Car Guy Magazine Car Guy Magazine Issue 1114 | Page 36

The BBQ is worth the wait at Coopers in Llano.
North of Highway 16 is the almost-a-town of Willow
City located on Farm Road 1223, which is best known for
being either the beginning or the end of one of the most
beautiful bluebonnet drives in Texas. This scenic drive is
known as Willow City Loop. During the days of rustlers
and renegade Indians, parts of the loop were named Hell’s
Half-Acre, the Dungeon, or the Devil’s Kitchen. The best
time to view bluebonnets is during the month of April, usually in the morning or evening to accentuate the vibrant colors. Contrary to popular belief, it is not illegal to pick the
State Flower of Texas. However, don’t trespass on someone
else’s property; that is still illegal in Texas.
North of Willow City Loop on Highway 16 is the town
of Llano, settled in 1855. Llano is known as the “Deer Capital of Texas” and is the source of two important items: llanite, a rare form of granite with a unique type of dark pink
granite inclusions only found in Llano, and Coopers BarB-Q. Cooked in brick ovens and purchased by the pounds,
Cooper’s Bar-B-Q is some of the best Texas has to offer.
East of Llano on Farm Road 1431 is the town of Kingsland. It is home to The Antlers Hotel, built in 1900, and
was a train destination for Texans from big cities who wanted to relax and experience the stress-free surroundings of
the country. With the growing popularity of the automobile

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and decrease in train travel, Kingsland became a ghost of its former self until
1996, when the Antlers Hotel and the surrounding restaurants enjoyed a resurgence. It is also where the original “Texas Chainsaw Massacre” movie was
filmed.
East of Kingsland is Longhorn Cavern State Park and Park Road 4. A section of Park Road 4 is a two-mile long asphalt roller coaster. The best approach
is from the east entrance off Highway 281. Just north of Park Road 4 is a Bavarian Castle built from blueprints designed for King Ludwig II.
Going south on Highway 16, which runs north and south from Mexico
and almost to Oklahoma, take Farm Road 962 east to Hamilton Pool. This
grotto-like pool has a sixty-foot waterfall with deep, cascading jade green water.
The vegetation, waterfall and seclusion give the feeling of a lost island paradise.
Follow the road east to Farm Road 12 and head south to the small but
growing town of Wimberly. Wimberly is filled with majestic hills and green
meadows and is adjacent to the Blanco River. Stop and visit the Wimberly Glass
Works before heading west out of town on RM32, better known as the Devil’s
Backbone. As you take the Devil’s Backbone west toward Highway 16 and the
town of Blanco, you will navigate a winding path along the top of a sharp ridge
through the hills of one of the most scenic roads in Texas. The vistas on either
side of this road are magnificent. When driving this road during the day, whitetail deer are abundant and cross whenever and wherever they desire. At night,
beware of ghosts; legend has it that the highway is haunted.
From Highway 16, take Farm Road 473 west past some of the many vineyards developing in the Hill Country and through the small towns of Kendalia