After 8,700 km and 29 days we are officially home! .( motorcycle speedometer is in km) .
Our last day was a short 180 miles. It felt a lot longer as I was anxious to get home. It is good to have space to spread out larger than a hotel room, and to enjoy a greater variety of clothing!
We left ShoLow early as we had now changed two time zones coming west. The elevation is about 6,000 ft so it was chilly early on. Looking at the landscape you would think you were in northern British Columbia, the forest is thick on both sides of the road. The trees gradually gave way to the cacti vegetation one associates with the desert, and the temperature began to rise.
It was an amazing ride, we saw parts of the USA one could only see by road, met some wonderful people, AND .... Jeff and I are still speaking!!!!
I want to thank family and friends who have been reading this blog, it is much easier to write when you know you have readers.
I've enjoyed writing the blog, and it gives me a permanent record of our travels.
I will continue to blog random thoughts from time to time and any further trips we take, or trips I take with the pilgrim girls (pilgrimsfour.blogspot.com) .
Sayonara, adios, cheerio, and goodbye...........till the next time. 👍❤️
Love Muriel (pilgrim3)
Tuesday, October 7, 2014
Sunday, October 5, 2014
A great Day!
After spending some time in a totally funky coffee shop sipping our favourites and reading the local Sunday papers we were on the road. It was chilly and I was wearing my heated jacket, although not plugged in. The terrain is undeveloped, grasses and scrubby bushes, cattle on the range. Just as I am thinking oh where oh where are the buffalo and the antelope playing, I spot three antelope racing across the land! It's like I willed them there! It's a beautiful ride, the road is slowly winding and we are gaining elevation.
After about an hour we are in the tiny town of Magdalena (elevation 6,556 feet) . We stop at a small art gallery which is open, they have quilts, rugs, jewellery, pottery and some paintings. We are the only visitors and chat to the friendly lady on duty. She asks if we are going to the VLA. We are...she advises us to turn off highway 60 onto 52 which will be in about 20 miles., then it is 4 miles further. The VLA stands for Very Large Array. It was good advice because one would want to continue past highway 52 as it looks like you would be turning too soon. (I will explain eventually!)
We turn down highway 52, we are still on a two lane road but it is much narrower than highway 60, which is also two lane. As we drive we are gazing to our right at the very large dishes in the distance. (looking like they are further down highway 60!!!! ) all of a sudden a huge buck with a full set of antlers bounds out about 10 short feet in front of us, I saw him a millisecond before Jeff and yelled and Jeff realized at the next millisecond that he had to brake. Fortunately the universe cooperated, the buck did not freeze but darted across the road in one motion and we slowed enough that we did not hit him. It was a very scary moment, over fast, just a lingering feeling of what it could have been. There would not have been a winner in that meeting. We continued down the road to theVLA.
There are 27 humongous dishes (like TV sattilite dishes) each 82ft (25m) in diameter, ea. 230 tons. The dishes are lined up in a Y formation and each can rotate to receive radio signals. We spent an hour at the site, saw a 23minute video and viewed many info boards and walked around the dishes outside. There has recently been a $98 million upgrade, contributions were received from Canada, and the new central supercomputer was built by the facility's Canadian colleagues. One last fact I will give is: the radio vision is sharp enough to read a newspaper in NYC from the distance of Los Angeles.
In the gift store at the VLA I picked up a postcard of the image of Cassiopeia for our grandaughter Katie, as she was almost called after that supernova! We were soon on our way again, a few miles on the postcard blew off the bike, I had not secured it well....so it was back to the VLA for another!
On the road we soon cross over the continental divide at 7,760 feet elevation. The grasshoppers are all over the road, jumping up Jeff's pant legs, somehow getting under his seat! Glad I can only feel them hitting my legs and boots. We stopped for a sandwich and grasshoppers fell out of his pant legs in the restaurant! There are lots of signs to be on the watch for elk crossing but we see none. I'm scanning both sides of the roadway diligently.
We pass from New Mexico into Arizona, a little closer to home. We are spending the night in ShowLow only 180 miles from Carefree.
