Movin' East...

Goodbye Beni, Goodbye St. Louis, Goodbye Venice Cafe... Thought I'd throw in one more photo of the Venice Cafe as it was by far more interesting than anything we saw today.

So, on through Illinois. If "t" equals a tree then the route through Illinois looks like _________________________t__________tt____
Got the picture? Luckily, we didn't even need to stop for gas so I suppose we could legimately say we didn't set foot in Illinois.

As soon as you cross the Wabash River in Indiana you come into some very pretty country with (if my imagination is right) an international influence - towns named Brazil, Poland, Denmark. However, as soon as you near Indianapolis you're back into ______________ttt__________tt___________ etc. Southern Ohio isn't any better. John & I seem to have an attitute about FLAT so perhaps we'll look for a Habitat Build in one of the FLAT states to give us a better perspective on things.

After so much FLAT driving, John & I looked sort of like this Ghar Buffalo tonight. Actually we (and the buffalo) were at Steve's Dakota Grill for dinner (a good place to eat by the way) but I thought if they'd decided to "mount" either John's or my head, it would have fit right in. We DID try to stay the night at the Mt. Gilead Ohio State Park but staying with friends the last two nights has spoiled me. There was no running water, thus no flush toilets and showers (Ohio parks better catch up - Arkansas & Texas have them beat 9 ways to Sunday! - plus it cost just as much). Me and my backside said "no way" and we've ended up in a nice hotel in Mansfield for the night. It WOULD have been fun to stay in Mt. Gilead since that's Warren Harding's birthplace and the home of "Pop 'n Cruz Drive-Thru" liquor store but they have no motels so Mansfield it is.

Tomorrow we hope to make it home!!!!

Missouri

What is big and square and flat and not-damp and very comfortable? A real, honest to goodness king size bed! Jeannette (a high school friend of mine from... well, we don't need to think about that) and her husband Don, treated us last night to an overnight in the bridal suite, no less, of a B&B in Amish country. Even gave us a nice bottle of Missouri wine that we're enjoying tonight. (There was noooo way I was going to let John open it last night - it was all I could do to haul John out of the Jacuzzi, he was so relaxed.) And, of course, we also got to enjoy their great company before they surprised us and took us to the B&B for the night.

Jeannette & Don joined us again for breakfast and then for a bit of antique shopping. Found a tomato knife (mislabeled as a small scoop) like the ones Jeannette & I used to use when we worked in our youth in the local tomato canning factory. THESE are definitely better days.


Trivia question with two hints - What author lived in the little house in the photo in Mansfield, MO? (We stopped to take a picture but escaped the tour.)

Decided to stop for lunch in Licking although it did take a bit of courage after passing the sign for the "Denture Mart". Had some GREAT fried okra, cornbread, blackberry cobbler at P & J's Cafe followed by GREAT indigestion.

On to St. Louis for a night with our friend Beni that we haven't seen for years. Of course, none of us have changed at all. Beni took us to this wonderful, eclectic bar called the Venice Cafe which is a "MUST go to" if you're in St. Louis. Gourmet Magazine even gave it one of their top 10 fun places to visit in the US in 1996 - they weren't wrong and the prices are VERY reasonable. That's Beni and me beside the Cafe's bus thinking we might be inspired to add a bit of paint to Rambo.

Jeannette & Don took us for Chinese food last night and Beni took us for Vietnamese food tonight. We're definitely starting to break from BBQ - YESSSSS!!!

Heading east again tomorrow. Where we'll land is any one's guess!

Trivia answer - Laura Ingalls Wilder "Little House" series

Excuses, excuses....

So where were we yesterday?!!! The morning found us at the Clinton Library in Little Rock. Our critique? - a wonderful library, extremely well done, well worth a trip. However (and no offense to our Republican friends), it was a bit depressing to be reminded of where our country was during the Clinton years and where it is now. Am sure there are lots of better photos on their web site - take a look.

Also very interesting is Heifer Internationals administrative building right behind the Clinton Library. It too is a "green" building but taken to a higher degree. The mote in the photo is actually their parking lot run-off filtering system using native vegetation. All the offices have natural light; they air condition through vents in the floor so only the bottom 6 feet of air in a room is cooled; the roof is a rain water collection system and that water is used in their cooling system and to flush the low flush toilets (the men's urinals go one step further - they're waterless); and on and on. Not only is Heifer Project one of the charities we're proud to say we support, but this building is also an education in itself. So when you're in Little Rock - put them on your must-see list.

