Sonora, Texas to Canyon Lake, Texas – November 2-8, 2015

Our last day in the Sonora, Texas area was spent in Sonora: all things internet at the library, seeing the historical parts of the town and a wonderful lunch at a little café that we happened upon in the heart of downtown.

Every little town has its treasures. Sonora, itself, is seated in the ranching world of old Texas. About 1885 a rancher and merchant named Charles Adams settled on land, that he named Sonora, after a family servant from Sonora, Mexico. By 1890, the town had a post office and was selected the county seat of Sutton County. There were 18 houses, 3 stores, 2 livery stables, 2 hotels, a schoolhouse and 14 tents. That same year the weekly publication, Devil’s River News, began operating—it’s the oldest continuously operating business in the county. Within 2 years Sonora had added 2 saloons, a grain and flour mill, a restaurant, 3 physicians and at least 1 church—it was a community on the move, especially since it was also connected to San Antonio by a mail stage. A courthouse was constructed in 1893, the same year the First National Bank of Sonora was established.

In September 1902, a fire wiped out nearly half the town’s businesses. Those who could afford to do so rebuilt their businesses, this time with native stone. The First National Bank was among the businesses that survived the fire. Supplies were freighted into town from San Angelo by wagons, a round trip that took from 6 to 15 days. With hopes abounding, a railway was awarded a contract in 1908 to lay track from San Angelo to Del Rio with a stop in Sonora. After a wait of about 23 years and numerous delays due to financial problems, the first train rolled into Sonora in 1930. From a population of 738 in 1904, the town has grown to just over 3,000, and has added more churches, a second newspaper, numerous small businesses, and a Texas Agricultural Experiment Station (in partnership with Texas A&M) dedicated to researching livestock diseases and methods to improve production. The Sonora Wool and Mohair Company (a consortium of local sheep and goat raisers) was formed, and now sponsors the annual Sonora Wool and Mohair show, where the National 4-H Wool Judging Contest has been held since 1938.

 

We found it interesting that in 1901 a member of Butch Cassidy’s Wild Bunch, William Carver, was shot and killed in a Sonoran bakery/feed store, when the sheriff was attempting to arrest him on suspicion of murder. Before he died, he was heard muttering “Die game, boys!”—defiant last words that have become legend in the folklore of Wild West outlaws. His grave marker only has the date he was killed.

Another point of interest is that Dan Blocker, who portrayed “Hoss” on Bonanza, was a high school English and drama teacher in Sonora before he was cast in that TV series. Who knew!!?

After spending time at the library, we began our walk around town. We came upon the 1889 home of Isaac Miers, only the 5^th structure built in Sonora. Isaac was shot during a disagreement over the town well; he died shortly thereafter at his home.

Surrounding the court house are quite a few “Sunday houses,” used by ranch families only on weekends when they came into town to attend church and conduct any other business they deemed necessary. Along the front walk of the court house are historical markers of the pioneer settlers of Sonora. Many of their descendants are still prominent citizens of Sonora. 

We continued to walk around, and soon discovered it was time for lunch. I decided to stop in at the old Mercantile Building to get a recommendation, when I happened upon Gigi’s on Main, a luncheon café in that building, that touts color and happiness. Boy, I guess so! All the patrons voiced that it was the BEST place in Sonora for lunch. We were not disappointed. Dick and I both started with broccoli and cheddar soup, followed by a grilled Reuben on marbled rye (Dick), and a fried green tomato BLT on grilled sour dough. YUM-YUM! Even if you’re passing by on Interstate 10, and find it’s time for lunch, it’s worth a stop. They’re only open from 11:00-2:00 Monday through Friday. I guarantee you’ll be impressed with both the food and the waitstaff!

Tuesday was a travel day again, this time to Canyon Lake, Texas, where we planned to stay for 10 days before our final stop in Rockport for the winter. It was a short day, just over 180 miles driving. Our reservations were at the Cranes Mills Corps of Engineers Park on Canyon Lake. When we arrived we found the park closed due to flooding from the week before. Now what?? The rangers at Cranes Mills recommended we try Rio Guadelupe RV Park, on the Guadalupe River, to see if they had space. They did, so here we parked. (After selecting our site, we met our neighbors Howard and Elaine from Illinois, who had been evacuated from the Corps of Engineers Park just a few days prior.)

The park has 80 RV sites with full hook-ups and 22 cabins, located high enough above the Guadalupe River to preclude any flooding. There’s internet, cable TV, an onsite store, as well as a pool and volleyball court; river rafting is adjacent to the property. The only issue is that there was no water in the park due to the flooding; the city was working on restoring it, and we had water by Wednesday morning. Yay! 

