Traveling the old San Antonio to El Paso Road: In search of the Marfa Lights Part 1 – Onward to Del Rio! News that the 1848 Texas Ranger expedition failed did not deter us. The Rangers looked for a road from San Antonio to El Paso, but gave up at Presidio due to lack of water and food. We learned from their mistakes, and packed the car with plenty of healthy snacks and coolers filled with water. Everyone, and I mean everyone, said, “if you’re going west for the first time, take Highway 90, it’s much prettier”. And, though the high speeds of I-10 were tempting, we allowed our curiosity to steer us down Del Rio way, and see the sights along the San Antonio to El Paso Road (Highway 90). Our first stop was Castroville. Literally our first stop, as a city police officer gave us a warning for driving 48 in a 40. Ready for a break we chose the Hotel Alsace and their restaurant, The Alsatian, for a great dinner and a fabulous view of the Hill Country. castrovilletx.gov/ It turns out Hotels are a great source for healthy dining options on a road trip. No matter how many innovative ways Dairy Queen finds to decorate a basket of fried foods, at a hotel you can find Spinach Salad with artichoke hearts and grilled chicken, and pasta primavera with tons of veggies. Castroville is an interesting town. Once home to a large Alsatian community you can see a restored old European farm home – the Steinbach House – from the highway. We drove through town, checking out their old downtown, City Hall, St. Joseph’s Church and Catholic School. Clearly, this community is quickly transforming from a thriving old Texas town to a San Antonio bedroom neighbor, and we hope to return and swim in the cool waters of the Medina River. We drove on through Hondo at the speed limit after our warning in Castroville. And, we were reminded of our speed by their sign, “This is God’s Country, Don’t Drive Through it Like Hell”. Next was D’Hanis where Matt once had a good meal at Bill and Rosa’s Steakhouse and Saloon with Bob Mann. Bob made friends with everyone in the place, and tried to pull a decorative pistol off the wall to show me a trick. yelp/biz/bill-and-rosas-steakhouse-d-hanis Driving through Sabinal and Knippa, we remarked about Texas towns that grew up on the Rail lines. The towns along this drive have their main streets fronting the Rail lines, which was probably once a source of their news, transportation, mail and commerce. online.wsj/article/SB10001424127887324373204578374831930888400.html A terrific new App was a source of fun on this road trip. It allows people to look up nearby historical markers. atomicaxis/events/texas-landmarks-app-featured-in-austin-statesman/ In Uvalde, we used our fun new App – despite our near ban on electronic devices – to read about famous outlaw, lawman and killer of Billy the Kid, Pat Garrett, who lived in the area at the end of his life. Of course Uvalde is probably most known for two great old Texas pols: John Nance Garner and Dolph Briscoe. Our App told us the story of Garner, nicknamed “Cactus Jack” for his strong advocacy of the Cactus Prickly Pear as Texas’ state flower (he lost to the Bluebonnet). He was Speaker of the House from 1931-1933, and Vice President under FDR for two terms – when he famously said, “The Vice Presidency isn’t worth a bucket of warm piss”. Texas teachers quote him saying, “spit” as not to get a classroom filled with giggling children. expedia/John-Nance-Garner-Museum-Uvalde.d6234265.Vacation-Attraction Matt was at former Governor Dolph Briscoe’s funeral a few years ago – the famous road trip with Bob Mann – when we realized that Uvalde sits in a pretty stretch of South Texas Plains. Big oak trees, and slight rolling grass hills make for a nice sight on the way to Del Rio. Brackettville - we didn’t stop. It would be nice to visit Fort Clark, and the old Alamo Village. If the Alamo Village opens again, I promise myself I’ll go there and recite the John Wayne monologues from the 1961 movie he shot there: youtube/watch?v=0PtB-Y8-nsM In Del Rio, we quickly found our way to the Hampton Inn (must get more Hilton points). We were deterred from looking around town the next morning when the front desk clerk said, “there’s really nothing to see”. But, he did remind me of one stop we’ll want to make in the future, their winery. Val Verde Winery is the oldest winery in the State. It survived the Volstead Act by making Communion Wine – and probably selling a little extra on the side. Matt has always been told that they have great Port. valverdewinery/ We’d like to go back and explore Castroville to Bracketville, but we wanted a good night sleep for the long haul to Marathon the next morning. The next day would take us along the border, through tough country, across the mighty Pecos River, an unexpected stop in Langtry to find Judge Roy Bean, and in search for a Garden Burger. Coming soon: Part II – Big Ben: the Alpine, Texas Bear Christie and Matt Senior Adventure Correspondents
Posted on: Wed, 11 Sep 2013 16:54:43 +0000
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