Things To Do In Fredericksburg Texas

Things Every Texan Should Do Before He Dies: Be a bat fan

GRAPETOWN

I've always liked bats.

I've liked the mysterious and scary parts of living around them.

I've liked how they use sound waves to navigate and feed in total darkness.

As a kid, I liked to say "bat guano" and know I wouldn't get my mouth washed out with soap for talking dirty. I also wondered whether I could hit one with a shotgun. I never tried, but a kid steeped in hunting tradition always wonders things like that.

It's dusk, and I'm standing on a limestone hill, cooled by the rush of a million wings, feeling the sweep of air from a column of Mexican free-tailed bats whooshing out of an abandoned railroad tunnel to spend the night foraging for insects.

Through a camera lens, the bats look like black tracers, ghost images that materialize quickly from the open mouth of the man-made tunnel and pass within inches of me before executing a perfect, counter-clockwise, swirling departure through a gap in the trees across the gully.

"They look like a tornado," my grandson says.

Little pellets of guano — that's bat poop to you — rain down from the fluttering cloud. Some bounce off my shirt, a few stick in my hair, most patter on the leaves at my feet.

Just before dark on most nights, the furry, fuzzy, often misunderstood bats of Old Tunnel Wildlife Management Area pick up some unheard signal, shudder, stretch and disappear into the night.

At first, it's just one or two, then bursts of a few dozen at a time. Soon thousands per minute are pouring out of the hole in the mountainside, half a million in maybe 15 minutes.

From a distance it can look like a column of smoke. Dense enough to catch your attention. Dense enough to register on weather radar.

As many times as I've seen it over the years, this awesome display of flying ability, endurance and sheer insect gluttony mesmerizes me. Mark it Number 18 on my list of 24 Things Every Texan Should Do Before He Dies.

It doesn't have to be here in Kendall County. It could be as close and familiar as the Congress Avenue Bridge in Austin.

There are bats throughout the Hill Country — as many as 100 million Mexican free-tailed bats by some estimates. Most of them are here spring through fall. They make their homes in caves and under bridges. Here along the Old San Antonio Road about a dozen miles south of Fredericksburg, they live in a 920-foot long railroad tunnel dug with pick and shovel out of a limestone mountain.

Fashionable FUNdraising: 8th Annual Fredericksburg ... - Texas Monthly

(Fredericksburg, TX) -- On September 10th, 2011 over 200 shoppers will descend upon the Central Texas German town of Fredericksburg for a day-long shopping tournament filled with fashion, fun, and charity that benefits the Boys & Girls Club of Fredericksburg.

The tournament, in its 8th year, gathers shoppers in teams of four to scour Main Street in historic Fredericksburg as over two dozen stores offer special discounts, food, drinks and more. Shoppers score points at each store as purchases are made. Teams get in the spirit of the day by dressing up in themed costumes, adding the FUN in Fundraising. Prizes are awarded based on purchases, spirit and direct donations to the Boys & Girls Club.

This ain’t your momma’s Fredericksburg. With funky home goods boutiques like RED (www.redinfred.com) and the hip apparel and accessory shop Zertz (zertz.com) the small Texas town has diversified its image, attracting visitors of all ages, increasingly those in younger demographics. Store favorites such as Remember Me, Too , and house.wine will join Bath Junkie, Skye & Henry’s, eWay Furniture, The Seasons and many more as participants this year’s tournament.

“The first words out of a shopper’s mouth post tournament usually are, ‘Who knew philanthropy could be so much fun?’,” explains Sarah Cortese, Public Relations & Marketing Chair of the event. “We agree. Great times and GREAT cause. Shopping for A Cause is truly a one-of-a-kind experience that combines the best Fredericksburg has to offer.”

Hope and Opportunity. Began as a small fundraiser in 2004 to benefit Fredericksburg’s local Boys & Girls Club, the tournament raised over $32,000 in 2010 alone, and organizers expect another record breaking year in 2011. Funds from the event have aided the Club in setting up a student-run library, expanded summer programs, arts programs, and a new “Green Garden” center that teaches children the importance of growing local produce and healthy eating.

According to Fredericksburg Boys & Girls Club Director Lee Miller, "The Shopping Tournament impacts the Fredericksburg Club in numerous ways. Not only does the money raised by the fundraiser help us tremendously with supplies, programs, and special events throughout the year, but our members have a deeper understanding of how this community supports them. The Club wouldn’t exist without this community’s support, and the Shopping Tournament serves as a bridge connecting the two.

Texas Monthly

Frommer's Texas

Places in the world a person could walk, family, stories, home, and place in the Texas Hill Country

Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States, George W. Bush, 2001, Book 2, July 1 to December 31, 2001

People from Fredericksburg, Texas, Chester W. Nimitz, Lyndon B. Johnson, John O. Meusebach