Casa Bonita & Sparkling Frio

It's been awhile! Sometime back in November as I recall. Since then, nothin's happened.

Actually, we've had lots of cold weather, some much needed rains, wonderful Thanksgiving & Christmas holidays with family and friends, and good health.

But wait, you wanna know about the Frio, right? well...it's looking pretty good considering we've been in a drought for three out of the last four years. With less evaporation from the heat and the Cypress trees being dormant this time of the year, our Favorite River is holding it's own real well. Just picture it with a little more water in it than at any time you saw it in '09. My optimistic nature leads me to believe that sometime between now and summer, we'll get those big inches of H2o we've all been anticipating.

And speaking of the Frio River, we have added two new properties to the FrioMan Family of vacation homes...Casa Bonita, here in Concan, and Sparkling Frio, which is located just six miles north of Leakey. Both homes are located on beautiful, "droughtproof" stretches of the river, and are going to be extremely popular family vacation homes.

Sparkling Frio is situated on the Cypress lined banks of the east prong of the Frio River, just 6.5 miles north of Leakey off of US 83. A really cool house on a beautiful, quiet stretch of the Frio. Fish, swim, kayak, or just soak up the atmosphere in this serene setting. Sparkling Frio has 3 bedrooms, two baths , sleeps 14 guests (maximum) @ $425 per night.

Casa Bonita sits next door to Vista del Rio, one of our most popular vacation homes located directly on the Frio River. Under construction, this wonderful new 3 bedroom, 3 bath Hill Country home will have a 47" flat panel tv, loft with pool table, fireplace, and much, much more. It will accommodate a max of 20 guests, @ $550 per night. And it's small pet friendly!

And for some &*#%*!$$ area news. Even though we haven't been formally notified, the Uvalde county commisioners have voted to raise the occupancy tax that we collect from you!

It was at 0% last summer. Now it will be 4%, plus the 6% that goes to the State of Texas, for a grand total of 10%. Not good, but at least it's not back to the 12% that people paid for about 10 years.

Mark your calendars.

Saturday, March 6, Texas Independence Day(March 2) Celebration - Gary P. Nunn at House Pasture

Freedom Fest-House pasture March 11,12,13 concert-bbq cookoff-fun-fun-fun

Where to stay

FrioMan on Facebook

That's it for now. Don't forget to call us for year-round vacation fun!

Be back soon!

FrioMan

www.FrioMan.com

866-7CONCAN

830-988-FRIO

Color changes, green grass, awesome weather, & Garner State Park

Wow! If you've never been to the Frio Canyon and surrounding areas in the fall, you're missing it. The trees are putting on their brilliant colors, the grass is green and lush from recent rains, and the weather is AHH-some!

Gigi, Maddie, and I took a leisurely drive yesterday, down to the Frio above Neal's campground, and then on to GSP.

The water is probably a little too cool to swim or tube in for most, but just being there is so peaceful.

This weekend we're going to the Utopia Fall Art Fair.

44th Annual Utopia Fall Arts Fair - (Saturday November 7, 2009 9 am - 4 pm) Town Square, FM 187 in Utopia, Texas. There will be over 70 vendors of handmade arts & crafts plus music, food, craft demonstrations, and a silent auction to benefit local scholarships.

http://utopiatexas.net/index.php?option=com_frontpage&Itemid=1

On November 28, Christmas on the square will be held at the courthouse square in Leakey, from 9am til 4pm. Santa Claus will be there for the kids from 10-noon, and again from 1-3. It's fun, we'll be there.

Come on, it's not ever too long of a drive to experience this. And the best part, no crowds!

This shot is looking upriver from the dam at GSP.

No description required, yall all know this spot!

We saw lots of deer and squirrels, a couple of the park folks, and a few campers.

Green is good! The 5 or 6 inches of rain we received in late September and October really revived the flora and fauna.

Oh, and we did see a few buzzards upriver from Rock Beach

You can still do the GSP dance thing after summer's over, but ya gotta bring your own music.

Well, what I'm trying to say is, you really need to come see us!

We're so thankful that we live in such a beautiful area, and can just hop in the truck and be at these spots in mere minutes. We hope you enjoy these pictures, and that they see you through the long off-season until your next trip to the Frio River.

Next trip, Lost Maples Natural Area outside of Vanderpool. The Bigtooth Maples, Lacy Oaks, and many other trees are beginning to turn colors. Another great place close by to hike and enjoy nature.

