Road Portraits Two

FEBRUARY 18, 2022 POST: The Devil’s Backbone run via River, Hugo and Purgatory Roads with a stop by the Wildflour and a bonus ending.

REBECCA & SUSAN, CO-OWNERS, WILDFLOUR ARTISAN BAKERY & GRILL.

Driving Devil’s Backbone

The definitive (we hope) Devil’s Backbone route via River, Purgatory and Hugo Roads with a stop by the Wildflour Artisan Bakery & Grill (and ending with a bonus finish).

WRITTEN & PHOTOGRAPHED BY: STEVE HOLLOWAY

NOVEMBER 21, 2021. Devil’s Backbone, Texas.

We started our Devil’s Backbone road trip on River Road where it meets Loop 337 in New Braunfels. We headed northwest, winding along and criss-crossing the Guadalupe River for 13.6 miles to The Wildflour in Sattler.

While not formally a part of Devil’s Backbone, this short drive is a scenic precursor to the Backbone with three river crossings on a tree-lined road. Depending on the time of year, you will either be almost alone, see thousands of tubes floating downriver or watch one of the many area car clubs fly by (we drive this route often and have seen all three with car clubs including BMWs and Mustangs).

First Stop, the Wildflour Artisan Bakery & Grill

Take a road trip to Canyon Lake and you’ll find two restaurateurs who have chosen to call the hill country home, Rebecca and Susan, founders and co-owners of The Wildflour.

REBECCA AND SUSAN, ARTISANS/CO-OWNERS OF THE WILDFLOUR ARTISAN BAKERY & GRILL.

The Wildflour artisans

Artisan simultaneously refers to who makes something (an artisan), what they make it with (artisanal ingredients) and how they make it (artisanal methods).

Sounds like Rebecca, Susan and The Wildflour.

Rebecca and Susan, the artisans behind The Wildflour Artisan Bakery & Grill have crafted every aspect of the Wildflour experience.

First, Location

Location. Location. Location. It’s the bedrock of every successful restaurant.

The Wildflour’s location is easily accessible from Canyon Lake, River Road and nearby river tubing companies. The building had been a bakery and restaurant for 20+ years so the bones of a restaurant were there, making it a great starting point.

Rebecca and Susan took it from there and finished a complete redesign and renovation, inside and out, to make it theirs.

The result? A casual, fun dining experience that creates the perfect atmosphere for their eclectic menu.

Their approach and philosophy?

According to Rebecca, “We wanted to bring fresh, new artisnal foods to the hill country. Susan has perfected the process for smoking Turkey, Salmon, Venison and Chicken which are some of our most popular items. My signature dish? Cheesecake. I take a basic cheesecake recipe and create new ideas including our Pecan pie cheesecake (you get pie and cheesecake) or our Red Velvet Cake Cheesecake (cake baked right inside of the cheesecake). We take pride that most of our menu items are made entirely in-house.”

Rebecca and Susan haven’t had formal culinary institute training. Even so, are they cooks or chefs? A cook follows established recipes to prepare food. A chef is trained to understand flavors and cooking techniques, create recipes from scratch with fresh ingredients, and has a high level of responsibility both in and out of the kitchen including updating menus and handling administrative tasks like schedules and payroll.

Their combined real-world training has given them chef-level skills and abilities. Combine that with their intuitive interest and love of creating artisnal food and, as far as I’m concerned, you have a “chef” inspired experience at the Wildflour.

Wildflour Artisans’ Food Portfolio

HOUSE SMOKED MEAT & CHEESE BOARD. HOUSE-SMOKED VENISON SAUSAGE AND TURKEY, HOUSE-MADE SOFT SAVORY WHITE CHEDDAR CHEESES AND CRACKERS WITH A HOUSE-MADE TRIPLE BERRY JAM.

It’s hard to pick a favorite from this combo. The smoked meats. The cheeses. The jam. It’s a yes to all three.

HOUSE-SMOKED VENISON JALAPENO KOLACHE

These are the best kolaches we’ve had anywhere. Also try their regular venison kolache.

COOKIES & CREAM CHEESECAKE.

