(map) Lake Travis may be low, but this old-school Texas swimming hole is always full of cool, clear water. The perfect way to cool off on a hot Memorial Day weekend! Drive through an old-fashioned gate and then down a meandering dirt road that winds through huge oak trees. The Krause (pronounced Krow-see) family has owned this idyllic spot for over 50 years. Hugh Krause said his dad built the spring-fed swimming pool back in ’62, “then just kept adding on.”

You walk down a hill to get to the swimming pool, then a little farther down the hill to get to the actual springs.

The springs have everything you could want: natural rock formations to lounge on, a waterfall cascading into the cool water, a rope swing, even a cypress-tree-covered island to float your beer cooler around. Hugh Krause says some of these cypress trees are 1,000 years old.

Hugh’s dad built this place. He loves it as much as his dad does.

Back at the top, there’s  a beautiful butterfly garden with paths through purple coneflower, daisies, cannas, and ornamental grasses.

Enormous six-foot wind chimes clang in the breeze by a fern grotto. Everywhere there are fountains, benches, stone tables and chairs, urns and garden statues of bunnies and squirrels.

Krause Springs has many picnic spots, including shaded or covered tables with built-in barbecue grills. You can also camp here in a tent or bring your RV. They were planning a special fireworks show on July 3rd, but due to the drought, had to cancel.

There are two bath houses with travertine marble walls and counters. Pretty swanky for a campground!

Krause Springs website

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(map) Every Friday is Tour Day at this 17-year-old craft brewery in Blanco. While you wait for your tour, there’s plenty of beer sampling to be had from an ever-changing menu. Above, this Devil’s Backbone Tripel really hit the spot. You can sample beers before, during and after your tour and it’s all free.

The tasting room is fairly small, so folks mostly mill around outside with their brews while they wait for their tour. Below, Tim the Brewmaster starts things off out front, where big silos store the barley for brewing. He says they go through 50,000 pounds of barley a week. From a tiny brewery in the basement of an antique store on the town square, Real Ale has grown to be the 49th largest craft brewer in America.

This is a working tour, so you’re down on the floor next to the tanks mixing it up with the workers. The yeast for the IPA was busy digesting sugars; that foam is what’s spilling over onto the floor. While Black Sabbath played, Tim told us that some of the stronger beers, like Imperial Stout, are aged in bourbon barrels for flavor. They can brew beer 24 hours a day, and have to, to keep up with demand for the hugely popular Fireman’s 4.

The kegging area, where kegs and barrels are filled from huge tanks. Below, the bottling area, an elaborate Rube Goldberg-like system that winds the bottles on a journey into six-packs, then cases, then pallets.

All Real Ale brews are unpasteurized and unfiltered, so they’re kept in a cooler till they’re shipped out. Below are some test beers that are tasted periodically to see how they’re aging. Tough job!

The tasting room ladies are happy to hand out as many samples as you want, of whatever you want. It’s a great way to try new beers. The tasting room is open from 2 to 5 pm, with tours at 3 and 4.

Some of the beer ingredients on display in the tasting room. Yes, those are coffee beans! They’ve also used chocolate.

You can buy souvenir t-shirts, koozies, beer glasses and more in the tasting room. Below, the tiny, original brewing tanks from the basement on display in the parking lot.

Real Ale Brewing Co. website

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(map) They’re back! After a year off, one of the west’s favorite shaved-ice makers just reopened yesterday. The place is a serious kid magnet. School had just let out, and kids big and small were running to get in line for their favorites.  There are 40 sweet flavors on tap (including the ever-popular Tiger’s Blood), or they can create a cool combo for you.

Travis and his friend Donnie were first to arrive, and hammed it up with their ices. Travis is holding a new innovation for this summer: the “snow stopper.” It’s designed to catch the inevitable slush slide parents love to see happen in the car. It’s $1 extra but reusable.

When school lets out, the line of cars waiting for the drive-through stretches out to 620 and down the side of the highway.

You could also park and stand in line at the window . . .

. . . then take your frosty treats over to the tables under the oaks.

If you park on the side, you walk in through this gate. Apparently, they really want you to know they’re closed on Tuesdays.

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It’s the unofficial kickoff to summer! If you’re looking for something fun to do this weekend, there are lots of special events going on out West. Check out the list below and for more info, click on the links.

