Down South...Day Ten...Wednesday, December 9, 2009...Camping Next to the "Big House"

Sitting around in the dark last night got old pretty fast...so...I was off to bed around 8:00PM. The temperature only dropped into the 50's last night and, with my sleeping bag and liner, I was very comfortable...slept like a rock.
By 7:00AM, I'm up and making coffee...heat the water, grind the beans, into the French press...a great cup of coffee! I cook breakfast...two "easy-over" eggs, leftover steak and potatoes, orange juice.
Bob and Jay stop by, and I've saved my steak bone for Jay...he is one happy dog. Then Bob asks me how I like camping next to the "Big House" Big House?...for a moment, I'm thinking that I've gone through another one of those wormholes that I seem to encounter whenever I travel...somehow, I've been transported from Texas to Ann Arbor.
Sensing my confusion, Bob points to an impressive mountain peak (see photo)..."That's Casa Grande over there...the Big House". Ah...now I understand.
I'm hiking today so, after breakfast, I load up m pack...cameras, water, some snacks...the usual. The most photographed natural feature in Big Bend is the famous "balancing rock"...that's where I'm headed. To get to the trail, I've got to travel 7 or 8 miles down a primitive road...dirt, gravel, rocks...no problem in the Escape.
It's a short 1 1/4 mile trail, and the first mile or so is pretty easy...a level sandy walk through the desert. The last 1/4 mile, though, is not so easy. To get to the "balancing rock", I've got to climb up the ridge over a series of sharp switchbacks...up and up...being careful to maintain a good foothold every step.
Then, I turn a corner, and there it is...very impressive! Looking out and down from the top of the ridge, I can see the trail back far down below. A few photos, then I look at my watch...wow...it's already 3:00PM...gotta get moving because it's a race against the clock before darkness falls.
Back at camp, I cook up one of my famous grilled cheese sandwiches...potato bread, butter, Nueske's bacon, manchego cheese...a gourmet meal in the wilderness. After dinner, I sit in the Escape, listening to the radio until 8:30PM or so. I have a big bottle of "pre-mixed" White Russians...so I have a few of those before bedtime. Another "early" night.

Down South...Day Nine...Tuesday, Decmber 8, 2009...Big Bend National Park

I'm up early this morning for the 240-mile drive from Del Rio to Big Bend National Park. I stop at a WalMart to fill up the tank, and I'm off.
Many millions of years ago, this part of Texas was formed by intense volcanic activity, but the terrain is much different than, say, the area around Yellowstone or Glacier Parks. This is because the arid conditions mean less rainfall and, as a result, less erosion (other than wind). Also, no glaciers went through this part of the country.
This is a great drive with lots of impressive scenery. The road is good...straight and 75 MPH...so I make pretty good time. I get to the turnoff from Route 90 to the Park around 1:00PM, then seventy miles or so south to the Ranger Station/Campgrounds/etc. One of the Rangers goes over a map with me and suggests camping at Chisos Basin (my first choice). Although the Basin is at 5000 or so feet, there is a temperature "inversion" that keeps it warmer at night.
By 2:30PM, I've picked out a campsite and start setting up camp. There are strong winds today, and setting up my tent is a challenge...plus, everything has to be "staked down" tight. Around 3:30PM or so, everything is set up, and I'm pouring my first cocktail. The Camp "Host", Bob, stops by to chat...he's got a big black mutt (Jay) who's very friendly.
Darkness will come early tonight (one of the disadvantages of winter camping), so I start cooking dinner early. I'm grilling one of those big rib eyes that bought in San Antonio...also frying up some potatoes with a little onion. The rib eye is profoundly good...every bit as good as I expected...and all the more so with a bottle of spicy Portuguese red wine.
By 7:00PM the sun is down and it's completely dark. Not much to do but sit at my picnic table, finish off the wine and look at the stars.
Far from civilization...at night, the stars are big and bright, here...deep...in the heart of Texas.

