Over the last few weeks a German dinner with rouladen, beef roll filled with a pickle, onion, bacon, mustard sauce and other seasonings has been a menu we sought. Since Texas has many German settlements stops were selected in towns where we thought rouladen would be served. Success avoided our efforts. But today in West Texas rouladen came to us at a lunch stop at an old hotel in Alpine, Texas. As we prepare the left overs this evening we feel free to move on to something else exotic, maybe like a chili dog.
While the search for rouladen raged, we did make some other discoveries. I did not know Texas had mountains reaching nearly 8000 feet high. In Big Bend National Park we discovered mountains, beautiful mountains rising out of the desert. Dinner with two other couples in Chisos Basin, a basin formed by high mountains with a window to the west so you can enjoy the spectacular view of the sunset as you sip wine with an excellent dinner, but alas, it wasn't a rouladen dinner.
We dined with a couple from the Texas Gulf Coast who had just finished serving as judges at the annual Terlingua Chili Cook Off and another couple. He is a Poli Sci professor and his wife a German immigrant which further inflamed the rouladen fires. The diversity of background created interesting dinner conversation and thought provoking ideas.
While in Big Bend we found it is possible to have temperatures in the 90s in November. A 6 mile hike was very difficult with elevation, the heat and my pudgy body taken into consideration. This consideration would have been wise to have before embarking on the trek over the rocky terrain that absorbed even more heat. After a while I forgot the rattlesnake possibilities along with the other native residents of the region that can ruin the day and just walked until the air conditioning of the Pleasure Way welcomed me home. Cold water, ice cream and rest eventually brought the body temperature back to normal.
The hike brought new sounds. The desert birds and insects made sounds I had not heard. Even the breeze, when there was some, sounds differentthan in the forests of the Pacific Northwest. I am used to the smell of conifers, fir and pine, when I walk. The desert smells differently. it is a treat to the senses to hike in this new environment. Demanding as it was, the hike was well worth it. It woke up some things we seldom think about.
Part of the time I walked above the Rio Grande River looking across it into Mexico. This sight drives home the folly of trying to close off a border that runs for hundreds of miles in a desolate corner of the country. To think a border defined by nothing more than an Oregon creek can be closed is purely unrealistic thinking, but it makes for popular political rhetoric.
This was a day of role reversal where the Pleasure Way just sat in the shade and we traveled. Upon further deliberation I think we will go back to having the Pleasure Way covering the mileage and we just sit.
I learned some other things in this area.
1. You can stop and watch a tarantula spider cross the road.
2. Javelinas are ugly
3. Javelinas have a disposition to match their looks.
4. In West Texas a warning sign for a dangerous curve suggests you slow to 60 mph.
5. In SWest Texas there are no turnouts for scenic drives or vistas.
6. Wind can really blow and weather changes without warning. After 90 yesterday the high temp today was predicted to be in the 50s.
As has been the case throughout this trip every corner of the country produces new experiences and new opportunities in wonder and awe.
How fortunate to be able to experience these small pieces!!
While the search for rouladen raged, we did make some other discoveries. I did not know Texas had mountains reaching nearly 8000 feet high. In Big Bend National Park we discovered mountains, beautiful mountains rising out of the desert. Dinner with two other couples in Chisos Basin, a basin formed by high mountains with a window to the west so you can enjoy the spectacular view of the sunset as you sip wine with an excellent dinner, but alas, it wasn't a rouladen dinner.
We dined with a couple from the Texas Gulf Coast who had just finished serving as judges at the annual Terlingua Chili Cook Off and another couple. He is a Poli Sci professor and his wife a German immigrant which further inflamed the rouladen fires. The diversity of background created interesting dinner conversation and thought provoking ideas.
While in Big Bend we found it is possible to have temperatures in the 90s in November. A 6 mile hike was very difficult with elevation, the heat and my pudgy body taken into consideration. This consideration would have been wise to have before embarking on the trek over the rocky terrain that absorbed even more heat. After a while I forgot the rattlesnake possibilities along with the other native residents of the region that can ruin the day and just walked until the air conditioning of the Pleasure Way welcomed me home. Cold water, ice cream and rest eventually brought the body temperature back to normal.
The hike brought new sounds. The desert birds and insects made sounds I had not heard. Even the breeze, when there was some, sounds differentthan in the forests of the Pacific Northwest. I am used to the smell of conifers, fir and pine, when I walk. The desert smells differently. it is a treat to the senses to hike in this new environment. Demanding as it was, the hike was well worth it. It woke up some things we seldom think about.
Part of the time I walked above the Rio Grande River looking across it into Mexico. This sight drives home the folly of trying to close off a border that runs for hundreds of miles in a desolate corner of the country. To think a border defined by nothing more than an Oregon creek can be closed is purely unrealistic thinking, but it makes for popular political rhetoric.
This was a day of role reversal where the Pleasure Way just sat in the shade and we traveled. Upon further deliberation I think we will go back to having the Pleasure Way covering the mileage and we just sit.
I learned some other things in this area.
1. You can stop and watch a tarantula spider cross the road.
2. Javelinas are ugly
3. Javelinas have a disposition to match their looks.
4. In West Texas a warning sign for a dangerous curve suggests you slow to 60 mph.
5. In SWest Texas there are no turnouts for scenic drives or vistas.
6. Wind can really blow and weather changes without warning. After 90 yesterday the high temp today was predicted to be in the 50s.
As has been the case throughout this trip every corner of the country produces new experiences and new opportunities in wonder and awe.
How fortunate to be able to experience these small pieces!!
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