Ingram, Texas: An Old Town with Art - Sept. 22, 2018

After weeks of rain, and more pouring rain when I left the house this morning, I was skeptical about walking today. It was pitch black when I drove to meet Susan at her house. We had checked the forecast for Ingram, Texas, 1-1/2 hours away, and decided to head there for the walk sponsored by the Kerrville  Trailblazers.

The hardest part of the day was the drive over to Susan and Darren's house. Standing water was on the freeways, and I had to avoid the way that I normally drive to their house because that road floods. Once I got there, we parked my car in the garage and we took their van for the road trip.

As we progressed on our drive, the sky got lighter, and the rain stopped. By the time we got to Ingram, it was 62 degrees, cloudy, no rain, and a chilly wind. I did not have a coat with me but decided by the time we walked I would warm up. Susan had a nice jeans jacket so she was toasty at the beginning, but took it off within 1/2 hour.

Ingram is a small town of about 1,900 people, but it has a history that is highlighted by The Murals, 15 large panels painted on the side of the lumber yard. Photos on this in a bit.

First, we walked around a small city park. Then we headed along the main highway which took us past businesses and The Murals.

Part of "The Murals."

A great-looking "Givens Metalcrafts" gate.

Old Ingram Social Club

We continued down the highway and then turned into Old Ingram Loop Shopping District. I was no longer cold. We passed antique shops and boutiques. 

"Perfect Surroundings" shop.

Need a gorilla?

Cowboy sculpture on the bed of an old pick-up.

Southwestern Elegance shop.

Being that this is Texas, movement of cattle is a big part of its early history. The Great Western Trail passed through Ingram and cattle were moved to northern markets along this route. 

While reading up on The Great Western Trail, I learned that in the early 21st century the Great Western Cattle Trail Association decided to preserve the route of the trail by placing cement markers every six miles along the route. We found one of those markers in Old Town Ingram!

Cement trail marker.

We also found a Wells Fargo Express and Stage Coach stop.

Wells Fargo Express and Stage Coach Stop.

Fancy door/gate to a garden.

Old building facade with a new building behind it.

Blue Moon Antiques.

Riverside RV Park.

From the Old Town Loop, we got on the main highway again to cross Johnson Creek, and then we turned off the highway at Hill Country Arts Foundation. If you have never been to Ingram before, you will be surprised by what's here.

Beautiful Johnson Creek

Wait, what's this? Stonehenge?

Yes, you can see it looks like Stonehenge; however, it's Stonehenge II. At the Hill Country Arts Foundation (HCAF), you will find many things. For example, Stonehenge II, replicas of Easter Island Moai heads, art workshops, a gallery, and a theater with year-round productions.

Susan Medlin with Moai head.

Artsy Art Gallery sculpture

You'll even find a tutorial on Harvester Ants (good) vs. Fire Ants (bad). Read up. 

Click on photo to enlarge for reading.

An informational sign on site gives this history:

"In 1989, Kerr County native Doug Hill finished work on the back patio on his Hunt, Texas property and was left with one extra limestone slab. As a joke, he offered it to his good friend and neighbor Al Sheppard, who then...stood the slab upright in the middle of his pasture. Sheppard and Hill liked the look of the monolith and built an arch around it. The 13-foot arch reminded them of Stonehenge in England. Soon a vision formed and Sheppard contracted Hill to build their very own Stonehenge II.

"The original Stonehenge in Wiltshire, England was erected around 2,500 B.C. and is believed to have functional [sic] as an important site for religious or astrological ceremonies.

"Sheppard and Hill's project took about nine months to complete. Hill fabricated the stones from steel, metal lathe [sic], and plaster and anchored each with cement. Stonehenge II is 90% as wide and 60% as tall as the original. Later, after visiting Easter Island off the coast of Chile, Sheppard was inspired to add two 13-foot tall Moai head statues to the collection.

"Al Sheppard passed away in 1994 and his property stayed within the family. In 2010, the Sheppard Family donated Stonehenge II and the Moai to the HCAF in memory of Al, a long-time supporter of the organization. After funds were raised, the structures were moved to the current home on this campus in 2012."

Below is more information about HCAF:

Another photo of Stonehenge II

Me with the other Moai head.

We continued along the Guadalupe River to our first checkpoint with the Kerrville Trailblazers Volkssport Club. They had water, Tootsie Rolls, and cut-up oranges. Thank you so much!

Next, we saw the dam on the Guadalupe River. At this point, we crossed the highway and headed back toward town.

Dam on the Guadalupe River.

Johnson Creek

Young Cypress trees in Johnson Creek.

This must be a wine store. (Call me Captain Obvious.)

Now this is an ATV!

More Volksmarchers starting out. 

On the way into town, we passed close to The Murals. They're very well done. They were painted in 2008 by Westphal and depict the town's history.

Abundant game.

1921

1909 - motorized vehicles

1889 - the arrival of the train

1860 - Longhorn cattle drives to Kansas

1857 - Many gristmills along the river.

Wells Fargo Stage Coach

Mural of the old Ingram.

Recent rains made wildflowers bloom again.

5k Volksmarchers headed back to the start.

The rest of the 10k walk meandered through neighborhoods. After we finished walking, we headed to Culver's for lunch. Thank you again to all the Kerrville Trailblazers who put on a great walk today!

RV + River + Ranch = Roaming

Kerr County, Texas to Blanco, Texas:

Last night we camped in a picnic area overlooking a river on Hwy. 27. Bob drove into town and brought back two combo plate chicken enchilada dinners. We ate them at the picnic table in the early evening with a view of the river and surrounding countryside.

The night sky was so awesome…no city lights. When I got in the car to drive to find a cell phone signal, it was pitch black outside. A flashlight would have been needed to find my car if I didn’t have an automatic clicker that opened the car and turned on the lights for me. I drove to Ingram and made my phone call.