Down South...Day Eight...Monday, December 7, 2009...San Antonio to Del Rio

Wow...I had the BEST breakfast this morning at Mi Tierra in San Antonio. This was, maybe, my fourth or fifth visit over the years...last time was twenty years ago or so. Scrambled eggs with crispy tortilla strips and chorizo...all covered with ranchero sauce and melted cheese. Plus...a "comped" taco of my favorite...machaca...dried shredded beef...wow!!!
After breakfast, it was on to Bolner's Meat Market...an awesome "shrine" to bovine perfection. I immediately established a great rapport with the butcher...inquiring as to the meaning of the term "primal box cuts"...you can look it up. He cut two 2" rib eye steaks from a magnificent piece of 90-day (that's right, THREE months) dry-aged prime Texas beef...then "frenched" the bones and cryo-vac'd them for me...awesome. I may be freezing my ass off in Big Bend National Park, but I WILL be eating well!
Then...on the road...out on U.S. 90 from San Antonio to Del Rio. Route 90 is my favorite stretch of road in the whole U.S.A....desert, mountains, canyons, cool rock formations. This will be the third time that I have had the privilege of driving this highway. I'll have some great photos tomorrow because the best stretch of this road is west of Del Rio.
Also feeling a bit nostalgic today...I have relatives out here. Yes, that's right, there are "Thee's" out here in west Texas. My grandfather on my father's side emigrated to the U.S. with a brother. My grandfather stayed in Philadelphia while his brother moved to Texas...Alpine, Texas to be precise. So...I feel some degree of kinship with this area of the country.
Great music from my iPod on the trip today...Aaron Copeland's Suites from Billy the Kid and Rodeo...Big Country by Big Country (80's!)...and "Stars and Topsoil" by the Cocteau Twins (one of those obscure, but excellent, 80's groups...you have GOT to hear "Pandora" from that album!!!).
I got to Del Rio around 3:00PM, checked in to the La Quinta Inn (cheap!) and headed straight for Ciudad Acuna in Mexico (via taxi, of course). I bought a year's supply of Nasacort and Singulair for a third of what it would have cost at home. Then...on to Manuel's for dinner (shrimp in ranchero sauce...yum!). Rolling the dice, I had a Margarita with ice, the fresh salsa, and a Caesar salad...other than tossing my food or drink in the dirt, I can't imagine anything more likely to result in serious intestinal distress (it's 4 1/2 hours later, by the way, and I'm feeling pretty good...knock on wood...ha, ha, ha).
Tomorrow, I'll be up early for the 240 mile or so drive to Big Bend National Park...four or five days of tent camping (weather permitting).
Life is good! More later...

Down South...Days 6-7...Saturday/Sunday, December 5-6, 2006...Austin/San Antonio

I had a nice leisurely drive down Texas 183 from Austin to San Antonio. I stopped in the town of Luling for lunch at City Market (another "icon" on the Texas BBQ Trail). After all the great barbecue that I've had, I have to say that City Market was mildly disappointing...sausage was good, but the brisket was dry and tough.
So...the final barbecue rankings are...
1. Louie Mueller
2. Smitty's Market
3. Luling City Market
4. Big Daddy's
I am now officially "barbecued out"...time for something different.
I checked in at the Travelodge in downtown San Antonio and immediately headed down to the Riverwalk...crowded on Saturday and packed with Texas fans watching the Big 12 Championship game. My good friend, Ed, who is a big Nebraska fan, must be livid as Texas gets an extra second on the clock to kick the winning field goal.
I've had my fill of barbecue, so I stop at a place called Landry's Seafood for dinner...a few Margaritas, a dozen grilled oysters with a few glasses of Sauvignon Blanc...and I'm a happy guy. After some more bar-hopping, it's time for bed.
On Sunday, I headed over to Rosario's for lunch...a few more Margaritas, a huge Chile Relleno and a side order of Cheese Enchiladas with Red Chile Sauce...another great meal. That called for a nap, so I headed back to the hotel for a few hours before heading back to the Riverwalk. I was so full from lunch, I couldn't even think about dinner...so...a few Margaritas and a couple of beers before heading off to bed.
This morning (Monday), I'm up early to pack and load up. I'm going to Mi Tierra (one of my favorite restaurants) for eggs scrambled with tortilla strips and chorizo and covered in Ranchero Sauce and cheese...YUM! Then it's off to Bolner's Meats to pick up a couple of prime, dry-aged rib eyes to grill while camping at Big Bend. Tonight, I'll be staying in Del Rio, Texas before driving down to Big Bend tomorrow.
More news later...

Down South...Day Five...Austin...Friday, December 4, 2009

OK...there's no getting around it...it's cold here...really cold. Driving down from Memphis, I went through a rainy low-pressure area moving northwest out of Texas. The good news is that the rain is gone. The bad news is that the departing low-pressure area left a vacuum that has allowed the "jet stream" to drop south bringing an extended blast of frigid air. Temps have been in the 20's here at night, and today there was a light dusting of snow!
All of this has forced a change in travel plans. I originally planned to head down to Big Bend National Park tomorrow for five days of camping before heading to San Antonio for a few days. Now, instead, I'll be heading to San Antonio first for a few days. Temps are expected to star heading up next week, so I'll be postponing my camping until Monday or Tuesday.
Today, I headed down to the town of Lockhart for barbecue at a place called Smitty's. Back in the 80's, I had my first taste of "real" Texas barbecue in Lockhart at a place called Kreuz (pronounced "krites") Market. When the owner of Kreuz passed away several years ago, there was a "dispute" within the family...this was settled by allowing one faction to retain the Kreuz location (now called Smitty's) and one faction to use the name Kreuz in a new location. I opted for Smitty's, and I was not disappointed...the "usual" order of brisket, sausage and potato salad. While the potato salad was not much (who cares?), the meat was excellent. I have to rate Louie Mueller slightly better, but Smitty's is awfully close.
After lunch. paid another visit to Amy's Ice Cream (excellent!) for a scoop of pumpkin and a scoop of butter pecan ice cream...both were top-notch. Then back to my hotel for a nap before heading out to Pappasito's for Tex-Mex. I had an order of guacamole and two very good beef tacos washed down with a few Margaritas and sevral glasses of Dos Equis draft...good food and a fun atmosphere.
Then...back to the hotel for a little TV followed by a good night's sleep. Tomorrow, I'll be heading down to San Antonio (via the Luling City Market for...more barbecue!).

