Texas Hill Country Back Roads and Dirt Roads Adventure. 4/9-4/12

[PetitFrereArmada]

JUST DRIVE.

I just decided to get away for the weekend and do only one thing: just drive.

I want to get away and drive on the roads less traveled. Enjoy the open roads, nature and stop and smell the flowers along the way.

Leaving on Thursday and returning on Sunday. I will spend every single day just driving all day long. And stopping to tale pictures, enjoy the outdoors, fly my drone when I can and just be outdoors enjoying nature.

 

[PetitFrereArmada]

If you want to explore the best back roads and bike dirt roads in the Texas Hill Country, you have to buy this book. I bought this 7 years ago. I have used it 3 times. I just pulled it out of my bookshelf to use for this trip. It is written by a guy who has ridden his bike throughout the Texas Hill Country and took the time to share with us some of his BEST and FUN roads in the Texas Hill Country. This book will show you all the best, fun and exciting back roads and dirt roads in the Hill Country. I am using it to plan my trip as I plan to go on some dirt roads. It is said that when it rains, some of those dirt roads and water crossings can be impassable for bikes, so it means it could be fun for someone with a 4X4 vehicle.

The author of the book recommends you buy this atlast to accompany his book since he makes reference to this atlast for you to find the actual back roads and dirt roads he is talking about. That way you can easily plan your trip.

 

[PetitFrereArmada]

The highlight of my trip is to drive the Twisted Sisters Loop. That is Ranch Rd 335, Ranch road 336 and Ranch Rd 337.

I plan to stop many times to enjoy the fresh air and to take pictures. I plan to hopefully take a lot of pictures and share. Maybe make a video or 2.

In the middle of the Twisted Sisters Loop is 3 of the BEST dirt roads for bikes in the Hill Country. Those roads are; Bullhead Rd. Hackberry Rd. Kent Creek Rd. I plan to drive on all 3 of them and I hope the water crossings are high, some of the roads are muddy and fun enough to challenge my suv.

Here is what he says about the roads in his book.

If you read how he describes the 3 dirt roads within the twisted sisters loop, you will see why it could be fun for a rig since he describes it as it could be impassable if it has rained.

But I am sure it would be passable for a 4x4 and maybe it would be fun if it is slippery and you get a few wheel spins before you go through the area.

Well, it is supposed to MAYBE rain this weekend. So, it would be fun if the water passes are high, the road is muddy and qualifies as impassable for a dirt bike. That would make it interesting to traverse those spots in a 4X4. We will find out on Friday.

 

[PetitFrereArmada]

- Thursday 9: Houston to hotel in Concan, TX.
Just a long and relaxing drive straight to hotel and to explore Concan a bit.

- Friday 10: Wake up and drive all day.
The plan on this day is wake up and drive to Leakey to start the twisted sister loop. The total distance is going to be about 150 miles and estimated 4 hours drive. But I plan to also drive on the dirt roads and take my time. Plus stopping for pictures and enjoying nature. It will be atleast a 8 hours drive day.
Here is the map of the day's drive, starting from Concan and ending in Concan.

And this is the map showing all 3 dirt roads that I plan on driving on. They are all inside the loop of the twisted sisters. All 3 dirt roads; Hackberry Creek is about 14 miles long. Bullhead Road is about 22 miles long. Kent Creek Road is about 5 miles long.

 

[PetitFrereArmada]

- Saturday 11. Just wake up and take this long drive. A 4 hours drive which should take atleast 8 hours. In Tarpley, TX, I read there is a fun dirt road with a lot of water crossings. I plan to drive that also, when I get down there on this day.
This is a map of my route on that day.

And this is a picture of the dirt road which has a lot of water crossings. It starts from Tarpley. Then you come out back on the highway before heading to Utopia.

.

- Sunday 12: Check out of hotel and may go out of my way home just to go and do one last dirt road that the author of the book calls his favorite. The dirt road is called Cedar Creek Road. It starts from Barksdale, TX and comes out in Rocksprings, TX. From there, I take my drive back home. And that will be end of the trip.

 

[PetitFrereArmada]

Water crossing by my resort.

Offroading Kent Creek Rd off the twisted sisters loop. One end was closed not allowing one to travel the whole 5 miles length. So, I had to go 2 miles in through the North entrance and back out the same way.

 

[PetitFrereArmada]

Today was a really nice and long day.

Last night, there was about 4 cars parked with 4 different families and all out on the Frio river infront all the rooms here. Today, just got back from a long drive and the number of cars have doubled to 8. So, I guess over the weekend a lot more people will be here for a weekend getaway. As there are so many people now at the river floating, kayaking and just relaxing in the water.

