CALF_News_December_2018_January_2019

40 CALF News • October | November 2018 • www.calfnews.net By Blaine Davis Contributing Editor Beyond the Ranch Gate On the Trail of the Texas Longhorn S neaking away for a late summer road trip vacation to the Texas Gulf Coast, my wife and I speed by miles and miles of barbed wire and numerous ranch gates. As I have written before, crossing this enormous state rewards one with many varied vistas of bountiful farmlands in the northern Panhandle to acres of rolling pastures in its central Hill Country and then the coast’s warm, sandy beaches framed by majestic palm trees. Dotting these landscapes were the omnipresent oil der- ricks and pump jacks that have represented Texas’ energy contribution to America throughout the last century. Accompanying these symbols of wealth were multitudes of grazing cattle, black Angus, Hereford crosses and even the iconic Texas Longhorn. With the sound track of Robert Earl Keen’s lyrics playing in the background and the Texas’ liberal view of speed limits, the miles flew by until we reached his hometown of Kerrville, Texas. Pulling into this point of respite in the midst of a teeming rainstorm, I laid eyes on the YO Ranch Hotel, the namesake of the famous spread founded in 1880 by Charles A. Schreiner, which by 1919 had grown to more than a half million acres. Acquiring the Taylor-Clements Ranch and its brand of a capi- tal Y atop a sideways and slightly flattened O, Schreiner’s first herds consisted main of these iconic Longhorns. Increasing the herd sizes, Herefords formed the major- ity of the numbers until the 1940s when other breeds were introduced. Embracing the spirit of this famed ranch and that of the Old West, this huge limestone-walled hotel lobby with its extensive Western art collection, exotic game trophies, numerous antiques and 390 branding irons hanging from its ornate iron chandeliers was a welcome sight for two trail-weary travelers. Awaking the next morning with visions of the Gulf Coast, we stroll past the swimming pool complete with a large tile inlay of the YO brand in its bottom deck and stop in the hotel’s Branding Iron Restaurant. After overindulging in a cowhand-sized breakfast, it was back on the trail with just a few more hours of barbed wire, ranch gates and, again, the occasional herd of the Texas Longhorns until we made Port Aransas. Spending a week on Mustang Island with fishing – of which my wife showed us how it’s done with the most and big- gest – lying on the beach, dining on fresh seafood accompanied with cold adult beverages and listening to live Texas music, this state again brought us a new state of mind. Heading back north through San Antonio, our next stop was Hye, Texas, with a population of 105, and home to Texas’s first legal distillery – Garrison Brothers Distillery – which produces the best bourbon outside of Kentucky. Approach- ing the barrel barn stood Ferdinand the Bull, a chrome Texas Longhorn standing 48 hands tall. Sculpted by Wyoming artist Sean Guerrero, it probably could be the official sentry over the operation and an unofficial symbol of Texas. Distilled, aged and bottled in the beautiful Hill Country, Garrison Brothers bourbon is made solely from Texas-grown ingredients. The wheat in their mash is from a 65-acre plot just across the road, and the corn is from the bountiful Texas Panhandle. After an afternoon spent tasting the different bottlings and touring the premises, I can attest to its taste and the pride and care put forth. Opting to spend the night in Hill Country, we enjoyed a couple of wineries and another excellent meal at our go-to restaurant, Fredericksburg’s Cabernet Grill, before head- ing north to Kansas, our next night’s destination. Back home in Kansas, the vehicle was unpacked, the laundry sorted and the ice chests of the Gulf ’s catch was stowed in the freezer. Next, our Port Aransas friends sent some reading home to extend our vacation and ease the withdrawal. There was a pictorial history of Port Aransas, a historic fishing guide to the area and a New York Times Bestseller by Bryan Bur- rough, The Big Rich, the Rise and Fall of the Greatest Texas Oil Fortunes . Burrough chronicles the wildcatter lives of Roy Cullen, H.L. Hunt, Clint Murchison and Sid Richardson, and their