Smart move...before I left Michigan, I bought some flannel-lined jeans from Cabela's and Eddie Bauer...they are REALLY coming in handy down here!
More news later.

Down South...Day Four...Austin...Thursday, December 3, 2009

Last night, I went to Threadgill's...a local "legend" for "home cooking" in Austin. It was a fun place with great (live) music and very good food. I had chicken-fried steak with sides of spinach casserole and San Antonio squash...all excellent with a few glasses of Live Oak Pils...a very "hoppy" pilsener beer (then there were the wo shots of Cazadores Tequila).
I met two gals at the bar Stella and Michele who moved here from Brighton. We were laughing about the snow back home until someone mentioned that snow is expected in Austin tomorrow...Yuck!
Today, I drove up to the town of Taylor for lunch at Louie Mueller's Barbecue. Everybody here in Texas has their favorite place for barbecue, but Louie Mueller is always mentioned with the best. And for good reason...I waited about twenty minutes in line in a narrow dingy room thick with the smell of smoke...I ordered brisket, a jalapeno sausage, potato salad and a draft beer. One bite of the brisket confirmed that this place was really, really good. The brisket was melt-in-your-mouth tender with a pleasant smokey flavor that did not overpower the taste of the meat. The sausage was spicy, greasy...and great. All in all, a very satisfying lunch. Having had quite a bit of barbecue over the years, I have to say that Louie Mueller has set a new standard...the best so far.
All that food made me a little sleepy, so I decided to head back to my room at the Days Inn for a little nap. But not before a quick stop at a small local ice-cream chain (four shops) for some very good ice cream... a scoop each of Belgian chocolate orange and egg-nog. Then...down for a nice three hour nap.
I'm up around 6:30PM for a a shower before getting dressed for dinner...tonight it's Manuel's for Mexican. I start with a hand-shaken "top shelf" Margarita before moving on to a few Prickly Pear Margaritas of the frozen kind...all good. For dinner, it's an enchilada combo plate with green tomatillo and red chile sauces...excellent. Why can't we get Mexican food like this at home!?!?
After dinner, I linger at the bar over a few Dos Equis Lagers to watch the Oregon-Oregon State game before cabbing back to the hotel for a well-deserved night of sleep.
A good day today.

Down South...Days 1-3, November 30-December 2, 2009

DAY ONE...left on schedule at 10:00AM sharp. Roads were good, traffic light, weather great. Stopped just south of Cincinnati to provision cigarettes and beer (no deposit!)at the Party Source in Bellevue, KY. I made it to Elizabethtown, KY just after 6:00PM and checked into a Best Western right next to a Ruby Tuesdays. Best Western was an overpriced "dump"...almost $80.00 for a dirty room with no Internet. Ruby Tuesdays was not great, but good...Buffalo shrimp, a crab cake and plenty of beer...early to bed!

DAY TWO...left Elizabethtown around 10:00AM (I'm not meeting Roger until 4:30 or so). The Interstate is a solid wall of semis for the first fifty miles or so...stressful driving! I figure that I can kill an hour or two at Mammoth Cave National Park (see photo), but the next tour doesn't start for two hours (I've got time, but not THAT much time)...so...back on the road. I'm at the Hilton in Memphis around 4:30 and meet Roger for a drink at the bar...a well-deserved cocktail. Several cocktails later, we head out on the hotel shuttle for Corky's BBQ. The bar staff, Kate and Broady, are friendly and efficient (see photo). The combo plate of ribs and pulled pork is good as well as plentiful...I can barely squeeze in a generous serving of banana pudding for dessert! Roger handles the dinner, but the dessert is too much. Then...back to the hotel for a nightcap...off to bed early.

DAY THREE...Roger is up at 5:00M, and I'm right behind. It was good fortune that he happened to be working in Memphis the day that I got there. A smoke, a shower, a quick cup of coffee...and I'm on the road. It is not a nice day...overcast, rainy and dark. Still...I make pretty good time out of Tennessee and through Arkansas. At 11:05AM, I cross the border into...Texas! And, at 1:30, I'm sitting down for my first meal of Texas BBQ at Big Daddy's (on of Texas Monthly magazine's Top 50 BBQ's in Texas) in the town of Lavon. I order brisket (of course!), sausage and potato salad. Excellent...the brisket is tender and smokey, the sausage spicy, and the potato salad tasty. All in all, a great lunch. Then back on the road for the final 250 miles or so to Austin. And, here I am in Austin at the Days Inn, preparing to take a cab to Threadgill's (Texas home cooking, honky-tonk, and liquor emporium...I can't wait!). I'll be having their specialty ...chicken-fried steak.

More later...