GATEWAY to the HILL COUNTRY

West of Austin in Dripping Springs, Texas, the big-city bustle fades into a delightfully distant hum

- KAITLYN YARBOROUGH SADIK

(From left) A converted 1940s gas station, which is now an event venue; Onion Creek on the Camp Lucy grounds; bakery owner Abby Love with seasonal pastries; a cocktail at Tillie's; hiking at Pedernales Falls State Park

“Why keep something so beautiful all to ourselves?” asks Kim Hanks, who owns Camp Lucy along with her husband, Whit, a sixth-generation Texan born less than 30 miles from the couple’s tucked-away stay near Dripping Springs, Texas. We’re greeted by the song of native grasshoppers that munch their way across this region. The insects’ signature chirps, conducted using their legs like guitar strings, are loud and lyrical, and one species is even named after a fellow Lone Star State icon, Willie Nelson.

As I stroll around the grounds of the resort, which opened more than a decade ago, one of the bugs hops atop my shoulder, so I yelp. My Texas-raised husband, who grew up checking his bedsheets for tiny brown scorpions at his grandma’s ranch, only laughs and gently flicks it off. There is a small herd of resident alpacas grazing nearby, and it all feels blissfully far away from car honks and skyscraper construction.

Known as the “Gateway to the Hill Country,” Dripping Springs teeters right between the hectic blur of Austin, about 25 miles away, and a serene stretch of nature dominated by wildflower-dotted meadows and scrubby ranchettes.