Tag: TX

Visit to Barrington Farm

by John L, posted in Barrington, General

Barrington Farm is a living history farm similar to the the Sauer Beckmann Living History Farm at LBJ State Park.

If you haven’t been to one of these living history farms I highly recommend a visit. It is educational and entertaining. Ask lots of questions.

farm house at Barrington Farm

The farm still uses the smokehouse. They slaughter a hog in January and smoke meat for the rest of the year.

The farm has a beautiful Polish Crested Red that guards the hens.

There are also two slave houses that are present at the farm.

There is not quite as much to check out at the Barrington Farm as the Sauer Beckmann Farm, but I still recommend the stop.

Lake Somerville State Park and Trailway

by John L, posted in General, Lake Somerville

On our way home from Houston (Battleship Texas and San Jacinto Monument) we stopped by Lake Somerville State Park.

The park has an office on both sides of the lake. The reason for this is that the lake is very long. It does take some time to drive from one office to the other so if you plan on visiting both offices (path tags at both) make sure you allow for about 45 minutes to get from one to the other. The other key piece of info is that the Birch Creek Unit Office closes at 4:45 pm. We arrived at 4:55 and were unable to get our path tag.

The park and lake are very beautiful. Some trails do need some maintenance. It doesn’t look like they cut some of them back much. Make sure to wear jeans/boots on the more hairy trails as there are some poisonous snakes out and about especially around the shore.

This was one of the trails that looked safer.

It turned out to be the one we saw a rather large water moccasin cross right in front of us.

Again, the lake was beautiful and there were lots of people out enjoying the water.

lake somerville

lake somerville

Plan to spend a weekend at this park to enjoy the lake. Be sure to check the TPWD site for good directions and updates on the water level.

Fanthorp Inn

by John L, posted in Fanthorp-Inn

After Washington on the Brazos, we went 17 miles to the east to Anderson, TX to see Fanthorp Inn SHS.

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This old inn is worth the drive as are the stories told by its volunteer innkeeper. The inn is only open on Saturday. There is no funding for the inn itself. The volunteer gives tours and sees to the upkeep. The electricity is paid for by Washington on the Brazos. I think after you hear the stories from the volunteer you’ll want to visit the donation box at the entrance. Entry to the inn is free, but a suggested donation of a few dollars each is asked.

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There were some great old firearms in the inn. All of which are original.

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You’ll want to take a peek into the cellar at the end of the dining room. There’s a surprise at the bottom of the stairs.

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Part of the tour is a visit to the old stagecoach out in the yard. Believe it or not that was a 17-seater. 9 on the inside. The stagecoach started as a mail carrier on the La Bahia. Mr. Fanthorp built his house on the La Bahia and then added on when he saw how much traffic there was on the road. As you’ll see from the size of the place he was quite successful.

Pedernales Falls State Park Bird Blind

by John L, posted in General, Pedernales Falls State Park

After the storms on Monday, I headed out the Perd to see if the rains had any impact on the water level. While out there I remembered that there’s plenty about this park that I haven’t experienced yet. One of those things is the bird blind at the park.

My expectations were really low because I thought “low budget and state park must mean bench and tree = bird blind.” Boy was I wrong.

If you haven’t had the pleasure, put it at the top of your list for your next visit to the park.

From the park store, head towards the main falls. Keep an eye out on the left side of the road for the parking area for the blind. It is well-marked and should be easily found.

To get the most out of your visit and to be respectful of others at the blind:

  1. Turn your radio off before you turn into the parking area.
  2. No talking unless you are able to whisper (not all people are able to in my experience)
  3. When you park, try to park at the far end of the lot away from the entrance to the blind.
  4. Close the door to your car as quietly as possible
  5. Don’t set your alarm. Lock your doors, but no honking of the horn to set the alarm.
  6. Enter the blind quietly (don’t let the gate slam)

There are two large bird blinds once you enter. The first one on the right, pictured below, has a few hummingbird feeders.

I saw several different species in just a short time in this blind.

There is another blind in this area that has a special visitor right now.

I was lucky to get there around feeding time. The volunteer, Mr. Strickland, said that the baby fox, pictured below, shows up every day around 5pm and stays about an hour.

According to Mr. Strickland, there is a mother and a couple of other young foxes. However he had not seen them in a few days and the worry is that something might have happened to them. Hopefully this little guy is not on his own so young.

The park is in the middle of a large project at the blind/surrounding area. They are building a large star gazing area. Mr. Strickland said that there would be a telescope and accompanying facility. I look forward to visiting this facility when it opens.

West, TX BBQ Benefit

by John L, posted in Causes I Believe In

I have a post about my recent hike on the Barton Creek Greenbelt forthcoming. In the mean time I wanted to let everyone know about a BBQ benefit to support the families in West, TX.

An associate of mine is organizing the benefit at LA BBQ this Sunday, April 28th from 11am-2pm. More information can be found at his blog – Man Up Texas BBQ.

What: West Benefit
When: Sunday, April 28, 2013, 11AM-2PM
Where: la Barbecue (1502 S. 1st St., Austin, TX)

We’ll have live music, drinks, and free chopped-beef sandwiches until they run out. (You are, of course, free to purchase any other food from la Barbecue, as they are open for regular business, as well.)

KVUE also has a list of ways to support West, TX which includes some info on the benefit at LA BBQ.

This benefit is legit. I know the organizers and trust them enough to publicize the event here. Every penny raised will go to families in West, TX.

From the BBQ blog:

Speaking of “every little bit,” let me be clear: EVERY SINGLE PENNY DONATED AT OUR BENEFIT WILL GO TO THE RELIEF EFFORTS IN WEST. People who defraud/trick/scam people during times of crisis and tragedy are sick, sick people. We hope you feel confident enough in us to help out. We have held several benefits like this in the past, and we have never taken a penny for ourselves. Any costs for the event will be borne by the people contributing. There will be no taking of a cut of the donations to cover expenses. I don’t know specifically where we will donate the money, but as soon as I do, I will announce it, so as to be transparent.