Sonora Texas and Fort McKavett Texas…

Another 100 plus miles east and we pulled into a park (Sonora RV Park) we could discover nothing about except on RVParky. We sure didn’t expect much from the reviews although there were super glowing reviews about the proprietor of the park. Sure enough when we called to inquire about availability Mike, the owner was indeed very nice and offered to escort us through town. When we were getting close Mike met us at an agreed upon site and escorted us through a neighborhood to the park.

The park itself is basically a full hookup gravel lot but would surely do for our short stay.  I would be remiss not to mention Mike’s warm hospitality. He not only made sure we got in the site how he wanted he even hooked up our sewer with his own sewer hose! He also helped with hooking up the water. Never in our six years has someone done that!

Hoping to stay one night we tried calling a park in Kerrville who indicated there was one site left (during this very busy Spring Break time) for a weeklong stay. When we called, the owner was in his car and said he would get back in touch. When we didn’t hear back from him we tried several times to call but since it was a weekend we were unable to reach him.  After leaving messages and not hearing back we started looking in earnest for other places to stay in case Kerrville didn’t call back.

While awaiting the call back we decided since it was a nice day we would look for something to do and found the Eaton Hill Nature Center and Preserve located right here in Sonora, Texas. This little preserve is comprised of 37 acres along with more than 2 miles of hiking trails. It is between the Edwards Plateau and the Balcones Escarpment of West Texas, with vegetation blended between those found in the Texas Hill Country and the Chihuahuan Desert.

We found the hiking trails to be a bit rough but easy walking along the the rocky limestone outcrops. Signs of spring were definitely showing as we even found some bluebonnets in bloom some 2-4 weeks ahead of schedule if I had to guess. The hike was nice and we enjoyed the natural vista from its high point.

After our hike we drove through town to check out the old county courthouse. We love exploring the Texas county courthouses as they are usually architecturally interesting and historic. Upon returning home we decided to stay another night and give Kerrville one more chance to call us back in the morning (on Monday) by 10:00. This would also give us the opportunity to formulate a back up plan.

Sunday was a bit cooler so we made the drive over to Fort McKavett, a state historic site. I had planned to buy the Texas State Park Pass there but discovered that it was no longer a state park and was now under the auspices of the Texas Historical Commission. We paid our $4.00 per person so we could explore the fort.

The fort itself is one of the best preserved and most intact example of a Texas Indian Wars military outpost. Also fascinating was that for three years in the 1860’s it housed regiments of Buffalo Soldiers who were the all black regiments assisting Texas. Wandering around the remains was interesting but disappointingly the visitor’s center museum was closed for renovation and visitors couldn’t walk inside any of the intact buildings.  This made for a less than informative visit.

We did enjoy the drive over and back as we spotted lots of wildlife along the roads. Once back in Sonora we settled in for the night unsure where we would be the next night. On Monday when Kerrville didn’t call us back again we called around and  thankfully found a site for 6 nights at the fairgrounds in Fredericksburg. It will be a nice location to stay until we continue on to Blanco State Park where we have reservations. It looks like we found a way to make it through Spring Break after all!

NOTE: We are now in the fairgrounds in Fredericksburg, Texas waiting for the end of spring break.