Three Sisters

A long awaited meeting.

We packed our tent, gassed our scoots and pointed our wheels northwest for the Texas Hill Country. Our purpose was not only to enjoy a change of pace and scenery but also a long awaited meet with Christine, from the Land of Wisconsin.
After renting a Harley-Davidson touring bike at Dallas and riding to San Antonio, she was to meet the luckiest woman in Flour Bluff, and me, at the historic town of Bandera, "Cowboy Capital of the World".

Saturday morning, as planned, the big yella bike and the Honda Magna I like to call, Black Magic, were on the road. We knew a cold front, with accompanying heavy rain, was predicted for later in the day, and that night, but we reckoned we could probably make camp at Kerrville, TX before then.



Though we caught a few sprinkles on the way, it wasn't till we were just 160 miles into the trip, leaving the town of Devine, that we knew how far off the weather forecast was. The dark clouds seem to reach the road and rain was beginning to blind me when I finally found a place to pull over and don my Frogg Toggs. The wind was picking up, complicating things, and the rain was beginning to soak the back of my denim jacket when Jill U-turned and asked if I wanted to return to Devine.



We pulled into a Shell Mart, gassed, coffeed and sheltered from a downpour that flooded the intersection so that a pair of Corvettes couldn’t pass. One of the women driving had been partner in a motorcycle dealership and came into the wash bay to smoke and talk. Since there was no public phone at that particular store she let us use her cell to make a status report to Christine, who had already made Bandera.






When the rain let up, some, and the sky lightened, some, we were back in the wind, a pretty darned cool wind, now.

We made Bandera, quick enough, but, while our friend’s bike was at the appointed place, she was still wandering the town. Since a pay phone robbed me of my last four quarters, we wandered some, too, admiring the unusual cowboy souvenirs displayed in the shop windows.



Finally, after what seemed like a year, we met Christine of Wisconsin. We celebrated with lunch at Old Spanish Trail Restaurant and a quick ride to Kerrville-Schreiner Park, at Kerrville, TX.




The Guadalupe River flows past the park where, during the “season”, visitors swim and fish.



The sun set on weary adventurers who stayed up late enjoying a campfire.



We Meet the Sisters.

Sunday morning, we rode SH-16 from Kerrville to Medina in hopes of snagging some breakfast. This piece of road is everything the famed “Dragon”, through Deal’s Gap, is, only shorter.
The restaurant was closed, as are many privately owned businesses in this part of the world; we didn’t find non-corporate eats till we made our way to the town of Utopia and the Lost Maples Restaurant. Lost Maples’ staff cooks and serves genuine “home cookin’”. This was our jumping off point to ride the State Highways known as the Three Sisters.

One of our first stops was the Lone Star Motorcycle Museum, outside of Vanderpool.




The Texas Hill Country, like any place worth riding to, cannot be brought home in a camera.



It’s not just that parts cannot be photographed, safely, from the pillion of a motorcycle (Jill was photographing from behind the bars, this trip), the peculiar smell of burning cedar cannot be captured, neither can the sight of a hawk swooping close to the road or the roar of tires in the curves.





The ride was fantastic, the weather cool and sunny. While, over the years, Jill and I have covered most of these miles, this is the first time we’d ridden the Three Sisters in their entirety.



Along the way, another rider fell in with us, keeping his distance, but not trying to pass on the straight stretches of road. When we finished the loop we took a break at the Hog Pen, in the town of Leaky. There, the unknown rider told us that his big custom Honda cruiser had just been finished and it was his first time on the loop. He thanked me for letting him tag along and complimented us for being safety conscious and told me, yes, the ride had been everything he'd hoped. I'm glad we could be part of a good first experience on the Hill Country roads.



We had a full and rewarding day and then it was time to head for some eats and another campfire.
During our last visit to Kerrville, Jill and I ate at El Sombrero Jalisco Restaurant. We were impressed so we ate there, again. We were not disappointed.

Riding 250 miles in the beautiful Texas Hill Country on Sunday was icing on the cake of getting to meet Christine in person. I mean, the gal gave me wood, that ought to tell you something.



The ride home started cool and calm and ended warm and windy, hardly remarkable when riding in Texas.
We stopped for a great lunch of sandwiches and pintos at McBee’s BBQ, in Jourdanton, then worked on our butterfly collections between there and the ramp to I-37 and the City.
I guess we just know how to live.


The Road goes on forever