We went to Quiet Hill Ranch this weekend. Sarah leaves for college in a few days, so it was a nice way for all of us to spend some time together before the family dynamic forever changes.
We left Friday afternoon, stopping for an early dinner at the Auslander Restaurant in Fredericksburg. It was ok, but I think Oma’s House in New Braunfels is alot better. After dinner we got ice cream and walked along Main Street for a bit. Then we headed toward Doss, where the ranch is.
The guest accommodations at the ranch, all situated at the top of a hill, consist of three one-room cabins, each with their own bath, plus a lodge with living area and kitchen. There’s also a small limestone pool built to resemble a stock tank, a playscape, a small barn with chickens, and a blind for bird and deer watching. The cabins overlook the valley and I’m told the view stretches out about 50 miles. It was really beautiful.
We poked around for a bit after we got there and spent some time in the lodge. I played Go Fish with the girls, then Sarah wanted to play the Worst Case Scenario game (which is boring as a game, but we had fun just reading the cards). It was already past the girls’ bedtime when we retired to the cabin. There was a small TV so we caught a little of the Olympics. Sarah got stung by a scorpion in the shower, but we called a nurse who told us to put ice on it, and soon she was ok.
On Saturday morning, we walked out of the cabin to find the horses had come up to the playscape and lodge area. The girls were really tickled by that. They went to the barn and gathered some eggs, which was also pretty exciting for them. We met another family eating breakfast in the lodge, but they left that morning and we were the only ones there the remainder of the weekend. After breakfast we rode the horses around the ranch for about an hour. The wrangler who led us on the ride told us about the ranch as well as a little Fredericksburg history. The girls really enjoyed the ride, and it was fun for me to watch them. They were so excited. I had worried that they might be nervous, especially Amelia, but I was impressed by how comfortable they both were.
After the ride, they wanted to swim so Sarah got in the pool with them. Mike had brought his bike so he went for a ride into Doss to pick up a couple of things at the store and enjoy the scenery. I tried to do some work while I watched them in the pool but after about half an hour I gave up. There was a great big tree next to the pool, easy to climb, and I sat in it for awhile watching the girls. They were in the pool for quite awhile, and we started noticing the sky getting dark in the distance. I had planned for us to pack our lunches and go for a hike, but it was clearly going to storm, plus the woman cleaning the lodge said the weather reports were forecasting thunderstorms. Mike got back from his ride and agreed we should postpone hiking, so we made lunch and hung out at the lodge.
We enjoyed a lazy couple of hours in the lodge while it rained. Rain on a metal roof is pretty loud, but it was still relaxing. We played some games, Sarah napped. I found One Day In The Life Of Ivan Denisovich on the bookshelf; since I hadn’t read it in probably 20 years and Solzhenitsyn died recently, I decided to re-read it. Natalie swam again after the thunder and lightning passed, until she realized the horses had come to the lodge area again. She went with Sarah and Amelia to pet them in the drizzle. Eventually the rain completely stopped and we drove to a Mexican restaurant between Doss and Harper for dinner.
When we got back we hung out awhile longer in the lodge. We went back to the cabin early and watched some Olympics before bed. Sunday morning we hung out for awhile before leaving. We checked out the blind, which is great for bird watching (and deer, if you are there right before sunset when the deer feeder goes off). While we were doing that, Natalie saw the cat catch a mouse. Needless to say, the girls were completely fascinated by the cat walking around with the mouse in its teeth.
You can see photos from our trip here.
