On the way to Doss, with goat on the backroads

Had a lead on some “cheap” land way out in the Northern region of the Texas Hill Country and I decided to make a run for it yesterday and check it out. The drive was much longer than I thought–nearly 2 hours from Northern San Antonio to my destination of Doss, Texas. The whole drive was beautiful, but nothing could prepare me for the beauty I would see once I got to Doss.

First off, Doss is 19 miles northwest of Fredericksburg–very isolated from any city. It was founded in 1849 on an old gristmill and distillery on a beautiful creek by German immigrants. In 1960s, the population of Doss was estimated to be 22, but today it’s just a little bit bigger. Today, the “town” still only consists of a small post office, a general store, fire station, and a church.

My destination was just a few miles ahead. I was looking for 30 acres for sale according to a real estate catalog I found that deals in rural land tracts. The price was still out of my budget, but what caught my eye was how lower priced it was compared to the going rate that you usually find in this region of Texas. I decided to drive to Doss because I had never been there before, and interestingly, not one person I talked to has ever been to Doss, much less heard about the place! All kinds of creeks were overflowing and I caught a few white horses crossing the them, as well. I was also greeted by goats and loose livestock on the roads. Wow, no fences?

This was truly like how it was back in the old days. The days when animals were still wild and allowed to roam free.

Horses early morning drink

Well, it was sort of like that. there were still all kinds of fences separating tracts of land. Nonetheless, I finally got to the area that I was looking for and had to make the long drive up a hill on a gravel road. I put the truck in low gear–better traction this way. Once I got to the top, I passed a few small dogs snapping at my truck and saw a shack in the back, I guess they are not used to seeing vehicles pass this way. Once I passed the only neighbor in site, I got took a right at the fork of a road and eventually came to the top of a hill that overlooks the Texas hill country. Breathtaking….but a major problem: The land for sale was rugged–very rugged. Apparently the property is being used as a hunting tract. It was very secluded and isolated. I like isolation and being with nature, but this was too much! Pretty area, but way too much work will have to done to make it liveable and worth the 2 hour trip it took to get there.

I headed back home that afternoon and realized that this was a common theme in real estate ads — when a property is described as “good hunting area”, it means that the area is very rugged and isolated.