area, but I’m told the wind lifted
the water off the lake, creating a water spout.

This morning we cruised up the “thumb” of Wisconsin. Our first stop was Cave Point County Park
where Lake Michigan’s waves splash against dolomite cliffs. During rough weather, this can be a
spectacle, though today it was calm enough for locals to take a dip. I’ve heard from a handful of folks over the
last week that the water is warm. It’s
all relative I guess…I’m certain it is at least 10 degrees cooler than I
prefer. The cliffs were formed 410
million years ago through a combination of glaciation and erosion. We walked along a few of the outcroppings,
but Petey is still feeling gloomy, so we didn’t get too much exercise. I’m certain tearing into a six month supply
of Heartguard last night didn’t help. I
guess he will be worm free for August anyway!

We continued on to Baileys Harbor, home to the Ridges
Sanctuary, one of the largest wildflower preserves in America. Petey wasn’t allowed on the well-groomed,
bark trails, so I sauntered through the forest of white spruce along the Winter
Wren trail. I picked up my pace a bit as
buzzing flies would not leave the vicinity of my head despite me waving my
paper map around. I spotted a handful of
wild flowers but managed to miss the 27 species of orchids. I would say it was a very peaceful walk
except those darn flies ruined it. How
important are flies to the food chain? I
could stand to live without them!

We reached Sister Bay by lunch time. I opted for some local cuisine at Al Johnson’s. It is known for its traditional Swedish menu
and its sodded roof. I had the most unusual
lunch in a long time; Swedish pancakes with lingonberries and Swedish
meatballs.

After lunch we followed Highway 42 north to Gills Rock, the
tip of the thumb where we took a car ferry to Washington Island. The turbulent currents between the tip of
Wisconsin and Washington Island earned the name, place of death, from the
Indians. French explorers dubbed it
Porte des Morts, loosely translated as Death’s Door from which Door County
derived its name.

Washington Island was named for the schooner, George
Washington in 1816. The Washington, the
largest and finest vessel on the lake at the time, carried soldiers from
Mackinaw to Green Bay where they were to establish a fort. While anchored in what now is known as
Washington Harbor, the soldiers gave the harbor and island its name. Washington Island is the second oldest
Icelandic settlement in America. The
early settlers were primarily fishermen.
In time, Swedish, Danes, and Norwegians arrived bringing farming and
logging.

While on the island, we visited Schoolhouse Beach and
Washington Harbor. The Washington Harbor
is the oldest of the four harbors on the island and was popular among the tall
schooners and large steamships due to the wide entrance and deep waters. The big ships and docks are now gone and
tourists enjoy the rocky beach.

Schoolhouse beach is made up of limestone rocks that may
have traveled all the way from Niagara Falls to end here. I don’t think I’ve seen a beach quite like
it.

We toured the island a bit more before grabbing the 5:30
ferry back to the mainland. On the ferry,
I met Ryan and a few fellow members of his amateur league baseball team. As a teenager, he used to throw a 94 mph fast
ball and had a full ride to anywhere, but he needed surgery, so opted for tech
school. He works for a utility company
in the gas area. He seems to know
everyone on the thumb…they are all his cousins…I guess so since he has 14 aunts
and uncles, 13 on one side! In his spare
time he hunts, fishes, works in the garden and makes wine. After dinner and drinks at a local pub, I
tried his raspberry wine…good…tasted like Sangria. He has a variety of fruit trees planted outside
his house that he built himself. He only
had the insulation and tile completed by contractors. He was fun. It would be nice to keep in touch…but no
internet, cell phone or cable for him…I’ll have to resort to old methods…a
house phone! ETB

Day 218 – Wisconsin North Woods (Part 2)

Wow…I think I have had two “do-over” days in one week! The second half of my Wisconsin North Woods
drive I believe was more suited for kayakers or canoers. It certainly wasn’t a bad day, but there are
ways I could have enjoyed it better.

