We spent ten days in Texas hill country and San Antonio, enjoying the warmth. We were not able to explore native American culture but did see remains of the…
This is what the mission church looked like, based on that remaining surface covering, As with faded Victorian houses, we mistakenly assume that the dull colors…
The Spanish attempted to jump start western civilization in the region with their missions, which actually were small cities. San Jose supported a thousand head…
The huge, enclosed foreground of the mission included tiny quarters for about 350 Coahuiltecan Indian families. The Coahuiltecans were not as technically…
Mexico did not find lasting success with its Texas province. After Mexico broke away from Spain in 1821, it was more willing to accept American settlers, who…
The mid-nineteenth century cabin utilizes typical German half-timbering (fachwerk) but is a combination of native limestone and the more traditional stucco.…
Here is a radical solution to the problem of Texas heat -- live on your porch! While I don't think this design was common, porches in general were essential to…
We stayed in the hill country town of Bandera, northwest of San Antonio, because of its proximity to state natural areas. These are well-managed by Texas and…
Remains of old ranches remain among the live oaks. The immigrants quickly found that grazing animals is preferable to row crops on this dry soil.
The geology of the hill country is limestone-based and so, like Wisconsin, the hills and dales are the result of erosion. The geologists call it "karst"…
While irregular, the scenery does not offer mountains and the vegetation changes radically with proximity to water - or lack of it. There were uphill climbs but…
Those central Europeans founded Bandera, where we stayed. Sixteen Polish families from Silesia came here in the 1850's to work in the saw mills along the river.…
The grand old county courthouse was built of limestone (of course) by itinerant Russian stonemasons. The architect pulled existing plans off the shelf, so you…
If unmaintained, those limestone blocks can get dingy. This is a portion of Bandera's main street, which actually is very busy. That establishment on the left…
At the OST, you can perch on a saddle instead of a stool as you order the house specialty, chicken-fried steak. I tried it (the steak, not the saddle). It was a…
If there are still cowboys around town (I did not see any obvious candidates), I suspect they eat here, rather than the OST diner.
There supposedly are lots of cattle operations surrounding town but we only saw baronial ranch gates along the highway. There was a much stronger presence of…
Texas culture can veer from the nostalgic to the belligerent. This place offers watering troughs with no evidence of use and a famous slogan on its wall. In…
The belligerence continues in billboards for the local sheriff race. Most candidates wear scowls and big hats. This candidate for public office identifies…