Leaving the big city we headed to Perryville to visit Heifer Project's global village (look them up on the Internet if you're interested in learning more). The kids visiting got to ride the water buffalo but John & I decided to take a pass.

We spent the night at Petit Jean State Park which is truly a beautiful part of Arkansas. For some reason, however, they seem to think when you're camping there you should enjoy the scenery, the fresh air, the fishing, the hiking etc. instead of working on a blog, so no wireless - go figure.

Today we took the scenic route north through the Ozarks enjoying the beautiful dogwoods and redbuds blooming in the woods. So what do I take a picture of? "Booger Hollow Double Decker Outhouse". (Upon occasion, Rambo's indoor plumbing does have some advantages.)

Tonight we're in Missouri with friends. Will fill you in on that tomorrow... (I hope)

Bye Bye Texas

You can't put anything over on the Salyards. Having learned about "omelets in a bag" in boyscouts, they fixed us a wonderful "bag" breakfast and sent us on our way north.

Oklahoma proved exciting mainly because John had never been there before. However, we did pass such attractions as a small farm saying they had "Show Pigs" (all we saw were goats so perhaps they've been showing the wrong animal). Another place had signs advertising "Cedar logs"; then "Rustic cedar logs"; then "Cedar Furniture"; then "Wanted - Cedar Logs". I was thrilled to see the first vegetable garden of the trip that showed spring lettuce, onions & peas. (Southwestern OK also seems to have dirt, more rain and mixed hardwood and pine forests.) We resisted the urge to try to find points of interest in Frogville and Swink.

Because of the rain/fog we took the less scenic route to Hot Springs. If you haven't been there they have a street lined with old 1920's bath houses such as the one in the photo, run by the park service. (Therefore they also close at 5:00, just when tourists like ourselves are arriving.) The horses are in town racing at the beautiful Oaklawn Racetrack but, they too had gone to bed for the night. Uncle Joe's second hand store (you didn't tell us about this little investment scheme, Joe!) was also closed. Next door, however, McClard's Bar-B-Q was open as it has been since 1928. It just happens to have been rated the best BBQ in Hot Springs and of course they had a photo of Bill Clinton eating there. (We must be out of the true west - they serve pork, not beef.)

PS - Doing this blog does have some advantages... John gets to go dry the sheets. Rambo leaked somewhere else than just on John's shoulder. However, the moon is out so perhaps we'll spend a dry night after all.

Destination... Dallas

Have you ever experienced Texas rain? The old saying "When it rains it pours" describes it perfectly. When we left Brady this morning they had had almost 3 inches in 24 hours. Even our van, Rambo, recorded about a quarter inch in one of the drip pans (that was indoors - John's leak repair wasn't entirely successful). Instead of chip on his shoulder, John donned a rain jacket and almost resorted to a dishpan on his shoulder as we drove through torrential rain to Dallas.

Sights along the way...
There's a Turkey Hunters BBQ on March 31 in Winchell (we're left to wonder what they're barbequing).
The oldest Dr. Pepper Bottling Plant in the World is in Dublin, TX. We stopped at their museum and soda shop but they had the bad form to be closed.
Stephensville had this nifty cow in their court house square indicating they have $223,000,000 in milk sales annually. Where those cows are is another issue as we have not seen a single dairy cow since we've been in Texas.

VERY happy to arrive at our friends for the night (John was developing "drip pan" shoulder). John, Oletta & Maverick entertained me with a 6 handed piano number. Not bad at all.

And a note to you readers from yesterday... now that he's been "featured" in a blog, JA expects job offers to come flowing in. If any of you are interested, he says he will work for tips.

Bye Bye Brady...

Although Scott & Jessica did NOT register for their wedding with the hardware store, Becky (my sister, a.k.a. Scott's mother, a.k.a. Jessica's mother-in-law, a.k.a. JA's wife, a.k.a. daughter of Alice) DID make them a quilt and hand quilted it. Although you can't see it up close, the signatures of all their relatives and close friends are around the squares.

