Frommer’s EasyGuide to Texas Hill Country - Edie Jarolim EasyGuide

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alt=""/> 830/995-2493), carries colorful, distinctive fashions, some imports, some local, at reasonable prices. Around the corner, The Tinsmith’s Wife, 405 7th St. (www.tinsmithswife.com; 830/995-5539), is the go-to spot for needlecrafters, knitters, and fabric artists of all types. There are antiques shops scattered all around town, but more than 30 dealers gather on High Street at the Comfort Antique Mall, 734 High St. (www.visitcomfortantiquemall.com; 830/995-4678). Hill Country Distillers, 723 Front St. (www.hillcountrytxdistillers.com; 830/995-2924) creates intriguing spirits crafted with cactus and jalapeño.

      In all cases, check ahead for hours, but as in other small towns around here, expect lots of places to be closed Monday through Wednesday. For more information, contact the Comfort Chamber of Commerce, 630 Hwy. 27 (www.comfortchamber.com; 830/995-3131), open Tuesday through Saturday from 10am to 3pm.

      Where to Eat in Comfort

      Take a shopping break on the cheery back patio of Comfort Pizza, 802 High St. ( 830/995-5959), a converted gas station serving thin-crust pies. Toppings include everything from lime-chile spiced pineapple to fresh basil. The weekly changing menu at 814, A Texas Bistro, 713 High St. (www.814atexasbistro.com; 830/995-4990), might include grilled lamb chops with a balsamic glaze or sauteed salmon with spinach risotto.

      Where to Stay in Comfort

      If kicking back on a rocking chair overlooking a quiet courtyard sounds appealing, consider spending the night at Hotel Faust, 717 High St. (www.hotelfaust.com; 830/995-3030). A Texas Historic Landmark—it was built as an inn in the 1880s by Alfred Giles—the boutique hotel has six airy rooms ($185–$260), a log cabin ($260), and a cottage ($300).

      25 miles N of Bandera; 18 miles NW of Comfort; 34 miles NW of Boerne; 65 miles NW of San Antonio

      With a population of about 20,000, Kerrville is larger than the other Hill Country towns detailed here. Now a popular retirement and tourist area, it was founded in the 1840s by Joshua Brown, a shingle-maker attracted by the area’s many cypress trees (and a friend of Major James Kerr, who never actually saw the town and county named after him). A rough-and-tumble camp surrounded by more civilized German towns, Kerrville soon became a ranching center for longhorn cattle and, more unusually, for Angora goats; at one time it produced the most mohair in the United States. After it was lauded in the 1920s for its healthful climate, Kerrville began to draw youth camps, sanitariums, and artists.

      Exploring Kerrville

      Make your first stop the Kerrville Convention and Visitors Bureau, 2108 Sidney Baker (www.kerrvilletexascvb.com; 800/221-7958), where you can get a map of the area as well as of the historic downtown district. It’s open weekdays 8:30am to 5pm, Saturday 9am to 3pm, and Sunday 10am to 3pm.

      A Bit of old england in the Old West

      Several attractions, some endearingly offbeat, plus beautiful vistas along the Guadalupe River, warrant a detour west of Kerrville. Drive 5 miles from the center of town on Hwy. 27 W. to reach tiny Ingram. Take Hwy. 39 W. to the second traffic light downtown; after about a quarter of a mile, you’ll see a sign for the Historic Old Ingram Loop, once a cowboy cattle-droving route and now home to rows of antiques shops, crafts boutiques, and art galleries and studios. Back on Hwy. 39, continue another few blocks to the Hill Country Arts Foundation (www.hcaf.com; 830/367-5121), a complex comprising a theater, an art gallery, studios where arts-and-crafts classes are held—and a replica of Stonehenge. It’s not as large as the original but, this being Texas, it’s not exactly diminutive either. A couple of reproduction Easter Island heads fill out the ancient mystery sculpture group commissioned by Al Shepherd, a wealthy eccentric who died in the mid-1990s.

      Then head to the restored downtown, flanked by the Guadalupe River and a pleasant park. Kerrville’s historic buildings, most of them concentrated on Earl Garrett and Water streets, host a variety of restaurants and shops, many selling antiques and/or country-cute knickknacks. Among the most impressive structures is the Schreiner Mansion Historic Site, 226 Earl Garrett St. (www.caillouxfoundation.org/schreiner-mansion; 830/895-5222), a mansion built of native stone by Alfred Giles for pioneer rancher and banker Capt. Charles Schreiner. The house is sometimes open for tours; call ahead. The 1935 post office now hosts the Kerr Arts & Cultural Center, 228 Earl Garrett St. (www.kacckerrville.com; 830/895-2911), which exhibits work by local artists, in addition to hosting large annual exhibitions like the Southwest Gourd Fine Art Show and the Texas Furniture Makers Show.

      To view work by top sculptors and painters from the mid–20th century to the present, head just outside the main part of town to the Museum of Western Art, 1550 Bandera Hwy. (www.museumofwesternart.com; 830/896-2553), a high-quality collection housed in a striking Southwestern structure by O’Neill Ford. It also has an interactive children’s history gallery. Outdoor enthusiasts will enjoy nearby Kerrville-Schreiner Park, 2385 Bandera Hwy. (www.kerrvilletx.gov/318/Kerrville-Schreiner-Park; 830/257-7300), a 500-acre green space boasting 7 miles of hiking trails, swimming and boating on the Guadalupe River, campgrounds, and a variety of cabins for rent.

      Military buffs and souvenir-seekers might want to drive 12 miles south of Kerrville on scenic Hwy. 173 to see Camp Verde, the former headquarters (1856–69) of the short-lived U.S. Army camel cavalry. The quixotic attempt to introduce “ships of the desert” into dry Southwest terrain never took off, due to widespread ignorance of the animals’ habits; the onset of the Civil War dealt the program a final blow. There’s little left of the fort itself, but the Camp Verde General Store (www.campverdegeneralstore.com; 830/634-7722), with its camel statue out front, is a popular tourist stop. Established in 1857 to serve the soldiers stationed nearby, the store has been revamped several times; the most recent overhaul scrapped most of the wonderfully tacky camel-related tchotchkes in favor of more tasteful gifts, and added a cheerful casual restaurant serving hearty sandwiches and sides; it’s open from 11am to 3pm.

      Where to Eat in Kerrville

      The setting—a beautifully restored 1915 depot with a lovely patio out back—is not the only thing outstanding about Rails Скачать книгу