As usual I started my morning with a cup of coffee. I have to say the local coffee shop sold awesome
raspberry scones. This prompted me to
buy a container, twice the size of what is customary, of local raspberries at
the small grocery store for three bucks or so…a bargain and good! I thought I would be sure to have some food
for a morning at Madeline Island, the only inhabited island in the Apostle
Islands and the only island which is not part of the National Park. The rest of the Apostle Islands, remnants of
sedimentary rocks deposited in the Lake Superior Basin over 600 million years ago
that have survived the crushing action of four glaciers over the past 100,000
years, are a National Park and a popular kayaker destination. Getting to those islands was an all day
excursion and less than accommodating to Petey which is why I ended up choosing
Madeline Island.

I took a car ferry to the island. They charge by vehicle and person, so it cost
$37 for the roundtrip passage that was available every thirty minutes or
so. Once on Madeline Island, VANilla
carted us around as we explored the general layout before we finally stopped at
Big Bay State Park. After paying the
state park entry fee, Petey and I took a hike around the Point Trail Loop. The first half of the loop led us along the
shore of Lake Superior with lovely views of sandstone cliffs before the second
half of the loop led us through a dense forest, home to tons of dragonflies!

After our walk around the point, we visited another area of
the park. Petey waited in VANilla while
I took a boardwalk past a beach and toward a lagoon. He didn’t have to wait long. The biting flies were relentless. If anyone ever wanted to be a runner, but was
having a rough time getting started, these flies would be an incentive to pick
up the pace. With my personal Off device
in one hand waving around my head and with my camera being held steady by my
other, I basically jogged to the lagoon trying to keep the flies off of me. I was like Bill Murray in the movie What About Bob. Flies bit me on my ear, landed in between my
eye and sunglasses, and got trapped in my hair which was pulled back into a
ponytail. I don’t know how people were
just resting on the beach. I couldn’t
get out of there fast enough. I’m certain
Petey was thankful he wasn’t allowed to join me!

Around lunchtime we returned to the mainland to continue our
journey southeasterly along the border of Wisconsin and the Upper Peninsula of
Michigan. In Hurley, an old mining and
logger town, we attempted to visit the Iron County Historical Museum which
maintains a model 19^th-century saloon, but its hours of operations
were limited. I suppose I could have
visited a real saloon on Silver Street, but it was the middle of the day.

We made another roadside stop at Lac Du Flambeau, Lake of
Torches, which has been a permanent settlement of the Chippewa Indian Nation
since about 1745. The tribe lived on
wild rice and fish found by torchlight in the numerous area lakes. The tribe was loyal to the American colonies,
never siding with the English or French and fought with the Union Forces in the
Civil War. Forts and posts used to
pepper the shores of the lake as the Northwest Fur Trading Co. established a
department for area trade here in 1792.

We ended the night in Escanaba, Michigan, part of the Upper
Peninsula (or UP as the locals like to call it).
I’m looking forward to some good exploring tomorrow. ETB.

Day 217 – Wisconsin North Woods

I forgot to mention one of the greatest parts to my
Minnesota morning yesterday, despite the rain…the coffee shop I found, Java
Moose Espresso, sold just the muffin tops…no stumps. Any Seinfeld fan has to appreciate that! Anyway, on to my next morning, I boiled some
water for coffee and instant oatmeal at the Amnicon Falls State Park
campgrounds in Wisconsin. Amnicon means
“Where Fish Spawn” and the Amnicon River is an important spawning river for
fish from Lake Superior.

In the heart of the park, the river separates into two
streams which plunge over basalt and sandstone creating at least three
waterfalls and depending on the flow it sometimes fills another channel
creating a fourth falls. I would have
never known the fourth falls, aptly named “Now and Then Falls” was sometimes
dry…the water was flowing today.

Bridges led Petey and me across the streams to a middle
island where we found a cache. We also
completed an earth cache that required us to follow the marked trail to several
locations and record pertinent information.
It was the first time that I ran into fellow cachers. Two folks were standing on one of the bridges
taking an elevation reading with their GPS (one of the requirements), so I
inquired, “Are you caching?” “Yes”, they
responded and later pointed me in the direction of the final task I needed to
complete it.

One of the bridges that spans the river at Lower Falls is
known as Covered Horton Bridge.
Originally it wasn’t covered and was a highway bridge that crossed the
river not far from the park. It was
moved to the present location in 1930.
The bridge is historically significant due to its age and
construction. In 1897 and 1898, Charles
Horton obtained several patents for designs that made bridges strong, lighter,
and more durable. In addition, the
design allowed workers to assemble the structures without expensive machinery,
tools, and labor. His method required
using arched beams secured with hooks and clips rather than rivets and bolts
and the bridge is known as a bow-string.