JA, not much into quilting himself, has decided to take up waitressing as a sideline. He did manage to deliver our silverware & napkins plus refill the iced tea glasses without mishap today at Mac's BBQ. Even so, he still had to pay for his own lunch.
One last bit about Brady...
The San Angelo paper had a Sunday insert about small towns in Texas, giving each town a whole page to talk about attractions. In paragraph 1 of Brady's page we're reminded of the "World Championship Goat Cookoff" Labor Day weekend. (If it wasn't so hot then, we might be tempted.) Paragraph 2 mentions the the "Heart of Texas Thunder Drag Boat Races" in June. (Brady does have a reservoir - a miracle in a flat state!) And the attraction in paragraph 3 is that it is within 125 miles of three interstates (is that so we can come or leave?)... I suspect Ms. Garmen will be directing us towards one of those highways as we leave for points north tomorrow.

Bridal Registry - Texas style

We (meaning my mother, sister & I) drove to Voca this afternoon for a quilt show. For some reason the thought of either going to a quilt show or touring Voca (pop. about 12 - NO stores) had no appeal to John. Anyway, the Voca Quilting Group was celebrating their 60th anniversary by displaying over a 100 quilts the group had made over the years for friends and families. Am not sure if any of the founding members are left, but several current members are daughters of the founding members (it does seem to be an all-female group).

So if you're a bride-to-be how do you register for a quilt? I have no idea... Suspect you have to be lucky enough to be related and on good terms with one of the quilt members.

However, I do know you can register for other items at the hardware store in Brady. The store puts out a table and folks leave their "gift" purchases on the table. The bride for this table is planning a June 9th wedding. As you can see, gifts so far include a shovel, an ax, garden hose and "accessories", a jet burner and (my personal favorite) several boxes of shotgun shells.

One last day in Mason....

Dilemma - what to choose for our final "blog" day in Mason - so much to cover, so little space. Finally chose the County Jail built in 1894 and still used for the very occasional (if you can believe the literature) criminal. Rumor has it, this is the oldest continuously used jail in Texas.

Unfortunately it was not open today (lack of business I guess) but we understand the sheriff took a note from another western sheriff and painted the whole interior pink, put in pink light bulbs and replaced the "prison garb" with pink ones. There was one sighting last week of a male prisoner in pink garb washing the sheriff's pickup.

In case you're in Mason on April 28th, don't miss the "Hill Country Adventure Fundraiser for Victims of Crime". (Posses and shootouts immediately came to mind...)

Meanwhile, while Barb & I did some last minute shopping before leaving town, Joe & John passed the time "counting cars" (as opposed to trucks).

Last day...

As it turns out, today was our last day on "the job site" as they ran out of work for us. We took care of a few odds and ends (caulking and painting). The hardest remaining task was hanging the two exterior doors - a little matter of the opening being too short. Joe (with the Darth Vader look) used the power chisel to correct the problem. (Recommendation - measure twice, then twice more, then have someone else measure again when you're pouring a concrete wall. Joe will tell you that taking a half inch off the top of the opening is NOT much fun.)

However, the guys are already looking over the styrofoam blocks to see how they go together. They can't wait to be invited back to help put them together for the next build.

Our team had a GREAT time!!! so will be going to the town winery (since it's Texas wine it seems to be legal in this "dry" county) before 6:00. As the librarian says, "We go to bed early here in Mason".

From around town...

Rain was predicted - so we had sun and warm weather (70's) today. Weatherpeople seem to have the same rate of success everywhere.

Photo 1 - a redbud in full bloom (I didn't realize they could withstand both southern summers and northern winters)
Photos 2 & 3 - deer hunting (plus just plain old hitting-them-on-the-road) is BIG business in the area. This is Mason's Deer Processing Warehouse (I am NOT exaggererating when I tell you it is bigger than their supermarket!) The first photo shows their sign "We Accept HOG" (lots of wild boar down here as well). And, in case you can't read the other photo it says "Vacuum Packed" and the top says "24 Hour Drop Off" (guess you just leave it on their front step with a note if they're not there).
Photo 4 - Texas bluebonnets are just beginning to bloom - a smaller version of Maine's big ones. I'm told the Texas ones are annuals unlike the lupins we have in the northeast.
Photo 5 - The last major piece (and probably the most complicated cut) of sheetrock went up today. In Photo 7 John is putting in the last screw.
Photo 6 - Angie & Karen took advantage of the pretty day to paint doors.
Photo 7 - The goats across the street from the Habitat house. The 4 kids have been great fun to watch. (There is no zoning in Mason so several homes have goats or sheep on their lot.)
Last photo - Bush/vine from the house next to the Habitat house. Have no idea what it is but it sure is pretty!

