Day 4 - YO, Safari, and Survival

It is our final day and after breakfast we watched a bit of "Fireproof", especially the hot sauce drinking race scene.  Then it was our turn to race off to the YO Ranch for our safari.

We arrived a few minutes late, but were told to go down to the chuckwagon and have some lunch.  It was Bar-B-Que with beans and scalloped potatoes, coleslaw, etc.

Then we went back to "YOHQ" (Y O Ranch Headquarters) and met our safari guide, Verna.  Because there was a gentle rain, we sat inside the vehicle and not on top, much to Luke's disappointment!  However this allowed us to hear Verna talk about the history of the ranch and the various animals we saw.

We saw several kinds of deer, elk, a few rheas, wildebeest, and a couple of giraffes.  One of the giraffes, we hand fed oatmeal cookies!   Not sure how it didn't get a tummy ache, as it ate almost the entire package of the cookies.  By the way, Luke had noticed the cookies when we first climbed aboard, and REALLY wanted to know who the were for!

Luke helped open and close the gates, and on the very last one, he took it upon himself to climb up and sit on the "roof seats".  We let him sit up there, but had Verna drive very slowly back to HQ.

On the way out of the ranch we saw some more animals, including Long-horkin cattle, deer, elk ( those Mexican things), as Luke called them), turkey and zebra!

Luke worked on a surprise for his mother on the way back to Cedar Park, where we returned him to his mom, dad and sister.

We are all exhausted but thankful for the great time we had over the last few days.  And grateful we all survived it!

We noticed immediately on the way home how quiet the car has, and left the radio off....

Day 3 - Exercise!

Blueberry pancakes for breakfast.  Then off to search for geocaches.  Started off badly as we couldn't even find the first cache of a multiple stage, mystery cache.   On the other hand Luke did find one we weren't even looking for!

After the disappointment of not finding our first cache, I decided to take Luke to a cache that is one if my favorites, out by Enchanted Rock.  The cache is a bird feeder at a historic one room school house, and has fake bird food glued to the glass, making it appear the feeder is full.  Unfortunately as we neared the cache there is a low river crossing, but with the storms from last night, the water was over the road and moving very quickly.  We followed public safety advice and "turned around and didn't drowned".

Time for cache number 3 for the day, it was located a short ways away from a old road side rest area.  We had to walk a short distance before arriving at ground zero.  This time the issue was tall grass and I decided the odds of find a snake were greater than finding the cache, so we abandoned our search and returned to the car.

It was just a short drive to Cross Mountain were we had our next targeted plastic container.  Up the "mountain" we hiked.  We made it to ground zero and began our search for the container on a pretty steep side of the hill.  With out much hope of finding it Luke asked me to read the hint.  It said "Texas Match Box".  I am holding on to a snag as I read this, and am thinking "matchbox, no way will we ever find it" when Luke calmly says "There it is".  He is pointing to the base of the snag I am holding onto.  It is a large orange plastic tube (most caches are camo or disguised), with a broken lid. I tell him no, it is trash, but he insists, so I look closer.  Well needless to say, we got to claim that one as found after we signed the log.

We hiked the rest of the way up to the Cross,  took some pictures and headed back to the car. 

Lecture on soil types

At the Cross

When were almost down I had one of my wildlife misidentification episodes.  I pointed out the scissor-tailed fly catcher sitting on6 the telephone wire to Luke.  He informs me, that it is wire.  I study disputed id with my field glasses again and then again argue,  ummmm discuss the id
Even discussing that the bird is facing away from us with its long tail feathers in plain sight.  He unreasonably sticks with his opinion even though I am the one with the binoculars AND the experience.  So I tell him come on, we will walk closer until we flush the bird and he can see it in flight.  I will be darned that the tied off piece of cable never did fly off....

It was lunch time by now so we headed to the airport and the Hanger, but it is closed Mondays and Tuesdays, so we had Mexican food.

Came home rested for a bit then went swimming.  The water was great and Luke showed me all the strokes except his back-stroke.

He rescued a small tree frog from the pool, but wanted to bring it home, or even take it to his home.  I did get him to release it befor ewe got back to the house, much to Leta's relief.

After the long day it was to Mr. Gaddes for some pizza and video games.

Even the cats got their exercise. 

Day 2 - Leta's birthday and Movies

Got up and had scrambled eggs,  baccon , oj, and a banana for breakfast.

Watched the Disney Movie "Zombies." 

Then to celebrate Leta's birthday we went to the Y.O. Branding Iron Restaurant for their Sunday Brunch.

