The Fauna of the Fredericksburg KOA

Every day we walk the dogs over to Kamp K9, the doggie park in the KOA.  On the way we pass these three Texas Longhorn Steers, dubbed Huey, Dewey, and Louey.

They are gentle, and used to people, but dogs have to stay 20 feet from the fence.  Riley, part cattle-dog, would like to get in there and run around; while Holly, part princess, could care less.

They both get pretty excited by the wandering pair of Guinea fowl.  All their scooting and head bobbing and clucking is soooo tempting to canines!  The Guineas sometimes go through the fence to a neighboring ranch where a horse and several miniature donkeys reside.  Wish I had the videocam with me as those donkeys charged around their pasture after the Guineas. 

Riley has tried to scale many trees in pursuit of the tail-swishing defiant little red squirels.  And we cannot even walk them up near the office, where a flock of hens and a rooster or two have the run of the place.   There are so many places for the dogs to walk safely here in the park though, I think Holly might have even lost a pound or two.  I know I have!

Crawfish Festival

Fredericksburg held a Crawfish Festival over the weekend; I love seafood and convinced Russ to brave the crowds of shoppers and tourists downtown for a taste of the spicy, briny crustaceans.

What was I thinkin'?  Russ is a meat-eatin' cowboy from Dallas!  He twisted the head off two of the little red guys, got disgusted and high-tailed it to the booth selling kabobs!  Grrrr...

On the other hand, more for me!!

Buc-ee's

I hope everyone had a good Memorial Day Weekend, and Thank You to all who serve their country, their city and their community!!

Ever hear the phrase "everything is bigger in Texas"? 

Well, we stumbled upon the biggest gas station (travel center) we have ever seen.  Known as Buc-ee's, we first spotted a huge sign with a beaver on I-35 between San Antonio and Austin, in the town of New Braunfels, and being curious, exited the freeway to get a closer look.

They do not allow 18-wheelers, and there were no signs that said it was a gas station, nor any signs advertising prices.  I saw at least 15 bays, each servicing 4 vehicles!!  We paid $3.49 for diesel, by far the lowest we have seen on our trip so far. 

Then I went into the "store" which sold everything from hunting gear, to clothing, shoes, jewelry, and souvenirs; and sporting a central island selling, what else, BBQ!!!!    Crazy!

The Salt Lick

The Salt Lick in Driftwood, just outside Austin, is our absolute favorite BBQ.


I know this is beef country, and the brisket is great.  But the pork ribs....  you can smell them the second you exit your car.

I have a hard time not running to the front door!

This pit is just inside the door, they finish off the meat here, and plate it to order.

 The smoke is sweet, the ribs are dry-rubbed with a vinegary sauce on the side if you want.  Served with beans, cole slaw and warm German potato salad. 

Todd and Russ tried the chicken and rib plates and proclaimed it juicy and smoked just right.  Nick tried the brisket and ribs.  I just had ribs, and when I was finished, I tried to sneak a bone off someone else's plate, but their bones were bare. 

Sorry I did not get pics of Nick and Todd -
they always had food in their faces!

The jalapenos are HOT, HOT!!!

Luckenbach

Luckenbach, Texas.  Population 3.

On weekends and anytime Willie Nelson and friends are in the dance hall - Population 1,003.

Below -
the Post Office/Store/Bar/Local Hangout/Museum

"Everyone is someone in Luckenbach"

Todd and Nick

My bro Todd and his neighbor Nick dropped by and spent the night.  The were on a working trip from California to New Orleans then up to our family farm in Neosho, Missouri.  We had fun driving around town, admiring the local Sunday Houses whose style is unique to the Hill Country.

This chapel above, built by the German settlers in the 1800's in Fredericksburg, is constructed with timber and limestone blocks.


Contemplating the jail, with barred windows and doors and of course, no air-conditioning. 

Had to be brutal in the 100-plus degree summer days.


Below, wildflowers still everywhere along the roadsides.  The orange-red Firewheels, cone-flowers, and other flowers that I just call white or blue or yellow - what are they??

