San Antonio Travel and Leisure Guide 2008 - (Page 56) City Nature & Hill Country IF YOU GO (as referenced in text) Blanco State Park, 830-833-4333, tpwd.state.tx.us/spdest/findadest/parks/blanco Blue Hole Regional Park, 512-847-0025, friendsofbluehole.org Canyon Lake, canyon-lake.net Cave Without a Name, 830-537-4212, cavewithoutaname.com Enchanted Rock State Natural Area, 830-685-3636, tpwd.state.tx.us/spdest/findadest/parks/enchanted_rock Government Canyon State Natural Area, 210-688-9055, ext. 292, tpwd.state.tx.us/spdest/findadest/parks/ government_canyon For complete listings, visitsanantonio.com Guadalupe River State Park, 830-438-2656, tpwd.state.tx.us/spdest/findadest/parks/guadalupe_river Lost Maples State Natural Area, 830-966-3413, tpwd.state.tx.us/spdest/findadest/parks/lost_maples Natural Bridge Caverns, 210-651-6101, naturalbridgecaverns.com Pedernales Falls State Park, 830-868-7304, tpwd.state.tx.us/spdest/findadest/parks/pedernales_falls Rockin ‘R’ River Rides, 800-55-FLOAT, 830-629-9999, rockinr.com San Antonio Wheelmen, 210-826-5015, 210-656-6128, sawheelmen.com HILL COUNTRY CULTURE Settled by Germans and Eastern Europeans, the Hill Country has a culture all its own. Storybook farms and ranches dot the countryside, and you may still hear older folks speaking German in Fredericksburg, Boerne and New Braunfels. You’ll also find some of the best barbecue in Texas, antiques shops on old-fashioned Main Streets and celebrations with roots in the Old World, like Wurstfest (a sausage festival) and Weihnachten (a Christmas festival). Shopping in picturesque Hill Country burgs brings a sense of discovery — you never know what treasures you’ll find among its boutiques, antiques shops and galleries. Jewelry, quilts, ceramics, paintings and even handmade furniture by local artists can be especially tempting, along with homemade jams, jellies, bread and other edibles. Keep an eye out for home-grown lavender from Blanco, Stonewall peaches in June, locally made goat cheese, and mohair sweaters and shawls from the region’s angora goats. Many towns also have monthly flea markets with everything from earrings to stained glass: check out Gruene Market Days (Gruene is at the edge of New Braunfels), Trade Days near Fredericksburg, Boerne Market Days and Wimberley Market Days. Wildseed Farms is a haven for wildflower seeds and local specialty foods. Vineyards are another specialty: the Hill Country has become a hot spot for wine connoisseurs. Follow the Wine and Wildflower Trail in April or the Harvest Wine Trail in August to sample some of the awardwinning vintages produced by more than 20 regional wineries. To make the circuit in style, sign up with Texas Wine Tours for an escorted trip by limo. During San Antonio’s New World Wine & Food Festival in November, many wineries pair their best wines with multi-course feasts. 56 VISITSANANTONIO COM O. Wine tastes even better with live music, another Hill Country tradition. Stop by Luckenbach on the weekend, buy a brew in the old post office inside a barn, and find a spot under the spreading oak trees for listening to whoever drops in to sing and play their guitar. The Boerne Village Band, founded by German settlers in the 1860s, plays traditional oompah music and may be the oldest continuous band in Texas. Famous Texas musicians play every weekend at wood-floored Gruene Hall, said to be the oldest stilloperating dance hall in Texas. And on weekend evenings at the Hilltop Café near Fredericksburg, lucky folks catch Johnny Nicholas on guitar or Floyd Domino banging out hot boogies on the piano. Both are original members of the band Asleep at the Wheel. IF YOU GO (as referenced in text) Boerne Market Days, 830-249-5530, 210-844-8193, mainstreetinboerne.com Fredericksburg Trade Days, 830-990-4900, fbgtradedays.com Gruene Hall, 830-606-1281, gruenehall.com Gruene Market Days, 830-832-1721, gruenemarketdays.com Hilltop Café, 830-997-8922, hilltopcafe.com Luckenbach, 830-997-3224, luckenbachtexas.com San Antonio New World Wine & Food Festival, 210-822-9555, nwwff.org Texas Wine Tours, 800-940-7007, texaswinetours.com Weihnachten, 830-997-6523, fredericksburg-texas.com Wildseed Farms, 800-848-0078, wildseedfarms.com Wimberley Market Days, 512-847-2201, visitwimberley.com Wine and Wildflower Trail/Harvest Wine Trail, 866-621-9463, texaswinetrail.com Wurstfest, 800-221-4369, wurstfest.com For complete listings, visitsanantonio.com http://tpwd.state.tx.us/spdest/findadest/parks/guadalupe_river http://tpwd.state.tx.us/spdest/findadest/parks/blanco http://tpwd.state.tx.us/spdest/findadest/parks/lost_maples http://friendsofbluehole.org http://naturalbridgecaverns.com http://canyon-lake.net http://cavewithoutaname.com http://tpwd.state.tx.us/spdest/findadest/parks/pedernales_falls http://tpwd.state.tx.us/spdest/findadest/parks/enchanted_rock http://rockinr.com http://tpwd.state.tx.us/spdest/findadest/parks/government_canyon http://sawheelmen.com http://tpwd.state.tx.us/spdest/findadest/parks/government_canyon http://visitsanantonio.com http://mainstreetinboerne.com http://fbgtradedays.com http://gruenehall.com http://gruenemarketdays.com http://hilltopcafe.com http://luckenbachtexas.com http://nwwff.org http://texaswinetours.com http://fredericksburg-texas.com http://wildseedfarms.com http://visitwimberley.com http://texaswinetrail.com http://wurstfest.com http://visitsanantonio.com http://visitsanantonio.com
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