Texas Hill Country (March 25-27, 2024)

Overview | Registration | Accommodations | Dennis Fritsche Slide Deck | What To See | Mason Country Wildflower Drives | Recommended Reading | Submitting Your Images

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Overview

In late March, the Plano Photography Club will travel southwest to the Texas Hill Country to chase wildflowers and explore the Hill Country parks, small towns, and back roads.

If you attend, expect to see wildflowers, rivers, waterfalls, hills, kitsch, and a bit of history.

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Registration

IMPORTANT: Those attending this event will need to register with the PPC (click the button below) to be included in all club-planned Hill Country events/activities.

REGISTER WITH THE PPC FOR ALL COMMUNICATIONS RELATED TO THIS EVENT

NOTE: This registration does not include lodging; please see the Accommodations section of this page for additional information.

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Accommodations

You are responsible for obtaining your own lodging.

The PPC will be using the Country Inn & Cottages in Fredericksburg as our base of operations.

Note that we will be staying in the cottages (not the Inn), which are located approximately five (5) miles from downtown Fredericksburg and located on a 200-acre ranch.

Due to the popularity of the area during the spring, we highly recommend that you act quickly to secure your lodging.

Register now at mycountryinn.com or call the hotel at 830-997-2185 to book your room.

 

Special Notes

1. You can save a small fee by going to the Inn and picking up your key and package.
   
   Country Inn & Cottages Motel
   1644 W US Highway 290, Fredericksburg, TX 78624
   
   If you have trouble finding it, it is located across from the street from Tejas Smoke Depot (Google Maps).
2. When making your selection online, make sure to put your date/days in first as seasonal pricing changes after March 1, 2024.
3. Review the cancellation and rebooking policies within 14 days of your stay.

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Hill Country Travel Presentation

At the February 15, 2024 club meeting, Dennis Fritsche gave a presentation in support of the club's upcoming Hill Country field trip.

It includes the following information:

• Recommended travel routes from Plano with maps
• General information about Fredericksburg
• Travel maps and photos for
• Enchanted Rock and the Willow City Loop
• Highway 290 Winery Trail
• The Grand Tour of the Hill Country
• A Get Acquainted Tour of the Hill Country
• Possible Group Activities

You can review or download the presentation by clicking either on this link or the embedded image at right.

What To See

Around Fredericksburg

• Fredericksburg - shops and galleries
• German food
• Enchanted Rock
• Willow City Loop
• Luckenbach
• Johnson City
• Pedernales Falls State Park
• LBJ National Historical Park (including the Texas White House)
• Wineries

On The Deep Hill Country Ramble

• Comfort
• Bandera (Cowboy Capital of the World)
• Drive from Medina to Vanderpool
• Lost Maples Café; (Utopia)
• Garner State Park
• Leakey - crossings of the Rio Frio
• Lost Maples State Natural Area
• Stonehenge II
• Guadalupe River around Kerrville

Hitting The Wildflower Trails in Mason County

Source: Mason Chamber of Commerce

If you think Texas is only cactus, mesquite trees and sagebrush, you haven’t visited the Hill Country in the springtime. The bluebonnets burst forth first, in late March and early April, followed by flowers of every hue; reds, whites, yellows, and pinks throughout April and May. And this winter, the Hill Country has been blessed with the plentiful rains that practically guarantee a Technicolor wildflower display.

On the northernmost edge of the Hill Country, you’ll find Mason County. It’s not a big county geographically speaking, but our wildflowers put on a "Really Big Show" and we invite you to attend a "viewing." To help you enjoy this show at a slow country pace, the Mason County Chamber of Commerce offers “Mason Historic Country Lanes;” this is a selection of three different drives through the county on the back roads.

Drive #1: Mason – Art Loop Drive

1. Take RR 386 north from NE corner of Courthouse Square in downtown Mason.
2. Approximately 8 miles, turn right on FM 2618. This area of Mason County is particularly scenic with hills, valleys and exposed granite boulders.
3. Approximately 7 miles, turn right on RR 1900. Road passes the first Fly Gap community school originally built in 1884.
4. Approximately 8 miles, intersect Hwy 29. At this point, driver can turn right to return to Mason or turn left to drive to Llano.

Drive #2: James River Road

1. Drive south from Courthouse Square on Hwy 87 (Fredericksburg Hwy)
2. Approximately 1 mile, turn right on RR 1723. Several pre-1900 houses along road.
3. Approximately 3 miles, turn right on FM 2389. Look for the historical marker on left for Todd Mountain Cemetery. John Wayne’s movie The Searchers was based on the Todd story.
4. Approximately 4 miles, reach double bridge crossing over the Llano River. The road turns sharply right and becomes James River Road. (James River Road is gravel road, so it is a slow drive, but THE SCENERY IS SPECTACULAR)
5. Approximately 7 miles, reach James River. Turn around on gravel area and drive back to Mason.

Drive #3: Hilda Drive

1. Drive south from Courthouse Square on Hwy 87 (Fredericksburg Hwy).
2. Approximately 11 miles, turn right on FM 783.
3. Approximately 3 miles, turn left on Simonsville Road.
4. Approximately 1 mile, watch for Turkey Peak Mountain. Turn right on Loeffler Lane. You are driving through private property, please do NOT litter or trespass.
5. Approximately 3 miles, reach Hilda United Methodist Church and Hilda Methodist Cemetery. This area provides excellent photo opportunities but please respect the sanctity of the area.
6. Just past the Church, turn left on FM 783. More scenery and old homes.
7. Approximately 6 miles, turn left on Threadgill Creek Road. This 10-mile gravel road is EXTREMELY SCENIC with multiple low water crossings. Watch for wildlife and livestock.
8. Approximately 10 miles, reach Hwy 87. Turn left to return to Mason or turn right to drive to Fredericksburg.

For a Country Lanes brochure or other information on Mason and Mason County, contact the Mason County Chamber of Commerce at 325-347-5758 or by e-mail: masontexas@hctc.net.

Submitting Your Photos

We would love to include your best images from activities in a gallery on the club website and as part of a slideshow at a future monthly club meeting. Photos can be submitted for this purpose by following these guidelines:

• Email up to ten (10) images from the Hill Country field trip to clubphotos@planophotographyclub.com.
• Include your name and the name of the trip in your image file names (e.g., DanWinters_HillCountry_1.jpg).
• The maximum dimension (long edge) for submitted images is 4096 pixels; the maximum file size is 10MB.
• You may need to divide your images and send them in multiple emails if the total size exceeds the maximum size allowed for a single email message.

If you have any questions about this event, please contact Club Activities Chair Cliff McKenzie.