Then we went to see the movie "Detective Picachu" (I probably shouldn't confess this, but I recognized a lot of the pokemon!).

After the movie Luke and I found 1 geocache along the river trail.  Then we raced the storms home.  Luke played with the cats any time we were home so the cats both loved him and were exhausted ( as are Leta and myself).

Finally, we watched the birding classic "The Big Year".

 A Wooden Native-American selling cigars.

Checking out the arrowheads

9

Apple Pie, with with his whip cream!

Luke's visit 2019

LUKE(IE) - DAY 1

We got up around 4:30 AM! and drove into Austin for Luke's swim meet.  We actually made it in time for the swim meet, bit there were LOTS of people already  there.  We found Mark and hung out with Mark, Stefanie and Luke's friend Addie and her family.  Luke swam in 5 events, 3 individual  and 2 relays.  

Between that and it being the hottest day of the year so far, we were all exhausted.  So after the meet we headed to the burger joint "Moonies".  Then to Luke's home for a nap. Well at least Leta and I took one.

On the way back to Fredericksburg we discovered that Luke talkes about 100 words per miles, with occasional burst even faster! We stopped at the rest area between Johnson City and Fredericksburg  to give Leta's ears rest and for Luke and I to find the first two of three

Luke finishing in far lane.

geocaches for the day.  (The third was in the parking lot of H-E-B.)

Then home for a late dinner as time had really  gotten away from us.  Then we gave Luke the choice of the guest bedroom or the the couch and he chose the couch.  Then off to sleep we all went.

Luke's idea of geocaching!

Bye, Until Next Time

Friday 22, 2019

Well the last full day of the 2019 edition of Woody and Bendy's visit has arrived.  We got up and visited a bit.  And as is our tradition, we reviewed pictures of the birds we couldn't identify the day before.  Well, actually we show them to Woody, and he usually can figure out what they are.

Then, as Bendy was hungry and it was lunch time, we headed over to Hilda's Tacos.  After lunch we thought about going to Marbel Falls, to see wildflowers, and more importantly, complete another tradition, by having pie at the Blue Bonnet Cafe.  But as it was getting late, and they had hotel reservations in San Antonio because they had an early flight the next morning so we cancelled that idea.

Notice my hat.  They call them BLUE bonnets after all!

Before heading out, we took our annual group selfie, this time in front of a small patch of blue bonnets in a neighbor's yard.  Then we took off for Luckenbach, and spent a little tourist time there.  Woody was in heaven as all the workers loved his jokes (e.g. Do you have a tomato?  No?  Too bad, I was hoping we could katsup!) and they gave him some right back.  Asked him if he needed up job, as there was an opening in the nut department.  They traded a few more too before it was time to leave.

Then we headed to Henri's Puffy Tacos,  ate dinner and then headed to their hotel, where we said our good byes, until next time.....


Unofficial Trip Summary:

• Approximate miles drive: 2,200
• Species of birds seen: 65
• New Life birds seen: Woody - 2; Bendy - 4; Me - 3
• Notable other animals seen: Javelin, Antelope, ground squirel, Auodad
• Photos take by Bendy, approximately 1,000, Woody about the same
• Good movies watched - 4
• Games played - not enough
• Pounds of chocolate and icecream consumed: Vacation so not noted!

Final Note:  I believe all pictures posted in this years blog/travelog except 1 were taken by Bendy.

Armadillo Leap!

Thursday March 22, 2019

Time to head back to Fredericksburg, but not before we met a couple of interesting people.  A young doctor from El Paso, who had patients in the area.  And a "snake catcher" from Africa, whose snakes (and his hand) can often be seen in the movies (think Snakes on a Plane).

Our first stop of the day was at Balmohrea State
Park which is under renovation, but we saw at a few birds including the largest American Coots we have seen.  Leta correctly id'ed it while we all struggled.

After we left the park and headed into the town of Balmohrea, we spotted a smaller hawk with a bright orange breast on a fence post, we believe it was a red-shoulder hawk.  E-bird isn't as sure....

Next we headed south of town to the, where we saw a few scaled quail, another hawk, and flushed a road runner along with a few other birds.

Our next stop was at the South Llano River State Park, where we saw lots of birds, including displaying Tom Turkeys and an armadillo that was foraging for food.

Woody and I got off the path a bushwhacked it a bit trying to get to a second feeding station, when Woody had his close encounter with the armadillo.  It gradually figured out that something was near by and trotted to get away, but instead it kept getting closer and closer.  Finally it got right up to Woody, stood up and started sniffing the air.  It was close enough Woody could have reached down and touched it, but instead he was talking gently to it saying something like "I don't have to worry about you, do I?"