After about an hour we are in the tiny town of Magdalena (elevation 6,556 feet) . We stop at a small art gallery which is open, they have quilts, rugs, jewellery, pottery and some paintings. We are the only visitors and chat to the friendly lady on duty. She asks if we are going to the VLA. We are...she advises us to turn off highway 60 onto 52 which will be in about 20 miles., then it is 4 miles further. The VLA stands for Very Large Array. It was good advice because one would want to continue past highway 52 as it looks like you would be turning too soon. (I will explain eventually!)
We turn down highway 52, we are still on a two lane road but it is much narrower than highway 60, which is also two lane. As we drive we are gazing to our right at the very large dishes in the distance. (looking like they are further down highway 60!!!! ) all of a sudden a huge buck with a full set of antlers bounds out about 10 short feet in front of us, I saw him a millisecond before Jeff and yelled and Jeff realized at the next millisecond that he had to brake. Fortunately the universe cooperated, the buck did not freeze but darted across the road in one motion and we slowed enough that we did not hit him. It was a very scary moment, over fast, just a lingering feeling of what it could have been. There would not have been a winner in that meeting. We continued down the road to theVLA.
There are 27 humongous dishes (like TV sattilite dishes) each 82ft (25m) in diameter, ea. 230 tons. The dishes are lined up in a Y formation and each can rotate to receive radio signals. We spent an hour at the site, saw a 23minute video and viewed many info boards and walked around the dishes outside. There has recently been a $98 million upgrade, contributions were received from Canada, and the new central supercomputer was built by the facility's Canadian colleagues. One last fact I will give is: the radio vision is sharp enough to read a newspaper in NYC from the distance of Los Angeles.
In the gift store at the VLA I picked up a postcard of the image of Cassiopeia for our grandaughter Katie, as she was almost called after that supernova! We were soon on our way again, a few miles on the postcard blew off the bike, I had not secured it well....so it was back to the VLA for another!
On the road we soon cross over the continental divide at 7,760 feet elevation. The grasshoppers are all over the road, jumping up Jeff's pant legs, somehow getting under his seat! Glad I can only feel them hitting my legs and boots. We stopped for a sandwich and grasshoppers fell out of his pant legs in the restaurant! There are lots of signs to be on the watch for elk crossing but we see none. I'm scanning both sides of the roadway diligently.
We pass from New Mexico into Arizona, a little closer to home. We are spending the night in ShowLow only 180 miles from Carefree.
Saturday, October 4, 2014
Outa' Texas and Into New Mexico
Last night when we got back to our hotel after dinner we saw a cute little puppy out front of the lobby. He was so friendly and came running to see us. There was a man sitting on a bench outside and we thought the man and dog were together......not so, as we discovered this morning as we were about to depart. The little doggie was still out front, alone, another guest had also observed the dog and we all had a conversation about her. To my surprise Jeff said if we lived permanently in Arizona we could take him with us. I asked if I would have to hold her on the bike for the next 2/3 days! (Not that it mattered as we do not live permanently in Arizona) No, Jeff thought he could put his clothes In A plastic bag, the dog could go in his canvas bag and we could somehow strap it to the top of the saddlebag with the dogs head poking out! It was wishful thinking and Jeff being a big softie! And it would not have worked. Fortunately one of the Mexican grandmas working at the hotel said she would take it home for her grandkids and if an owner showed up she could bring it back. The doggie dilemma being solved we were off.
It was a chilly morning and we were off without the warming benefit of our latte and americano. I kept thinking it would warm up but eventually I had to don my heated jacket. We were driving a road lined on each side by cotton fields or oil fields, sometimes the oil machines were in the middle of the cotton . I looked at so much cotton today that I decided to read about it and share a few interesting facts. A bale of cotton weighs 500lbs, one bale makes 1200 men's tshirts. The price per pound is 79 cents. The colour changes through the life cycle, at the start, creamy white, then yellow, then pink, and finally dark red. After 3 days the flowers wither and fall leaving green pods which contain the cotton boll. As the boll ripens it turns brown, the fibers continue to expand under the sun, nearing maturity the boll bursts open and the cotton emerges. Lastly cotton can be grown in different colours......white, light brown, rust and lavender.
