Howdy Texas! Day 9 Judge Roy Bean & Del Rio

CrispyA · 15 Sep 15, 06:10 PM

I was up first, so nipped out to take in a last look at the view. It was lovely to have a moment of quiet and take in the scenery. We had loved our cottage and were a little sad to be leaving.

Wonderful place to stay.

We were starting to feel a bit of breakfast overload, so we didn't go for the hot buffet this time. In fact, we still ate loads as the cold buffet, including cereal, fruit & toasted things was pretty substantial. We did try at times to have a lighter breakfast when it was included but although you say to yourself that you're just going to have a little bit, as soon as you get there, it's "Oh, biscuits and gravy? Don't mind if I do!"

Once we were packed up, we were back on the road heading out of the park towards Marathon. It was a nice drive and we enjoyed seeing plenty more roadrunners on the way.

As you leave Big Bend, you go through a Border Control checkpoint. Having never done such a thing before, we had no idea that we would need our passports and, of course, they were at the bottom of a bag. We got quite a grilling from the guards, wanting to know what date we came to the States, why we were here etc. They were very polite but asked a lot of questions and wanted to have a good look at everyone in the car. From the amount of Border police cars all along the route, it is a big issue and there are a lot of problems with this border.

We got gas in Marathon (most expensive of the trip) and carried on, stopping for a "comfort break" in Sanderson, which is the cactus capital of the USA. We didn't actually see any cacti but hey, it's their town, their name!

After Sanderson, we took a slight detour to Langtry as we wanted to see the Judge Roy Bean Museum. We also saw this sign and made the kids get out and pose by it. (According to Google, there isn't much in Sheffield TX, so we didn't go all the way there. The sign was enough!)

At Langtry, we learned all about Judge Roy Bean, an eccentric saloon keeper who called himself "The Law West of the Pecos". He appears in the Lonesome Dove books but we wanted to know more about the actual man. He made some idiosyncratic judgements, holding court in his saloon, and was obsessed with the English actress Lillie Langtry - even naming the town after her to try and tempt her to visit! We looked around his saloon, named the Jersey Lilly and enjoyed learning a bit more about this character.

(It's not a very good picture as I missed the ends of the sign but to be fair, the sun was incredibly bright and I couldn't see the screen as I took it!) We also saw this awesome ocotillo.

On the way out of Langtry, we stopped at a tiny gas station for a burrito and had a quick chat with the owner who was lovely and friendly, telling us to "Stay safe, y'all" on our travels.

We carried on to our destination which was Del Rio. We didn't know much about the town but it looked like a good place to stop. The motel, The Whispering Palms, was nice enough - the owners were very friendly and they had free bottles of water in the lobby which was nice touch.

After a quick tour of downtown Del Rio, we called to Walmart to top up drinks etc and then went to Rudy's Country Store for dinner. This is a barbecue chain that had been recommended by a friend from Texas and it didn't disappoint. Fortunately there was a server to explain the system as you order your meat by weight and they slice it for you there and then and serve it on paper. It's all done in a cafeteria style and you collect your sides, drinks and then meat before sitting down at long tables to eat.

We had brisket, smoked turkey and sausage, along with potato salad, coleslaw and veggies for Hannah. It was lovely - the sausage was particularly good and we really enjoyed the food and the atmosphere. We were particularly tickled by the t-shirts "I didn't claw my way to the top of the food chain to eat vegetables". Hannah wasn't quite so amused!

After calling into Ross for Evan to pick a pair of bargain Converse, we headed back to the hotel to finish the evening watching Naked & Afraid XL, which is one of our holiday guilty pleasures!

Melbatb · 15 Sep 15, 06:25 PM

Another interesting day - though it looks super hot!

I agree with your DD about the t-shirts

CrispyA · 17 Sep 15, 08:27 PM

Originally Posted by Melbatb

Another interesting day - though it looks super hot!

I agree with your DD about the t-shirts

LOL - she is very gracious about the teasing!

katiebaz · 19 Sep 15, 07:43 AM

Another great day and the barbecue sounds lush!

**WileyCoyote** · 3 May 17, 06:55 PM

A really interesting day, I didn't know anything about Judge Bean .
Lol at the Sheffield sign.

i love jack · 26 Aug 23, 08:54 AM

The views at the park are lovely
Mmm bbq! Love the T-shirts!

