Bend is an unincorporated community in Lampasas and San Saba Counties in Central Texas. It is located on Farm to Market Road 580 on the western leg of a horseshoe-shaped bend in the Colorado River...
Things to See & Do in Central Texas
Lake Buescher, Smithville
Buescher State Park is a state park located just north of Smithville. The park consists of 1,016.7 acres of public land donated to the state by Mr. Emil and Mrs. Elizabeth Buescher, as well as the...
Hill Country Sunrise
A Spring sunrise in the Hill Country. Photo by Adam Barker
Mission San Juan Capistrano in San Antonio
Originally founded in 1716 in eastern Texas, Mission San Juan Capistrano was transferred in 1731 to its present location. In 1756, the stone church, a friary, and a granary were completed. A larger...
Grey-Crowned Crane, San Antonio Zoo
The grey-crowned crane (Balearica regulorum) is a bird in the crane family Gruidae. It occurs in dry savannah in Africa south of the Sahara, although it nests in somewhat wetter habitats. They can...
Brazos River
The Brazos River, called the Rio de los Brazos de Dios by early Spanish explorers (translated as “The River of the Arms of God”), is the longest river in Texas and the 11th longest river...
Old barn in New Bielau
Photo Rob Sneed
Tow
Residents pronounce the name of the town, Tow, as if it rhymed with “cow,” rather than “toe” as might be expected. Tow is located on Ranch Road 2241, approximately 61 miles...
Bastrop County Countryside
“Texas is the finest portion of the globe that has blessed my vision.” ~ Sam Houston, 1833. Photo by joolieboolie
St. Olaf Kirke
St. Olaf Kirke, commonly referred to as The Rock Church, is a small Lutheran church located outside of Cranfills Gap in an unincorporated rural community known as Norse. St. Olaf Kirke is situated on...
San Fernando Academy in Pontotoc
A nearly deserted town an hour north of Fredericksburg in Mason County, Pontotoc was on the brink of becoming a boom town before a series of misfortunes. Settled in 1859, there was an established...
Fayetteville
Fayetteville’s first immigrant settlers were the families headed by John Crier, James Cummins, and James J. Ross three of the Old Three Hundred. The settlement began at the location of a...
Circa 1618-1648 Steinbach Haus in Castroville
The Steinbach Haus was originally built in Wahlbach, France between 1618 and 1648 and lived in until 1988. Centuries after it was built, it was gifted to the city of Castroville.
Giddings
Giddings, county seat of Lee County, is on U.S. highways 290 and 77, fifty-five miles east of Austin and 100 miles west of Houston. The land was originally part of Stephen F. Austin’s colony...
Devils Waterhole in Inks Lake State Park
Devil’s Waterhole is a small extension of Inks Lake in Burnet, which is almost completely surrounded by rock. A canoe tour is conducted at Devil’s Waterhole, and although diving and...
Hempstead
Hempstead is in Waller County, Texas. The community, located at the junctions of U.S. Highway 290, Texas State Highway 6, and Texas State Highway 159, is around fifty miles northwest of Downtown...
Texas Czech Center in La Grange
Like this oak near the Texas Czech Heritage Center, massive trees that are hundreds of years old were here before the streets of La Grange were laid out. In La Grange’s residential...
Lake Belton
Belton Lake is located on the Leon River 16.7 miles upstream of the confluence of the Leon River and the Little River. It is in the northern part of Bell County, Texas about three miles north of the...