When I returned to the 5er, I heard an owl hooting very close to our trailer. After "rush hour" very few cars traveled the road so we had peace and quiet for sleeping.  

Today is our day to roam the hill country of Texas. Our day started early when we both drove about an hour to YO Ranch off Hwy 41 south of Junction. It was a transition day, moving the RV to a new campsite in the afternoon. 

YO Ranch Main Gate

We decided to take it with us to the ranch as they have RV parking. We DID NOT KNOW how long (8-1/2 miles), narrow, rough, and pot-holed the road to the ranch was. Both of us made it there without too many incidents.

The YO Ranch raises Texas longhorns and exotic game animals. Today we took a bus tour of the ranch to shoot (photograph) animals. The tour started out with a stiff breeze which, within the first 20 minutes of our two-hour tour, turned into a full-on thunderstorm. We had a great show of lightning with thunder for about ten minutes. It passed through quickly, but it scared some of the animals into hiding.

We saw Spanish goats, ostrich, giraffe, rheas, Mouflon sheep (scared off by bus and thunder), red deer, Sika deer, scimitar-horned oryx (native to Africa), blackbucks (native to Pakistan and India), dama gazelles (endangered in the wild), elands (native to Africa), black Hawaiian rams, nigale (native to Africa) and Texas longhorns. We had a good time searching for the animals amongst the trees and brush. Our tour consisted of only eight people!

Texas longhorns

Dama gazelle

Red deer

Black Hawaiian ram

 

Ostrich

Scimitar-horned oryx

Wild animals Bob & Susan with tour bus

After the tour we had a chuckwagon buffet with green salad, roasted new potatoes, green beans, roast pork, French bread and apple crisp for dessert. With full tummies, we headed back to the highway.

Remember the long, narrow, rough, pot-holed road we drove in on? We had to drive out on it too. This time we had an incident. A passenger car was coming toward Bob and the 5er. The road was narrow with a big tree on one side. The oncoming car did not yield. Bob had to move far to the right (under the tree). I was watching from behind in my Escape pod. After the car passed, Bob tried to get out from under the tree. The branches hit the top of the trailer and scraped along the top and right side of the rig! He took off a lot of leaves.

After we went through the gate, we pulled over and he checked the rig. One of the outer skylights was broken (the inner one wasn’t). There are scratches along the whole right side of our 5er. Bummer. We were both shook up. (Note to other RVers: We recommend that you NOT take your 5er or MH on the road to the ranch office.)

On the tour one of the other tourists mentioned we should drive back along the North Fork of the Guadalupe River as it is very picturesque. Bob decided not to go that way as we did not know how the Farm-to-Market Rd would be for the 5er. So I took my Escape on the road. It is absolutely gorgeous. Wildflowers in white, yellow, red and orange lined the road.

The road is narrow and does not have very many places with shoulders to pull over and let people go by. Bob was wise not to take the 5er on this road.

The Guadalupe River wends its way through horse estates, retreats, summer camps and lovely homes with frontage on the river. People have created their own swimming holes with rope swings, docks, diving platforms, slides into the river and some had canoes on their riverside rock patios. It was hard to drive and sightsee at the same time. In the length of that section of river there was only one picnic area and few places to pull over to take a picture (so I stopped in the middle of the road).

At the Hunt, Texas area of the Guadalupe River was an art center and I found these there:

Stonehenge II

Easter Island statue

Our next destination: Blanco, Texas at River Oaks Riverside RV Resort. This is a Passport America park. Here is our honest opinion of this park

1.       This park is not easy to find. There is no sign on SR 165.

2.       Directions to the property were not given to us over the phone when we made the reservation. We were told to “call when you get close.” There was no cell phone coverage when we got close.

3.       There is no “Resort.” Resort to me means swimming pool, spa, and laundry room at minimum. This is a very basic, rustic RV park!

4.       No wi-fi access within miles.

5.       Information given in Passport America description is for a riverfront RV park. The “riverfront” is ¼ mile away by trail. The river is at the bottom of a bluff with stairs leading down to it.

6.       Trees are not trimmed back enough to allow easy passage of a 5^th wheel or large motor home. Watch for branches overhead and on the sides.

7.       They only accept cash and don’t have change.

8.       Everyone at the park besides us was living there. No other temporary travelers came in on the three days we were there.

9.       Fresh water spigot leaked like crazy…they didn’t seem to care. Told us not to worry about it.

10.    No cable TV.

11.    No shade trees in the center of the park, only around the edges where the regulars live.

On the positive side:

12.    Not a problem to do repairs or wash our 5er.

13.    On top of a hill so can be windy and cooler.

14.    Very quiet, off the beaten path. The only thing you hear is birds chirping.

15.    The regulars are friendly people.

16.    They had availability for three nights over a weekend, which most of the Passport America (P.A.) Parks blacked out in this area at this time of year. Also most of the other Passport America Parks only allowed one to two night stays at the P.A. rate.

Our new home (ha ha, just kidding). Actually bluff overlooking river at RV park.

Our campsite at River Oaks RV Riverside Resort

We settled on this park because it seemed centrally located for all the places we wanted to visit: Pedernales Falls State Park, Austin, San Antonio and Guadalupe River State Park. In actuality, it’s about 50 miles to the big cities, 20+ miles to Pedernales Falls S.P., and probably another 25-30 miles to Guadalupe River S.P. We explored some very pretty back roads in my Escape on our way to other places, so we actually cut down on the mileage a bit.

Tomorrow Bob plans to make the repair to our skylight. We’re off to Riverwalk in San Antonio and Camping World in New Braunfels in the morning.

Stay tuned for tomorrow’s episode.