Part I of Part II: The Texas Hill Country

February 23, 2020

Twenty Questions, continued

#11: Will you be carrying a tent this time? Nope. We talk about doing that again someday, but other than for a few local overnights we haven’t carried a tent in decades. Maybe one of these times, but not this year. So there’s a healthy clue: we aren’t going anywhere that requires a day between lodgings of more than 70 miles.

#12: You’ve said there’s an embedded flight. You already let slip that the tour begins in Austin and ends in Albuquerque, so you might as well let us know about the embedded flight too. Nice try, but not quite yet. Well, I will tell you one end of it: San Antonio. And as another helpful hint, all of these airports are close enough to fit into our 1,200 x 200 x 2 mile box: El Paso, Dallas/Fort Worth, Salt Lake City, Saint George, Cedar City, Casper, Denver, Grand Junction, Colorado Springs, Flagstaff, Phoenix, Tucson, Las Vegas, Houston, even New Orleans. Plenty of possibilities still.

The Texas Hill Country

We’ve used up half of our questions by now and you know we’re starting in Austin, so we might as well show you the first part of the tour: the Texas Hill Country. This is a smallish sub-tour: three weeks long, beginning in Austin and ending in San Antonio.

Keeping with our Looking Backward theme for the year, this will be the second time we’ll have biked the Texas Hill Country. Our first was in the first half of April, 2011 - almost exactly the same time that we we’re going this time. This is a premier spring cycling destination, famous especially for the spectacular bluebonnet displays the region is known for. We didn’t see them though - there was a drought that year and wildflowers were few and far between. We didn’t journal that tour, and in fact I can’t even find any photographs from it. I do still have the map though:

The Texas Hill Country, take one: March 31 through April 14, 2011.

This time we’ll keep a journal and definitely bring home some photographs. And we’ll definitely see some bluebonnets - the Austin Chamber of Commerce promised.

The Texas Hill Country, take two: March 24th through April 14th, 2020.

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Gregory GarceauI hope you see bluebonnets because I know you'll take some great pictures of them. Keep in mind, though, that Chambers of Commerce would never tell you if they were expecting vast fields of sunburned brownbonnets. Sometimes they'll tell a fib or two in the interest of promoting tourism.

So far, your tour looks great. Now I'll have to spend another couple hundred hours tearing my hair out and trying to figure out what airport you'll be flying into from San Antonio.

P.S. Are you sure Casper, WY fits into the box?
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4 years ago

Scott AndersonTo Gregory GarceauThat’s shocking information about the Chamber of Commerce. I can hardly believe it’s true but we’ll bear it in mind so we won’t get our hopes up too high.

Casper? Well, yes and no. It’s less than 1,100 raven miles from Austin. But given what we know about the WNW/ESE orientation of the box, I guess you’re right. Probably disqualifies several other airports I listed as well. You are so astute!
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4 years ago

Ron SuchanekWell, I will steer clear of the math, but would like to weigh in. This looks like an intriguing tour. We were planning to do the ACA Hill Country Loop in the fall of 2018, but floods changed those plans. I thought maybe you'd take the Southern Tier west from San Antonio, but I think there are loong stretches between towns, especially west of Del Rio. Hmmm, you've stumped me. Which isn't difficult, so don't get a big head.
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4 years ago

Scott AndersonTo Ron SuchanekYou’re right about West Texas. I’d love to see it some day, especially Big Bend; but the distances don’t really work for us at this point in our lives. Maybe some winter, with a car assist.
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4 years ago

Jen RahnWill the GBO get to see the Alamo?
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4 years ago

Jen RahnPerhaps you are flying from San Antonio to a regional airport .. Roswell or Almagordo?
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4 years ago

Scott AndersonTo Jen RahnYou come up with the best questions, Jen! I’ll have to remind him to bring his little coonskin hat.
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4 years ago

Scott AndersonTo Jen RahnPerhaps! Both look enticing, with the next nearest lodging only about a hundred miles away. I think I see a couple of canned chicken outlets in the area also.
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4 years ago