Del Rio is a major inland shipping point for wool and mohair as well as home to Amistad recreation area which is shared by the US and Mexico. The reservoir was created by a 6-mile long dam on the Rio Grande and according to photos we saw, at the center of the dam stands two bronze eagles symbolizing the two nations working together to create this incredible area.

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When we were here at Lake Medina four years ago, the lake was dry and cows were grazing in it. We were thrilled to see that it is now almost full (we were told it was now about 60% full) and happier still that we were able to get a beautiful site with a lake view.

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This campground is home to a herd of blacktail deer. It's always fun to see them wandering around.

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We are having unseasonable hot weather which all the boating spring breakers are loving. I was so happy to see my first sunset over the lake tonight.

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Wildlife abounds in this Thousand Trails Park. As we were leaving today we saw this beautiful roadrunner with his breakfast of a huge lizard in his beak.

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Boerne (pronounced bernie) was first settled in the mid-1850's by members of the idealist German colony of Bettina. They laid out the town to resemble the communities they had known in Europe. Wild Bill Hickok was not a native Texan and never even visited Boerne, but according to local folklore, has decided to spend the rest of his days sitting on a bench at the east end of the Main Plaza. His body is actually buried in Deadwood, South Dakota.

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Bandera was organized in 1856 and the present courthouse was completed in 1891. We always enjoy poking around these old buildings in these small communities.

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We were welcomed into the building and told to feel free to visit any of the offices. We gravitated toward the County Clerks office where we were allowed into the vault to look in any of the old books of public records. Al found a hand written book dated 1850 - 1880 that recorded the brands from all the local ranches. The next book had moved from hand lettering to a stamp with only the actual brand drawn in. It was really interesting.

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Before 1881, John Spettel, Jr., a successful cattleman, built a two-story house, featuring elaborate ornamentation and wrap around porches on the east bank of the Medina River for his bride. In 1912, construction began on the Medina Dam which led to the flooding of the surrounding area, including the Spettel property. Spettel's wife chose to save the house and the house was cut into two pieces and hauled to it's location at our campground. The Spettel family continued to use the house as their residence until 1925.

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The sign at the campground says "America's first RV"- I'm not so sure I would have liked traveling that RV as much as I like traveling in my mine!

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This is our first trip to Austin and we're incredibly lucky to have our own personal tour guides, Connie and Dean, who we met on our Russia Trip. They live in a beautiful house above beautiful Travis Lake in the village of Volente.

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There is a lot of LBJ history in this area along with his library and even one of the lakes in the chain being called Lady Bird Lake. According to a reliable source, this little row of cottages built on Lake Travis by LBJ were to house the prostitutes brought to this lake to keep the gentlemen company - and yes, LBJ was one of those gentlemen!

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One of my requests was to eat Texas BBQ so Dean took us to County Line BBQ where our request for good BBQ was indeed fulfilled! We also went to Hudsons on the Bend where I ate rattlesnake sausage and Eddie V's for great Texas steaks.

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The Hope Outdoor Gallery, a three-story educational art project in Austin, is one of the largest outdoor galleries in the USA. This project, launched in 2011, was developed to provide muralists, graffiti artists and community groups the opportunity to display large scale art pieces driven by inspirational, positive and educational messaging. In addition, the project activates and beautifies a dynamic yet underutilized space with a great view of Austin!

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For over a century, the Italian Renaissance Revival style, sunset red granite Capitol has stood as a symbol of the legendary spirit of Texas. The Goddess of Liberty statue was placed on top of the dome in February 1888. Connie said they exaggerated her features which actually made her ugly so her face could be seen from the ground. The Capitol building is 308-feet tall which makes it the 6th largest in the US and taller then the Capitol building in Washington DC.

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Our campground is in Georgetown, a quaint Victorian town established in 1848 as a trade center for the agricultural region. We saw this bronze across from the county courthouse so went to check it out. It was a statue of Robert McAlpin Williamson, perhaps better known as Three-Legged Willie, who was a soldier, statesman, lawyer and newspaper publisher. It's been said he never lived in Williamson County - maybe he never even visited but the county is named for him in honor of his service to the state. He is known affectionately as Three-legged Willie due to the wooden leg he used following an illness when he was 15. His right leg drew up at the knee and could not support him. Thereafter, he wore a wooden leg, leaving his useless foot extended behind him.

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In 1851, a small community was formed on the banks of Brushy Creek, near a large round and anvil-shaped rock located in the middle of the creek. This round rock marked a convenient low-water crossing for wagons, horses, and cattle. The first postmaster called the community "Brushy," but in 1854, at the suggestion of the postmaster, the small settlement was renamed Round Rock in honor of this now famous rock.

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Downtown Round Rock was the site of an historic gunfight and subsequent capture (and death) of the 19th-century American train robber Sam Bass by the Texas Ranger Division on July 19, 1878. We went to Round Rock Cemetery in search of his gravesite which we did not find but did find this carpet of blue bonnets covering one grave. Blue bonnets are the state flower and according to Connie each flower on a stalk can hold only one drop of water.

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Both Connie and Dean are graduates of UT and very loyal to their alma mater so we had a tour of the campus. Dean found a great place for me to get this picture of the stadium - while taking the picture the gate closed and we weren't sure we were going to get out!

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We made a stop at the famous Hula Hut where we took the opportunity for a group shot with the dam in the background. This is the dam between Austin and Lady Bird Lakes.

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