On my way toward Brule River State Forest, I passed by a
roadside historical marker that caught my attention. It was a windmill built in 1904 by a Finnish
immigrant, Jacob Davidson. Davidson, who
had not been a miller in Finland, took four years to construct the windmill
whose unique design was based on the shape of a coffee pot Davidson owned. He and his three sons used local materials
for the grindstones and structural wood.
The wings generate about 25 horsepower and turn at 15 rpm which produces
a mill stone speed of 135 rpm. Each mill
stone weighs 3,500 pounds. In added
bonus for making the brief stop was finding a nearby cache!

I moved on to Brule River State Forest where I drove four
miles to the headwaters of Bois Brule, one of the most renowned trout streams
east of the Mississippi. I didn’t go
there to fish, but just to see where the river and Lake Superior meet. It was such a beautiful place. A light breeze kept away most of the annoying
insects as I sat at a picnic table in the shade looking out on Lake Superior
and its sandy beach. The color of the
water changed from salmon along the coast to countless shades of blue as it
continued in the distance. I took
advantage of the cool weather to blog a bit as it has been so hot in VANilla, I
have been less than enthusiastic about turning on a computer that generates
more heat. Petey and I enjoyed a nice
office as we watched kids swim in the lake.
I thought to myself, I can’t imagine that water is very warm and took
Petey with me down to the beach to dab a toe in the lapping waves. Confirmed…ankle deep was the best I could do!

After a few hours just chilling out, we continued east
through Port Wing and ended up in a resort town called Bayfield. Somewhere along the way, a porcupine crossed
VANilla’s path (or at least I think that is what it was), but by the time I
stopped and got the camera up to my eye, it had slinked into the grass. I found a campground about a mile away and
then returned to the quaint, tourist town for a local dinner. I went with broiled whitefish which comes
with beer cheese soup. The cheese soup,
more like a cup of melted Velveeta, was topped with popcorn. I got about two or three spoonfuls down with
the help of an ice cold local beer on tap.
The waitress warned me it was cheesy…WHEW! I also very well knew I was taking a risk by
ordering fish because if it remotely tastes like fish smells, I have a hard time with it.

Oh well, the good news was Petey got to join me on the patio
where several people showered him with attention, and I met a nice couple, Nick
and Nikki from Madison who were up for a weekend vacation. Nikki is a 4^th grade school
teacher and Nick owns a concrete business.
Their first child is due in January.
Nikki ordered nachos that ended up being topped with an olive
tapenade…definitely not Texas style.
What I was most shocked to hear was how everyone in Wisconsin can’t
stand Brett Favre…WOW…never thought I’d hear that. I only know two others aside from myself who
have never been fond of him. They tell
me that the Jets girl wasn’t close to the first woman. Ok, so I’m not here to badmouth football
stars, but I just had to mention that I am no longer alone.

Petey and I left the restaurant as the sky turned violet
over the harbor and headed back to the campgrounds for the evening. ETB

Day 212 – North Dakota Sampler (Part 2)

Day 212 of a Year Long Road Trip Along America’s Scenic Byways

I failed to mention some interesting sights yesterday, the first being during long waits due to road construction. As we were all waiting for the flagger to wave us on, it was mostly truckers and me, I was debating rolling down VANilla’s window and turning off the engine.

As I glanced toward the driver side mirror, I noticed a trucker, probably mid forties, brown hair, sunglasses, periwinkle blue T-shirt and jean shorts step out of his cab, sidle into the space between his cab and trailer and assume the position necessary to relieve himself. I thought surely this isn’t the case. But as he looked from side to side and turned back toward his cab while zipping his fly, my suspicion was confirmed! Not too much further up the road, as I entered the town of Alexander, I was greeted with a billboard listing the Ten Commandments! Anyway, it was an interesting day.

ON THE ROAD AGAIN!