After several long seconds the armadillo realizes Woody is human and suddenly LEAPS straight up in the air about 2 feet high and bounds away with surprising speed.  After our initial shock, we all had a great laugh.

Oh yeah, I got 1 life bird there, the field sparrow.

We raised back to Fredericksburg and had a great dinner at Bella Sera!

Wildlife!

Wednesday March 20, 2019

We left Persideo this morning and weren't far out of town, when Woody spotted a family of javelinas.  There were about 7 of them, and we (Bendy and Woody) got some great pictures of them.

After we passed through Marfa we saw a couple groups of antelope.  Bet you didn't know they are the second fastest animal, but rarely jump fences.

After securing a room for the night, we headed up the scenic loop stopping first at Ft. Davis State Park where we saw 19 species of birds. 1 was a lifer for me, the Thompson Solitare.  We also saw several new birds for this trip including.  Pine siskins Dark-eyed Junkos (Pink-sided) and a pair of Ruby Crowned Kinglets.

We stopped next at the McDonald's Observatory and got tickets for this evenings star party.  Then we we continue on the scenic loop seeing several ravens and vultures.  We also saw several interesting rock formations.

We were almost back to Ft Davis, when Woody spotted they herd of Aoudads!

After lunch, we returned to the hotel and rested until it was time to go to the star party.  Back up the mountain we went, but the party was cancelled, due to cloudy weather.

We returned to Fort Davis and then searched for hot chocolate.  Also most everything was closed by 9 mp, but fortunately, we found a Dollar General Store that was open.

Big Bend National Park

Got up a hour earlier than we meant to, so when we realized it we all went back to bed.  Got up for real a little before sunrise and headed to Big Bend National Park.  We stopped for breakfast at Terlinqua, and then entered the park.

We drove to the Chisos Mountain Basin area and campground.  We saw about 12 species of birds and we all got at least 1 lifer, the Mexican Jay.  We also saw Cactus Wrens, Dark-eyed Junkos, White-Crowned Sparrow and a very cute Hermit Thrush.

We continued into the park for a ways and got some pictures of the blue bonnets, where they were finally on both sides of the road.  They we turned around and headed back to get Leta for dinner.

For dinner, we ended going to the same restaurant El Patio that we went to 4 years ago.  No the salsa wasn't any cooler, but dinner was good.

After dinner we took Leta for a ride to enjoy the sunset and country side.

Tomorrow it is off to Fort Davis

On the road again...

Monday March 18, 2019

Had a doctor's appointment this morning and several other chores and errands to run.  Picked up the rental van and finally got on the road to Big Bend.

As it was getting dusk, a coyote (the canine kind. 😉) ran across the road in front of us. 

It was a gorgeous clear night with almost a full moon.  But still lots of stars were out.  Woody pointed out several constellations when we stopped at the Marfa Lights viewing area.  We all saw the lightst out in the distance and remained baffeled as to their origin.


Finally made it to the hotel and hope to be on the road by sun rise.

Birds and butterflies

Sunday March 17,2019

Headed out to LBJ Ranch State Park where we birded and saw maybe 6 species along the Perdenales River.  Then we went over to the Perdanales Falls State Park, which was full.   Bendy walked along ways down to the river.  Woody waited for at the top of the trail, I went back to the car to nap.

When she got back we drove a little ways further and found the bird blinds and feeding stations.  We saw about 15 more species.  We especially enjoyed the Woodhouse Scrub Jay, and the Spotted Towee

Scub Jay

Spotted Towed

We also saw several beautiful butterflies!

One thing that did bother us though....

When we got home we had this hummingbird sticking it's tongue out at us.  I guess because it knew Bendy was going to win at phase 10... AGAIN!

After the beating we watched a good movie, "What If?"

Saturday Smoothies and Brownies

Saturday March 16, 2019

An easy day, where we stayed close to home.  We did go scope the waste water treatment plant, where we saw a Cinnamon Teal, a very rare bird in Gillespie County.  We saw maybe 10 other species.

Toured a bit of down town, inspected Texas Jack's, and stopped into Java Ranch after we discovered the Fredericksburg Pie Company was sold out.  Had smoothies a a couple of the richest chocolate brownies ever!

Came home and made a nice dinner of Honey Glazed sprial ham, red potatoes and green beans, dinner rolls and Waldorf Salad.

Bendy worked on making arrangements for us to head out to Big Bend, Davis Mountains and Marfa.  Looking forward to seeing the flowers and stars.

