Dreaming of living in the hill country

[Trainwreck20]

Huh! Did not know you moved to Stonewall.....must drive past you every now and then....are you N. of 290 or S.?

[doss1]

Originally Posted by Trainwreck20

Huh! Did not know you moved to Stonewall.....must drive past you every now and then....are you N. of 290 or S.?

Hi Trainwreck,
No, I haven't moved there yet. Will know tomorrow. Wish I could say more but don't wanna jinx it, ya know?

Will keep you posted.

[Jezer]

Just found this thread and love it- all the best TexasNick and I too would love to hear how things go- great photos BTW.

[Philosophizer]

this thread is sweet. It's cool to know that there are people out there that share my ambitions. Personally, I'd like to end up with a ranch on the banks of the Llano river. City and suburban life make me cringe. I'm going to school for a degree in range management. Hopefully, I'll be working in the Texas Hill country the rest of my life as a consultant for farmers, ranchers, and hunting enthusiasts. Talk about a dream job.

Ulimately, I'd like a place close to the the highland lakes (further out than lake travis). Lake buchanon perhaps? Llano, Marble Falls, and Mason are all areas I'd like to be. Any land available for a decent price on either branch of the Llano river would be a dream come true. Heck, any piece of land with a year round river or stream would be perfect. My Grandma and her second husband of 25 years have a couple acres on the perdenales river in stonewall. Hilton, (I call him grandpa even though he technically isn't) is 100% German. I have no idea how long he's been in Central Texas, he's definetly a product of simple conservative Hill country raising. He's got a ranch 5 miles away from Becker Vineyards which is between stonewall and fredricksburg. It's a tad less than 200 acres and I took a really nice buck off the place last year. He's also purchased a ranch in Rocksprings, but it's too close to the border (aliens have broken into the ranch cabin on more than one occasion now) for me personally to live out there. Plus, the terrain isn't the same as the true hill country. I'm afraid I'm probably going to have to settle for land in Val Verde county (too close to the border) by the time I get enough money saved to actually purchase some land (since I refuse to finance in our unstable economy).

I just hope I'll be able to get some property in the heart of the Hill country before it all gets developed. Suburban sprawl coming out of Austin (especially on hwy. 71 west of Austin) is taking over my beloved hill country. If the Texas Hill country isn't God's country, I don't know what is. Anyone who has been blessed enough to have seen what I've seen out there knows what the Israelites must have felt when they entered the land of milk and honey.

[doss1]

Texian,
Nice post. You're lucky to have roots in the hill country. I wouldn't worry too much about not being able to afford land out there. If you're going into ranch management, then you'll be in touch with potential sellers when you meet with them. I also recommend a short stint as a rural mail carrier, everyone loves the mailman!. It's a great way of getting to know people. I had the idea to buy a small town newspaper and then go straight to the classifieds section and look for land. No, i'm not looking for land for sale here, I'm looking for garage sales. Why? Because that's where you'd get to talk to rancher/farmer Joe Q Citizen up close and personal (if they are helpful, you better buy something they are selling!). You'd strike a conversation with him/her and then you'd gently pop the question, "know anyone selling land in the area?" You see, the best sales are going to be the ones that never hit the market.

Once you become a ranch manager, it just gets much easier. You can get to the point where you can barter services and get some land in return. For example, I've always wanted to fly...but I just dont' have the money right now to pay for 8,000 worth of flight lessons. I was able to offer computer support to some old folks at the local airport and I've been taking free lessons ever since. If you don't have the money for your goals, you just have to be creative.

[sandyloam]

Hi TexasNick,

Just reading these great posts...did you move to Stonewall? How is it? I dream of moving to the Hill country one day! Your posts are very inspiring!

[doss1]

Wow, does time fly? I remember the first post in this thread was when I discovered this forum for the first time.

Well, I wanted to bring this thread to a close like I promised I would.

I did find my piece of heaven after all. Actually, it found me on December 31, 2009. My mom and I were driving around the Hill Country for some peaches and saw a For Sale sign about a half day horse ride East of Fredericksburg off the beaten path where one can still find arrow heads and whispers of a long lost Indian child. You see, while eating a blackberry pie at a fruit stand off highway 290, a local farmer told us about this property for sale "over yonder". He said he heard it also had a river on it. As you can imagine, I stuffed down the last of that blackberry pie and darted to the property. It was beautiful! Oak trees, some mesquite, no cedar. The land was grass, hardly any rocks. It was partially hilly. No civilization or any buildings can be seen or found on the property or adjacent to it. No telephone polls, etc. Lots of deer and wild turkey. The best part? A clean and pristine river meanders through the property, deep enough for kayaking and fly fishing. The only nearby neighbor is the big LBJ ranch. There's only one way into the property and it's a nice all-weather road. Currently I'm consulting my GPS and looking at a satellite map to determine how I can access the property from the other side of the river--currently there appears to be no way in. Perfect! I like it that way. I never thought I'd be able to afford land out here, and with a river?! This was a dream come true (still can't believe I own it). I spent Sunday walking along the river trying to find out what lies on the other side. I turned back after a good 1hr...i still had a long way to go. I had to cut it short because I wasn't prepared and didn't bring water along. Saw some fish, but not sure what they were (they looked huge..maybe tarp?). Some areas of the land had high cliffs and I coudl not get down to the river..so I spent a good while trying to find a place to walk down to the river. I was reminded of the journals of Lewis and Clark whom would spend hours and even whole days trying to cross to the other side (albeit this river here is much smaller.

I got a new job that lets me work 4 days a week in San Antonio and then take 3 days off. I'm structuring it so I can live on the property. I am talking to a local woodsmith about creating a cabin for me. He apparently built some of the buildings at Luchenbach and other B&Bs around the area. So, things are a go..........it takes money...

Here are some pics:

[cobolt]

TexasNick,

You are awesome! How I envy you!! Great job on you! And happy trails, my friend.

[cinnamon_toast]

Hey congrats! We are now in FBG ourselves. LOVE it here. Glad things worked out for you.

[neddy]

Welcome to the area! Our ranch is down off 1376 in Sisterdale. Wonderful area. One thing though, if you have a fire and there is onye one way in or out the fire dept most likely won't defend since there is not another egress.