Texas Hill Country Weekend

Triplesnake

Adventurer
So, my wife and I are new to the idea of overlanding, but we are no strangers to camping in other various form, and many other outdoor activities. After hanging out on Expo for a while and slowly working on some mild mods to our Pathfinder, and thinking about how we’d rearrange the camping setup, we are finally ready for a shakedown cruise of sorts. We took off on a Friday evening after work and made our way through the sea of Austin traffic, finally arriving at Shaffer Bend on Lake Travis for our first stop for the weekend. I picked this park because it is just far enough to go on a Friday, and then camping is primitive. The only real amenities are a picnic table, and a port-a-potty in walking distance. We drove around a little bit and decided to camp in site #10, right on the lake and at the end of a little side road tucked into a wooded section We got the tent set up, started a fire, and then deployed the kitchen setup to cook a dinner of Velveeta white cheddar mac and cheese, canned mushrooms, and canned chicken. I experimented with the camera a little bit trying some night shots.



In the morning we awoke to the sound of several bass boats roaring down the lake at warp speed. They must have been having a tournament or something. We made a pot of coffee and then went for a walk along the lake shore. I never did see any of those guys in the boats catch a fish. Next time I’ll bring my rod and show them how it’s done, lol.


We kind of skipped breakfast because we slept in and had plans for a fairly early lunch. So, we packed up camp and drove around the rest of the park, and then headed to Marble Falls, 10 miles away for our lunch stop. Double Horn Brewing Company is the only brew pub in all of Burnet County.


I had a couple of their pale ale selections and Joan had a brown ale which she liked very much. The beer was tasty and the burgers were awesome.


With our bellies full, we continued down FM1431, turned down another small county road that crossed the Llano River and then intersected with HWY 71 into Llano. Llano is our usual stomping grounds and we had one errand to take care of here. My son had taken an Aoudad (an African desert sheep) a few weeks ago and we had it made into sausage at Miller’s, the best local meat processor.


They have some mean deer around here!


With our box full of sausage, we headed south of town and down a gravel county road to my hunting lease. We stashed the meat in the freezer at the hunting cabin. We also loaded up on some fire wood and filled up the water jug. Then we took off to find a good spot to camp. As we were driving around, we came across a heard of Mouflon, a sheep native to Eastern Europe. There were some impressive rams in this group!



This is ground that we know well, but rarely camp on. We had an idea of an area where we wanted to camp and found a good spot at the base of the rocks. I took a little bit of scouting, and the removal of a low branch from one tree, but we were able to find a path to get the Pathfinder to our chosen spot.



After we set up camp I hiked down to one of the hunting spots. The seasons are over, but it is always fun to see what’s going on. I saw two flocks of turkeys and a single white tail doe.



Back at camp with a fire going, we made some venison backstrap shishkabobs for dinner.



Then for desert we made smores out of fire roasted marshmallows and chocolate covered Girl Scout cookies. The wind had been picking up. I was starting to be glad that the fire was burning down as the wind got stronger and stronger. After a while and all of my beer, it finally got to the point where I was comfortable leaving the fire and retiring to the tent. And the wind got stronger. At some point in the night a strong gust of 30pmh or more pulled up the stakes on the vestibule of our tent. Joan got up and re-staked it back down tight, but the wind was relentless. Through the night we heard tree branches being blown down and at one point heard a big tree fall. When we got up in the morning, everything was still standing! Even our port-a-privy tent, which is notoriously not very wind resistant. The wind was still strong and gusty, but we made do with our stove making coffee and omelets for breakfast while trying not to let things get blown away...just barely.

Our day continued with a jaunt around the ranch, getting more comfortable with how the Pathfinder handles off-road, even without airing down or disconnecting the sway bars.



[video=vimeo;204107998]https://vimeo.com/204107998[/video]

Heading back home, we took the roads less traveled, CR315 to CR308 to CR310 before hitting the pavement on HWY 71 and back into Austin.



It was a good trip. We didn’t go anywhere very far away or exotic, but we got some good experience with our new gear and had some fun and tested some limits. Exactly what I had hoped for this weekend trip.
 

LakeLBJ

Observer
Thanks for the report. Enjoy the whole area...in-laws have a house on Lake LBJ that we frequent. That deer lease of yours looks like a great spot to camp! Double Horn has good burgers but I wouldn't have passed up the chance to eat at Coopers BBQ. Millers Smokehouse is where I take all of my deer, too! The weather has been great this month...
 

Triplesnake

Adventurer
Yep, this has been one of the best Februaries for being outside that I can remember, not so cold at all. I just hope it doesn't mean that it will turn blazing hot sooner too. Coopers is absolutely the place to go for BBQ. A little $$$ but so worth it. Too bad they aren't a brew pub :beer:
 

Clay700

New member
Looks like a trip I'd be interested in doing coming from Dallas. What area was the second camping spot in looks a lot more secluded than thenough first?
 

Triplesnake

Adventurer
Looks like a trip I'd be interested in doing coming from Dallas. What area was the second camping spot in looks a lot more secluded than thenough first?

That second spot is on a private ranch, so unfortunately not available for the public to camp on. That's why it is so secluded
 

blauvelt

Observer
Thank you for the write up. Having moved to Houston from San Francisco, been wondering what there is do here with out driving 18 hours one way. Keep having fun!

Yep, this has been one of the best Februaries for being outside that I can remember, not so cold at all. I just hope it doesn't mean that it will turn blazing hot sooner too. Coopers is absolutely the place to go for BBQ. A little $$$ but so worth it. Too bad they aren't a brew pub :beer:
 

mccustomize

Explorer
Llano is a beautiful area, we have camped on the river a couple times there. The Bluebonnet café is marble falls is always a breakfast stop worth mentioning. Are you on the Texas Overland facebook group? Lots of great destinations in that group shared between members.
 

Triplesnake

Adventurer
Llano is a beautiful area, we have camped on the river a couple times there. The Bluebonnet café is marble falls is always a breakfast stop worth mentioning. Are you on the Texas Overland facebook group? Lots of great destinations in that group shared between members.

Bluebonnet cafe is a worthy stop for anytime, not just breakfast. I had considered stopping to pick up some of their famous pie for desert later that night, but the s'mores won out. My wife is on the Texas Overland group (I don't do the face space thing) so i do get to browse it sometimes. It is a very active group with a lot of good info and reports. A good suggestion for Blauvelt, along with the central states section of this board.
 

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