Bandera Dance Rally

The group of us arrived in Bandera, TX, for two weeks of fun and dancing with 160 friends at a singles dance rally at Skyline Ranch RV Park. Since we arrived a few days before the activities got under way, there was time for some sightseeing. The first day we took a trip to see the Texas Bluebonnets. But along the way we made a few stops.....

This bar and grill had some interesting and unusual items inside.

There were numerous parrots and other exotic birds, and some even talked.

This was one of the fancy Chinese pheasants.

And this peacock was sitting on the roof.

This room had an upper level with tables and chairs so you could dine with the parrots. And yes, the owner and his daughter also make pottery and sell it too.

On down the road we stopped at the Old Tunnel Wildlife Management Area.

 One of the main attractions, this old railway tunnel was built in 1913 to connect Fredericksburg and San Antonio. The tunnel has not been used for rail traffic since 1946. Today it is home to over 3 million bats. If you come at the right time of year you can view the colony of bats emerging every evening to go eat 25+ tons of insects nightly.

 

Next stop was the Alamo Springs Cafe.

They are famous for their hamburgers. You can get your burger on a jalapeno bun. Boy was it good.

They grind their own meat and make up the patties themselves.

After lunch we headed to Luckenbach, TX, made famous by Willie Nelson in his song. I don't remember this steer being here last year.

They usually have music every afternoon, as well as the evenings. In the evenings, the music is in the dance hall. Last year we came over one evening for dancing, but we never found the extra time this year.

And then it was on to Willow Springs Loop, a 13 mile drive full of Texas Bluebonnets and other spring wildflowers. Last year the Bluebonnets weren't blooming yet, but with the wet weather, all the spring flowers were in bloom.

More spring flowers.

Most of the creeks were full of water.

Site of the 1968 World's Fair, Hemisfair.

Another day a few of us headed to San Antonio. As many times as I have visited the Riverwalk and downtown area as an adult, I had never visited the site of the 1968 World's Fair. This year I walked the grounds of Hemisfair, the name for the 1968 World's Fair. The reason it meant so much to me was because I attended Hemisfair with my parents when I was 13 years old.

When I started looking back at all the pictures from this year's rally, I knew why I was so tired at the end of the two weeks. There will be separate blogs on many of the activities, but here are a few pictures of what went on every day.

 

 One evening Linda Wheeler entertained us with her singing while the rest of us line danced.

Every day there were dance instructions. It was beginning dance lessons in the morning and more advanced lessons in the afternoon. Here are Betty and Troy, our instructors, giving us a demonstration.

We were served breakfast every morning.

 As you registered you were assigned to a team. For the second year in a row, I was on the purple team. Every day a different team was responsible for preparing and serving breakfast, cleanup, social hour goodies and entertainment, and cleanup after the dance every evening.

 

Our goodies at social hour every day.

Waiting for announcements and entertainment.

If you wanted an evening off from dancing you could always join a few others for games.

Entertainment was the responsibility of each team. Some did skits, some sang, some had games, and some told stories and jokes. What was most fun was getting to know the other team members as you prepared your entertainment for your day.

Most evenings we danced to the music of Ronnie Furr. He not only does a great job playing other peoples music, he writes and records his own songs as well.

One evening there was karaoke.

The last two nights we had the Desert Rose Band.

More about the dance rally will forthcoming......