We were up around 8:00 a.m., and at 8:30 sharp, my friend Melinda knocked on the door. She was carrying homemade breakfast tacos AND a pan of cinnamon rolls! She brought us some El Milagro tortilla chips and a bag of groceries! That was so incredibly kind and generous. She must have figured we look like we don’t get quite enough to eat 
We sat and enjoyed our breakfast and chatted for a moment before getting up, bidding Melinda goodbye, and getting to work readying the rig for travel. Lex got her hitched up, I stowed all the hoses, cables, cords, and blocks, we got the critters in the truck, secured everything inside, and left the campground at about 10 a.m.
We went right across the street to a carwash that had a few truck bays (truck as in tractor-trailer rigs). These bays are perfect for RVs because there are steps that allowed us to wash the entire rig as well as the truck itself. It was so good to get those bug guts off the rig that we’d collected on our trip through the South. It was our first time to take the camper through a carwash. We got hot, sweaty, soaking wet, and filthy, but it was satisfying to see our home clean again.
Sparkling clean and bug gut free!
The drive to Bandera from Braunig Lake wasn’t a terribly long one, about 70 miles. We arrived here shortly after noon, got checked in, pulled into our site, and got set up. It was a hot one today, the hottest day we’ve experienced so far this summer at 97 degrees. I think between getting hitched up, washing the rig, and then getting unhitched and set up, we both got a little overheated, despite all the water we drank over the course of the morning.
Getting set up took a little longer than usual because it took two passes to get the RV properly leveled. I’ve decided the best way to tell if the rig is really level is NOT to pay attention to levelers but to walk inside the rig and FEEL whether or not it’s level. If I’m not sure, I try the bottle test. I take a bottle, lay it on its side on the bathroom floor, and see whether or not it rolls. If it does, adjust the landing gear.
Our treeless site has a concrete patio, so I’ve put out the awning to cover as much of it as possible. The patio is nice to have but does nothing but radiate heat back at the rig. The pads themselves are grass and gravel, and the roads through the park are dirt/gravel. It’s going to be a hot, dusty week, with temps up around 100. We’re finally getting into normal temperatures for this time of year in South Texas.
Fortunately, the Medina River runs right through the RV park and is just down the hill from where we are. The Medina is a very shallow river, especially during dry spells, but here in the park, the river is shaded by massive, ancient cypress and willow trees, just beautiful. I am going to be spending a lot of time cooling my hells in that nice, cool water this week.
We eventually got unpacked and showered and called our friends, Jason and Chris. They have a lovely home in Pipe Creek, a little community just a few minutes down the road. They came over and took us out to dinner at the Old Spanish Trail Restaurant. We returned to the RV park and went down to the river where we all tried to teach Alexis to skip stones. She finally got it! Everyone should learn to skip rocks at some point in life. It’s a cheap form of recreation. You just need a body of water and some nice, flat, round rocks.
Jason, Alexis, and Chris on the banks of the Medina River in Bandera, Texas
Bandera is known as the “Cowboy Capitol of Texas” because of its role in the cattle drives of old. In the 1950s, the town began to transform itself into a tourist destination, and dozens of “dude ranches” sprang up around the area. The town became a haven for city folk looking to play “urban cowboy,” and it also started attracting motorcycle rallies, rodeo cowboys, antiquers, and Western music lovers. The actual population of the town is under 1,000 souls, but on any given weekend, thousands of cars, trucks, RVs, and motorcycles roll through, and the restaurants, shops, rodeo arenas, parks, and honky tonks fill up with tourists, and the place is hopping!
I have a personal connection to this town. My great-grandfather was born and raised here. He was part of the last generation of cowboys to go on the big trail drives out West to New Mexico. He used to tell stories about sleeping on the ground at night, using his saddle as a pillow and eating chuckwagon food. No, he wasn’t recounting the plot of a John Wayne movie. That was his life. He went out on his first drive at twelve years of age. His mother was told by the family doctor that Grandpa was losing his hearing, and if he didn’t go to a dryer climate, he would become totally deaf. There isn’t much in the world dryer than West Texas and New Mexico, so I think spending so much of his youth there did help save at least some of his hearing. He was always partially deaf, though, and as he got older, the problem got worse.
Grandpa Hay married a woman here in Bandera, and they had a child. I’m not sure why, but their marriage ended, and the ex-wife gained custody of the son, completely cutting Grandpa out of the picture. He never really got to know his boy, but did manage to get news of him through family members who continued to live in Bandera. It’s my understanding that his son eventually became mayor of the town, and the Hay name grew to be a prominent one in the area. I’ve seen maps of the historical buildings, and the Hay name is attached to at least one of them. I think I may spend part of the week at the courthouse and at the local museum seeing what I can learn about my great grandfather’s family history.
Grandpa wasn’t truly my “blood” relative. He married my great grandmother when her children (one of whom was my maternal grandmother) were already grown, but he was the only grandpa I ever really had. He was a genuine character, and my cousins and I spent a lot of time with him. We all have very fond memories of the old coot even today and quote his funny sayings and sing his little songs. He died over twenty years ago, but we still miss him terribly. He was the best kind of grandpa, really, and I’d like to learn more about who he was and where he came from.
Tomorrow, however, will be a day of fun. Jason and Christopher will be joining us tomorrow morning for breakfast. Then we’re all grabbing inner tubes, a raft, and an ice chest, and hitting the river. We’re going to float a few miles down the river from Bandera to Pipe Creek. Lex is super excited since she’s never been tubing before. It should be a blast!
I’m looking forward to my week here. I’ve only ever been on day trips to Bandera before and have never had the opportunity to thoroughly explore the area. That’s going to change! On the way into town, I saw lots of cute shops, farm stands, and signs directing travelers to various historic sites. I do believe I shall see them all.
Tags: Bandera, family, friends, history, rving, Texas, Travel