Watched Cowgirls and Angels 2 and called it a night.

Friday 15, 2919 Work and Wyatt

Got up went to Andy's for breakfast.  Drove out to Enchanted Rock then pass Willow City Loop.  Blue bonnets were out, but we were about a week or two early.  Stopped at ACE Hardware and got some repair parts for the house.  Got home and Woody worked on replacing the dishwasher keyboard, the front door knob and the ÷=%// squirrel problem.

At 6pm we headed over to the Texas Ranger Heritage Center where we saw a 1 man play about Wyatt Earp by Wyatt Earp, a descendant of the famous Wyatt Earp.  The play was written by the decendant's wife, Terry.  It was very good,  and during intermission we had cheeseburgers, pulled pork sandwiches and Rueben sandwiches.  It was a bit chilly, but we all bundled up.  They also raffeled off a replica of the gun Wyatt carried.  We didn't win though.

After the show, the Former Texas Rangers Association presented the actor with a membership certificate and an honory badge.  He seemed a little more than please with the honors.

Visit by Woody and Bendy 2019

Wednesday- March 13, 2019
Watched birds and +%\*\% sqirrels in the backyard.  Put out the hummingbird feeders as we saw some searching for them.  Later went for a drive to Lady Bird Johnson Municipal park, where we saw about 14 species of birds.

Thursday March 14, 2019
Got up and after Breakfast headed out to the Waste Water Treatment Plant were Woody id'ed probably close to a dozen species of ducks.  After that, we headed to Kerrville, stopped at the Wild Birds Unlimited store where we browsed and chatted for a bit.  Then we headed of to the River Side Nature Center and started down the Riverside Trail that runs along the Guadalupe river.  We were able to id about 20 more species, including the rare Say's Phoebe. Although we had to get help from the nature center staff to id the bird.

Say's Phoebe

Came home to a nice crockpot dinner of a rump roast with pepper slices and onionsdas.  Rolled separated the meat, put some on a tortilla with sour cream, cheese, and avacados.

And the Annual Trip Begins!😊

Tuesday March 12, 2019

And the Annual Trip Begins!😊

Safe and Sound....and Full!

Today didn't begin well, but ended fantastically.  Leta has been coughing like crazy the last few days so when we got up we went to the Urgent Care Clinic but the were not open, even though the internet showed they were, so we went to the other Urgent Care Clinic  in town, where they diagnosed her with pneumonia.   She got about 4 prescriptions and we waited untill they were filled.  We raced home and started working on cleaning out the guest bedroom/storage room until it was time for me to leave.   As I accelerated after backing out of the driveway,  my Coke bottle flipped out of the  cupholder and emptied it self in the passenger seat....of course I didn't have any paper towels or water on the car.

Woody and Bendy arrived this afternoon, they had a bumpy flight with lots of heart rendering dips and drops.  But their adventures were minor compared to mine!  The Buick LaSaber die...just shut off...in a construction zone...in San Antonio!  I  coasted as far as I  could but eventually came to a stop between the entrance ramp and I 10, a very  dangerous location.  I  tried restarting the engine a half dozen times or so, without success.  So I  dialed 911 and reported my emergency to this dispatcher. When lo and behold the engine fired.  And I was able to proceed to the airport for our annual reunion. Luckily their flight was delayed by about 1/2 an hour, and and we were successfully in our rendezvous.   Thank the Lord nothing bad happened to any of us.

Rudy's Bar B Que  (or the worst Bar B Que in Texas

As soon as got our greetings and the car loaded,  Bendy fulfilled our first tradition by exclaiming she was hungry, and she needed to go to Rudy's.  Avoiding the freeways, we wandered to the nearest one.  We enjoyed brisket, turkey, sausage, potato salad, and the sweetest cream corn you will ever taste.  After eating our lunch, on the out door picnic table we finish with a dessert of M&Ms.  (Apparently none of us had given up chocolate for lent).

Home at Last and Fried Ice Cream.

Because the car had acted up, we took back roads home and ended up visiting Luckenbach TX.  We got home to an exhausted Leta sitting on the glider on the front porch, locked out of the house!  We got inside and immediately put Woody to work breaking down the boxes.  Lee Cunningham called and offered use of Charmane's car and he even delivered it!

So Bendy was hungry, so we headed to the closest, Restaurant Altos de Jalisco where we all sampled  some of the hottest salsa we have had on this trip to date!  After our entrees we shared some fried ice cream with chocolate on it, of course.  Bendy was good, she didn't ask for M&Ms and even though; according to Abby, sprinkles make everything better, Leta didn't ask for any!