Enjoying Hill Country in Texas

Texas Hill Country is a popular destination on the weekends so we decided to visit more state parks to hike and geocache on Friday. Our first stop was Old Tunnel State Park. From May to October this park is home to bats. The tunnel was once used by steam engines to make the climb from southern Texas to Fredericksburg. Now, it is empty during winter months and filled with bats in the summer!

 Here we are on the trail between the upper and lower viewing areas. Only 250 people are allowed in to view the bats on a summer evening.

 One of our geocaching spots had a clue saying the cache was near Texas 'kitsch.' Well, we found it, the cache and the kitsch--a Lone Star Christmas Tree!

 The next stop for hiking and geocaching was Guadalupe River State Park. Due to the rains the weekend before, the trails had been closed to all traffic until the day we arrived and they were open to hikers only.

 We spent most of the late morning and early afternoon hiking and caching. The weather was beautiful and we enjoyed our time at Guadalupe River State Park. We never got close to the river while we were hiking! From Guadalupe, we went to Blanco, Texas, to Real Ale Brewery. Since it was Friday afternoon, the place was packed! Bob and I enjoyed a beer before heading back to the fairgrounds for the evening.

Saturday we spent walking and sightseeing in Fredericksburg. Admiral Nimitz's birthplace has an historical sign on a prominent street corner and The National Museum of the Pacific War is located across from the visitor's center.  The place was packed with tourists for the weekend and there is so much information that your ticket is good for three days! Outside is a memorial garden and a Japanese Peace Garden.

Sunday was a chore day. We did some grocery shopping and some cleaning of Sol, inside and out. Late in the day we ventured back into Fredericksburg to purchase some fudge to accompany the port we bought at the winery and to have a German pretzel at the brewery.

This was the most time we had spent in Fredericksburg during our travels and we thoroughly enjoyed it. Monday would be a travel day----time to see west Texas!