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Lora B. Garrison.  Photo by Allan C. Kimball.

Lora B. Garrison's historic
Hideaway Cabin in Utopia

By Allan C. Kimball

No one knows how old the cabin hidden away in a copse of trees on Indian Blanket Ranch really is, but it doesn’t matter because staying here is like traveling back in time—a much quieter, simpler time.

This is Hideaway Cabin, secluded on a 250-acre ranch about five miles east of Garner State Park. It’s private and secluded with hills and valleys to explore, trails to hike or bike, birds to spy on, a creek to wade in, a hammock or porch swing or hot tub to relax in.

And not too far from this rustic cabin is an old outhouse, a reminder of how much you should appreciate some modern conveniences.

Lora B. Garrison and husband Roger (who has since passed away) started offering guest accommodations in the old cabin in 1976. They found a couple of workers to renovate the log-and-rock walled cabin, but they disappeared one day so Roger and a friend finished it off.

Lora notes that while the cabin doesn’t date back into the 19th century, the well on it probably does since the land was granted to a soldier in the Texas Army during the days of the republic.

Her family moved onto the land in 1907—100 years ago. Lora’s great-grandfather came here from Tennessee in a seven-wagon caravan. She remembers hiking with her mother to a spring to wash clothes and drying them by draping them over bushes. Her father was county judge for 16 years.

Lora loves telling stories about her bona fide pioneer family. Like how Captain Charles Schreiner—one of the most prominent men in Kerrville—loaned her grandmother a significant amount of money because she used to trap varmints for him on his land when she was a little girl. And that it was Schreiner who introduced grandmother Susanna Lawrence to her husband Alex Auld, another pioneer family in the western Hill Country.

Or about how her daughter LeAnn, who is named after her great-grandmother Leah Ann, just happens to have the same birthday as her namesake.

In fact, Lora loves to tell stories so much she’s a professional storyteller.

“I think I’ve been telling stories all my life,” she says with a twinkle in her eyes that never seems to leave.

She got serious about the storytelling, though, after her mother died and Lora started collecting oral histories from people who knew her. She expanded that into writing a folklore column for the local newspaper for 10 years, and has told her tales of the pioneers to school children, on college campuses, at Elderhostels, the Texas Folklife Festival, Texas Storytelling Festival, the National Storytelling Festival, and the Western Writers of America.

In fact, Lora will also tell you her stories around the campfire at the Hideaway Cabin if you call ahead and reserve a time. She or fellow storyteller Lee Haile is on call to entertain families and groups at the cabin. For a fee, of course: they are professionals.

Lora also paints and sculpts and is an award-winning photographer. Oh, and she once was so adept at the millinery arts that she made a hat for Lady Bird Johnson while the Johnsons were in the White House.

Although the cabin seems rather small tucked away under the sprawling oaks, it does sleep two to seven people in a rather innovative design. In the loft is a king size bed. Below the loft, in the main room, are an antique double bed and a single day bed. A couple steps below the main room are two more single day beds in the fireplace room.

The cabin features a full kitchen, an antique claw-foot bathtub with shower in the bathroom, a dining table, rocking chairs around the fireplace and a card or game playing table nearby. The design is rustic, from the Blue Bird Flour bag curtains to the rag rugs. Outdoors you’ll find a porch swing, a hammock, a campfire, a grill, a picnic table and a hot tub.

While the pioneer cabin is inviting on its own, the surrounding area makes it more special.

Trails wander all over the ranch, with many bluebird nest boxes at strategic locations. A total of 112 different species of birds have been sighted on the ranch, including the rare black-capped vireo and Cassin’s vireo.

And Lora’s family, through their Hill Country Adventures, will even help you enjoy all that Real and Utopia counties have to offer, which is substantial.

Grandson Bain Walker and his new bride Kirstin, daughter and son-in-law LeAnn and Anthony Sharp, and friend Lee guide birding and nature tours through some areas not otherwise accessible to the public.

Tours may be taken to see champion big trees (11 of the state’s largest are in the area, five of the nation’s largest) or along the Bluebird Trail. When the weather is warm, they’ll also take you on kayak tours along the beautiful Frio River. And in season—March through September—Bain leads tours to an impressive bat cave.

FYI • The Hideaway Cabin is located at 5345 Farm Road 1050 West, at Blanket Creek, between Concan and Utopia. For reservations and more information, call Rio Frio Lodging at 830-966-2320 or visit the web site at www.friolodging.com.
For information about Hill Country Adventures, call the same phone number or visit the web site at www.hillcountryadventures.com. Lora B. Garrison will tell her pioneer stories at the Utopia Fall Arts and Crafts Fair on November 3 in downtown Utopia.