I went driving the while Twisted Sisters loop today and it was great. Every single car I bypassed on the twisted sister would wave at me. People are so friendly here in the Texas HILL country. I mean, I bypassed over 40 cars and I noticed only one older lady did not have to me or wave back after I did. And I noticed that is because I met her on the dirt road where bypassing each other was something that both drivers had to focus on getting their vehicle out of the way and she was really very focused on not scratching her car.

It was so peaceful making many stops along the twisted sisters and just taking pictures and videos.

 

[PetitFrereArmada]

Some pics on Twisted Sisters

 

[PetitFrereArmada]

Hackberry Creek Road

The dirt road I did today was Hackberry Creek Road. Amazing road. So many water crossings. I started counting them and by the time I got to number 5, I lost count.

Surprisingly, this is a very busy road as I bypassed about 10 vehicles on this road. And I realized halfway on this 14 miles road, there are many houses and so many people were outside on the patio or out relaxing on their porch.

Hackberry Creek Road is 14 miles long and I would guess it has about 10 water crossings and like 4 of them are very deep. This is with no rainfall. So, imagine if it rains. It could easily be impassable.

It has not rained yet in the Hill Country, but I can guarantee you that if it rains, and you have a 4X4, you are in for a treat of some real fun on this road. But be careful! There is one water crossing that is large and you cannot find the road from one end to the other. They have put markings to guide you but if it rains and the water level rises, those markings will quickly disappear and be under water. If you take the wrong line, you will flip your suv! Guaranteed.

Here are some of my pics on the Hackberry Creek Road.

About 3 water crossings from this entrance to the Creek Rd is the largest water crossing on this road. I passed it out and out the corner of my eye, I saw something white floating on the river I pulled over and went to investigate and I saw 2 swans swimming up and down the river. It was a sight to marvel. I don't know if they are wild or domesticated. I took pictures and videos of them and was on my way.

This is the largest water crossing on Hackberry Creek Road with the poles showing you the line to take to cross the river. If it rains, those poles will be submerged. If you do not pick the right line, there are many big drop offs. You will flip your suv. Be careful on this crossing.

Camp Eagle Adventure Camp on Hackberry Creek Road

 

[ipconfig]

So you ignored the advice of everyone here, all doctors and scientists, your state and local officials??? Good job Gary!

 

[PetitFrereArmada]

Yesterday, I went and drove some other back roads and went all the way to Bandera. It started raining and I could not do the loop to Kerrville.

Yesterday, Bandera was a very busy town. There were cars everywhere and tons and tons of people at the stores. The town was really full and busy. People everywhere doing something.

I stopped at the biggest grocery store there which has a huge parking lot which was already full. Little did I know that I was going to be involved in a car accident in the parking lot.

The parking lot was very full and tight to maneuver around. So, I tried to find a place away from many cars around me. I parked and went into the store which was PACKED of shoppers.

10 minutes later, they made an announcement that "Will the owner of a black Infiniti suv, license plate ....., please come to the front at customer service." I was shocked. I went there and there was this young girl waiting for me with the lady behind the counter. She explained to me that she was backing up her car and unfortunately hit my car. So, she wanted to tell me and give me her insurance information. I was shocked. So we went outside to inspect the damage.

On our way, she said my car was only scratched up while her car was dented. She apologized a lot as we walked to both cars. I got there and inspected both cars and took pictures. Her car was dented and mine was a bit scratched up. You can barely see it. I should be able to buff most of the scratches off. I thanked her for being so honest and told her it is ok. I will not need her insurance information nor will I file a claim on her insurance for the accident. She thanked me and apologized again as she left.

I went and finished my shopping and left the store.

After shopping, was a smooth drive back to the hotel where it seems like most people at the hotel decided it was the day for everybody to be swimming in the river. So, I flew my drone to take some shots of the river and the whole hotel.

 

[PetitFrereArmada]

More Backroads

This is the young lady's car which hit mine when she was backing up. She has a dent on her bumper but I got some scratches on mine. Because she was so nice to look for me to tell me she hit my car, I told her my car did not sustain any damage but scratches and told her she could go and not worry since I will not file any claim on her insurance. I thanked her for being so honest to come look for me in the store.

 

[PetitFrereArmada]

Back at hotel. Most people relaxing at the river.

 

[PetitFrereArmada]

Left the hotel today for a smooth drive back home. I passed a small town called Hondo, TX. There was a small church there that was just letting people put of service amd it was a full house. Parking lot was parked with tons of people coming out of church.

On the highway also, I was really surprised at how much traffic was on I-10. I counted the number of cars I overtook with the number of cars which passed me on the freeway, all going East on the freeway just like me, there were way too many cars to count. I guess people decided to be with family during this Easter.

Overall, it was a nice and relaxing weekend.

 

[Richie]

Thanks for the write up. I lived in Kerrville for a few years and that's the heart of the hill country. It's a beautiful area of Texas.