Vacation 2010 - Day 5

Went and saw more of the local sights was waiting on Ike to get back from Pecos. Charles showed me a small church/chapel that had been restored. The grounds still had the rectory and the school but both have collapse. While there we found the remains of what Charles Leon believed to be either an old Model A or T Ford just rusted away to barely nothing. He also found an old nut that was used to hold wagon wheels onto the hub. Man, I wish I had that type of an eye, I kept looking around and didn't see nuthin'.

After we left there we went back to his place and watch the Sarah Palin speech.

Ike showed up and we went out towards Buffalo Trail Scout Ranch, they wanted to show me a mountain lake but they couldn't find the ranch foreman to get permission. We then rode down the twelve mile road towards the camp and looked at the canyons. By the time we had gotten back Charles notice that the window of time to get to Museum of the Big Bend in Alpine, TX was closed. We parted at Balmorhea, and I headed towards Alpine to where I plan to spend the night.

I headed out TX 17 toward Ft. Davis and decided to go back down that road to the Buffalo Trail Ranch and take more pictures. After that was done I stopped at a road side park that Charles Leon pointed out to me when we went to Ft. Davis the day before and snapped a couple of shots of me there.

As I made my way through Ft. Davis I notice a Texas State Trooper had pull over someone else. I may have mention the day before that I had notice that this Trooper had stopped two cars within the short time we were there. Glad to see someone on the ball.

I made Alpine and located the two RV parks that Charles Leon told me about, one was the Lost Alaskan and there was another on on TX 118 before you get to to the Lost Alaskan but for the life of me I can't remember it's name at the moment. I've looked it up on Google and it said that there's a BC Ranch RV park but that name doesn't sound right. It may be the same park but with a new name.

Well, I realize that I was restless decided to try and make the next town before night fall and maybe find something to eat there. So I pushed towards Marathon, TX and found an RV park there and priced it, only about $15 for the night and then I went to The Gage Hotel to take my dinner.

The Gage is awfully nice and I went to get a table in the restaurant and they asked if I had a reservation. I told them, "No" and they told me that it would be a couple of minutes and would I like to wait at the bar. So, I went to the bar and notice that the restaurant wasn't crowded, nor had any business to speak of at that moment. There were a few folks in the bar area and I order a draft. They came and got me in about 15 minutes and took me to a small dining room off the kitchen that was very nice and set me down took my drink order, which was water, and then left me a menu to make my selection. The made to wait because I didn't have a reservation and then the weight of the menu should have been strong indication that what I was going to see inside was not what I had in mind for a dinner and I was right.

I wonder first about the lack of prices for the entries and then about the crazy menu item numbering system they had before I realize that that numbering system was actually the prices.

Uh, oh.....

The two items on that menu that stuck on my mind was one, Duck enchiladas, and pepper encrusted venison.

That venison sounded good.

I made a quick mental calculation of my finances and when I realize that I wasn't going to have to put the cat up for hock I figured that I would splurge and Dine for once. I order the pepper encrusted venison after I made sure that I wasn't ordering any back strap, ( They sell venison in special butcher shops in Texas and all the back strap I've seen in those shop indicated that I would have only gotten about 1/2 an oz for that price.) and was assured that I getting two 6oz sirloin cuts. With the venison came grilled vegetables and a potato au gratin.

I made an excellent choice for my Dining experience.

The venison had a firmness to it while being tender, and with a good flavor and a mushroom sauce. It didn't taste gamely but it did have a good venison taste to it. The grilled vegetable were nice and crisp, they were a mixture of asparagus, greenbeans, carrots, (Yes, I ate asparagus). The potatoes au gratin wasn't all that grate, it was good but not on par with the rest of the meal.

After the meal, I strolled outside and realize that I was restless and that a lot of the road I was going to be traveling on tomorrow had already been traveled down by me before, just the year before. So I made the decision to push on to Dunlay that night.

Nothing unusual about the trip except that before it got dark I did happen onto a "herd" of javelinas along the road and stopped to take a picture or two.

In the first photo the one on the far right above my mirror was running to inform the others that I was one of them "freeloafin' fotografter" and wasn't going to pay them a sittin' fee. The second photo is a group of about 20 or so that I could see in the brush but it's hard to make out unless the picture is blown up.

Made good time to Del Rio and enjoyed the lights that played off the Amistad reservoir there and make it through the Border Patrol Check Point outside of Bracketville, TX. (home of Alamo Village where John Wayne film his version of the battle of the Alamo back in 1960.) And right outside of Uvalde TX I was pulled over by a Texas State Trooper. He was nice and friendly and stopped me because my tag lights were out and we talked about where I've been and where I was headed for the night and he gave me a warning and without Tazing me sent me on my way. But in all fairness that seems to be part of the Coweta County Deputies Sheriffs reparative.

Didn't take long after that before I was passing through D'Hanis TX and recognize Bill & Rosa's KK Steakhouse and Saloon, home of the Don't Order The Large Chicken Fried Steak If You Don't Do Doggie Bag. And then it was Hondo, TX. Eight miles alter I was pulling up to the folks house in Dunlay.

The plans there was for me to go ahead and sit up the pickup tent that night and let them find me in the morning but this was 2 am and they were still up. So, I went ahead and knocked on the door and after a visit and making sure Figaroe was all set I went to bed.