Luckenbach, Texas

Settled in 1850 by German pioneers, the tiny hamlet of Luckenbach remained obscure until it was bought in the 1970s by the late Hondo Crouch, Hill Country humorist, writer, and authentic Texas character. An enormously popular country-western song made the name known virtually worldwide.

Luckenbach remains as it was - one unpainted general store that also serves as a beer tavern, a traditional rural dance hall, and a sometimes-used blacksmith shop. Sunday afternoons are often spontaneous "happenings." Banjo pickers, guitar strummers, and fiddlers form impromptu groups beneath huge old live oaks. Whittlers ply their leisurely craft, and washer pitchers exercise deceptively simple skills. Luckenbach's bemusing ambiance, according to one writer, "is like Brigadoon; you're almost afraid to go back because it might not be there again."

It's there - east of Fredericksburg off U.S. 290, five miles south just off F.M. 1376. Don't count on signs; souvenir thieves swipe them as fast as they can be placed.