Enjoy the Texas Hill Country

to head out to Leakey on Saturday.  The motorcycle shop is going to be hosting a cowboy breakfast in the morning and then later that night they will be hosting a shrimp boil.  With the recent rains this is a great time to head out to the Sabinal, Frio and Nueces river basins to enjoy the water, the excellent scenic drives on the Three Sisters and delicious food.  And in addition to all that, there is Lost Maples, Garner and Concan out in this neck of the woods.  You can’t go wrong with heading out to this portion of the Hill Country.  http://www.friocanyonchamber.com/events.htm

With the end of the school year and with the Memorial Day weekend approaching it is time to make plans to go tubing if you have not already gone.  We scouted out the Comal, Guadalupe and San Marcos Rivers yesterday.  Happy to report none of those rivers were very crowded early in the day.  The Upper Guad has pretty good water, but it is trending towards lower flows so you will need to head out there pretty soon.  The Lower Guad is flowing around a relatively low 100 cfs, but all but just a very few places looked fine.  Even if you do have to walk the tube it should not be for very long at all.  The San Marcos looked great and water was flowing over the dam at Rio Vista.  The Comal is fine for floating, but in case you haven’t heard about their new can ban you need to look it up and comply with the rules or you will probably get a ticket.  Have fun, be safe, and remember to take a sack for your cans.  http://www.nbtexas.org/index.aspx?NID=1108

Jerry Jeff is playing at the Gruene Hall tonight and tomorrow.  They are also having a big music fest there on Sunday.  This would be a great time to head out to one of the absolute best dance halls in Central Texas and hear a guy from New York who everybody would swear was born in Texas.  http://www.gruenehall.com/

for delicious peaches.  If you are heading out to Fredericksburg this weekend to walk up and down the streets all day looking at a bunch of junk, oh sorry, to go shopping, then be sure to keep your eyes open for the peach stands that will be open outside of town.  The cling peaches should be coming in and they are great over Blue Bell ice cream.  These delicious peaches are also nice to have with you if you are lucky enough to be going camping this weekend.  Have fun.  http://www.texaspeaches.com/ripedate.html

This coming Saturday after the rains stop the good folks in San Marcos will be throwing the 25th annual western swing festival.  There will be some excellent musicians playing some of the best music in the world at this superb event.  Most of the college kids will have left town so it is pretty much a locals only event.  The festival lasts all day and then there will be a performance down by the river at night.  This is a really nice festival if you like swinging.   http://www.sanmarcostx.gov/index.aspx?page=209

Quick, make reservations for this weekend to go camping at Garner.  The water is up, the weather should be beautiful and they will be offering a camping camp.  Park staff will be available to show you the correct way to set up camp, cook over a campfire, how to avoid inviting wildlife into your campsite, and how to enjoy your camping trip using no trace techniques.  This is a great way to sharpen your camping skills or to teach the kids how to camp.  http://www.tpwd.state.tx.us/calendar/texas-outdoor-family-garner-state-park-near-san-antonio-special-2-night-event

If you have your own boat and have been on the water more than a few times then today would be great to go paddle on the Upper Guadalupe.  It is flowing about 1600 cfs, but it is dropping pretty quickly.  Be sure to contact the outfitters to get river flow information before heading out and they can tell you what to avoid.  Have fun and be safe.

If you are going to be camping at McKinney Falls State Park you could take advantage of one of their interactive programs.  They will be giving free fishing lessons to adults and children.  The best part is you don’t need a fishing license and you can cook what you catch over the campfire later in the day.  Have fun.  http://www.tpwd.state.tx.us/calendar/go-fish-learn-to-fish-event-15

The folks at Albert are holding their annual no rules chili cookoff on Saturday.  This is a fun event and they won’t even scoff at you if you put beans in your chili.  Of course there will be plenty of adult beverages and if you stay for the whole thing there will be a dance that night.  Beats the heck out of walking up and down the street of F’burg all day — oooooppss!  http://www.alberttexas.com/

This Saturday and Sunday the folks at LBJ State Park will offer some guided nature hikes.  This is good opportunity to learn more about the creatures and vegetation that inhabit this portion of the Pedernales River Basin.  Also, it beats the heck out of doing yard work.   http://www.tpwd.state.tx.us/state-parks/lyndon-b-johnson/park_events/