Day 101 – Texas Hill Country Part 3

Day 101 of a Year Long Road Trip Along America’s Scenic Byways

I could have rocked a baby to sleep last night from the wind blowing against VANilla. The intensity seemed to increase hourly. By morning, snow was blowing sideways, virtually never hitting the ground. Petey wouldn’t even get out of VANilla to water a tree, and being on steroids, he generally wakes me to go out in the morning! Per my previous post, I decided to google BBQ and homemade donuts in Fredericksburg. I didn’t find the place from my childhood memories, but I did go to Fredericksburg Bakery, established in 1917, and famous for its Sweet German Pretzel made of twisted apple turnover dough with praline filling.

sweet german pretzel from Fredericksburg Bakery

Stepping out of the blistering wind into the warm bakery was a delight! Three local “oldtimers” sat around a table commenting that they could just stay there all day. With a view of Main Street and the weather treacherous, I couldn’t help interjecting that their stay might get interesting. Yes they agreed and felt the snow was coming down harder. I left with a hot cup of coffee and a tasty, yet messy pretzel and then headed through the Texas hill country toward Kerrville.

Getting to Camp Mystic

As a child, from the ages 8-12, I attended Camp Mystic in Hunt, Texas, nearby Kerrville. I decided to swing by my old, summer stomping grounds. Given we always took a six hour bus ride to camp, and I was only 12, I really had no idea where it was. I just knew we passed by a few other camps and turned left into the entrance. I typed the address posted on Mystic’s website into Gina the GPS and followed the directions.

Gina projected I would arrive at Mystic in just 18 minutes from Kerrville. That just didn’t seem right to me. The only time young campers got to go to Kerrville was usually for an illness that Mystic’s infirmary couldn’t handle. I went into town when I broke my tooth while eating spaghetti, and it certainly seemed like it took longer than 18 minutes to get to the dentist. Oh, and yes I know it’s hard to believe I broke it on noodles, but I had witnesses when I bit down on an unexpected hard thing in my pasta…my tooth.

Since the trip to Kerrville wasn’t usually for something good, the camp counselors would do something nice for us in town. The treat was generally anything we wanted at Sonic. The older kids recommended the Limeade. I passed the Sonic, drove 18 minutes, where Gina chimed that my destination was “approaching on RIGHT”.

Nope, the GPS was NOT accurate. I drove a few miles further along the river beneath pecan trees where I found The Store (more on The Store later). I knew I was getting close. Continuing past Camp Rio Vista, Camp La Junta, and others, I finally arrived at Mystic on the LEFT. That’s more like it!

Camp Mystic

I rang the buzzer, introduced myself to the woman’s voice blaring through the speaker, and she let me through the gates. Petey, VANilla, and I took a short tour past Senior Hill, across the Guadalupe River, and to the old cabins I bunked in: Twins II, Chatterbox, Jumble House, and Bug House. We passed by the commissary, the dining hall, and the deck tennis courts.

Deck tennis was one of my all-time favorite activities and Mystic is the only place where I have ever seen it played. It is played on what looks like a grass volleyball court, and the rules are virtually the same as volleyball except a rubber ring replaces the ball and teammates catch and spike the ring versus setting and spiking the ball.

Not far from deck tennis, is the building that hosted movie night, dance and drama productions, but more importantly the stage where each camper finds out if she will be a Tonk or a Kiowa. My sister Christian had been to camp the year before me, and she was a Kiowa whose tribe colors were blue (my favorite color) and white. My other sister Liz and I were in our first year.

The youngest campers went first. I got Tonk. I was SO upset! Red was my second favorite color, and I certainly didn’t want to be the only Tonk in the family. Much to my relief, Liz drew Tonk too! I think almost all my nieces ended up being Tonks as well. I wonder if Christian is upset she is the only Kiowa.

Much of camp was similar to the way it used to be, but there were a few changes too. I didn’t see the gum tree, a tree by the dining hall where campers stuck their gum before entering for their meal. I’m guessing that is no longer allowed! Though I suspect the “Chicken Letter” is still required to get lunch on Sunday. This ensured that all parents got a weekly letter!