We crossed from Texas into New Mexico at around 1pm......goodbye Texas, we will definitely miss you! In New Mexico the terrain gradually changed from cotton and oil, longhorn cattle and goat farms to undeveloped raw land with gently rolling hills. Very pleasant to ride through. We came across a small inn, stopped for libation and soup. We came to the town of Roswell which is famous for the UFO landing they had here years ago, there is a museum dedicated to the landing and tells of the many sightings authenticated by townsfolk. We had visited it back in 2010 on our first ride to Texas so gave it a miss this time. It is the sort of place that doesn't beg a return visit.
We passed through San Antonio NM and Rudisio and stopped in the small town of Socorro. Eight hours riding with gas stops and one small break for soup! We are both tired, our longest day yet.
Missing the family !!!! ❤️
It was a chilly morning and we were off without the warming benefit of our latte and americano. I kept thinking it would warm up but eventually I had to don my heated jacket. We were driving a road lined on each side by cotton fields or oil fields, sometimes the oil machines were in the middle of the cotton . I looked at so much cotton today that I decided to read about it and share a few interesting facts. A bale of cotton weighs 500lbs, one bale makes 1200 men's tshirts. The price per pound is 79 cents. The colour changes through the life cycle, at the start, creamy white, then yellow, then pink, and finally dark red. After 3 days the flowers wither and fall leaving green pods which contain the cotton boll. As the boll ripens it turns brown, the fibers continue to expand under the sun, nearing maturity the boll bursts open and the cotton emerges. Lastly cotton can be grown in different colours......white, light brown, rust and lavender.
We crossed from Texas into New Mexico at around 1pm......goodbye Texas, we will definitely miss you! In New Mexico the terrain gradually changed from cotton and oil, longhorn cattle and goat farms to undeveloped raw land with gently rolling hills. Very pleasant to ride through. We came across a small inn, stopped for libation and soup. We came to the town of Roswell which is famous for the UFO landing they had here years ago, there is a museum dedicated to the landing and tells of the many sightings authenticated by townsfolk. We had visited it back in 2010 on our first ride to Texas so gave it a miss this time. It is the sort of place that doesn't beg a return visit.
We passed through San Antonio NM and Rudisio and stopped in the small town of Socorro. Eight hours riding with gas stops and one small break for soup! We are both tired, our longest day yet.
Missing the family !!!! ❤️
Friday, October 3, 2014
Ridin' the Road Again ......
What a great morning temperature wise! The humidity of yesterday was blasted away by the tremendous thunder and lightening storm last night and the early part of today was cool and the sky was clear blue.
It was sad to be leaving without seeing two of our friends at Luckenback, Virgil and T-Bob, but we left a message for them and said we may be back next year.
After coffee we headed north and then west. We came through the little town of Mason, the Main Street looks like it was set up for a western movie set, complete with wooden boardwalks, a big old heritage building right in the middle of town and businesses like a saloon, a hardware store and a 5 and 10 cent store. On our way we see signs for deer processing and for taxidermy, and there are ranches that offer hunting guides, and everything associated with the hunt, some of them stocking deer. We also see a crop that we have never seen except in books or movies.....cotton! It is quite a short plant and at first I thought it was potatoes but after staring at it for miles I came to realize it was cotton.
Lots of traffic on the roads today, fortunately most of our route is on divided highway, still just two lanes each side and everyone is passing us. I notice almost everyone (males) is wearing a cowboy hat. Western attire is the norm, hats and generally all wear cowboy boots, some even with spurs.
This part of Texas (around Midway and Odessa) is oil country and the business is booming , therefore prices are higher in restaurants, hotels are busier, trucks are dirtier.