And we thought Earlville was rural...

In reading the info from the Mason Chamber of Commerce, I thought you might be interested in some statistics. Mason County is 932 square miles. (In case you're mathematically challenged like John is, that's approximately 30 miles by 30 miles.) In 1930 the population of the county was 5,511 (no city pop. -the city of Mason wasn't incorporated until 1945). By the 2000 census the population was 3,738 with 2,134 living in the city of Mason. (I did NOT mistype... the pop. DE creased - it's tough country out here! Using my rough math, that's about 1/2 a person per square mile outside the city.)

According to the booklet, ALL (the booklet has "ALL" in bold, capital letters - it's just not something I decided to add) ALL the "extensive county roads are unpaved" (just gravel/dirt) with most running through ranches and are "used by the local cattle as highways". It turns out some of the state roads are also used as cattle highways. When we went to Doss the other day on a state road, we went over at least 15 cattle guards. Considering that almost every truck has a deer guard on the front, one might assume the roads are also used by the deer (of which we've seen more than we have cattle).

Although the state road to Doss is paved, they don't seem to believe in bridges. (Am not sure whether it's from the lack of rain or the lack of funds...) Instead you'll come to a sign that says "DIP", then the road will go down over what must as some point be a "stream bed". At the bottom you'll see a "Flood Gauge" sign to mark how deep the water is or isn't. (Rain days in Texas take on a whole new meaning.) Because this is Texas "hill country", there are a LOT of "DIP" signs on the road to Doss.

What? No pictures of Doss? Sorry, all we could find was a nondescript feed store and a Lutheran Church (just envision a stereotypical church with a steeple).

Back at the Habitat site, the work team has now moved on to sheet rocking the cathedral ceiling. Obviously, our team leader thinks this is going to be a LOT of fun.

German water towers...

Mason was settled primarily by Germans (with a name like Grossmann this DOES have some appeal). One of the neatest things about Mason's little cottages (they are charming) is that many of them still have their original water towers beside them. They come in all shapes and sizes and what you see is only a sampling. Occasionally one will have a windmill attached and working. Some of the residents still use them as their sole source of water rather than tying into the city's water or just use them to water their lawns. There's even one at the cemetery (next to last photo). The last photo is one that someone has converted into a shed to store his lawn mower.

In walking around, I just assumed the various "bases" were just that - bases... until last week when one owner saw me taking pictures of his and asked if I would like to see the inside of his. It turns out many/most of the stone bases were built by the Germans who used them as smoke houses - very thrifty thinking. The one I saw had pegs on the beams where the sausages and meats were hung to be smoked. (You don't suppose the cemetery used their stone base as a crematorium, do you???)

Anyway, carrying on the German theme... Mason is not far from the more famous Fredricksburg where my sister and mother took John to their favorite biergarten. He was a happy boy! (My sister and mother are perpetually happy!)

Omelet in a bag...

Yesterday was Sunday. I tried but couldn't find an internet connection anywhere in town... big cities!!!

John & I have obviously been out of the camping world for too long. Our team had a "make your own" baggie omelet brunch yesterday. In case you are as dense on the subject as we were, this is how it goes...

Break 2-3 eggs into a heavy duty zip lock bag (write your name on the outside with a magic marker first).
Hang onto the top of the bag and squish the eggs around until they're well mixed. Next add your favorite omelet ingredients. (If you've planned ahead like Angie did, you assign folks to bring small bags of things like crumbled sausage, broccoli, chopped onions, shredded cheese etc.) Zip the bags closed being careful to press out all the air. (Angie says the bags explode if you don't do this step - we didn't do a test to check this out...) Put the bags into boiling water with the zip-part hanging over the edge of the pot. Boil for 10 minutes or until done. You can pull the bags out and press on the "omelet". If raw egg pressed out of the middle put the bag back in the water for another couple of minutes. When done, pull the bag out, open, and plop the omelet on a paper plate. No fuss, no muss (unless you're like me and happen to but the bag as I was adding ingredients to, too close to the table edge and spilled it on the ground - I DID miss my foot!!!) It was a fun thing to do... and the omelets weren't half bad either.