Love all of their cheesecakes but this is one of our favorites.

PINAPPLE AND COCONUT PINA COLADA CHEESECAKE.

HOUSE-MADE SPLIT PEA SOUP.

Their split pea soup is a must-have special that isn’t a regular menu item so make sure and look for it on the daily board the next time you visit the Wildflour.

BACKBONE ROAD TRIP TIP. When you’ve finished eating at Wildflour, get a to-go box for the road.

The Devil’s Backbone. History, Facts and Possible Facts

WHAT IS THE DEVIL’S BACKBONE? 30 Million years ago an earthquake in what is now Central Texas created a limestone ridge and formed the Edward’s Plateau to the west and the lower Gulf Coast Plains to the east. It’s a scenic area that stretches through the Texas Hill Country between Wimberley and Blanco.

HOW ABOUT GHOSTS ON DEVIL’S BACKBONE? There are two sections of Devil’s Backbone that are responsible for it’s haunting reputation.

THE FIRST SECTION is the site of the Devil’s Backbone Tavern (still in operation today across the road from The Devil’s Backbone Overlook).

According to the Tavern, their site started with a single stone room built for a blacksmith’s shop/stagecoach stop at the base of a treacherous trail in the 1890s. After prohibition, the tavern was built and, in the 1950’s, a service station and package store were added.

The Tavern’s most famous ghost story describes a woman who walks down the road and is carrying a baby and calling out for her husband.

THE SECOND SECTION according to Wimberly’s Blair House Inn web-site is around the aptly named Purgatory Road. The stories that originate there claim sightings of Spanish monks, Native Americans and Confederate soldiers.

Jenny Webster Jurica, writing for TexasHillCountry.com, describes tales of the ghost of a Native American named Drago who has been seen herding cattle along the backbone and of ranchers who also tell of a widow and child of a miner who was killed, wandering the area, supposedly seeking a proper Christian burial for their husband and father (a variation on The Devil’s Backbone Tavern version).

She also writes about an apparition that is said to materialize on the hoods of cars as they drive along.

AS FOR US? We’ve driven these roads multiple times at every time of day and night and have yet to come across any occupants slipping over from the other side. But, then again, maybe we just don’t know what to look for.

Planning the Devil’s Backbone Run

Research for The Devil’s Backbone run uncovered a few crude maps and multiple articles that were a mix of Backbone history and course descriptions. Some of the articles did a good job of identifying the roads to take while others made references that were difficult to visualize or translate to a map.

None of the maps or articles gave you a turn-by-turn course with mileages.

MUCH OF DEVIL’S BACKBONE CONSISTS OF HILLS YOU CAN SEE IN THE DISTANCE SNAKING UP AND DOWN THROUGHOUT THE COURSE.

So that became the challenge.

Create a turn-by-turn course with mileages. And a map. A really good map.

Since we spend a lot of time exploring the roads around Canyon Lake, I included the scenic River Road prologue to the Backbone plus a technical section on Hugo Road and added something special at the end. Even with add-ons, the total course is under 90 miles (plus 16.4 miles if you add the bonus ending) leaving plenty of time to stop along the way.

Out On The Road. Finding the definitive (we hope) Devil’s Backbone road trip (via River, Purgatory and Hugo Roads with a stop by the Wildflour and a special, bonus finish.)

This Devil’s Backbone run takes you through some of Central Texas’ best road trip courses and destinations. Here are turn-by-turn directions keyed to the Devil’s Backbone map (above).

1. START This is a prologue to the Devil’s Backbone route. To get to our first stop, The Wildflour Artisan Bakery & Grill, we started at the Southeast access to River Road at Loop 337 in New Braunfels. We drove toward Canyon Lake on River Road winding back and forth across the Guadalupe River. Pick the right day and you could be on the road at the same time as one of the local car/motorcycle clubs (most recently, we had 40-50 Mustangs go by including every year, model and custom combination you can imagine, from classic restorations to Shelbys). We can’t emphasize enough how much this drive adds to the trip. Travel 12.8 miles

TURN LEFT on FM 2673. Travel .4 miles

TURN RIGHT into The Wildflour.

