Sep 16, 20204 min read

A Dude Ranch Getaway

Packed between the weddings of two beautiful young ladies, was my leisurely drive from Dallas to San Antonio Texas. Unlike Virginia, Texas doesn’t have a lot of “side” roads or “back” roads. This is because most of Texas is fenced in property. If you can get through the gates, you can be a trespasser on anyone’s ranch, but I didn’t try.

What struck me as I left the big city of Dallas with its habitrail highways, was how much there is of Texas. The small highways, on which you can go 70 mph because they are basically straight, guide you past huge expanses of nothingness. Every now and then a small town will decorate a few miles of the road. (More pics from the road.)

I don’t know why I thought there would be, but there are no Saguaro Cacti living in the fields and farms of Texas. There are plenty of Prickly Pear Cacti. It’s everywhere like wildflowers.

My first stop was Hico (high-co) Texas. The town was incorporated in 1883. If you want to be surrounded by the feeling of the old west, then come here. There is good food, good shopping and the “Billy the Kid” museum is fun to walk around in. It’s filled with mementos from a man named “Brushy Bill” who claimed he was Billy the Kid. It also contains many other historical artifacts, books, letters and things.

People in Texas are friendly. Sue, the woman working at the museum, was eager to learn who I was and provide me with tips for lunch and of course, desert.

Don’t forget, before you leave Hico, get a picture at the HICO sign. It’s missing the “I” and, if you can find it, you can hold the dot and be the “I” in HICO.

(More pics from Hico)

Since I will probably never make it to Ireland, Dublin Texas will have to do. It is the former home of the world's oldest Dr Pepper bottling plant. You may be lucky enough to get there when it’s open. Through the window you can see how retro it is.

I parked my car and aimed my camera at the Ben Hogan museum. Ben was a famous golfer who grew up in Dublin. Suddenly, a woman came out of a building headed straight for me. She was spouting off questions like a Gatling gun. Through our chat, Karen discovered that I was not a photo journalist from a major magazine. I discovered that Dublin has friendly people, a lot of history and loads of charm.

Karen invited me to see the 9/11 memorial they were creating and then gave me pointers on where I can go to get nice pictures. There is the bottling plant, a wonderful museum packed with memorabilia, an old rail road station, the William T Miller grist mill, an Irish store full of stuff straight from Ireland, and a yummy coffee shop. I’m sure there is more, but I needed to move on.

(More pics from Dublin)

I spent the night at Constantino Farms Bed & Breakfast in Comanche, Texas. It is run like and Air B&B. Jimmy and Eric welcome you into their very clean, comfortable home. They raise goats and have chickens, horses, donkeys and two cows. After Eric showed me the pens, and which gates to lock and where to find the horses, I was left to wander around, snapping away to my heart’s content. I was so glad that the horses and donkeys were still at the creek on my return from my walk.

(More pics from Constantino Farms)

I left Constantino Farms early in the morning with an apple streusel in my hand, a dark, lonely road to drive on and rain; buckets and buckets of rain. Apparently, Texas is not a sponge. The hard rain fills up the cracks and crevices and overflows all over the place. While driving Texas highway16 towards Fredericksburg, I was worried that the rivers on either side of me might spill over and wash me away. Thankfully, that didn’t happen.

Fredericksburg was recommended to me by my cousin, “You’re going to love it!” he said. If you like wine, beer, authentic German food, shopping and lots of other tourists, then it’s a great place. That is not what I was looking for on this trip. For me, there were too many people, too much traffic, too many parked cars and too much to do in one day. I did visit a local nursery and that was nice.

I did not get to visit the museum either. I arrived at the museum an hour before closing time. Maybe next time I’m passing through I’ll visit. Instead, I took a quick tour to Luckenbach, a nearby town which is basically a small German Beer Garden.

(More pics from Fredericksburg)

On my way to Bandera, Texas I stopped in Kerrville for breakfast. I tootled around the town and walked the wonderfully landscaped bank of the Kerrville River Trail. The trail runs along the Guadalupe River.

Finally, after taking a few detours to waste time so I didn’t get to the ranch too early, I arrived at the Dixie Dude Ranch. Before I closed my car door, Kim was coming out to greet me. I won’t explain what it looked like since I have a lot of pictures to show you, but I felt loved. The food was great too.

I am not a rider, but I love horses. So for me, sitting on a slow horse and walking all over the hills was exciting. The wrangler assured me that a more experienced rider could go a little bit faster if they arranged it. You get two rides per day, one after breakfast and one before dinner. The times might vary depending upon how many guests there are.

After dinner, if you choose to stick around the office area, is entertainment. During my stay I listened to a trio sing wonderful Texas ballads. The second night of my stay I watched Kevin Fitzpatrick do rope tricks. Saturday nights are the hay rides out to feed the longhorns. I am sorry I missed that one. The longhorns are beautiful animals.