Austin Wine & Music Festival, “A Sunday Affair” Sunday from 1-8 at Driftwood Winery. Tastings by six member wineries, live music, gourmet food trailers. $30

J-Fest in Jonestown at the Plaza Saturday: Live music, local artists, film, food by Parrain’s and Tug’s BBQ, cooled tents. Free

Lakeway Resort & Spa Friday-Monday, special discount rates, happy hour, moonlight sailing cruises, movies and games for the kids, s’mores by the firepit, lots more

Hill Country Galleria Saturday night, free Summer Concert Series with the Hot Texas Swing Band, 7-9 pm

Fredericksburg Crawfish Festival Friday-Sunday, crawfish, jambalaya, boudin, red beans & rice, live Cajun and country-western music, arts & crafts, gumbo cookoff. $7

Fredericksburg Saturday and Sunday, Pacific combat living history reenactment; Monday at 10 am, Memorial Day ceremony at the National Museum of the Pacific War. Free

Dripping Springs Pig-pickin’ Monday. Westcave Cellars hosts an all-you-can-eat whole-pig roast with live music (and of course, wine), 2-5. $20-25

Luckenbach Saturday, the town where “everybody’s somebody” celebrates its 161st birthday with music by Clay McClinton, then Charlie Robison. Sunday, special Outriders Service. Monday, Memorial Day celebration with Chris Berardos & the DesBerardos and Bo Porter

Pedernales Cellars Saturday, live music from 1 to 5, along with wine tastings

The Grille at Rough Hollow Barbecue Monday from 10-5, with live music, beef brisket, beer can chicken, baby back ribs, plus sides and desserts, $16-28. Patriotic costume competition with prizes awarded at 4.

Fall Creek Vineyard Memorial Fest on the patio with Flags, Family and Friends, Saturday and Sunday, 11-5. Barbecue sandwich lunch, adults $15, kids $10

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Every five years, Texas Monthly lists the Top 50 ‘cue joints in Texas. It’s a big job – over eight months, a team of 16 trained eaters fan out across the state, visiting 658 places to find the best. This year, there were 18 repeats from the 2008 list, and one of them was Spicewood’s own Opie’s BBQ. Congrats on smoking the competition! See the entire Top 50 list here.

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The stage is right next to the lake so you can keep an eye on both.

You can’t go wrong with a classic like well-seasoned beef fajitas.

Fresh tuna ceviche had a bright lime taste. On the side, lots of guac.

Iguana Grill website

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(map) Score! Highlights opened just a few days ago to high-fives and major cheers from the neighborhood. Not a chain, the locally based restaurant seems to anticipate our community’s every desire. Outdoor patios? Check. 30+ TVs showing every major sporting event? Check. Typical sports-bar food – wings, pizza, burgers – that goes way beyond the typical? Check and double check.

This beef tenderloin pizza is one of 10 on the menu. Perfectly crispy crust, poblano peppers and some seriously tender tenderloin, with a touch of horseradish to spice things up. Speaking of spice, the wings (below) are available in four different levels of heat: mild, spicy, Asian BBQ and Cajun. Go for the spicy and get ready to break a sweat!

There’s a bar area with lots of beers, wines and cocktails on the menu, as well as a dart-throwing section. The dining area offers TVs as well if you don’t want to miss a minute of action.

Angus beef burgers are ground in-house and then grilled to order. There are five options available, but the managers’ fave is the “hangover burger.” Technically called the Green Chile burger, it features grilled poblano peppers, applewood smoked bacon, cheddar and a fried egg. Seriously, burger nirvana.

Highlights Gametime Grill website

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Today’s my dad’s birthday. Here he is as a young pup, way out west in Mertzon.

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A salute to all mothers everywhere, but especially to mine.

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(map) They’re baaack! We’ve posted before about picking strawberries here, but at the farm next week, the time is ripe for big, juicy blackberries. At the beginning of the season, you hardly have to look to find plenty for cobbler.

Pick up your baskets at the welcome booth, and they’ll weigh it when your done. Blackberries are $3.25 a pound, a deal compared to the grocery store – and a lot more fun, too!

There are rows and rows of vines, so it never feels crowded. Since most of the vines have thorns, they’ll loan you a big glove to protect your hand. Kids love the place.

There’s a “Texas Maze,” carved from eight acres of tall sorghum. If you find your way out, you get a free drink. They say a lot of over-confident kids get lost and end up using their cell phones to call their parents to come find them.

Tiny new potatoes are in season right now, too, and are fun to dig up.

Sweet Berry Farm website

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