I had several reasons to ride this past week....
First....I needed some miles to *try* to stay in the top 100 milesters on the site. I put in 482 miles on New Years Eve....and it just wasn't enough. I ended up 102 on the list.
I'm glad so many folks had opportunity to ride.
Second...my oldest daughter gave me a wonderful book about food and drink...and other good things of interest, about the Texas Hill Country. I just couldn't wait to make a run and try to find a few of the places discussed in the book. Here's the link to my post about this great book:
https://www.st-owners.com/forums/showthread.php?t=55855
Third...I wanted to get to Comfort, Texas and locate the old homestead of my grandfather (father's father). He owned 8 acres of beautiful land right on the Guadalupe River....now at the I 10 bridge just before Comfort. My grandfather sold (no choice) an acre of land to the State of Texas so that they could build that bridge. I think (in whatever year that was), he was paid $1500 for that acre. I did find this land...but his home and out buildings have been destroyed and a really nice B&B (Inn) has been built on the land. It's still just as nice as I remembered it when I was a kid. This is the Inn that has replaced the old homestead....http://www.havenriverinn.com/About_Us.htm.
Comfort has really changed in the past 8 or so years. Antique dealer after antique dealer line the main roads of the town. There are several restaurants in Comfort that are listed in the "book" and I had lunch at High's and it was terrific. Another restaurant listed, A Texas Bistro (very high marks) wasn't open because of the holiday. There is an associated winery linked to High's and they have a very nice tasting room behind the restaurant. My favorite shop in town....the hand made candy/chocolate store. Wow...incredible candy. I've attached a few images of Comfort.
I started this trip in Richardson, Tx and put 482 miles on the bike the first day (1600 for the trip), riding FM roads to Leakey, Tx and the Garner State Park. http://www.tpwd.state.tx.us/spdest/findadest/parks/garner/
Garner is right on the Rio Frio. (Frio River) The Rio Frio is mostly spring fed and is cool year round. It's a great place to cool off in during the hot summer months. The river was crystal clear and there were very few people at the park. Garner is the most active State park in the Texas State park system. The campground/cabins/shelters sit in a canyon, cut by the river.....it's a beautiful place. Facilities at the park are modern/new....with a small store, mini golf (open summer only) and other nice amenities. They have it all...cabins, RV, campsites with electic/water.....screened shelters and primitive camp sites. Note that it is really busy in the high season....
Garner is close to Leakey....one of the coolest small towns on the "Three Sisters" (335, 336, 337 FM roads) routes. 337/Leaky is only 8 miles North of the park....and a great starting place. Garner isn't as central to most of the hill country riding...but it is a great place to locate if you want to make some rides west....into Del Rio and the Amistad Lake area. http://www.nps.gov/amis/ You can also pick up pieces and parts of the old Pecos Trail on roads just West and North of the park. http://www.texaspecostrail.com/home/index.asp The Texas Heritage Trails web site....is terrific. It goes over a lot of regional information and suggests itineraries. It also allows you to "build" your own itinerary based using info on site, your experience and your interests. Very well done web site.
I had some really great riding. Not many riders out on Wed., Thurs., or Friday....Saturday was a nightmare of riders from the San Antonio area. I guess everyone got a hall pass and they sure did get out. The weather was really nice on Wed....fog in the morning on Thurs/Friday...but cleared about 10 am.
Lots of wildlife seen on this trip. In the park itself....fox, skunk, armadillo, many, many beautiful birds (Fritos help here) ....mule deer, white tail deer, javilina, jack rabbits, cottontail rabbits....and more....
I got 1600 miles in from Wed-Sat. I had to be back for a Sunday job so I returned on Sat afternoon. It was HOT on the way home....89 degrees F in some places.
Don't avoid the Hill Country in the winter....it's a great place to ride. I'm soon to do a long ride in the Old Texas Pecos Trail region.