BBQ in Llano, Texas

We finally made it to the KOA in Fredericksburg, Texas - the heart of the Hill Country.  It's warm and mildly humid here, the mornings are cool and breezy, just perfect for long dog walks around the Kamp.  There are lots of small red squirrels here, just to drive Riley crazy.  Chickens, guinea hens, longhorn steers, horses, miniature donkeys surround the Kamp, Riley has never been so close to other animals and he thinks it's great, Holly ignores them all.

Tuesday we drove up to Llano, to Cooper's Old Time Pit BBQ.  It is our second fav spot in the Hill Country, very casual, small town.  This is the original site, but they have opened several other locations.

You step up to the pit outside and tell the cook what kind and how much smoked meat you want.  He will dunk it in the sauce kettle on the right and place it on the plastic tray.  Today's selection was cabrito (goat), sausage, pork ribs, beef ribs, prime rib, chicken and lean or fatty brisket.  I want some of everything, but we settle for pork ribs and fatty brisket.

We walk inside, they weigh up the meats, and we choose our sides - potato salad and cole slaw.  Beans and bread for sopping up all the juices are free.  Next time we will skip the sides because the beans were our favorite - savory with chunks of meat and very spicy jalapenos floating on top.

The dining hall is typical family style, filled with well worn wooden picnic tables and benches.  Paper towel rolls serve as napkins, but the food is so good that I am unashamedly licking my fingers, while Russ is knife and forking it.  I think he is faster because I blink and our goodies are gone!

Mmmm-mm!!

Hatch - the Chile Capital

Hatch, New Mexico



We drove through the mountains again, west this time, destination Hatch, NM.  They call themselves the Chile Capital of the world.  It is really a tiny town of 5,000 surrounded by acre upon acre of chile fields, pecan orchards and other crops. 

And home of "Hot Damm Chile"!!


And, incidentally, closest town to Spaceport America, which we could not tour since we had the dogs with us and it was 90 degrees outside with no hope of shade.

It sure is an eye-catching place!

We came in search of Sparky's Burgers, Barbeque and Espresso - - specifically the famous Green Chile Cheeseburger.

I opted for the 2-meat Barbeque Plate, pulled pork and brisket of course.

Russ chose the Green Chile Cheesburger, and cole slaw, salt content be damned!

And here is the now familiar picture of Russ chowing down...

The burger was fresh, spicy, rich, tasty... and he ate it all.

I was really impressed with the bbq beef brisket.  It was perfectly smoked, no sauce to interfere with the rub, and oh so tender!  The corn and green chile side dish was spicy and sweet, even the beans were well balanced and tender.

We were glad we drove almost 2 hours to this fun place.  Unfortunately, Russ ate half my meal as well as his and later that evening he was regretting the "mass quantities" consumed. 

But he needed the calories for our next trek down to Las Cruces, through El Paso, and out onto the west Texas plains.

Gila Cliff Dwellings

The Gila Cliff Dwellings are north of Silver City, New Mexico.  We camped at the Silver City KOA, which was a very nice spot, with great owners.  The drive up to the Cliff Dwellings was long but not difficult. We wound through pastoral valleys, past lakes and pines and ranches. And up and down a breathtaking ridge, if we were not used to the cliffs of Highway One in California, I would have been terrified. Well, maybe just a bit nervous...

You can just see one dwelling in the arch on the left.

Then we hiked for an easy half hour up to the dwellings themselves. 

We saw a few petroglyphs, but mostly were just in awe of the construction and location. Russ said if I exclaimed "Wow!" one more time, he was going to remove his hearing aid.   Holly ate his other one back in Tucson, so he only heard half my "wows" anyway!

Some of the walkways were right on the edge!

The dwellings were built around 1270 AD and abandoned around 50 years later.  There are quite a number of "rooms" which we were told housed about 40-50 families. 

We are standing on the ledge you can see in the picture above.  Do I look nervous?  I sure was!

This is how we climbed down to reach the trail to go back to the truck.  I made Russ go first, of course.
Just an awesome experience!!

The Velvet Elvis

We read about the Velvet Elvis Pizza Company in a local brochure and decided to drive south of Tucson, up into the hills to Patagonia, in search of this funky cafe which serves artisan pizzas and healthy salads and mexican fare.

Peeking over Russ' shoulder is the King himself.

I think this is the third picture of Russ with a giant plate of eats in front of him!  In this case, Chile Rellenos.  I have the pizza with peppers and the best house-made chorizo ever.

