Texas Country: Part 2

Day 38, Mile 1860

STEEP Hill Country!

We’re still in Texas after peddling over 900 miles in the state so far.  But we’ve been witnessing the landscape change dramatically and have experienced a significant amount of southern hospitality.  We left the huge vistas, deserts, and 10,000 acre ranches of West Texas, and rolled through the Texas “hill country” this week.  Hilly it was, but also beautiful.  We cycled on roads so small there wasn’t even a painted center line.  The little towns became more numerous, with general stores that were still open and thriving.  The last few days found us out of the hill country, but still rolling along through east Texas farmlands.  The fields are greening up and a Texan might shoot me if I said it to his face, but it feels like we’re now “back east.”

Indulging in Smitty's famous BBQ in Lockhart, TX

Our favorite place of the week was Smitty’s BBQ in Lockhart, Texas (the BBQ capital of the state).  We totally changed up our plans for the week so we could arrive in Lockhart at dinner time.  We walked in, passed the 100 year old smoker (which had an open fire in the middle of the floor), and back to the meat ordering counter.  You order the meat by the pound, so we ordered a pound and a half combination of homemade brisket, sausage and ribs.  Then we went to the next counter and got our coleslaw, potato salad, and sweet tea.  The meat is just all wrapped up in butcher paper, and there are no utensils, we so just dove in face first.  Let me just say here, that they were the best ribs I’ve ever had and I’ve been salivating just thinking about them for the past week.

Lunch with 93 year old Franny and her son in Comfort, TX

The hospitality abounded this week.  We stayed with Robert and Judy in Kerrville,Texas after he saw Brian sitting outside a bike store, and then we went to their local Baptist Church for the contemporary Sunday service.  We camped behind the local Ambulance station in Wimberley, Texas and was invited in for a steak dinner with the local EMS guys.  We were offered an empty apartment to stay in after asking at the general store in Independence, Texas about local camping options.  And the best of all was our lunch with 93 year old Franny Chamberlin and her son Frank in Comfort, Texas.  While standing in line for an iced tea, this woman came up and asked us all the typical questions (where are you going, where did you start, etc) and said to us “Well, you’re having lunch with me.”  She proceeded to buy us a great lunch and entertain us with tales of her family, who helped found the town of Comfort in 1846.  They have  lived there ever since, and we almost felt like a part of the family by the time our lunch was over.

We’re taking a half day off here in Navasota then pushing on to Louisiana (and can’t wait)!

Quiet farm roads in rural East Texas.