Tag Archives: Johnson City

Texas Hill Country Fall Foliage Motorcycle Ride November 2012

Texas Hill Country

Ingram on the river

Texas Hill Country

Ride map – 270 miles

Texas Hill Country Fall Foliage Motorcycle Ride. 

In Central Texas we don’t get the fall foliage displays like they have in some places. Most of our trees are evergreen. Live Oak and Cedar trees are the most prevalent. There are pockets of deciduous trees throughout the area.” Lost Maples State Park” is the best known for its fall colors. The fall foliage displays here can be hit or miss depending on the weather during the year. The drier and colder the weather the better it will be.

On our ride we saw some good colors but not as bright as in the past. The trees with leaves were still green or have not completely turned. The weather has not been cold enough for some of the trees. The Red Oaks and the Lacy Oaks were starting to change some. The ride along the Medina, Guadalupe and the Sabinal Rivers, had beautiful golden brown Sycamores, and copper-colored Cypress trees.

This was a spur of the moment ride. The weather the day before was perfect riding weather with clear sunny skies with temperatures in the 50’s and 60’s. I thought we had better take advantage of our good weather and ride while we can. As it turned out today was overcast. I assumed the clouds would burn off as it did the day before… but I was wrong. There were short burst of sunshine earlier in the day but it remained overcast for most of the day. Being overcast made it a bit chilly riding.

Texas Hill Country

Stonehenge II in Ingram

Our ride took us from Georgetown to Llano via Hwy 29. We then headed south on Hwy 16 to FM 965 past Enchanted Rock to Fredericksburg. From there we picked up Hwy 16 again heading south to Kerrville. We stopped for gas and got a hot cup of coffee to warm up a bit. From there we headed west on Hwy 27 to Ingram. In Ingram we stopped to see the new home of Stonehenge II. Stonehenge II was moved from its original home just outside Hunt to Ingram.  The land of its original site was sold and the buyers did not want Stonehenge II. We were glad that it was saved and preserved here in Ingram.

Texas Hill Country

Picnic Area on Guadalupe River off Hwy 39 outside Hunt

From Ingram we picked up Hwy 39 to a picnic area on the Guadalupe River. The picnic area is just outside Hunt. Because of a special diet we are on we packed a lunch. The picnic area is a beautiful spot with the river, waterfalls and cypress trees that had turned to a beautiful copper brown.

Texas Hill Country

Guadalupe River off Hwy 39

Texas Hill Country

Lunch at Picnic Area

After lunch we continued down Hwy 39 to Hwy 187. We always enjoy the ride down Hwy 39. It is always scenic as it follows and criss-crosses the Guadalupe River. The fall colors were good all along the way. Hwy 187 takes us past “Lost Maples State Park”. 187 had nice views of the hill country and the changing colors of the trees. Just past “Lost Maples” we turned east onto RR 337 to Medina. RR 337 is one of the “Three Sisters” or “Twisted Sisters” (RR 335, 336 & 337) as some refer to them. At Medina we turned onto Hwy 16 again and headed north back to Kerrville and Fredericksburg. In Fredericksburg we picked up Hwy 290 east to Johnson City (named for President Johnson). At Johnson City we turned north onto Hwy 183 to Burnet. In Burnet we headed east on Hwy 29 to home.

Texas Hill Country

Hwy 39 Outside Hunt

Texas Hill Country

Guadalupe River

It was a good ride except it was a bit cool. We should have worn an extra layer to help with the cold. Normally we carry extra clothing just for such things, but I misjudged the weather. I won’t do that again.

We hope to see you down the road somewhere. Ride safe…

If you like this post you may like “Hill Country Fall Foliage Ride November 2010”

Texas Hill Country Wildflower Motorcycle Ride April 12 – 13, 2012 (478 Miles)

Blue Bonnets at Buchanan Lake, Texas Hill Country, Wildflowers, motorcycle touring, motorcycle travel, motorcycle ride, motorcycle trip, motorcycle riding, motorcycle road trips, travel, Texas

Blue Bonnets at Buchanan Lake

Each year we try to do a Texas Hill Country wildflower motorcycle ride while everything is in bloom. Janet and I are lucky that we live at the edge of the Texas Hill Country. Besides Big Bend the Hill Country is the best place to ride in Texas. For the past year and a half we haven’t been able to do much riding due to other pressing things going on in our lives. We are constantly trying to get caught up on things… but sometimes you just have to make time to have some fun. So we took a couple of days to ride the Hill Country and see this year’s crop of wildflowers. We were afraid we had missed the peak of the wildflower season due to it turning warm sooner this year, but actually I think we picked the best time. I wasn’t sure about how the weather was going to be because they had forecasted 20% rain and breezy conditions. As it turned out it was a pretty good ride even though we did get some rain and it did get pretty breezy the last 40 or so miles of the ride.

There are so many good roads to ride in the Texas Hill Country. Every time we go riding in the Hill Country I try to take different routes to change things up a bit. It is amazing the different things you see when riding a road in the opposite direction. It’s as if you are riding a different road at times and I find myself wondering how I managed to miss some of the sites before.

You never know from year to year what the wildflower crop will be and because of the drought I was afraid the flowers would be few and far between. We were pleasantly surprised to find the flower crop was pretty good this year. As far as I am concerned, the only way to truly appreciate the wildflowers is on a bike, motored or otherwise. Seeing them from an air-conditioned car isn’t much better than seeing them on TV. When riding a motorcycle you not only see but smell and feel your surroundings. The smells are incredible as you ride along not just the flowers but nature in general. It has to be experienced to be fully appreciated.

Below are links to each day’s ride. Come follow along and enjoy the ride and scenery of our beautiful Texas Hill Country.

You may also like these rides in our beautiful Texas Hill Country.