by Michael Satterfield - 08/30/2021
In the second installment of our great road trip series powered by Shell V-Power NiTRO+ Premium Gasoline, we take on the legendary Twisted Sisters in Central Texas. These remote country roads in the Texas Hill Country have been a draw for automotive and motorcycle enthusiasts for decades and are unlike any other place in the Lone Star State. For this amazing road trip, I have borrowed a McLaren720S Spider from McLaren Dallas, a 710-horsepower supercar that will make use of all the performance Shell V-Power NiTRO+ has to offer.
Our trip starts in Fredericksburg, a once small town that
has become the hub of Texas wine country drawing thousands of tourists from
around the world. While there are countless great wineries to choose from in
Fredericksburg, no true car enthusiast would miss the opportunity to visit the Wine Garage. Founded by car collector Gail
McCulloch, Wine Garage is a tribute to American car culture and Texas wines.
Each variety of wine is named after one of the cars in Gail’s collection and
their dryness is rated via a stick shift logo on the back.
The wines are great, but the cars are the real stars, and
the eclectic collection features everything from a 1969 Shelby GT500 to a 1975
Cadillac Convertible with long horns on the hood. In addition to all the cars,
the garage features collectibles from racers, vintage gas stations, and vintage
tools. Each tasting at the Wine Garage consists of a curated collection of five
Texas wines, you get to keep your souvenir glass and tour the best car
collection around. Each tasting is $15. I took my wine for the road since, I
had to drive down to Leakey, the hometown of the Twisted Sisters.
Leakey has a population of just over 400 people and in
addition to the bikers and car enthusiasts that come to enjoy the roads, the
town attracts thousands of visitors each year to enjoy the Frio River. The town
comes to life on the weekends, but if you really want to enjoy the drive, do
what I did and come in the middle of the week. Avoiding the weekend crowds does
come with its challenges as many of the restaurants and other shops in town are
only open on the weekends. My cameraman and I found ourselves buying microwave
dinners as there weren’t any restaurants in town that were open on a Wednesday
after 6pm.
Ranch Road 337, 335, and 336 make up the route with a short
transit section on Highway 41. The entire loop is around 100 miles, so be sure
to fill up with Shell before you hit the road and grab some water and snacks
while you are at the station, because there is nowhere to stop along the way. But
the long drive to this remote part of Texas is worth it once you experience the
first few turns. The road follows the canyons and hills through a series of
tight twisty turns. Coming around a corner at the top of a hill and the views
are incredible but stay focused on the road as it is one of the most technical
drives you’ll find in Texas.
Be sure to watch the video from my trip to Leakey below:
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