Something DOES happen!

From past blogs you probably are under the impression that NOTHING happens after 6 p.m. in Mason. Not true. Friday - Monday you can go to the movies. The Odeon is, in fact, the oldest continuously operated movie theater in Texas. The movie starts at 7:30 but you need to be there early to get a seat. In the 1980's you had to get there VERY early to get a seat WITH a back. In the 1990's you brought your own seat. Now they have "basic" new seats. A big bag of popcorn is $1 and the price of admission is $4.50. Pictured with us are Rick & Angie of our Care-A-Vanner team (they live in their BIG RV full time).

Speaking of RV's...
John was on the roof of ours today adding more "goop" to try to cut down on the number of pans needed to collect the drips when it rains. An "alternative" was offered by our Airstream camper folks (we actually have 3 of those RVs in our group). They suggested since I had developed my skills foaming in the electrical runs at the Habitat house, that I just foam over the top of the van. John could then cover the foam with duct tape and presto - we'd have our own leak proof "Airstream want-a-be".

Addressing the peeling paint issue... we have decided to collect refrigerator magnets and just cover it up. (I now find myself lusting after those BIG magnetic signs some businesses have on their car doors.)

We have also been looking at other options.

It's Friday!!!

Even though I don't have photos to share of the Habitat build (doing sheetrock just isn't something that looks impressive on film), we're making some progress. It looks like Monday might be the day the guys (no argument from the ladies group) begin hanging the fire rock (=HEAVY!) on the cathedral ceiling. Best we not think about that this weekend.

Back at the campsite...

We're staying in the City Park which is a GREAT location - only about a mile from the house we're working on. If we were earlier risers and not so tired at the end of the day, we might consider walking it. At any rate, the City Park seems to be the "happening" place to be. Today a bunch (group? mass? herd????) of horses and cows showed up across from where we're camping. Tomorrow there will be a teen roping competition. Turns out it's just something they get together and do down here - sort of like getting together for softball. That's also going on in the ballfields that are a part of the park.

On the backside of our campsites is the city's 9 hole golf course - rather exciting when you hear a ball come crashing through the pecan trees we're camped under. Especially for Joe - the greens fee seems to be reasonable... $10 weekdays; $15 on weekends. Camping is also reasonable - $15 night; $75 week; $300 month with a 3 month limit (Habitat provides our sites at no charge).

For walkers, there's a nature trail in the Park which runs along Comanche Creek with all sorts of overlooks with viewing benches. Don't see the water? That's probably because their isn't any... Guess they weren't joking when they said it had been dry!

Local Food

We are being fed well with the churches providing us lunch every day. They are BIG on beef. The Catholics served beef brisket on Monday; the Methodists - beef stew on Tuesday; New Covenant Church - beef minestrone on Wednesday; and today the Lutherans served beef stew. (Guess you would also have to say they're BIG into stew as well. Or perhaps Texas beef is just tough - after all, brisket is a tough cut until it's smoked for hours.)

Around town there's Cooper's Pit that also serves goat and sausage. John & I stopped there last night at 6:00 to get some for our dinner and they were closed. Their brisket roaster (photo above) was, however, smoking away in preparation for the following day. I guess if you want BBQ you have to have it either for breakfast or lunch.

The other sign is from the local ball park - thought you might like to see what they offered.

Last night we also stopped at the grocery store to pick up a couple of things (they, at least, were still open. By the way, that's what was wrong with the computer - everyone shuts them off at 6:00 - who knew?) Anyway, I asked where the wine was (having bought some at the grocery in Brady) and they told me it was a dry county. But you're selling beer, says I. Apparently, that doesn't count as liquor. But there's a winery in town (it closes at 2), says I. That turns out to be a "special" case and the store manager thought they only sold Texas wine. Interesting...

