Fredericksburg and Texas Hill Country

by

Fredericksburg & Texas Hill Country

Fredericksburg Texas makes for a worthwhile stop. The German
heritage town in the Texas Hill Country has many interesting shops, a
variety of restaurants, and several museums.

There
are over a hundred boutiques, art galleries and antique shops.  Visit
lavender farms, local wineries and nearby Enchanted Rock. A few miles
east of town is Wildseed Farms with walking trails, wildflowers, local
products and Butterfly Haus. Stop by the Visitor Center to plan your
visit.

The National Museum of the Pacific War tells the story
of the Pacific Theater battles of World War II. Originally named The
Admiral Nimitz Museum and housed solely in the historic Nimitz Hotel,
the Museum has grown significantly. In addition to nearly 34,000 square
feet of indoor exhibit space, the museum boasts an impressive display
of Allied and Japanese aircraft, tanks, guns and other large artifacts
made famous during the Pacific War campaigns.

Also in
Fredericksburg, the Pioneer Museum Complex includes two museums. The
largest was created in 1956 when the Historical Society bought the home,
smokehouse and barn of Henry Kammlah and turned it into a small
museum. Since then six major structures have been added and the museum
has frontage on two streets.

Our second museum is the
Vereinskirche. This was the first museum in the city
when the Historical Society opened it in 1935. There are permanent
exhibits on the history of the area and rotating photograph exhibits.

Nearby, located between Fredericksburg and Johnson City, is the Lyndon B. Johnson National Historical Park.     This park is arranged differently than many other parks, with two distinct visitor areas separated by 14 miles.

In Johnson City are:

  • The National Park Visitor Center – park rangers can help plan your visit.
  • The Boyhood Home in which President Johnson spent his childhood.
  • The Johnson Settlement where the President’s grandparents first settled in the 1860s.

The
LBJ Ranch is 14 miles west of Johnson City near Stonewall, Texas. A
second visitor center, operated by LBJ State Park and Historic Site, is
located near the Ranch. In order to see the LBJ Ranch, visitors obtain a
free driving permit at the LBJ State Park and Historic Site Visitor
Center.

There is no fee to visit the Johnson City District.
Donations are gratefully accepted. Driving permits for the LBJ Ranch
are free.  Ther may be some modest charge for tours, such as the Texas
White House Office tour.

In Lyndon B. Johnson State Park and
Historic Site, visitors can enjoy historical study, picnicking, nature
trails and exhibits, fishing, swimming and view Texas longhorn cattle.
Within the over 717 acres are enclosures containing buffalo, longhorn,
and white-tailed deer. The park is famous for its spring wildflower
display.

The Visitor Center contains memorabilia from President
Johnson’s presidency and interactive displays about the are and
immigrant families that settled here. Attached to the Visitors Center
is the Behrens Cabin, a two-room dogtrot cabin built during the 1870s,
and nearby is the 1860s Danz family log cabin. Located east of the
visitor center and off the nature trail, is the Sauer-Beckmann living
history farm.   Life on the farmstead is presented as it was in 1918.   
Park interpreters wear period clothing, do the farm and household chores
as they were done at that time and also conduct tours for the visitors.

While in the area, be sure to visit Luckenbach Texas. There is
not much of anything there, but that’s the reason to go. This tiny
hill country hamlet where “Everybody’s Somebody” was established as a
Trading Post in 1849 making it one of the oldest settlements in
Gillespie County.

For many, like us, Luckenback is known from the song lyrics, made famous by Waylon Jennings:

“There’s
only two things in life that make it worth livin’That’s guitars that
tune good and firm feelin’ women I don’t need my name in the marquee
lights I got my song and I got you with me tonight Maybe it’s time we
got back to the basics of love

Let’s go to Luckenbach Texas
with Waylon and Willie and the boys This successful life we’re livin’
got us feuding like the Hatfield and McCoy’s Between Hank Williams pain
songs, Newberry’s train songs and blue eyes cryin’ in the rain, out in
Luckenbach Texas ain’t nobody feelin’ no pain”

Stop by to see if anyone is playing out under the Oak trees. Check out what’s going on at night.  
There may be a performer scheduled in the Dance Hall.   Or perhaps you
will luck out as we did and enjoy a free dance with an excellent live
band.

We noted that Lady Bird Johnson Municpal park has a
very nice, popular RV Park (plan ahead to make reservations) and many
recreational facilities including a golf course.

Here are a few of the many RV parks in the area:

More ideas for Texas places to visit
More on RV Travel