While riding along I see lots of mistletoe growing in the trees. I found out that mistletoe really does grow in a round ball. You probably remember a small round ball hanging in the doorway of a New Years party house. Well as you drive along the roadways in some states in the south....Arizona and Texas being the two I have seen it. What happens is, a bird eats the mistletoe berry, then it poops in a different tree, the seed from his poop grows in the crook or branch of the host tree. The mistletoe is a life sucking plant and it takes all the nutrients from the tree, the mistletoe thrives and the tree eventually dies if the mistletoe is not cut out. We regularly remove mistletoe from a tree in Our courtyard in Arizona. I feel the roadside trees are doomed as no one is cutting out the mistletoe.
As we travel along I see great white windmill farms up on the hills turning lazily in the mild breeze. They remind me of the pilgrimsfour hiking up up up to them on the Camino and then down down down on the opposite side. I still shake my head over how we did it!
At about 3:30 we arrived in Big Spring. Big Spring was so named because it had a big spring......surprise! When the wagon trains were migrating west they came across the big spring and because water was/is essential many people settled here. So many wells were dug and eventually the water was depleted, today the town of Big Spring has to feed the spring by trucking in the water.
It was sad to be leaving without seeing two of our friends at Luckenback, Virgil and T-Bob, but we left a message for them and said we may be back next year.
After coffee we headed north and then west. We came through the little town of Mason, the Main Street looks like it was set up for a western movie set, complete with wooden boardwalks, a big old heritage building right in the middle of town and businesses like a saloon, a hardware store and a 5 and 10 cent store. On our way we see signs for deer processing and for taxidermy, and there are ranches that offer hunting guides, and everything associated with the hunt, some of them stocking deer. We also see a crop that we have never seen except in books or movies.....cotton! It is quite a short plant and at first I thought it was potatoes but after staring at it for miles I came to realize it was cotton.
Lots of traffic on the roads today, fortunately most of our route is on divided highway, still just two lanes each side and everyone is passing us. I notice almost everyone (males) is wearing a cowboy hat. Western attire is the norm, hats and generally all wear cowboy boots, some even with spurs.
This part of Texas (around Midway and Odessa) is oil country and the business is booming , therefore prices are higher in restaurants, hotels are busier, trucks are dirtier.
While riding along I see lots of mistletoe growing in the trees. I found out that mistletoe really does grow in a round ball. You probably remember a small round ball hanging in the doorway of a New Years party house. Well as you drive along the roadways in some states in the south....Arizona and Texas being the two I have seen it. What happens is, a bird eats the mistletoe berry, then it poops in a different tree, the seed from his poop grows in the crook or branch of the host tree. The mistletoe is a life sucking plant and it takes all the nutrients from the tree, the mistletoe thrives and the tree eventually dies if the mistletoe is not cut out. We regularly remove mistletoe from a tree in Our courtyard in Arizona. I feel the roadside trees are doomed as no one is cutting out the mistletoe.
As we travel along I see great white windmill farms up on the hills turning lazily in the mild breeze. They remind me of the pilgrimsfour hiking up up up to them on the Camino and then down down down on the opposite side. I still shake my head over how we did it!
At about 3:30 we arrived in Big Spring. Big Spring was so named because it had a big spring......surprise! When the wagon trains were migrating west they came across the big spring and because water was/is essential many people settled here. So many wells were dug and eventually the water was depleted, today the town of Big Spring has to feed the spring by trucking in the water.
Thursday, October 2, 2014
Last day in Fredricksburg and Luckenback
This morning started off at the friendly Java Ranch. A very personable friendly (and good looking!) young man served us our coffees, I complimented him on his good service. The Java Ranch has an amazing painted wall all along one side of the space. The space is probably about 30 feet long and the entire wall is a painted mural. The scene is of a ranch, meadow, corral of horses, cows in the field, campfire, cowpokes branding, and at one end the artists (who are cowboys) painted themselves into the mural. Lee and Matt Casbeer signed the mural with their web address......LMCMURALS.COM. They have a studio in Johnston City, Texas just a few miles down the road. Johnston City is where president Lyndon Johnston had his ranch and it is now a park, where you can see his former home and his grave. While we were having our coffee our "friends" from Baton Rouge Louisiana came in for breakfast again, they were hitting the road for home today. I gave them my business/calling card and said to contact us if they ever took a ride or vacation up to Canada. They, Jan, Joey, Laurie, and Andy gave me their card and said likewise to contact them if we made it to Louisiana. Jan has since emailed me that she has read some of the blog! So Jan if you are reading again.....please do stay in touch if you are coming to the Cave Creek area as we are often there as well.