Another day...

Sorry folks - I really DID try yesterday to post but we couldn't get connected to the internet ANYwhere in town with our computer. (Haven't I mentioned before how I HATE computers when they don't cooperate?!) And, of course, it was after 7:00 so NO place in town was open that could offer assistance. Today they dropped me off at the library after lunch so I could use one of their computers only to find THEY were just closing for lunch (1:00 - 2:15). Plus our Verizon cell phone doesn't have service in this area (what's with that Cyndy?!). The definition of "city" is certainly different in Mason.

But enough comments about small city life...
The first photo shows some of our Habitat crew behind the homeowner to be of the house we’re working on – Patricia and her two kids. (They moved here from Buffalo three years ago and mom, at least, is happy to see no more snow.) While some of the crew painted (please notice it took three to hold the ladder for one painting - I was told to point out the slope the ladder was on.), others continued work on the soffit and the drywall inside.

The ladies paint crew happily finished the second coat of paint on the shed.

Around town... did you all know Mason is the birthplace of Fred Gibson who wrote “Old Yeller”? The statue is in front of their new library. ( The one with his tongue hanging out is Old Yeller.)

Mason, Texas

Mason, Texas is a beautiful little city (they call it a city but I'd call it a town). Like all Texas folks we know personally, "Masonites" are really great. Our Care-A-Vanner group is shown in the first photo after the wonderful dinner provided. (The two guys kneeling may be an indication of just how generous the servings were.)

The house shown is what we're working on. It's constructed of styrofoam blocks that lock together like legos. The center is hollow allowing a core of concrete to be poured in for stablization while the styrofoam provides great insulation. Today the foam insulation contractors were there applying insulation to the underside of the roof meaning tomorrow we do sheetrock.

As for our group we worked on painting the shed and painting and putting the soffits up. Just to ensure we wouldn't starve the Catholic Church provided lunch (we all agreed that unless they they stop feeding us so well they'll begin getting less and less work out of us as we'll definitely need siestas). The Church was built in the 1870's and the ceiling was painted blue with angels by a Mexican artist from that time. In the 1960's it was covered over with ceiling tile. One of the nuns who came once a year to give classes HATED those tile and would always make her classes pray to God they would come down. Then... in the 1990's a terrific storm came through taking off half the roof and letting in so much rain all the tile fell down but it didn't hurt the paintings. This time the church left them exposed after they redid the roof.

Speaking of storms - it rained an inch and a half last night in a couple of hours, hail, lightning and thunder, wind. It might have been frightening if John & I hadn't been so intent in finding buckets to put under the leaks in Rambo. John says it's an adventure isn't it... yeah....

Folk Art...

My father, Jim, loved to use a metal detector, always looking for that pot of gold. Along the way (that pot is still out there) he continually "unearthed" interesting things from across the country. Rather than toss them away again, he brought them home. When he had enough he took them to his friend, Jake, who welded them together and onto old metal bed rails forming fence sections that my father used to line the side of the yard.

When my mother decided to sell the house in Arkansas, she reserved four sections and brought them to Texas. Yesterday, on a whim (or was this planned?) she "suggested" it "might be fun" for John and me to see if we could find a place for them in the yard - "better than being stored in the garage - right?" (Guess Mother also thought we needed some weight bearing exercise as they got moved more than once.) We ended up "thinking vertically" and leaned them against the white garage wall. Raided a nearby country road for some caliche (it's in the dictionary) stone to raise them off the ground. Don't worry about them blowing over - John & I can attest they weigh a ton!

Today we're off to Mason, Texas for a two week Habitat build there. Will try to keep you posted but we never know what connection opportunities we'll have.

Around Brady...

Isn't this a beautiful school? It's Brady High School, home of the Bulldogs. When my sister taught there waaaaaay back when, there was no air conditioning but that's been corrected and it's now climate controlled. However, the school board is proposing to level it, make it into a parking lot and build a new building near it. One of John's favorite saying about colleges is "just because it's an institution of higher learning does not mean good thinking always goes on". Perhaps that applies to high schools as well.

About 10 blocks from the school is one of Brady's newer businesses - The Tree House Family Salon offering "Professional Microdermabrasion", at least that's what the sign attached to the building says. We were speculating that since it didn't have a pickup in front, it was probably "out" with the latest family dragging them behind to "cleanse" their skin.

