Blanco, TX

The first thing most notice when they visit Blanco is the courthouse which was built in 1886. While it looks very official, it only served as the county courthouse for 4 years, because in 1890 the authorities moved the county seat 14 miles up the road to Johnson City. Today this old building serves as a museum, a gathering place, and a movie set. If you walk upstairs into the courtroom, you can feel the presence of Rooster Cogburn (aka Jeff Bridges) from the 2010 film “True Grit.”

If you love movie history or just history in general, then you’ll want to head to the Blanco Buggy Barn Museum which showcases over 100 different buggies from around the globe. Many of the buggies have been used in films such as “Gone With the Wind,” “There Will Be Blood,” and “Abe Lincoln: Vampire Hunter.” It’s amazing to look at how the technology progressed during the era of horse-drawn transportation. If you arrange it early, the owners will take you on a buggy ride around town.

Blanco’s biggest modern-day contribution to Texas culture is to the growing Texas craft beer scene. If you’re into craft beer, then you’ve heard of Real Ale Brewing, or at least Firemans #4, its most popular variety. Many don’t realize that it’s brewed down a dirt road in the heart of Blanco. They offer great tours of their facilities and brewing processes on weekends, but even if you don’t take a tour you can visit their tasting room and sample one (or more) of their dozen or so brews. I highly recommend sampling some of their barrel-aged “Mysterium” series, where they let beer sit in wine and whiskey barrels. It comes out completely different.

If you’re more into Texas wildflowers than Texas beer, then you’ll be happy to know that Blanco is the “Lavender Capital of Texas” and during the summer months, you can visit lavender fields to pick your own puffs of the purple stuff. I highly recommend Hill Country Lavender. Not only do they offer a really great picking experience, but they also sell all of their lavender products on site, so you can stock up on sleep-inducing and bug-repelling lotions, creams, and soaps.

There’s a Hill Country tradition that exists ONLY in a number of small German communities across Texas called 9-pin bowling, which is only done in private bowling clubs. It differs from traditional 10-pin bowling in that the pins are set up in a diamond and bowlers get extra points if they leave the middle one standing.

Sadly, the Blanco Bowling Club has closed since we filmed this episode.