15 Sep 15, 06:10 PM	#1
	15 Sep 15, 06:10 PM CrispyA Imagineer
CrispyA Imagineer Join Date: Oct 11	Howdy Texas! Day 9 Judge Roy Bean & Del Rio I was up first, so nipped out to take in a last look at the view. It was lovely to have a moment of quiet and take in the scenery. We had loved our cottage and were a little sad to be leaving. Wonderful place to stay. We were starting to feel a bit of breakfast overload, so we didn't go for the hot buffet this time. In fact, we still ate loads as the cold buffet, including cereal, fruit & toasted things was pretty substantial. We did try at times to have a lighter breakfast when it was included but although you say to yourself that you're just going to have a little bit, as soon as you get there, it's "Oh, biscuits and gravy? Don't mind if I do!" Once we were packed up, we were back on the road heading out of the park towards Marathon. It was a nice drive and we enjoyed seeing plenty more roadrunners on the way. As you leave Big Bend, you go through a Border Control checkpoint. Having never done such a thing before, we had no idea that we would need our passports and, of course, they were at the bottom of a bag. We got quite a grilling from the guards, wanting to know what date we came to the States, why we were here etc. They were very polite but asked a lot of questions and wanted to have a good look at everyone in the car. From the amount of Border police cars all along the route, it is a big issue and there are a lot of problems with this border. We got gas in Marathon (most expensive of the trip) and carried on, stopping for a "comfort break" in Sanderson, which is the cactus capital of the USA. We didn't actually see any cacti but hey, it's their town, their name! After Sanderson, we took a slight detour to Langtry as we wanted to see the Judge Roy Bean Museum. We also saw this sign and made the kids get out and pose by it. (According to Google, there isn't much in Sheffield TX, so we didn't go all the way there. The sign was enough!) At Langtry, we learned all about Judge Roy Bean, an eccentric saloon keeper who called himself "The Law West of the Pecos". He appears in the Lonesome Dove books but we wanted to know more about the actual man. He made some idiosyncratic judgements, holding court in his saloon, and was obsessed with the English actress Lillie Langtry - even naming the town after her to try and tempt her to visit! We looked around his saloon, named the Jersey Lilly and enjoyed learning a bit more about this character. (It's not a very good picture as I missed the ends of the sign but to be fair, the sun was incredibly bright and I couldn't see the screen as I took it!) We also saw this awesome ocotillo. On the way out of Langtry, we stopped at a tiny gas station for a burrito and had a quick chat with the owner who was lovely and friendly, telling us to "Stay safe, y'all" on our travels. We carried on to our destination which was Del Rio. We didn't know much about the town but it looked like a good place to stop. The motel, The Whispering Palms, was nice enough - the owners were very friendly and they had free bottles of water in the lobby which was nice touch. After a quick tour of downtown Del Rio, we called to Walmart to top up drinks etc and then went to Rudy's Country Store for dinner. This is a barbecue chain that had been recommended by a friend from Texas and it didn't disappoint. Fortunately there was a server to explain the system as you order your meat by weight and they slice it for you there and then and serve it on paper. It's all done in a cafeteria style and you collect your sides, drinks and then meat before sitting down at long tables to eat. We had brisket, smoked turkey and sausage, along with potato salad, coleslaw and veggies for Hannah. It was lovely - the sausage was particularly good and we really enjoyed the food and the atmosphere. We were particularly tickled by the t-shirts "I didn't claw my way to the top of the food chain to eat vegetables". Hannah wasn't quite so amused! After calling into Ross for Evan to pick a pair of bargain Converse, we headed back to the hotel to finish the evening watching Naked & Afraid XL, which is one of our holiday guilty pleasures! __________________ West Coast July - August 2014, Howdy Texas! August 2015, Rocking in the Rockies July - August 2016, Bier, Bratwurst und Bahnsteige: Berlin 2017, Touring Tennessee 2017, Expedition East Coast 2018, Hola! Madrid 2019, Great Lakes Grooving 2019, It's Czech, Mate, Prague 2022, Veni, Vidi, Edi, Bibi Italy 2022 Edited at 09:48 PM.