Gerald (our newly elected President and former VP) introduces speakers. We heard from the Kendall County Sheriff, Roger Duncan, who (with his Sgt) presented updates on Texas laws pertinent to RVers. Topics included gun laws, auxillary breaks for tows, road rage, and right of way for emergency vehicles. Other topics included safety and handling tips. We also heard from Mike Lenahan of Noah's Pro-Tech RV repair service who gave a brief on furnace service and then answered assorted questions on RV repair. Very informative muster.

Bdg. GEn. Christopher Powers, Deputy Commander of the Texas State Guard gave a breakdown of the History and operations of the Guard in today's times. He also related how we as retirees could still serve and help the Guard. Very interesting.

15 Jan 06. We also were pleased to have Ms. Emily Whitworth of the Boerne Historical Society give a history of Boerne along with points of interest in the city.

14 Jan 06. The SMART bunch has come out to the west side of Boerne, TX, with the intent of touring this little secret attraction just recently opened to the tourist public. About 2.5 miles west of Boerne on SH 46, admission is $10 a head (less for children). The brain child of a retired California police officer and his brother-in-law, the ranch was originally conceived as a place where western movies could be reborn. The Enchanted Springs Ranch is a unique place and worth the entrance fee.

On the wagon ride through the ranch to go looking for some of the residents.

Yep, those are zebras. Not to often that you will see zebras mixed in with some longhorns (one is in the right side of the picture).

One of the prize denizens of the Ranch is this Longhorn steer. The biggest fellow on the ranch, but he doesn't have the biggest rack. That would belong to the ruling bull, his horns span 8feet tip to tip. He wasn't out and about so I didn't get a picture of him, but this guy was good enough.

Sitting around an old cook wagon, fellow SMART members wait for one of the owners to tell us some tall stories.

One of the Co-owner/guides gives us the background on the Enchanted Springs Ranch in Boerne, TX.

13 Jan 06. Having arrived at the Alamo Fiesta RV Resort in Boerne, TX, the Alamo SMARTS Chapter held a muster. This was the first muster we have made with this Chapter. The muster lasted all weekend and in typical SMART fashion we had a lot of fun and made a bunch of new friends. Here we are collecting on door prizes. I won a $60 prize myself with proceeds going towards buying TVs for VA patients. I ended up putting the money back into the system, but it was nice to have the winning ticket.

On the road again, we find ourselves in Bastrop, TX, and decided to stay at the Basatrop River RV Park. Here, we are making an entrance into the park from the highway feeder. A nice looking park. We are here to see our friends and house builders, Ralph and Ann. We got here on the 10th of Jan. When we leave here we will head to Boerne, TX and the Alamo Fiesta RV Resort to participate in our SMART Club Chapter muster.

Setting on site at the Bastrop River RV Park. Nice park with security full hook-ups, and 50 amps. Level concrete pads (at least the ones toward the river) make for a nice little park.

The Bastrop River RV River RV Park on the Colorado River off of SH 71 next to the bridge. A nice little deck allows for a peaceful setting to enjoy the river, maybe even a bit of light fishing.

While at the Bastrop River RV Park we treated to an early morning treat. A small herd of deer came close to the park. You can see one of them next to the right bridge pylon. There were actually about 8, but a car driving by just as I took the shot made them bolt.

Deer can be seen (barely) in this photo. Looking for Waldo is a good strategy for finding them. About 8 or 9 are actually behind that brush pile. Pretty skittish, yet they still came close to the RV park before heading down to the Colorado river nearby.

Happy New Year

Yep, the year has arrived, along with the hope of a better one than the last one. The last day of the year was a beautiful one. This shot taken from my brother's backyard in New Braunfels, TX. Hope you all have a great coming year.