Wednesday, January 11, 2023

Continued search in the Hill Country

I have been extremely busy hunting Big Foot in the Hill Country of Texas. I have actual photographic proof that I am on the right trail, but more on that later.

As you may recall from the last installment, I am travelling with S&S. They have been here before and know many great places to explore. Again I will be posting mostly photos and not in chronological order as I have been hitting a lot of breweries and distilleries and the days sort of blend. I have also failed to take pictures once again at many breweries. That will likely force me to go again so I can satisfy the need to visually document everything. The burden of a modern explorer never ends.

This was on the trail of Enchanted Rock State Natural Area. The picture doesn't do the place justice. In fact, not sure if this was even the best picture for me to include here. I managed to slip on some rocks and cut up my leg and arm a bit. The good news is that I was in shorts as skin heals but jeans would have been torn. More good news is that the hole my leg and arm went in did not have any rattlesnakes as it was prime territory for that. And one final stroke of good news, S stopped me from rolling off the side of the cliff. Yep, really a positive experience all in all.

Pecan Street Brewing upstairs. The place was packed and we had to go to the loft space to drink. Leather couches and no crowds. We suffered through the burden.

Andalusia Whiskey. They make the best old fashioned using their smoked whiskey. At $7 it was a steal and little did we know but the prices were going up January 1st. At $9 it is still an excellent drink, but not quite the bargain it was. Thankfully we had more than one.

 Save The World Brewing in Marble Falls. Excellent beers and a cool place. They recently switched owners so they are expanding their brew selection as it appears to have focused solely on Belgium styles previously. 
 
Bear King Brewing also in Marble Falls. Excellent place to hang out. We enjoyed the sunny day and we were able to walk to the next brewery from here so it was quite convenient. More on that other place later as that was where I found evidence of my prey. 

Back to Andalusia for another old fashioned in the library. It was the most relaxing way to enjoy a cocktail - wearing shorts in late December, sitting next to books, on a leather chair. To be fair, I have been there many times with S&S and without them. I don't normally post multiple visit photos, but I really like the atmosphere here.

Photo of some vagrant on New Year's Eve. We went out to Old 290 Brewery after having dinner together. It was a beautiful night and band was excellent and played all sorts of music.

More of Old 290. Note the fire pit. One thing most Texans can agree upon is that they love Texas. I can see why as it is a lovely state and has such nice people. This would have been Amy and my 29th anniversary. Normally I am not in a festive mood on this date anymore, but I had a really nice time and actually enjoyed myself. I am sure Amy would have approved. 

Luckenbach, Texas. A couple of guys were playing and invited people up on stage to perform. It was awesome and despite my normal disdain of county music, I had a great time sipping on Shiner Bocks and enjoying the sun and fun. 

Pedernales River. I decided to go on a hike alone and enjoyed these views. I didn't see anyone on the trail so I do recommend midweek if you are looking for a peaceful hike.

Tusculum Brewing in Boerne. The place had only a few tables and no bar seating. They made up for the lack of pleasant ambience with excellent brews.

S and I did a 5.5 mile hike in Pedernales State Park. We took the route that went up so we had great views of the surrounding area. Glad I brought water on this hike unlike other times and I even wore my hiking boots to avoid another tumble. I can learn.

Salt Lick BBQ in Driftwood. The brisket was superior to all other brisket I have had. Totally worth going to and I shall return.

We hung out for a while at Lone Man Mountain Brewing. This is co-located with a winery which is quite popular in the area. They had tons of patio space and it was a pleasant 82 degree day with a light breeze and low humidity. Hunting for Big Foot is hard work and sometimes one needs to take a break. I know it seems like we take a lot of breaks, but to be fair, I am only showing a fraction of them.

View from Driftwood Estates winery. I enjoyed a really nice Malbec and the beautiful views. Once again the picture doesn't do it justice but I included it anyway so you get a sense of the place. I could take pictures of the buildings I suppose or vineyard, but you get the drift. 

You may have noticed I have not mentioned Big Foot much. I have been keeping a keen eye out this entire time but I have not seen the elusive creature, but I am getting closer. While in Marble Falls, one of the breweries had a mural on their wall next to their patio.. Double Horn Brewing had the evidence to prove that I am on the right trail. 

Mural on the wall, look closely at the "N", you will see a familiar figure.

Zoomed in so it is easier to see. Note the image of Big Foot with the arm raised up in the peace sign. Now compare to image I have on my site - braxwood.com. I can think of no better proof than this.

As I have once again proven that my search for Big Foot should be at breweries and I have been on the right track all along despite any naysayers, I will redouble my efforts. Big Foot has been at these establishments so it is a matter of time when our paths cross. I will need to increase the frequency of my searching and thankfully I have another month in the Hill Country albeit a bit further south. There are many breweries in that area and I will do my best to hit them all. It is a tedious effort but I am willing to make the sacrifice for science. 

I have cleaned up the beard a bit in order to throw off anyone tracking me. I had gone untrimmed for a full year and I managed to get the beard to be over 8 inches. Not sure what I or you can do with that information but I have been asked for dumber stuff when I worked so I thought I would share.

Until next time, 
Thor