July-September 2017 Issue

The current state of the Texas Wine Industry is exciting! The wine business is booming like crazy with more consumers visiting Texas wineries and seeking out high quality wines, and the wineries are responding with some real vigor. Texas wines are now something to be reckoned with, and they keep getting better year after year! The Texas Hill Country is without a doubt the pinnacle wine destination in the state.

Helotes, Texas’ Mark Waldrop is one talented musician who has been successfully entertaining audiences in venues across the Texas Hill Country for a good many years. The crowds know and love this laid-back singer and guitarist for his colorful mix of country/western, swing, blues, hillbilly and other genres. What they may not know is that when the show’s over, Mark transforms himself from popular performer into a highly trained, professional luthier – that’s right, a first-rate, bona fi ...

It seemed as if there were less and less natural areas for people to enjoy, as civilization pressed itself deeper into the countryside, building towns, highways and areas otherwise closed to the public. Sound familiar? It could be a headline from today’s news, but the year was 1950. The town of Kerrville had, for the most part, been built on the high north bank of the Guadalupe River.

Looking for a good place to birdwatch? Perhaps you’d like to take a short hike through a beautiful Texas landscape? Or maybe you simply want to meditate with Mother Nature? If the answer’s “Yes” to any of the above, you should take a look at Cooper Spring Nature Park in Lampasas.

“Texas is the finest portion of the globe that has ever blessed my vision.” – Sam Houston The Texas Hill Country is arguably one of the most scenic and beautiful places in all of the state. It’s no wonder, then, that people choose to spend as much time here as possible. Natural resources abound – nature trails, rivers, creeks and streams, hills and valleys, and trees and wildlife.

If you haven’t discovered New Braunfels yet, well, why not? You’re missing one of the highlights of Texas. First, it’s conveniently located off Interstate 35 about midway between Austin and San Antonio. Second, it is historic and fun and interesting. Third, it has some great food—some of the best in Texas.

New Braunfels exudes history. It’s home to Texas’ oldest bakery, oldest dance hall, oldest hardware store, oldest municipal golf course. So what better place to rest your weary head than in a historic home built in 1858. Yes, you can stay in the Gerlich-Wagenfuehr home, now a bed and breakfast inn run by the New Braunfels Conservation Society that preserves several old homes, old businesses, and old barns in the city. The home was built by Heinrich Hoeke, one of the original German settlers ...

Proudly overlooking Louise Hays Park in downtown Kerrville, Lupe is a sculpture by the talented, visionary artist GiGi Miller. And true to the park’s own history of being built by the community, small tiles made with love by local residents were incorporated into the large art piece. Lupe is a colorful, whimsical version of a Guadalupe Bass, Texas’ state fish.

Like a pulsating artery running through the heart of Kerrville, the Guadalupe River has pumped vitality into the community and attracted countless numbers of people to its cypress-lined banks. Long ago the river lured Native-Americans and Spanish explorers, then came cypress-shingle makers like Joshua Brown who’s credited with the founding of Kerrville in 1846.

Here’s a story of two sisters, who set out on a trail in the Big Thicket of Texas. The two, one a seasoned hiker, the other up for an adventure, planned their journey over the course of about a year, and then set out on a trip that tested their endurance and brought them closer together. Karen, 62, and Cyndi, 60, still dream about their time on the Lone Star Trail, the longest footpath in the state of Texas.