Retread/5thWheel Adventures March 9 thru March 16th

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Today is Tuesday and we are out on the road. We decided to go back to the roads we traveled before and go through those gates we didn't go through before. While riding we saw this hawk up in the 

Old Live Oak. Looking up this photo I found out this hawk is called a Crested Caracara. 

Many of the roads in this area are just like this. The roads west of I35 are called Ranch Roads and those east of I35 are called Farm Roads.

There are quite a few Long Horns here in the Hill Country.

The photo above and below are the of the road we didn't go down because of the gate.

There we many homes along this road, with no traffic at all.

There is actually a town called MorrisRanch is was all about breeding and selling thorough bred horses.

Established in 1846, the post office was operating in 1896. There were stables for breeding,a jockey house, school, general store and of course the home of the Morris'. They call it a ghost town. The Morris' ended their horse business when Texas laws changed concerning horse racing and betting. 

All of the buildings are still there. Above is a silo that was is on the site. 

We made our way over to MorrisRanch Road. Found this guy watching us as we rode by.

This is about the cutest little donkey we have ever seen. He wouldn't come to the fence, preferred

To stay with his mom.

We seen our fair share of horses with blankets on. This is the first time we have seen goats with

Their blankets on. The one below has a Camo blanket..cool.

After so many years of riding in the Hill country we ride by many businesses with the name Boos

And a road as well. I finally looked up the Boos family to learn a little more about them. This is what I found. Boos’ family were among the original approximately 120 German settlers in 1845, who arrived via the Gulf of Mexico in ports in New Orleans and Indianola. Due to boundary disputes at the time with Mexico, transportation was limited and immigrants traveled 140 miles by foot to New Braunfels, where they spent their first winter, In the spring of 1846 the immigrants continued to Fredericksburg, where they established the small German community. Laverne Boos is an interpiter at the pioneer museum. When she and her husband are home they communicate in German.

The last of the locals for the day.

This morning Doogie is sharing his spot on the couch with Jim.

The sun is out and it is nice and warm. We pass this pup dog protecting his land. 

All the while his tail is wagging.

Llamas and alpacas are raised throughout the hill country.

Way off in the distance there is a tiny white spot on the horizon. It acutally the road we are on and it

will be a long climb to the top.

Made it! Looking back. It always great to see where you've been. Tomorrow Judy and Mike Pluto will be coming in to ride during Hell Week. We last saw them in Lajitas in Big Bend. It will be great to ride with them on the roads here. The off road stuff is fun and challenging. Especially when you're not good at it like me. I hit the dirt way too many times.  I'm a roadie!

 Mike and Judy are here. Doogie makes himself at home in Judy's lap. We go out for a quick 30 mile ride. It is glorious" it is warm and sunny.

Found these wooly guys. They were just as curious about us as we are of them.

We are riding with a friends who live outside of Stonewall. A lot of the land around here is pretty flat and rolling. However at any given mile it can get challenging to climb some of the hills.

And here's Judy!

Wow! Davis can you believe the horns on this guy! (Davis is Tom Ernst 8 year old son). We have seen some awesome horns  on Long Horns, but this guys is awesome. I believe this one would win for having the longest horns of all. We passed them in a pasture on Cave Road.

Peach orchards are everywhere in the hill country. These are starting to bloom. It's great to see the pink blossoms.Spring is on the way.

Drew took this photo of the guys at the start of the ride on Friday. They will ride over 300 miles in 3 days. That is all the time Tom has till he goes back to Portland.

Tonight we have dinner with some of the guys from Matrix. The fellow opposite Jim is Tom Ernst. He use to work with us at RBM. He now lives in Portland Oregon. He has been coming down to Hell Week 

In the Hill Country for many years. It is always great to see him and the others for dinner and have them

Pass us on the road.

The airport next to the RV Park is very active. This morning these little planes are practicing 

Formations. They flew over the park all morning.

We had a late morning start and decided to go into town for brunch. Silver Creek Resturant is a great place when the weather is nice to sit outside. Today was a perfect day.

Riding out on a loop we had road before I found this plum tree blooming up a storm. 

We had passed "Fred" earlier in the week. It was fun to see him decked out in his Easter duds.

Great barn with a stone fence. All through out the area there will be fences like this. They are impressive. It takes a long time to place all those stones just right. Many of these fences have been around since the 1800's.

Tonight we decided to go to the Hill Top Cafe. It has and interesting menu.  Johnny who plays with the group Asleep at the Wheel is Cajun and his wife Brenda is Greek. Mix those to influences together and 

Dining there is a unique experience. During the day you may pass this place and think "I think I'm gonna pass on eating there." When you do try to dine there you better make reservations. 

Inside the Hill Top it is hard not to want to walk around and look at all the things on the walls.

Makes you smile.

The drive home brought a beautiful sunset. Judy and Mike leave tomorrow. Jim and I will probably

Be headed home on Tuesday. The weather is changing again and we are ready to end this adventure.

Almost 3 months on the road in our 5th Wheel. From the coast, to the desert to the Texas Hill Country.

Lots of bike riding and time with good friends. Oh yes, with each other and our traveling buddies,

Diggity and Doogie.

Judy and Mike are on their way home. This is Laura and Joel from Enid Ok. They invited us to ride with them and a group of friends from Wisconsin and Minnesota. Boy are they glad to be here. We are on 

The roads that Jim and I have been riding. It was interesting, we were all together and next thing we knew everyone was headed back or different directions. So Joel decided to ride with us and we were able to show him some new roads.

I had to get this shot again. That road up in the distance is the road we are on. It is just a long

steady climb.

My last shot of the. Day. On old San Antonio Road we passed this dead tree with cactus growing out of it. We made it back to the trailer. It has gotten cloudy and cooler. Wee went out to for pizza. Still trying to decide to go home tomorrow. We'll see what the weather does.