Wild West Night at the Dance Rally

The theme nights are a big hit at the dance rally.  Everyone has fun with the costumes.

You can tell there was no shortage of ideas.

Even the guys enjoyed getting dressed up.

The evening ended with a skit about the Shooting of Dan McGrew, a poem by Robert Service.

Kayaking the Medina River

Putting in on the Medina River.  Two years ago the water was higher and it was a great float.  Last year there was no water.  Even though the water was lower than two years ago, I thought we could navigate the river.  So 14 of us took off on the appx. 5 mile, 3 hour float trip.

We quickly discovered it was going to be a very exciting trip.  Some of us chose to try the falls here, while others portaged around.  I did make it, but my kayak is quickly filling up with water since I did not have a skirt.   

Here is Ron going over the falls.

He ended up getting a little wet.

With the water so low, we had numerous little falls to go over.

Carlene show us it is acceptable to be fashionable at all times, even while kayaking.

Max and Patty got out and helped everyone through this shallow area.

Another of the numerous falls along the river.

We even had a little bit of fast water in a few places.

And one stretch of wide, smooth water. 

The final waterfall.

And some 5 1/2 hours later (instead of what I thought would be 3) we arrived back at camp.  But I think everyone agreed it was an adventure not to be quickly forgotten.

Down on the River-All Singles Dance Rally

The dance rally always starts with a picnic down at the river.

This year was brats and hotdogs with all the trimmings.

And now we are all ready for the entertainment.

The champion trick roper was back and entertaining he most certainly was.  I don't know how he get this horse to stand still while he is twirling that rope around.  He even jumps over the rope while standing on top of his horse.  That is one well trained horse.

He is just as good roping on the ground and doing tricks too.

His final act is roping one of our ladies, then proceeding to make her believe he is going to break the spaghetti she is holding in her mouth with his bullwhip.  He is really good with the bullwhip, but doesn't really take any risks.  But he sure made a believer out of Linda.

11th Street Cowboy Bar-Bandera, TX

The Cowboy Bar is one of the highlights of Bandera.  Wednesday is steak night. 

You bring your own steak, chicken, sausage or whatever, and then throw it on their grill and cook it the way you like it.

They sell the plate with the sides, which this week consisted of a baked potato and salad.  

And then you have the live music and dancing after.  And all this out in the open, under the stars.

It just can't get much better than this.

Although the All Singles Dance Rally in Bandera, TX, hadn't started yet, there were about 60 of us who were already in the area and came out to Steak Night at the 11th Street Cowboy Bar.
My next few blogs will be of the happenings at the dance rally, so more to come. 

Back to Phoenix, if only for a few days

My grandson was playing in a high school tournament in Phoenix (he lives in Aurora, CO) and I flew out to watch him play.  He is a designated runner and brought in several runs during the course of the tournament.

On base, just waiting.

Sliding into home.

What a fun week with my kids and grandson.

Wimberly, TX and the Salt Lick BBQ

Old Baldy Mountain or Prayer Mountain, depending on who you are talking to.  One of the highest peaks in the Hill Country, stands just outside Wimberly, TX.  Even though it was over 200 concrete steps to the top, it really wasn't much of a climb when you have hiked most of the mountains around Phoenix.

Max and I standing on top of Old Baldy.  It does have a great view of the surrounding area.

We spotted this Veterans Memorial Park from the top of Old Baldy. 

On our way to the Veterans Park, we came across the EmilyAnn Theater.  This is the smaller of the two theaters.

This is the larger theater.  It's a little early for the summer theater season, but they are the Shakespeare under the Stars for the Hill Country.

While you are waiting for the play to begin, you can wander through the gardens or even have a picnic.

I don't know who Mary Nelle is, but the gardens were dedicated to her with this lovely poem.

You could even play a lawn sized game of chess while you are waiting.

Notice the sculpture is made of farm and garden implements.

Too bad there were no plays going on yet.  I would have definitely come back for a Shakespeare under the Stars show.

On Wimberly square was this house, built in the 1930s, is notable for its "giraffe rock" exterior.  Built of native rock and poured concrete, embellished with smaller decorations such as petrified wood, decorative rock and fossils.

I've never seen a casserole to go food venue.  But there is one in Wimberly, just off the square.

Visiting with the owner, she gave us samples of the carrot souffle and it was scrumptious.  Too bad I don't live around here to order some for Easter.  They also have a complete menu of casseroles you can purchase, such as Chicken Pot Pie, Tuna Noodle and Shepherd's Pie.  If you live in the area, go check it out.

Cypress Creek runs thru the middle of town.  This is taken from the bridge.  Off to the right side is a little park with picnic tables.  All along the river are also lots of little shops selling everything from high priced jewelry to western wear, to shoes and household knick knacks.

Coming back from Austin the other evening we spotted a lot of cars and this sign.  Looking it up on the internet, I found out it was a famous BBQ restaurant.  So Saturday evening we headed to Driftwood, TX, to try it out.

There is music outside with picnic tables all around.  You can even go order your food to go and eat outside if you wish.  They have no liquor license, so it is a BYOA (bring your own alcohol).  Everyone arrives carrying ice chests, both large and small depending on the size of the party and how long you planned on staying.

This is one of the two large public inside dining areas.  Close by there are at least 2 other dining area which are used exclusively for private parties and special events.

As we were seated, since they use large picnic style tables, we were seated with this wonderful couple from California.  This was their second time to come here, so they could give us the skinny on what to order.  We had an enjoyable time visiting with them during dinner and then outside later listening to music.

This is one of their open pit BBQs.  They can serve over 3000 on any given day and will go thru 10,000-20,000 pounds of meat over a weekend.   

After dinner we went back outside to listen to a different band.  We sipped our suds, listened to the music outdoors for a while before heading back to Canyon Lake.