Wimberley, TX

Saturday, February 6

Saturday was a beautiful day in south central Texas. Early clouds burned off to reveal sunshine and blue skies today with temperatures in the low 70’s.

Some mornings, we stream the Minneapolis news on the television in the RV and today’s “local” weather forecast was quite depressing! The Minneapolis meteorologist cautioned being outdoors at all with negative temperatures and below-freezing wind chill over the weekend. Meanwhile, it felt like a pleasant spring day here in Texas. I have to say, I’m glad we were only listening to the “up north” weather forecast and not living it!

After a morning walk along the Guadalupe River near Canyon Lake, we drove to the nearby town of Wimberley, TX where we planned to stay for the night. Wimberley is located about 45-minutes west of Austin and has lots of small-town charm. Most of the blogs I read in preparation for this road trip mentioned Wimberley as “one of the best small towns in Texas.” We were excited to see it for ourselves.

Andi booked us a camping reservation for Saturday night at Black Canyon RV Park, located about a five-minute drive from Wimberley’s downtown area. We were hoping we’d be able to park the RV and ride our electric bikes into town so we didn’t have to mess with parking.

Black Canyon RV Park is a boutique campground nestled in the beautiful rolling hills just outside of town. Immediately, I loved the clean, modern look of the grounds — it felt like staying on an airbnb property — but better! — because we were in our own home on wheels.

We ate lunch in the RV, and then hopped on our bikes to explore the town. Unfortunately, there aren’t any bike trails in the Texas towns we’ve visited so far which makes navigating busier roadways a bit nerve-wracking. Our first stop in town was to the Wimberley Market, held on the first Saturday of every month. This open-air market shaded under large oak trees has over 500 booths and vendors selling “everything you can’t live without” according to their website. Unfortunately, after we peddled our hearts out along the highway to get there, we discovered the market is open on the first Saturdays of every month EXCEPT January and February. Bummer!

From there, Andi did a great job navigated us through a maze of less-busy residential streets into downtown Wimberley. Along the way, we stumbled upon the breathtaking Blanco River and had to stop for a picture. Tory was back to her spunky, talkative self which was good to see.

Next, we stopped by Blue Hole Regional Park. The Wimberley area is known for its swimming holes which are part of the Trinity Aquifer System and nearby Jacob’s Well. The land surrounding Blue Hole Regional Park was purchased by the city of Wimberley in 2005 to protect this natural resource from commercial development. Over 125 acres of trees surround the swimming hole with groomed nature trails and a spacious green lawn area for relaxing in the sunshine.

I imagine this park is quite busy during peak-season, but on this beautiful February day there were only a few other families there. We spent our time gazing at the blue-green waters of the Blue Hole and then walked along some of the nature trails in the park. What a gorgeous place!

From Blue Hole Regional Park, we continued riding our bikes into the downtown Wimberley area and found a place to safely park them on the street. Andi and I had work up quite the sweat peddling seven miles through the rolling hills of the area — well deserving of a treat! Tory and Aden were thrilled to stop into The Wooden Spoon in Wimberley, a frozen-yogurt shop where you add your own toppings. We each filled up a cup and then walked around back to sit outside by the river. What a perfect afternoon outdoors!

After our sweet treats, the four of us browsed a few stores in downtown Wimberley. Andi bought a bottle of lemon-infused olive oil, fig-flavored balsamic vinegar and a bottle of wine to enjoy on my birthday next weekend — all produced right here in Texas Hill Country. I would have loved to sit on the outdoor patio with a glass of local Texas wine and soak up the sunshine, but we’ll have to save that experience for another time without the kids and/or when we don’t have to bike back home.

We went for another short one-mile walk along Cypress Creek before biking back to Black Canyon RV Park. Thank goodness for pedal assist on our e-bikes! I dreaded climbing the steep hills on our ride home. We stopped by Creekside BBQ on the way and picked up some pulled pork, ribs and smoked sausage for dinner. This restaurant looked like a fun place to sit and enjoy dinner and live music outdoors as well. We listened to a country music performer sing and play his guitar while our food was being prepared, and then we made our way back to the RV Park.

Back at camp, we paired the delicious Texas BBQ with steamed green beans and had dinner on the table in under 30 minutes. We were all hungry after a full day of adventuring! We ate dinner outside and laughed as we watched Aden absolutely inhale his BBQ. I think he ate more meat than Andi and I combined.

We’re spending another day in Texas Hill Country tomorrow and it looks like it’ll be another perfect day of sunshine and 70 degree temperatures. Looking forward to it!