Riding the Hill Country (Kerrville to Bandera)

It was time to scout out the area. So we fired up the Stratoliner and being a bit chilly we donned the chaps and leather and headed out for the famous Texas Hill Country. Should you want a wonderful ride you take Rt. 16 south out of Kerrville just a mile or so and take the left on Highway 173, also known as the truck route. You won’t be disappointed as the hill country offers a wide array of vistas along with the wind at your back. After an hour of cruising around we came into Bandera, which hails itself as the cowboy capitol of the world. Its not out of the ordinary to see trucks, bikes, and horses pull up to a parking slot on the main street. It’s an artsy sort of town with many a vendor but a step back in time to the Old West. We walked up and down Main St. taking in all the eye candy, visiting a general store, stopping at an old time soda fountain, and checking out the hundreds of different cowboy hats. Robin befriended the owner of the San Martin Creek gift shop. I snapped a photo of the two of them outside simply because I thought they could be relatives. You tell me. We wanted to stop in at the famous Arkey Blues Silver Dollar but we were a bit early for that as it wasn’t yet open. So we stolled the streets and visited the stores. How long ago has it been seen you’ve seen an original shoe shine stand and yep, there it was in the local hat shop. We purchased two shirts to commemorate our ride through the HIll Country and stopped in a Java Shop before we headed back. We didn’t return on the same route as I like to take a path never before traveled when I can so we continued on Rt.16 back to Kerrville via Medina. This route would be another ten miles longer but I saw on the map, several switchback that looked appealing on the long and winding road. I pulled a “U” ey in the middle of the road in Medina when I spied the Love Creek Apple Orchard Cafe. The fresh apple pie sign hooked me in like a lunker at the end of a bent pole. Inside we met Diane, a retired middle school teacher who gave us great insight about the area and her life and work there. What a delight she was to meet. I had pie with caramel glaze dipped over the top while Robin chose the Apple Ice Cream. Never had anything taste so good. It was time to leave. We still had another forty five minute ride and dusk was approaching quickly. We returned wasted from riding against the wind but the switchbacks proved worth the effort as the mind wandered as far from worries and cares that it could be taken. As Crazy Horse would state on days when all went well, “it is a good day to die.”nter