The Guadalupe River was beautiful. I couldn’t believe it. It was aqua color!?! I remembered it as green with moss, water moccasins, and snapping turtles. I took “Free Swim” as an activity and refused to get in the river, as I was terrified of it. The only thing that got me into the water was the strong desire to sign up for canoeing. Campers weren’t allowed to take canoeing unless they had completed intermediate swimming for which there is basically a tryout.

guadelupe river in the texas hill country

Everyone has to swim from the shore to the floating raft and back under a certain time. Of course, being the smallest kid in my class through the eighth grade, I was not a good swimmer and only qualified for advanced beginner!?! Ugh, I had swimming as an activity all summer and still no canoeing! I did get into canoeing once, but only because a counselor knew me from home and let me in the class without the proper credentials.

I could tell a few more traumatic stories, like getting stung by the wasps, but for every crazy story, there were several more good ones like being Tonk Junior Assistant, cooking Smores, and playing countless sports which I loved! Heavily involved in hunter/jumpers by the time I turned thirteen, I had to give up camp along with soccer, softball, and basketball at an early age. I’m certain teenage campers, that lived on Senior Hill would have completely different memories than me.

I really would have liked to walk everywhere, just like I used to, but it was truly bitter cold. So cold in fact, that the sliding door handle jammed and the lock froze as I let Petey out of VANilla. Consequently, I couldn’t get the door closed! After working on the door for a few minutes with the camp foreman’s help, we walked about 200 hundred yards and simply returned to VANilla. I was nervous the locks would freeze again and didn’t want to be locked out of VANilla.

The Store

I was so eager to see Camp Mystic that I skipped The Store, so I backtracked to see if The Store still sold beef jerky. Big, pepper covered pieces used to hang by strings from the ceiling and posts. Tradition was to pick out a few pieces before heading home at the end of camp. Now the pieces are smaller and sit in an open plastic container. Still not sanitary, but I bought a piece anyway. It was rather dry and leathery, but a little gnawing released the same good flavor.

Garner State Park

Petey and I continued through the Texas hill country to Lost Maples State Natural Area and to Garner State Park, but skipped hiking. The sky crystal clear, the sun shining, and VANilla toasty warm made it seem like a walk would be nice…right up until I opened the door. Instead we stopped for roadside photos: a fence covered in boots, some longhorns, a windmill, and some deer. We even stopped at a historical marker which ended up being old graves, but I didn’t see any headstones.

boots on a fence in the Texas Hill Country

I did, however, see at least 100 deer today. More than the previous 100 days of my trip. About 75 of them were right at the entrance of Garner State Park. They simply sat in the trees as I drove by, but as soon as I stopped and reversed to shoot a photo, they scattered behind the bushes.

deer at Garner State Park in the Texas hill country

Utopia, Texas

The Reader’s Digest Drive suggested stops in Utopia and Bandera before reaching San Antonio. I think the suggestions were made because there aren’t any other towns in the Texas hill country between Garner State Park and San Antonio! Utopia consisted of a general store, a few antique shops, a few churches, and perhaps a restaurant. Behind its historic Methodist Church in a pecan grove, the town has held outdoor dinners since the 1890s.

Bandera, Texas

In Bandera, Petey and I took a quick walk around the Courthouse just to stretch our legs, and then we stopped at the Frontier Times Museum. The museum was built in 1933 to house historian J. Marvin Hunter’s western collection. Hunter founded “Frontier Times”, a magazine recognizing history, border tragedy, and pioneer achievement. He finished construction of the museum by selling his books.

bandera county courthouse in the texas hill country

Today a variety of relics are on display at the museum: an old dental chair, World Champion saddles, paintings, old bottle cappers, aged pianos, and even an old switch board. The curator of the museum was from Ohio, which kind of surprised me. I only stopped briefly as Petey was in VANilla and the museum was small, but I had to make something out of this rotten day!

old dental chair at frontier times museum

old bottle capper at frontier times museum

Boerne, Texas

Around 3 o’clock, we headed toward Boerne to stay the night with my Aunt Mellie, Uncle Gary, and Chato. We had a lovely visit and dined on scrumptious shrimp scampi. Their home in the Texas hill country has a wonderful view of the sunrise and deer regularly visit their yard. It was so nice to see them and catch up on family news. Tomorrow is a day of travel to the Big Bend Area. ETB

Map of My Road Trip Across the USA

For a summary about my road trip across the USA, click HERE. For the interactive map, see the below link.

map of road trip along scenic byways across the USA — Interactive Link to Map

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Day 100 – Texas Hill Country Part 2

Day 100 of a Year Long Road Trip Along America’s Scenic Byways

Pedernales Falls State Park

After a wonderful evening with Molly, I headed West, past Austin and into the Texas Hill Country. My first stop of the day was at Pedernales Falls State Park. There was a chill in the air, but the sun was shining as Petey and I followed the Wolf Mountain Trail lined by mesquites and maples to Twin Falls. To my surprise, the falls weren’t flowing! I thought the snowmelt would have produced at least a trickle, but the area has suffered a massive drought in recent years.

