Oct. 31: Gruene & Geo'ing

Wednesday, we went into Gruene (pronounced Green by the locals). "When German immigrant farmer Ernest Gruene and his wife, Antoinette, and their sons reached the newly established city of New Braunfels in 1845, they found prime acreage already scarce. They crossed the Guedalupe and opted to acquire nearby river frontage. Thus was the Community of Gruene established", from Prosit the New Braunfels magazine.

Cotton was the cash crop of the area for many years. A boll weavel outbreak ruined the cotton crop some time in the 1930's and the town because mostly deserted. In 1974, a revitalization of the area helped Gruene into one of the most popular and visible tourist attraction in Texas. The Gruene Historic District was placed on the National Register for Historic Places in 1975 and the District itself and many of Gruene's buildings have Texas historical markers.


This is just one of several bed & breakfasts in Gruene. The white building at the end of the street is Gruene Hall. It has never closed even in bad times. The oldest continuously opened saloon in Texas.




Great place for antiques but I don't have room for any. I found a pecan place and bought some hot pecans and some candied jalapenos. Then we went to the general store and bought some pecan honey butter and a package of chili fixin's.

We ate at the Gristmill which is a rebuild cotton gin from the 1870's that was originally in the area before it burnt down. This great place is located under the water town in the above photo.






We watched this pair of deer, off and on, for many hours Thursday. All of the deer here are pretty fearless - we walk withing 10 feet of them many times. They're weary but not jumping to get out of our way. However, this buck "protected" this little doe all day. When she laid down, he stood close for a long time--ever watchful. He would eventually lay down too. When she moved, he moved. He made advances several times but she'd have nothing to do with him. He was always on the look out for predators--none of which I have seen in the almost two weeks we've been here. Finally, after many hours of this frustration, he turned and chased her clear out of our viewing area. Don't know what happened but I think he may have paid for dinner and didn't get rewarded well.

Today, we took a couple camped across the road from us geo caching. They really enjoyed it and plan on getting involved themselves. Also going to share with their son who is retiring himself soon.

Tomorrow is Wurstfest - be prepared for that great music that I'll get on video for all of you.