And last, but by no means least, is Texas BBQ. We had lunch at Mac's, home of Brady's finest. However at the same time and only a half block from my mother's, was this BBQ "on the go". It smelled delicious as well.

Eola

Eola, Texas... that's where we went today. It's a VERY small town somewhere north, then west of Brady (FLAT country always turns me around - neither John or I can ever tell what direction we're headed).

On the way we passed a camel... (unlike John, my sister WILL turn around so I can get a photo). I had hoped for a profile shot of the camel on the horizon, but the camel was a bit too friendly and came trotting over to the fence once he decided we were turning around to take his photo. Perhaps the rancher who owns him knows something about this drought the rest of Texas is slow to catch up on. Pulling back on the road was tricky with ALL the traffic. Look left, look right...

Photos 4 & 5 are of the schoolhouse restaurant in Eola. The owner (probably in his mid 30's) bought it 3 or 4 years ago and is a one person restaurant and brewery owner. We had the special of beef brisket (not bad) in one of the classrooms that now serves as the dining room. He cooks, serves, cleans (??? - the floor hadn't been touched in quite some time), makes the beer (VERY good beer) and, when time allows, continues with some restoration work on the place (it was vacant for about 20 years before he bought it so needs a LOT of work). If you're passing through Eola it's really the ONLY place to eat. However, since there's no sign, you do have to know it's there.

Just outside of Eola is Barrows Museum which has the biggest arrowhead collection I've ever seen. It also has collections of just about everything else as well (cats, swans, S&P, rocks, liquor bottles...) Photo 6 is what ladies used to go through to get their hair done. Photo 7 is some old tubs beside old computers beside an old popcorn maker beside an old book printer beside a broom maker (some of it is obviously arranged in "what fits where" order). The outside is sort of the same way - where the museum founders are buried (I didn't ask about the green hose that's on their graves) by the water tower by the windmill by the caboose. In the last barn were the tops of some interesting windwills beside some fans beside some scales beside some old cars... Needless to say, the choice of placement was as much fun as the contents.

To add to your old Texas sayings... "If it thunders in Feb. it will frost on that same day in April." It thundered here Feb. 2 so let's hope we hear if it frosts on April 2nd.

And a PS from yesterday... I forgot to tell you we had lunch in Miss Hattie's housed in one of the old banks in the "historic" section of San Angelo. There's a trap door in the floor which opens to a stairway and tunnel that goes next door into what used to be the bordello. "Gentlemen farmers" would bring their families to town, then send them off shopping while they did their "banking".

A trip to San Angelo...

The closest "bigger" city to Brady is San Angelo, a drive of about 70 miles. It is the home of Fort Concho, touted as the "best restored frontier fort in the USA". (It's NOT pictured - sorry, I forgot!) However... it's also the home of the San Angelo Museum of Fine Arts which has the best ceramics collection I've ever seen. The first two photos are part of their collection I just love. They're by artist Ruth Wilson from Brenham, TX and stand about two feet tall. (Sorry for the reflections - they were behind glass.) At the old gas station on the corner by the museum is an old VW completely covered in mosaic tile, even the wheels (John was quite taken with it.)

In row 2 we have Panchita's tortilla factory where we picked up GREAT (you guessed it!) tortillas and homemade salsa with ZIPPPPP! The tortillas are delicious because they're probably made with lard. As you can see by the middle photo I took in the supermarket, the 25 pound buckets of lard are the most popular size.

The country between Brady and San Angelo is flaaaaaaaat! The first landscape photo is the country either before or after Wall. The next one is on the other side of Wall. (Sorry, I blinked when we went through Wall and I didn't get a photo.) They grow a LOT of cotton there assuming it rains which it hasn't in quite a while. As the country begins to transition to mesquite nearer Brady, there's a ranch called Buzzards Roost. (I just liked their gate.) The last photo I took for John's cousins John & Judy of Eden's auto body shop (J & J run one in NJ). For those who don't know about Eden, it's the geographic center of Texas. One more thing about the terraine in case you haven't already noticed, this part of the world gives Montana competition for the phrase "big sky country".