The creek filled oasis beneath the falls, however, was breathtaking. Frankly, I don’t believe I’ve ever seen aqua colored water in my home state. The Trinity River and the Texas Gulf Coast are generally brown from silt (as well as pollution). Additionally, North Texas lakes are manmade, thus usually murky grey or green. I can’t say there has ever been a body of water in Texas that I was thrilled to jump into except a swimming pool! I heavily considered dipping my feet in this small pool of water, but ground level was not that easily accessible with a dog, camera, and backpack in tow.

Aqua oasis in Pedernales Falls State Park

We returned to VANilla after a two to three mile walk to take a short drive to another area of the park to see Pedernales Falls. The Pedernales River flows over and through protruding rocks to create the falls. Petey and I hopped over the rocks for a closer look, but obeyed the signs: no swimming, wading, or tubing on this portion of the river. While the river appeared calm and harmless, evidently the rocks create strong currents and undertow. In addition, the area of the Texas Hill Country is subject to flash floods, which I can believe.

pedernales river in the texas hill country

As a freshman in high school, our class took a trip to YO Ranch for a bonding experience. The class was divided into three small groups and given different scheduled activities. My group was going camping. One task included building a fire with only two matches to cook hotdogs. No fire = cold hotdog. Unfortunately, all the nearby wood was soaked from recent rains. It was not the best lunch I’ve ever had, but that wasn’t the worst of it.

The excursion turned worse when torrential rains flooded the river and trapped us in the hayloft of a barn for the weekend. The river, so high, washed the school bus away!! Eventually, our group made it back to the main cabin area unharmed, just in time to go home to Dallas.

Enchanted Rock State Natural Area

Thankfully today, there was no snow or rain, so the rivers were tame, but the wind was howling. Gusts were so strong that VANilla blew onto the shoulder of the road. Windmills spun as fast as they could go! Deer, antelope, and longhorns peppered the Texas hill country. And a road runner played chicken with VANilla as we continued through Main Street in Fredericksburg to finally reach Enchanted Rock State Natural Area.

Enchanted Rock is a small part of a huge underground rock known as a batholith. The batholith is over a billion years old and spans over 100 square miles (4 times the size of Manhattan). Enchanted Rock is the second-largest mass of exposed granite in the United States. It sheds its outer layers of rock as it contracts and expands creating a variety of oddly shaped granite fragments that sometime slide down the dome.

fallen rock from Enchanted Rock in the texas hill country

enchanted rock in the texas hill country

The rock also illuminates in the moonlight. The noise and light reflections at this mound of pink granite caused the Indians to think it was possessed by supernatural powers! Petey and I hiked a few miles around the area and then took the Summit Trail to the top of the dome. One tree and some grass grew from the top. We didn’t stay long, as the wind was so strong, my hair blew back just as it did when I went skydiving!

Fredericksburg Agricultural Fairground

We ventured back through the Texas hill country toward Fredericksburg and took a short drive to the fairgrounds where I once competed in a horse show as a twelve year old. I remember it being a small show with a few exhibitors, but it was quite fun. I also remember a BBQ place across from the motel that sold homemade donuts. After a few drive-bys, as I thought I’d try the homemade donuts in the morning, but I was unsuccessful in locating the restaurant. As a result, I retired to Wal-Mart. Perhaps I will google BBQ and donuts in Fredericksburg and see what I find for the morning. ETB

gillespie county fair grounds in the texas hill country

Map of My Road Trip Across the USA

For a summary about my road trip across the USA, click HERE. For the interactive map, see the below link.

Shop

Check out the photographic note cards and key chains at my shop. Each card has a travel story associated with it. 20% of proceeds are donated to charity.