In July, I had the privilege of attending the Romance Writers of America national conference in San Antonio, TX. I came home with a suitcase full of new books, a brain full of great information, and a camera full of pictures. This was the first time my hubby tagged along for the ride at one of these conferences, so he and I had a lot of fun exploring in the evenings. The River Walk was gorgeous, of course, and the Alamo is a classic not to be missed, but my favorite attraction of the week was the chuck wagon dinner and wild west show we treated ourselves to at Enchanted Springs Ranch.
The Wild West lives on at the ranch with an authentic old west town on this 86-acre working cattle ranch. They have a heard on longhorn cattle as well as many exotic animals. For example:
Pet alpacas named Wyatt Earp and Doc Holliday. Wild oryx and zebras we saw on our tractor ride. And the fun feathered friend strutting down main street in all his plumed glory.
The ranch boasted numerous buildings. A church with it’s own graveyard. Two saloons. A gunsmith. A dressmaker. A general store. The blacksmith. Even a Texas Ranger office filled with museum worthy exhibits.
My hubby with his finger gun at the gunsmith shop.
The buildings were so much fun to explore and proved great fodder for the imagination. However, there were two true highlights of the evening for me.
The first was the singing cowboy who entertained us while we feasted on barbeque chicken, brisket, warm potato salad, and peach & blueberry cobbler.
Dressed in cowboy gear and playing guitar, our host sang the greatest cowboy songs of all time. Everything from The Streets of Laredo to Home on the Range to Happy Trails. His voice was smooth, his guitar melodic, and in between, he gave us a little history lesson regarding the origins of each song. Fabulous!
After the supper dishes had been cleared away, we all gathered around the corral for a rootin’-tootin’ wild west show in the style of Buffalo Bill Cody. The show featured Pistol Packin’ Paula. She was a tiny little thing, but she sure packed a wallop! She is an honest to goodness, two-time world champion pistol twirler. She spun those pistols around her fingers faster than a blink, in and out of the holsters, over her shoulders, around her back. Whew! It was crazy. Then she started in with the trick shooting. She even reproduced Annie Oakley’s famous, over the shoulder rifle shot with a hand mirror. Her horse Jake did tricks as well.
Overall, it was a fabulous evening. It was hot as blazes with temps in the upper ’90s but no one seemed to care. If you are ever in the San Antonio area, make the short trip to Enchanted Springs Ranch and treat yourself to the chuck wagon dinner. You’ll be glad you did!
- What is your favorite hidden vacation gem?
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Loved hearing and seeing pictures of your chuck wagon dinner and entertainment, Karen. One of my kids favorite vacation memories is a chuck wagon dinner in Colorado. It was a great time. I think my favorite hidden vacation gem happened on a trip to Orlando to CBA one year. We drove so I could do some research. On the way, we happened to see signs for the George Washington Carver museum and decided to go off-route a bit and visit. It was truly a history-filled gem that I’m glad we didn’t miss.
Hi, Judy! The only thing missing from my chuck wagon dinner was the actual chuck wagon, but everything else, including the food, was perfection. I bet that dinner in Colorado was wonderful! How fun to stumble across the George Washington Carver museum. He was such an intelligent man, inventing and discovering so many things. I bet the stop was fabulous.
We were traveling across country with the kids a few years back, and as usual, I had every stop mapped out. We were on our way from Bryce Canyon, UT to Colorado and we hadn’t planned to stop at the Arches national park until I realized how close it was to the main highway. We pulled in at the last minute and stayed about 2 hours longer than the 1 I had originally intended, so swept up were we in the fabulous sites. The fact that we could actually get out and climb on the natural wonders made it a favorite for the entire family. Well worth the side trip. Wish we could have stayed longer.
Karen, your trip sounds absolutely fabulous and I’m sure your hubby must have enjoyed it too. What great fun you had visiting the Ranch 🙂
Whenever I attend interstate /overseas Conferences, Pete now comes with me and thoroughly enjoys himself. He seems to have started a trend as quite a lot of husbands now accompany their wives. He knows all my nursing colleagues (and their hubs) and the “fellas” have built up a rapport with each other, which surfaces very quickly at the next conference. Combining business with pleasure is a great way to travel and see the world.
I have to say that one of Pete’s favourite haunts in Tasmania was the Chocolate Factory. LOL
Very much enjoyed your Geography lesson Karen.. Thank you for sharing your holiday.:)
Ooooo – the Chocolate Factory? I think that would make my list of favorite haunts, too. Yummm! So fun that you can travel with your husband, Rosie. This was the first time Wes ever escaped with me to a writer’s conference. We might have to start a new tradition. Though, usually someone needs to be home with the kids. A couple years back, the conference was near Disneyland, so we packed up the entire family and went down early so we could enjoy the Disney parks ahead of time. Once conference started, Wes was stuck alone with the kids all day. Not that he minded too much. He took them to an aquarium, chilled out at the hotel pool, and went miniature golfing. Still fun, but there’s something special about just the two of us getting away together. 🙂
In 2012, I went to England. I had a few must sees on my list, The Charles Dickens Museum (being remodeled and closed when we got there), The Globe and some others. I wanted to have “tea”, while we were there. On our first full day, we went to Kennsington Gardens to have tea at the Orangery. After tea, we walked the gardens, which were absolutely beautiful. It just so happened that there was an out door movie scheduled for that night, about Queen Victoria and Prince Albert’s courtship and her becoming queen. It was a wonderful movie and I discovered that Kennsington Palace was where she grew up and was actually on the grounds of the gardens. It was a great diversion and happy surprise.
Wow! That sounds like a glorious trip, Dora! I would love that. And how fun that you got to see the movie as well. I bet that really helped bring the setting to life for you. Wonderful! I’m so glad you shared. 🙂
That sounds like it’s right up your alley, Karen. Glad you had a blast and that your hubby got to join you this time.
Visiting lighthouses along the East Coast and the Great Lakes is always a fun vacation idea for my family. Now I’m not a huge fan of water (almost drowned when I was ten, setting off a phobia of water with unknown depths; I’ve now overcome most of that fear, thanks to God’s grace and help), but the lighthouses and the view with them in the foreground… talk about breathtaking. Even a water-phobe like me can appreciate that.
Blessings,
Andrea
I love lighthouses. Such a symbol of hope! I’m glad you are still able to enjoy them, Andrea. I’m not overly fond of water myself. I’m not a very strong swimmer and got caught in some riptides at a beach once when I was young, so I stick to the shallows unless I have a life vest.
LOL to your Wes, Karen. My son Andy, could identify with your Wes.:) He did exactly the same thing when they were in the US earlier this year. Sarah was at a conference at Las Vegas, so Andy was stuck with our two young grandsons. They had a ball using the Hotel Facilities. I might add that after 18 hours on the plane and one hours sleep, their first port of call before flying to Las Vegas was to Anaheim…a very long awaited trip to Disneyland for the next 2 1/2 days for two very EXCITED little boys and under much sufferance for the loving but slightly overwrought, parents!
Both have decided that next time, it will be planned a little differently! I believe that means incorporating some sleep!LOL
Ha! Our poor men. Good thing they’re such good sports!
What a fun post and great pictures! Thanks, Karen.