We walked down the one side of Main Street that we hadn't checked out, it was extremely humid and cloudy....but still really hot! Nice to pop into a shop for respite air conditioning.
When we were here back in 2010 we went to a place down Luckenback way called Alamo Springs. This place is an old fashioned 50's style diner that serves thee best hamburgers we had ever had. So, we were headed there for lunch, the route is like a country lane, winding, a little hilly and truly a pleasure to travel. UNTIL you get there and the darn #⃣🔣@$&!!!!place is closed! So disappointing! Right beside the restaurant is the park that is for viewing the bats. There is an old railway tunnel that is now a bat cave and they come out at dusk by the thousands to eat their weight in insects. It was definitely not dark at 3pm but we walked down to the tunnel to have a look. As we peered into the tunnel we could see at the opposite end bats swarming like crazy. So, been there done that, won't be going at night!
At this point we were pretty well starving, having saved ourselves for the most amazing burger. We had to drive back Into Fredricksburg, and had a mediocre burger at Whataburger. Whataburger now on the crossed off, don't do again list.
Then it was back out to Luckenback for one final visit. We got there about 4:30 and David was the lone picker in the circle, he has a great voice and like many of the pickers they like to chat to the beer drinking clientele. He was soon finished and two other musicians we were familiar with and really enjoyed arrived. An hour went by and there were now 6 musicians in the pickers circle. Now, there are a lot of chickens and roosters who live at Luckenback. These birds are a pretty big attraction at Luckenback, they rule the roost so to speak! It is actually a big part of the country charm of the place. You see, their wings are not clipped so they can fly, and they do! In the outside area where the picnic benches are the large oak trees create a canopy over everything. The birds are roaming underfoot, under benches, on the picker circle area, strutting by the musicians and flying up Into the trees where they squawk and crow! At one point one of the hens was laying an egg in the open coop by the side of the seating area, the proud rooster stood beside her and crowed non stop, so loud that he was drowning out the musicians! The girl tending bar had to come out and swoosh the rooster away. Quite comical, definitely entertaining.
One of the pickers who liked to engage the listeners, getting us to join in on the chorus of well known songs started asking a few in the audience where they were from. Most were from Texas, maybe a hundred miles or so away, when we said we were from Vancouver Canada.....whoa! And then on a motorbike....Whoa! They then sang a few Canadian country songs in our honour.....that's just the kind of people they are.
There is one old guy there who took a shine to us, and us to him, we enjoyed just chatting to him about simple stuff, like how he lived a mile down the road, had some health issues and had his licence revoked, so now he is allowed to drive a type of atv for a radius of a few miles. He spends his time at Luckenback and everyone knows him and looks out for him, there are a few old timers like him and it seems to be the same for them.
Finally we decided it was time to leave, I gave the old guy a hug and told him to be here next time we come. He said he would be . A couple of the musicians shook hands and gave me a hug, said you be safe now and y'all come back soon.
Such nice people and such a nice place.
We drove the 10 miles back to town with a lightening storm lighting up a big white cloud on our right, it seemed to follow us all the way to town. We parked the bike at our hotel, The Sunday House, and walked down Main Street a little way, to a brew pub for dinner. While we were there the rain came down hard for about 15 minutes then passed over. It looked like we would be able to walk back without getting wet and the restaurant was closing. As we left a serving girl spotted my boots and oh, I love your boots, can I touch them? Did you buy them here? Disappointment when I said no, I got them in Cave Creek, Arizona.
My boots have attracted lots of attention this trip!
We walked down the one side of Main Street that we hadn't checked out, it was extremely humid and cloudy....but still really hot! Nice to pop into a shop for respite air conditioning.