Forest
First....I needed some miles to *try* to stay in the top 100 milesters on the site. I put in 482 miles on New Years Eve....and it just wasn't enough. I ended up 102 on the list.
I'm glad so many folks had opportunity to ride.Second...my oldest daughter gave me a wonderful book about food and drink...and other good things of interest, about the Texas Hill Country. I just couldn't wait to make a run and try to find a few of the places discussed in the book. Here's the link to my post about this great book:
https://www.st-owners.com/forums/showthread.php?t=55855
Third...I wanted to get to Comfort, Texas and locate the old homestead of my grandfather (father's father). He owned 8 acres of beautiful land right on the Guadalupe River....now at the I 10 bridge just before Comfort. My grandfather sold (no choice) an acre of land to the State of Texas so that they could build that bridge. I think (in whatever year that was), he was paid $1500 for that acre. I did find this land...but his home and out buildings have been destroyed and a really nice B&B (Inn) has been built on the land. It's still just as nice as I remembered it when I was a kid. This is the Inn that has replaced the old homestead....http://www.havenriverinn.com/About_Us.htm.
Comfort has really changed in the past 8 or so years. Antique dealer after antique dealer line the main roads of the town. There are several restaurants in Comfort that are listed in the "book" and I had lunch at High's and it was terrific. Another restaurant listed, A Texas Bistro (very high marks) wasn't open because of the holiday. There is an associated winery linked to High's and they have a very nice tasting room behind the restaurant. My favorite shop in town....the hand made candy/chocolate store. Wow...incredible candy. I've attached a few images of Comfort.
I started this trip in Richardson, Tx and put 482 miles on the bike the first day (1600 for the trip), riding FM roads to Leakey, Tx and the Garner State Park. http://www.tpwd.state.tx.us/spdest/findadest/parks/garner/
Garner is right on the Rio Frio. (Frio River) The Rio Frio is mostly spring fed and is cool year round. It's a great place to cool off in during the hot summer months. The river was crystal clear and there were very few people at the park. Garner is the most active State park in the Texas State park system. The campground/cabins/shelters sit in a canyon, cut by the river.....it's a beautiful place. Facilities at the park are modern/new....with a small store, mini golf (open summer only) and other nice amenities. They have it all...cabins, RV, campsites with electic/water.....screened shelters and primitive camp sites. Note that it is really busy in the high season....
Garner is close to Leakey....one of the coolest small towns on the "Three Sisters" (335, 336, 337 FM roads) routes. 337/Leaky is only 8 miles North of the park....and a great starting place. Garner isn't as central to most of the hill country riding...but it is a great place to locate if you want to make some rides west....into Del Rio and the Amistad Lake area. http://www.nps.gov/amis/ You can also pick up pieces and parts of the old Pecos Trail on roads just West and North of the park. http://www.texaspecostrail.com/home/index.asp The Texas Heritage Trails web site....is terrific. It goes over a lot of regional information and suggests itineraries. It also allows you to "build" your own itinerary based using info on site, your experience and your interests. Very well done web site.
I had some really great riding. Not many riders out on Wed., Thurs., or Friday....Saturday was a nightmare of riders from the San Antonio area. I guess everyone got a hall pass and they sure did get out. The weather was really nice on Wed....fog in the morning on Thurs/Friday...but cleared about 10 am.
Lots of wildlife seen on this trip. In the park itself....fox, skunk, armadillo, many, many beautiful birds (Fritos help here
) ....mule deer, white tail deer, javilina, jack rabbits, cottontail rabbits....and more....I got 1600 miles in from Wed-Sat. I had to be back for a Sunday job so I returned on Sat afternoon. It was HOT on the way home....89 degrees F in some places.
Don't avoid the Hill Country in the winter....it's a great place to ride. I'm soon to do a long ride in the Old Texas Pecos Trail region.
Forest
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I've stopped at the Comfort Exit on I-10 many times...usually gettin back on I-10 coming down from Oklahoma