During our stay in Sonora we discovered the motorcycle had a flat rear tire, so Dick did his due diligence and found a motorcycle repair shop in Canyon Lake, who was more than happy to help out. Griff, the shop owner, ordered the tire and said it would probably take a couple of days to get it in. When asked, he recommended Granny D’s for breakfast so off we went.

Granny D’s is located on Highway 306, just a few miles from our site. It’s not really much to look at from the outside, and the inside is wooden tables and booths—nothing fancy. But…the food! WOW! It’s really down home southern cooking, and it’s really good! Here are photos of our breakfasts. And, no, Dick did not eat all his pancake. (We also found out the difference between pancakes and flapjacks.)

After a stop at a local grocery for a few items, we returned to our camper and decided to get the motorcycle to Griff before the impending rain started. We were able to pump enough air into the tire for Dick to ride it to his shop. Then, the rain started…

We had steady rain for most the night, and into the next day. That put a real “damper” on our plans to see much of the area on Thursday. Dick decided a haircut was in order, so while he was out doing that he drove back to Cranes Mills Park with the hope of getting photos, but that was a no go. He was able to get some photos of the nearby marina, though.

When he returned he received a phone call that the motorcycle was ready! Wow! That was quick! So off we went to pick it up. Later Thursday we drove into New Braunfels to see the movie, “Our Brand is Crisis,” starring Sandra Bullock, who plays a battle-hardened American political consultant who is sent to help re-elect a controversial president in Bolivia. She finds that she has to compete against a long-term rival consultant working for another candidate (played by Billy Bob Thornton). We attended the 4:40 showing, and were the only ones in the theater! We had our own private showing!

As we drove into the park a small deer greeted us at the end of our road. Cool.

Friday we took in the historical town of Gruene, Texas, a German settlement dating back to 1872. The town is named after German immigrant Ernst Gruene, who purchased acreage adjacent to the Guadalupe River, settling in with his wife Antoinette and 2 sons. Recognizing the area’s potential, he began developing a farm system for growing cotton. The cotton industry was booming and the land was excellent for growing cotton, which brought 20 to 30 families to Gruene’s lands. Gruene built more homes, a mercantile (built in 1878), and a cotton gin powered by the Guadalupe River was added shortly after. Then came the Gruene Hall (a dance hall and saloon), which became the center of the community’s social life. The town prospered for over half a century, but hard times hit when Ernst Gruene’s son and heir, Henry died in 1920. In 1922 a fire destroyed the original cotton gin, but the invasion of Mexican boll weevils and the Great Depression brought economic disaster to the area, from which Gruene’s businesses couldn’t recover. All the Gruene family businesses closed as a result, except for the Gruene Hall, which never closed. Much of the Gruene estate was sold in 1974, and along with new owners came new businesses. 

Before we walked through the town, we drove across the Guadalupe River, just to check its flow here. Wow! Quite a few businesses in the area were destroyed. Here’s a video of the river in Gruene.

Here are just a few photos of Gruene (pronounced "Green.") What a fun place!

My favorite place in the entire town is the mercantile or general store. It’s eclectic, it’s fun, and there’s so much stuff in it that it’s difficult to see everything! And, it’s been selected as one of the 40 best things to see in Texas! 

Just a bit of additional information: musicians like George Strait, Hal Ketchum, and Lyle Lovett got their starts playing at the dance hall in Gruene. Today, the Gristmill Restaurant, overlooking the Guadalupe River, opened up in what remains of the old cotton gin—the 3-story brick boiler room. All of Gruene was placed on the National Register of Historic Places.

Of course, we had to have lunch at the Gristmill. YUM! We shared tortilla soup (the best I’ve ever had!), and a smoked turkey sandwich on sour dough, along with onion rings. Again, YUM!

That night we had a short (but loud!) thunder storm around 11:00 p.m. Then it turned cold, with temps in the very low 60s for all of Saturday. And, it rained off and on all day. Brrr!

By Sunday the temps rose again into the 70s, the sun came out, and it was a beautiful day with blue skies and no clouds. Dick took a 40-mile motorcycle ride through the surrounding countryside, along the Guadalupe River. Along the way he saw a herd of prong horn deer, and a group of white tail deer. 

Down the road from our RV park there’s another RV park that appeared to be hosting a bicycle rally, with about 500 cars and over 1,000 bikes, passing many of the bicyclists on his ride.

He also saw the devastation caused by the raging Guadalupe River during last week’s rain. Unbelievable. Besides the uprooted trees and debris washed down the river, there were campers, 5^th wheels, and other remnants of and campgrounds destroyed by the waters. Sad. Other than that he said it was a beautiful ride.

That’s it for this week. Tuesday we head down the road on our final leg to Rockport. We’re looking forward to getting settled for a few months, spending time with wonderful friends, in a beautiful place.

Love ‘n’ hugs,

RJ and Gail