When we were here back in 2010 we went to a place down Luckenback way called Alamo Springs. This place is an old fashioned 50's style diner that serves thee best hamburgers we had ever had. So, we were headed there for lunch, the route is like a country lane, winding, a little hilly and truly a pleasure to travel. UNTIL you get there and the darn #⃣🔣@$&!!!!place is closed! So disappointing! Right beside the restaurant is the park that is for viewing the bats. There is an old railway tunnel that is now a bat cave and they come out at dusk by the thousands to eat their weight in insects. It was definitely not dark at 3pm but we walked down to the tunnel to have a look. As we peered into the tunnel we could see at the opposite end bats swarming like crazy. So, been there done that, won't be going at night!
At this point we were pretty well starving, having saved ourselves for the most amazing burger. We had to drive back Into Fredricksburg, and had a mediocre burger at Whataburger. Whataburger now on the crossed off, don't do again list.
Then it was back out to Luckenback for one final visit. We got there about 4:30 and David was the lone picker in the circle, he has a great voice and like many of the pickers they like to chat to the beer drinking clientele. He was soon finished and two other musicians we were familiar with and really enjoyed arrived. An hour went by and there were now 6 musicians in the pickers circle. Now, there are a lot of chickens and roosters who live at Luckenback. These birds are a pretty big attraction at Luckenback, they rule the roost so to speak! It is actually a big part of the country charm of the place. You see, their wings are not clipped so they can fly, and they do! In the outside area where the picnic benches are the large oak trees create a canopy over everything. The birds are roaming underfoot, under benches, on the picker circle area, strutting by the musicians and flying up Into the trees where they squawk and crow! At one point one of the hens was laying an egg in the open coop by the side of the seating area, the proud rooster stood beside her and crowed non stop, so loud that he was drowning out the musicians! The girl tending bar had to come out and swoosh the rooster away. Quite comical, definitely entertaining.
One of the pickers who liked to engage the listeners, getting us to join in on the chorus of well known songs started asking a few in the audience where they were from. Most were from Texas, maybe a hundred miles or so away, when we said we were from Vancouver Canada.....whoa! And then on a motorbike....Whoa! They then sang a few Canadian country songs in our honour.....that's just the kind of people they are.
There is one old guy there who took a shine to us, and us to him, we enjoyed just chatting to him about simple stuff, like how he lived a mile down the road, had some health issues and had his licence revoked, so now he is allowed to drive a type of atv for a radius of a few miles. He spends his time at Luckenback and everyone knows him and looks out for him, there are a few old timers like him and it seems to be the same for them.
Finally we decided it was time to leave, I gave the old guy a hug and told him to be here next time we come. He said he would be . A couple of the musicians shook hands and gave me a hug, said you be safe now and y'all come back soon.
Such nice people and such a nice place.
We drove the 10 miles back to town with a lightening storm lighting up a big white cloud on our right, it seemed to follow us all the way to town. We parked the bike at our hotel, The Sunday House, and walked down Main Street a little way, to a brew pub for dinner. While we were there the rain came down hard for about 15 minutes then passed over. It looked like we would be able to walk back without getting wet and the restaurant was closing. As we left a serving girl spotted my boots and oh, I love your boots, can I touch them? Did you buy them here? Disappointment when I said no, I got them in Cave Creek, Arizona.
My boots have attracted lots of attention this trip!
Wednesday, October 1, 2014
More fun in Luckenback ! October 1st 2014
We walked to the Java Ranch this morning, on Main Street, Fredricksburg Texas. Jeff started chatting to 4 bikers that were having breakfast at a table near us. (It is usually easy to spot bikers as they often have "Harley" gear on.) they were from Baton Rouge Louisiana. They had trailered their bikes to Fredricksburg and planned day trips in the area. A lot of bikers do this in order to maximize their time exploring areas far away from home when they have limited time. We told them we had thought of driving to New Orleans a few days ago but decided against it......what did they think of riding into New Orleans on a bike? As we suspected.....not a good idea, we will save that for flying or driving a vehicle.
This is the neatest town. It has the best museum we have ever visited. It is so extensive your ticket is good for 48 hours......it takes that long to view all the exhibits. It showcases world war 2 in the Pacific. General Nimitz was born in Fredricksburg and the museum is located on the spot where the house he lived in as a boy stands.