2. HEAD OUT TO THE DEVIL’S BACKBONE RUN. After you finish breakfast (or brunch/lunch) at the Wildflour,

TURN LEFT on FM 2673. Travel 1.8 miles

3. NEXT TURN RIGHT on FM 306. Travel 2.9 miles

4. NEXT TURN LEFT on Purgatory Road. Travel 5.0 miles

5. NEXT TURN RIGHT on Hugo Road (FM 214). Travel 4.0 miles

Hugo is a great, short, technical section. If you like a fast run with turns, you’ll enjoy this section. For an alternate route, you can go straight on Purgatory to RR 12 and skip Hugo.

6. NEXT TURN LEFT on RR 12. Travel 7.7 miles

7. OPTIONAL TURN If you want to end your Devil’s Backbone Run in Wimberley, then turn left on FM 32 and head towards Blanco. Refer to the map to finish the course if you take this option. Since we’ve been to Wimberley on multiple occasions (and had a bonus course end planned), we stayed on RR 12 for the full 7.7 miles.

8. NEXT TURN LEFT on FM 2325. Travel 15.7 miles

9. NEXT TURN LEFT on FM 165. Travel 7.5 miles

ARRIVE IN BLANCO A great stop for BBQ, coffee or antique shopping.

10. NEXT TURN LEFT on TX 163, merge onto US 281. Travel 2.1 miles

11. NEXT TURN LEFT on FM 32. Travel 18.3 miles

START LOOKING TO YOUR LEFT AT 17 MILES: Look for the Devil’s Backbone Overlook, a small roadside park that looks down on the valley that defines Devil’s Backbone.

12. NEXT TURN LEFT into Devil’s Backbone Scenic Overlook.

THE DEVIL’S BACKBONE OVERLOOK.

The Devil’s Backbone Scenic Overlook is just past the Canyon Lake detour and gives you the opportunity to stop and take in the picturesque views. If you brought a picnic with you, this is a good spot to enjoy it! Or, you could stop by the Devil’s Backbone Tavern just across from The Overlook to grab a drink.

BONUS FINISH: For the perfect end to a perfect trip, we pulled out of the Overlook and headed to Black’s Bar B Que on Loop 337.

WE TURNED LEFT on FM 12, Traveled 2.5 miles

THEN TURNED RIGHT on Purgatory, drove South to FM 306, Traveled 5.4 miles

TURNED LEFT on FM 306. TURNED RIGHT on Common and headed to Black’s Bar B Que on Loop 337. Traveled 9.6 miles

DID YOU EVER GO TO THE CHRYSTAL CHANDELIER DANCE HALL? THE ORIGINAL CHRYSTAL CHANDELIER FROM THAT WELL KNOWN CLUB IS AT THE NEW BRAUNFELS BLACK’S BAR B QUE.

BLACK’S BAR B QUE (ABOVE) MOIST BRISKET, SHREDDED BRISKET WITH MAC & CHEESE AND GREEN BEAN SIDES. (BELOW) BLACK’S MUST HAVE GIANT BEEF RIB COMES IN AT ABOUT A FULL POUND AND IS AN AWESOME EXPERIENCE.

Wildflour Artisan Bakery and Grill, 2000 FM 2673, Sattler, Texas Black’s BBQ, Loop 337, New Braunfels, Texas.

NEW! WE’VE ADDED EXTERNAL LINKS TO HELP GET YOU WHERE YOU WANT TO GO. Look for the red External Links (above) added to the hotels, restaurants and destinations we’ve visited making it easier to research and plan your next trip.

#roadtrip #devilsbackbone #wildfloursattlertx #

Road Portraits One features Music From the Road and a Return to the Beach. It focuses on portraiture, one of my favorite disciplines.

QUICK READ: PATTERNS

Shadows & Patterns

Look around any scene and you will find details that tell a bigger story. Details that become the subject.

The siding of the Lighthouse Inn, Rockport Texas, photographed in mid-afternoon suggest the surroundings and warmth of a sunny day at the beach.

Captured hand held with an iPhone 11 Pro Max with Beastgrip and Bluetooth release in natural light.