Take care, and don't forget to join FrioMan on Facebook.

FrioMan Vacation Lodging

Concan & Leakey Texas

www.frioman.com

A little at a time

Well, it started raining again yesterday a.m., dropping around an inch here in Concan. Very light rain fell all night, and is still coming down slowly now. Although it won't bring the level of the Frio up right away, it's a great start to what we hope is a real, wet winter.

The Canyon is really greenin up now, and is looking great! As I "pen" this post, it is a cool 60 degrees out, a welcome relief from the 100+ temps many of us experienced all summer. But that's basically just normal Texas weather, right? The down side is jeans & shoes vs shorts & flip flops.

Just about got IMac figured out, so I oughtta be postin pics here again soon. In the meantime, just add FrioMan InConcan as a friend on Facebook for almost daily news and pictures from the Frio River area.

There is a link on our homepage (www.frioman.com) to make it easy. If you haven't joined FB, try it, it's cool!

Take care, and I'll see yall soon!

FrioMan

FrioMan Vacation Lodging

Concan, Texas

www.frioman.com

830-232-4210

Finally...RAIN!!!

Hey Guys...RAIN

8/10ths the other night, then 3.3 inches last night! And more expected, still need it.

I went out earlier and took some pics(posted on facebook). The Frio is looking better than it has all year, and some of last year. We're fixin to go back out, cause Hondo called and said Bunk Falls is going pretty good. Looks like more water came down and the flow/level is coming up more!

We got a new Apple IMAC, so I haven't figured out how to get my pics to it from my memory card yet. So, to see the pictures and keep up with what's goin on, add FrioMan InConcan as a friend on FaceBook.

Gone to the Frio! CYA

FrioMan

FrioMan Vacation Lodging

Concan, Texas

www.frioman.com

Midsummer on the Frio River '09

Has it rained where you live? I miss it terribly.

So does this little girl I saw today across the road from West of the Frio,
one of our cool vacation homes.

Too low to tube, but we still got fishin!

And lots of strollers on the gravel bar....babies or beer carriers, hmmm.

Took a ride to Buchanan's after that, to check out Neal's swimmin hole, and man the wind started blowin like crazy.

Folks down there swimmin and layin out picked up and started flocking to their vehicles...

FAST!

But not everybody heard the howling winds, or saw the blowing dust and approaching storm.

Or, really cared.

Apparently they knew, as I, that it would pass by and miss us, as it usually does.
There's always tomorrow!

Since I don't have much to talk about due to the dry conditions we've been in for so long, I just don't post very often.
However, join me on FaceBook for more up to date, right away, it's goin on now, jabber.
Just add FrioMan InConcan as a friend.

But if anything important happens, like a lotta rain, and/or a good rise on the Frio, you'll see it here and on FB first!!
Come on out, the water's fine!
FrioMan

FrioMan Vacation Lodging
www.frioman.com
http://www.facebook.com/home.php?ref=home#/profile.php?id=1180093876&ref=profile

No Rain, little change

Hey Guys

I've been getting quite a few emails to post updates, but unfortunately, nothing exciting has happened to report. It's hot & dry, and the Frio is low and slow. But it's still clean & green, and visitors are having a great time.

Below are the best place to float or swim, as reported to us firsthand by our guests: Better get there early, especially on the weekends. These are all pay to play, so don't trespass.

Happy Hollow-just like last year, this seems to be the best venue for tubers when the Frio River is running low. About a 2 hour float. Their number is 830-232-5266

Mager's crossing @ CR 350

Garner State Park

Neal's swimmin hole

That's all I have for now. I'll try to post some pictures very soon.

Take care, have fun! FrioMan

FrioMan Vacation Lodging

www.frioman.com

830-232-4210

Rain overnight

Hey Guys
Well, the summer season is almost upon us, and we actually got some rain last night! About an inch here, and the USGS gauge shows the Frio came up about 1/2 foot. That's quite a bit for a shallow river, and should improve tubing and kayaking for our visitors this weekend. More rain is in the forecast, so keep your fingers crossed. I'll try to take some River pics this weekend and get em on soon! Lots of folks here this weekend, you shoulda seen the traffic in front of our new office!
Later, FrioMan

FrioMan Vacation Lodging
Fantastic homes and cabins in Concan & Leakey Texas.
866-7-CONCAN-reservations only please
830-232-4210
830-988-FRIO
www.frioman.com