The Main Street has many art galleries and a variety of shops; the shops are not the usual tourist fare but interesting ladies shops, home stores, restaurants, bars and such. When we were here in 2010 I bought my cowboy hat here.
The locals tell us it is busy all the time with events, being located so close to Austin it is a great weekend getaway. The hiking appeals as well, but I would have to be here in one of the cooler months....if there is such a time. Research required!
The big draw here for us is Luckenback.......the friendliest little town in Texas with the best music in the "pickers circle" any day of the week with dances in the barn on weekends!
I contacted our friend Walt Perryman, also known as the Luckenback Poet. We met Walt 4 years ago on our first visit, he was so friendly and we have remained in touch. We arranged to meet him at Luckenback later in the afternoon. It was good to see our old friend, he is looking better than ever now that he has the lovely Laura in his life. Walt stood up by the pickers circle and recited a couple of his poems for us.....a very special guy. We sat on the benches, sipping beer and listening to the cowgirls and cowboys singing and the guitar pickers. We left to head the 9 miles back into town for dinner. Luckenback snack shack only serves burgers on weekends.
Just to give you an idea of the food on the menus .....here is a sample:
Country fried steak fried to crunchy perfection smothered in our homemade bacon black pepper cream gravy with mashed potatoes and sautéed corn !!!!
That is copied straight from the menu of the restaurant we were at tonight......I had catfish, Jeff had pasta. Gravy is served at most meals, with biscuits in the morning and with everything else at dinner.
You will understand I have had a lot of BLT's, I know what to expect.
We went back to Luckenback about 7:30 for an hour. The road there is a country road through farms and big ranch style homes, we scattered about 8 or 9 small deer who were munching at the side of the grassy verge......quick as a wink they were over the farm fence. It was just dusk when we have to be watchful of animals.....a good reason we don't often ride at night.
Another memorable day of the simple things in life.
This is the neatest town. It has the best museum we have ever visited. It is so extensive your ticket is good for 48 hours......it takes that long to view all the exhibits. It showcases world war 2 in the Pacific. General Nimitz was born in Fredricksburg and the museum is located on the spot where the house he lived in as a boy stands.
The Main Street has many art galleries and a variety of shops; the shops are not the usual tourist fare but interesting ladies shops, home stores, restaurants, bars and such. When we were here in 2010 I bought my cowboy hat here.
The locals tell us it is busy all the time with events, being located so close to Austin it is a great weekend getaway. The hiking appeals as well, but I would have to be here in one of the cooler months....if there is such a time. Research required!
The big draw here for us is Luckenback.......the friendliest little town in Texas with the best music in the "pickers circle" any day of the week with dances in the barn on weekends!
I contacted our friend Walt Perryman, also known as the Luckenback Poet. We met Walt 4 years ago on our first visit, he was so friendly and we have remained in touch. We arranged to meet him at Luckenback later in the afternoon. It was good to see our old friend, he is looking better than ever now that he has the lovely Laura in his life. Walt stood up by the pickers circle and recited a couple of his poems for us.....a very special guy. We sat on the benches, sipping beer and listening to the cowgirls and cowboys singing and the guitar pickers. We left to head the 9 miles back into town for dinner. Luckenback snack shack only serves burgers on weekends.
Just to give you an idea of the food on the menus .....here is a sample:
Country fried steak fried to crunchy perfection smothered in our homemade bacon black pepper cream gravy with mashed potatoes and sautéed corn !!!!
That is copied straight from the menu of the restaurant we were at tonight......I had catfish, Jeff had pasta. Gravy is served at most meals, with biscuits in the morning and with everything else at dinner.
You will understand I have had a lot of BLT's, I know what to expect.
We went back to Luckenback about 7:30 for an hour. The road there is a country road through farms and big ranch style homes, we scattered about 8 or 9 small deer who were munching at the side of the grassy verge......quick as a wink they were over the farm fence. It was just dusk when we have to be watchful of animals.....a good reason we don't often ride at night.
Another memorable day of the simple things in life.
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