In between us is a tender, whole wheat roll the size of a softball, which we fought over the entire meal.  You can see I have possesion of it for the moment...

Well worth the drive!

The Haboob

 

A giant dust storm enveloped Tuscon, called a Haboob. It came upon us while we were sitting outside our trailer at Lazy Days RV Park.  The wind in front of it was howling, the flags standing straight out horizontaly, with dust driving into every crack. 

We packed up the chairs and dog kennel, brought in our slides and closed up the trailer, hoping to keep most of the dust outside. Then we loaded the dogs in the pickup and drove it behind a sheltering building to wait out the storm.

Despite the wind, the temperature was still in the high 80's.  The haboob passed over in about 45 minutes, then the cleanup began!!

These are not great pics, I was worried about getting that fine grit on my camera lens. 

But I think my legs got a nice "sandbuffing"!!

Tombstone, Arizona

Tombstone is really geared for young boys, so of course Russ loved it!

We checked out the Boothill Graveyard, where many souls were buried with their boots on.
This is where the men killed in the shootout at the OK Corral  on October 26, 1881 are buried.

. 

Here Lies Lester More
Four Slugs from a 44
No les, no more

Here Lies George Johnson, hanged by mistake 1882
He was right, We was wrong
But we strung hime up, and now he's gone. 

 We could not get into the OK Corral,
so Russ burned some of his youthful energy
on the swingset just outside the corral fence.

You can't see it, but he was grinning so's I
could see his back molars, yes sirree!

Man in the Maze

 

Iron gate at San Xavier del Bac Mission...
The figure represents man at birth.  He follows the open spaces of the maze during his life, aquiring knowledge, strength, and understanding.  As he approaches the center, he retreats to a corner just below the center to repent, and reflect on wisdom gained during his lifetime.  Now, purified and in harmony with the world, he accepts death and eternal life as he enters the center of the circle.

San Xavier del Bac Mission

This mission is incredible!  Built in the late 1700s by the Franciscans, it is partially restored and is also known as "The White Dove of the Desert".   I can imagine sitting inside as a child, enthralled with scenes surrounding me, paintings, carvings, relics, and even statues dressed in clothing!  I am sure I would never have even listened to the sermons, I would be listening instead to the stories in my head.

Miss T

Check out the most unique campground pet we have seen - Miss T, the tortoise!  Her owner says she loves to camp, never walks too fast, eats anything, and even knows to stay on the linoleum in the motorhome.  Though she peaks at her owners to see if they will let her onto the carpet, and sometimes sneaks over to beg for treats.

We are at Lazy Days RV Resort in Tucson.  Great place to stay, and far enough away from the interstate that earplugs are not needed.  Whew!

Headed to Tubac and Patagonia tomorrow for sightseeing.

We have been at the KOA in Blythe the last 2 days, on the west bank of the Colorado River; the cheap gas in Arizona beckons us to cross the river to save 30 cents a gallon.  The temp reached 100 today, and even though the shade was cooler, I am relieved that we have air conditioning in the trailer.

Disaster struck as I was typing this - Holly chewed one of Russ' hearing aids while he was taking a shower!  The floor is Holly's domain, if anything hits the floor she "hoovers" it right up.  Fortunately she did not eat the battery.  Does homeowners insurance cover this I wonder?  Guess we will find out tomorrow in Tucson.

Riley ran the agility course in Kamp K9 this morning, Russ the proud papa.

  

Many opportunities for flower pictures this morning - this is my fav - not sure what it is, though.



Not eating in the trailer!

You can be sure I will gain weight and Russ will lose weight on this trip!  As a special treat after seeing his cancer doc in Marina Del Rey, we went to SUGARFISH by sushi nozawa. We had the Trust Me Nozawa for 2.  What is a TrustMe?  Chef Nozawa selects the items based on the best available for that day, and we trust him.  The pure flavors and elegant simplicity are just heavenly!  No fancy rolls here, just fresh fish and homemade soy and ponzu sauces.  www.sugarfishsushi.com



The next day we had breakfast at Carlitos on State Street in Santa Barbara, across from the historic Arlington Theater.  All fresh made, including the tortillas.  I think the black beans are cooked with epazote, they are so flavorful.  MMmmmm.