Wednesday, May 6, 2009

KINDS

You meet all kinds of people out on the road. I expect that that is one of it's attractions. As we came into Hugo Oklahoma, Betty was navigating and I was driving. She mentioned that we were coming up on a geocache that had caught our attention while planning the trip. We had loaded the caches along our travel route into the Microsoft Streets & Trips so they would show up as we travel. We grew up around Rodeo and had seen and heard about the performances of Lane Frost. The cemetary that had a cache in it also had the coords for the graves of Lane Frost and Freckles Brown who was not only a champion bull rider, but a decorated veteran. Here are their graves:
We had been following the progress of a "bumpy" thunder storm front and it arrived as we found the cache. It was time for a late lunch. We turned off the US Hwy. 70 by pass onto the business route and the first place on the left was a Chinese restaurant. As we dashed across the parking lot in the rain, I hollered to a large Black woman, who was scurrying towards her car, " do we need to keep a' lookin', or is this the place ?" She immediately said this is the place ! And it was ! All kinds.
We were greeted by a tall, bald chinese man with a military bearing and demeanor, and his wife. The food was excelent and so was our visit with the owners.
Moving on West in heavy rain, a rock flew up into the middle center of our windshield, just as a truck passed. Betty accessed the internet on the roll and called a glass repair place. They said they would be open when we got there, but didn't want to repair it in the rain. The next place we called wouldn't repair it that evening but could get it in their building the next morning. However they wouldn't give us permission to park in their store front to be there first thing in the morning.
Yeh, all kinds.
At the chisolm Trail Campground we met and traded storys with the hosts about the Trujillo Meadows campground. They stayed at the host shack past their regularly assigned hourd to visit with us.
All kinds.
Today we stopped in Crowell Texas for a geocache that wasn't there and had lunch at a cool restaurant on the Court House Square. Now, we are in Ranch country, you know, serious ranch country. One fourth of a city block by the Court house, on the East side is marked off for dually trucks pulling stock trailers, each one had several quarter horses and riders meeting up for a gathering. The cafe is where they met before heading out to the days job. The cafe was empty except for the workers and owner. She, the owner, was a avid Turkey hunter and the menu reflected the outdoors influence.
The lunch special for each day of the week was hand written on a large dry erase board. Today's special was a hamburger. But man, oh man, what a hamburger. It started off with a half pound of ground chuck, served on a sourdough bun the size of a small skillet, arriving open faced with romaine lettuce and seasonings of your choice, you assembled it there on your plate yourself. On a side table was a crock pot of ranch style beans seasoned very Tex Mex and a warming oven with hand cut home fries, not them wimpy little skinny French fries. Iced tea or coca cola was delivered to your table with a frozen quart fruit jar that had been frozen with large chunks of ice it it. Frosty, absolutely frosty. When you poured your drink in that fruit jar the ice just crackled and it would really quench your thirst. Desert was Peach Cobbler. $6. and change bought the meal. I asked about a 1/2 gallon, blue with age,fruit jar that had an ancient heavily oxidized zink lid screwed on it. It had a Beard from a Turkey Gobbler that stood from top to bottom in it. There was no label of any kind on the jar, yet it was a world class trophy ! Her answer was her Dad had killed it. On the wall was a National Wild Turkey Federation Limited edition Painting.
All kinds, I tell Ya;, it takes all kinds !
We arrived in Floydada Texas to spend the night and go geocaching in the morning. The campsite is free, yep I said FREE ! Friends had told us about it and how to get there. All kinds, I tell ya'. Someone has figured out how to get more travelers on US Highway 70 to spend their dollars. Cool stuff.
Last evenings campsite was $8, tonites free, whew ! Man, It takes all kinds !
Our supper arrived in a station wagon driven by Mamacita and her oldest Nino who were peddling tamales, both red and green chillie tamalies. They were mildly surprised when this old Gringo haggled price and amount in spanglish with them.
He, he, yeh, it takes all kinds !

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