Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunter's Campfire I drove 12 hours to take one picture (pic heavy)

We loaded the kids up a few weeks ago to take a road trip through the Hill Country. Actually, that’s not entirely true. We loaded the kids up to drive 300 miles to take one picture, the road trip was just the lagniappe.

First, the road trip. I'm not one to travel more than a few hours from home without looking for a good place to eat. So we left home and headed to Alamo Springs Grill, who Texas Monthly says has the second best hamburger in the state. I don't know about second best, but it was certainly worth stopping for. We got there at 2PM and left at 3PM and they were PACKED the whole time. Not bad for a place that's an hour from anywhere.

It'd make a great motorcycle trip to Alamo Springs if anyone is into that sort of thing and they're only about a half hour from Luckenbach.

After lunch we headed down Old Fred Road (or Old #9 road, depending on which map you look at). Right after Old Fred Road turns into Highway 473, you can turn left onto River Bend Road and check out one of the coolest old train bridges I’ve ever seen. Of course, like nearly every other cool thing in this ridiculous state, the bridge is behind a fence with “No Trespassing” signs hung all over the place but it’s possible to get a few decent pictures if you’re creative with where you climb and your interpretation of Texas trespassing laws.



Taking Hwy. 480 out of Center Point there are quite a few places to get off the road and let the kids play in some shallow creeks to cool off. The water was crystal clear and not too cold and if you keep your eyes open you can find places off the highway with low water crossings and room to park.



It's also a good place to realize how youngman-ish your boy is starting to look....



In Vanderpool we managed to find the gravestone of my Great-Great-Great Grandfather, Captain Samuel Fleming, who fought with the 17th Texas Infantry in the Civil War. Vanderpool doesn’t have much except for the cemetery, but there’s a big community pavilion across the road that would make a great picnic spot.


Leaving Vanderpool...


The south fork of the Guadalupe River criss-crosses the highway all the way from Vanderpool to Kerrville (the route we took home). Again, there are some really great spots to pull over and let the kids play in the river. If you can’t find a good spot to park or the water looks a little stagnant just keep driving because you’re sure to find a good spot just down the road.


But in the middle of all this we stopped in the abandoned town of Tuff, Texas. And that stop was the reason for the whole trip.

Tuff, Texas was never a large town but after shrinking to around 10 residents in the early 1900s it was completely abandoned. The old post office is the only thing left standing and it’s been out of service since 1926.

For as long as I can remember I've wanted to visit Tuff, Texas to take a picture. Just one, to duplicate this picture of my grandfather.


I don't know how long ago that picture was taken, but I know the flagpole has been there for at least 25 years, and wasn't in the picture with my grandfather. So the picture of him was likely taken not long after I was born.

Not everything at Tuff is just the way it was in the old picture. The tractor thing is gone, the fence is moved and there’s a flag pole now. The flag pole forced me to do some finagling with the angle of the picture because I didn’t want to have the pole cut off without the flag showing, but in the end the picture turned out just right. I’ve wanted to take this picture for as long as I can remember and it was a great feeling to get it done. My wife was looking at the old picture on my phone to get everything lined up and she teared up a little when she took the new one.

And this is the picture we drove twelve hours to take.

[img]http://i192.photobucket.com/albums/z118/Bluedreaux/DSC_0126_zpsmmlvly2u.jpg[/img]

Here's the whole fam-damily. We took a few of just the boys too. If the old post office is still standing, maybe they'll be motivated to come back and retake it with their families too.

[img]http://i192.photobucket.com/albums/z118/Bluedreaux/DSC_0145_zps93x6pzrg.jpg[/img]

Terrific pic's and story.
Thank you.
John

Tejas has hills??

Well done Eric!

That's awesome. I have family in Kerrville and I'm always struck by the beauty of the area. It always leaves me asking, 'That's Texas? Really?"

Great story and picture Sir. Fine family you have there.

Great story and pics!

Ditto Doc!

Some of my all-time favorite country! Thanks for sharing the pictures with us.

great pics and cool story.

Great pictures and lovely family.

Great story & pics. Thanks for posting.

Blue,

You struck quite a chord with that picture. We lived in San Antonio for about 6 years and I've been in and around that country.

I certainly understand the feeling of family and of completeness for having taken the picture.

Thanks for sharing!

Great post Eric, and some really good pictures. I have always felt it important to 'hook the kids up' with their past. Great job, and a fine looking family.

Good looking family there, Eric! Glad to see you posting. This place can take a lot of your time and that's not always a good thing.

Take care, stay safe, and keep in touch!

Ed

We do Alamo Springs Cafe at least twice annually. We stay in Comfort so we can eat there once on the first day & again on the way home the next day.

Have spent lots of time under that bridge.

This article talks about the railroad from Comfort to Fredericksburg which is almost underneath Alamo Springs Cafe & the bat population that was the impetus for the Cafe's existence. That bridge you photographed was all part of it, twice.

Within the article: "...In the early 1920s a problem other than water struck the timber trestles. The big trestle over Black Creek just south of the tunnel caught fire and much of the center section burned. It was eventually replaced by the stone pier trestle that still stands today, one of the two remaining relics of the F&N. Only two real relics remain of the old F&N the Black Creek trestle and the tunnel. They are the last remnants of a dead era. A time when the presence of a railroad brought life to a town and the lack of one killed it."


http://www.texasescapes.com/CFEckha...-Railroad-Little-Engine-That-Couldnt.htm

Good stuff.

I miss the history in the south.

You have a great family, Blue!

Glad you were out enjoying them!

Thank Mama for the cookies, BTW... They were Great!

Very cool.