The sky is a pretty, pre-sunrise blue with very few clouds. As we head northwest from San Antonio on I-10, the sun rises in the east with a light tint of orange on the horizon. I am driving and am perplexed because to the southwest rays are shining out from behind some clouds. How can that be? The sunrise is in the east? I don't know what that phenomenon might be called, so I just enjoy the show as I drive.
After picking up our walk instructions from the Volkswalk box in the Boerne Comfort Inn lobby, we set off walking at a still-coolish 7:40 a.m. Boerne is a German town in the Texas Hill Country. Here is a partial description of Boerne from Wikipedia:
Boerne came into being as an off-shoot of the Texas Hill Country Free Thinker Latin Settlements, resulting from the Revolutions of 1848 in the German states. Those who came were Forty-Eighters, intellectual liberal abolitionists who enjoyed conversing in Latin and who believed in utopian ideals that guaranteed basic human rights to all. They reveled in passionate conversations about science, philosophy, literature, music ... The Free Thinkers first settled Castell, Bettine, Leningen, and Schoenburg in Lllano County. These experimental communities were supported by the Adelsverein for one year. The communities eventually failed due to lack of finances after the Adelsverein funding expired, and conflict of structure and authorities. Many of the pioneers from these communities moved to Sisterdale, Boerne and Comfort.Here are some photos and a brief description of our walk.
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| Beautiful morning for our walk. |
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| The Burlap Horse |
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| Beautiful sculpture in front of store. |
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| Egyptian geese. |
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| Cibolo Creek |
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| Double-click to read about Boerne Dam. |
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| Muscovy ducks? |
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| Sandstone |
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| Limestone |
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| Brick |
We stopped at a bakery for a treat about an hour into our walk. That was a mistake as it upset our tummies. Bob ended up feeling quite queasy at the end of the walk.
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| Ye Kendall Inn |
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| Beautiful rock work, stained glass and columns. |
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| Cibolo Creek |
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| How'd you like to barbecue on this baby? |
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| St. Peter the Apostle Catholic Church |
We drove and drove. Saw beautiful horse estates, hill country, a little town called Grey Forest (which is part of Helotes, TX).
In Grey Forest, I was sightseeing with my driving and saw a cute place called Grey Moss Inn. I was pointing it out to Bob when a police car coming the opposite direction turned on its lights and pointed to me to pull over, which I did. Uh-oh.
The officer wanted to let me know the speed limit in Grey Forest is 30 mph and I was doing 35 mph. He said it was a safety stop to let me know there are a lot of bicyclists out riding and the speed limit is for their protection.
He asked if we had been in the area before and I explained no we hadn't, we had been walking in Boerne and wanted to do a scenic drive. When I saw "Scenic Drive Loop" exit on I-10, we took it and ended up there. He told us the Scenic Drive Loop goes through a number of counties and would be an all-day trip. He chatted with us for quite a while and ended up giving me a warning, not a citation. I watched my speed like a hawk after that.
Since Bob was feeling pretty miserable, we didn't do the whole scenic loop and headed to Costco for a few items. He conked out in the air-conditioned car while I shopped. Then he wanted to stop by work to pick up some information he needed for a meeting with the accountant tomorrow morning.
When we returned to the 5er, he became very sick and has been sleeping ever since. I hope he feels better soon.
Yesterday was a pretty quiet day. We went to IHOP for a late dinner (had a classic breakfast) and I bought some cat food for Sunnie at Petco. (His wet food is different than Bowie's.)
That's about it from here.
Travel Bug out.
what wonderful pictures!! ive never been tot exas but my aunt moved down there and she loves it
ReplyDeleteits on my to-go list when i get to the southern states!!
Thank you, Jeremy. I love my new Canon camera.
DeleteTexas is definitely beautiful, of course I'm speaking of San Antonio and the Hill Country...haven't been to Houston or Dallas yet.
Susan
i meant "texas" lol
ReplyDeleteSure love going on walks with you. Real or virtual. As usual, the pics are great. See you in a few weeks.
ReplyDeleteAloha, I enjoy going on your adventures via your blog. Hope Bob is feeling better. Take care!
ReplyDeleteDorothea
I really enjoy hearing about the Volkswalks you walk. I've tried find more information about this on line, but haven't had too much luck. Where do you find the walk routes? Do you have to belong to the organization to get them?
ReplyDeleteAnyone can do a volkswalk. To find them, go to ava.org. On the left column you will see a link to "Locate Walking Events." Click on that link. On the next page, near the center top, click on "Find Walking Events." On the screen that comes up, enter the state you wish to walk in with city and a list will populate.
DeleteSome events are year round (called YREs) and some are events sponsored by a local club on a certain day. You can do the walks for free, (AVA does ask you to sign a waiver form and their registration book) or if you want to join, the walk costs $3.00 and you earn badges and pins. Joining AVA is $25 per year. Your choice.
A couple of notes on their walk list page:
1. If the date shows 9/22/12-9/22/12, it is a sponsored event by a local club on that day only. Read the description of the event and it will give you a time to start by and a time to end by. (They usually give you plenty of time and have a 5K or 10K option.) There will be a start booth where you pick up a map, a checkpoint along the way that usually has candy, oranges or whatever the local club does, and you end at the same place you started.
2. If the date shows 1/1/12-12/31/12, it is a YRE. The instructions will give you a start point, i.e. Comfort Inn, grocery store, etc. and you would go in and ask for the "walk box." You will find the registration book where you sign in and check "free" or "for credit," then sign the book which is signing their waiver.
I'm still trying to figure out how to find international walks, since AVA is the American Volkssporting Association.
I have been a member for years and have done sponsored as well as year-round events. Sponsored events can be to showcase a special place or festival, i.e., fair, lilac, dahlia, irises, daffodil, state park, waterfalls, history, covered bridges, etc.).
Once you get the hang of it, it's easy.
Have fun! Let me know how it goes.
Susan
Evelyn,
DeleteThis response is long, so I did a whole blog on volkswalking for Thursday, Sept. 23.
Susan
Hi, I came across your blog while I was trying to ID the same ducks you were (the ones with brown eye patches). Turns out they are non-native Egyptian geese. Just thought you might like to know. Glad you enjoyed Boerne. It's a lovely little town that I drive though quite often on my way to Bandera, TX.
ReplyDeleteThank you for the identification of the Egyptian geese. I read up on them on Google. It's good to know they don't compete with native wildlife for habitat.
Delete