Chili Judging Day

Post for Saturday - November 1, 2014

The Chili competition takes place at high noon on Saturday.  While many of my friends take part in the judging, I am not one of them.  As long time readers of this blog know...I do not like commitments...having to show up at a certain time on a certain day when I am having the time of my life, is not something I am willing to do.  The only ones to my knowledge that took part in the camps adjacent to mine were Frann and Richard.

Even though he is a local and has lived in Terlingua for a good while, this was Richard's first cook-off and he had the time of his life!  So if anyone out there wonders if they can be part of the judging...yep you sure can!  They are always looking for judges and in turn you get to sample the chili and get FREE beer to wash it down with :D

As the judges do their thing, there are showmanship teams putting on shows as well as having the public participate in a variety of games for prizes.  You can get all types of trinkets, souvenirs and T-shirts if you participate.

Fearing my leg would go out on me since it is a rather long walk from my camp, I decided to skip it this year and drive into town to take a shower.  I had been out and about yesterday and unlike last year, was not harassed by local law enforcement.  As a matter of fact the only DPS (Department of Public Safety) officers that I saw were in Lajitas and their patrol units were at a local eatery.

There were a lot of girls at the BBMI (Big Bend Motor Inn) ladies showers but either I stunk or being older has its benefits as they let me skip in line.  Either way I thanked them.  It is nice to see that the next generation of Chili Cook-off attendees is committed to carry on the tradition. Too bad I never had children...so they could bring me down in my golden years...like many of the camps around me did with their parents.

When I was going back to CASI there was a long line to get in.  As I waited, I happened to notice that the truck in front of me as well as his trailer had Arkansas license plates.  Wow, they came from far and probably had driven all night...now that is a true Chili head!

My best friend and her boyfriend came back with a ton of stuff they won at the showmanship area. He is sold on Terlingua and they are making plans to return next year but this time are planning on bringing down a trailer or an RV.  Like I have mentioned before, Terlingua is a place that you either love or you hate...there are no gray areas...I am so glad he liked it :)

My best friend...MsD...modeling this year's T-shirt.

Good night.  May you all have Terlingua Dreams.

Halloween in the desert

Post for Friday - October 31, 2014

It there is something my best friend is known for...it is her ability to make the best jello shots.  I am not a liquor drinker, mostly I stick to my beer but I make an exception when it comes to her jello shots.

Unfortunately my cheap camera does not take good night time pics so I failed to document the stash she brought.  We usually go to the guys camp at night to enjoy their roaring fire and many of them are from the Dallas/Ft. Worth area. She somehow convinced them that a jello shot would protect them from Ebola as well as those of us that don't even live anywhere close by.  Yep, she really tried hard for us to consume them...she twisted our arm :D

It is no wonder we all woke up with a terrible headache!  Worst part was having a headache and waking up at 5:00 a.m. and not being able to go back to sleep.

Again I considered setting up my tent shower but found it easier to go to the quarter showers in Study Butte.  It costs $2.00 and I believe they last five minutes...I could be wrong though.  Locals please feel free to correct me.

My best friend's boyfriend is a great cook.  Today we enjoyed "pollo borracho"...that means drunk chicken in Spanish.  I do not care for sweet potatoes but his were fabulous...I even had seconds or was it thirds? :D

It is cooked with a beer can in its cavity and it made it so tender and moist. Can you see the beer?

Trick or treaters came by but we had to send them to the guy's camp as bringing candy was not a priority this year.  It is funny how I have gotten to know a great deal of them and can tell how much they have grown these past years since their parents started bringing them on Halloween.

The guys gave us these cute little solar figurines. Mine was the dancing pumpkin and my friend's the ghost.  If you are wondering why my eggs are sitting in the sun...they are not eggs, I put my tent stakes in the egg carton so I could transport them without them accidentally causing damage to my camping gear.

In comparison to last night...tonight was a quiet night.  My friends said the wind blew pretty good but in my warm toasty car I did not feel a thing.  I am so glad I car camped this year.

Is this not a neat motorcycle?

I know my pictures do not exactly follow my story line but bear with me. Many of you have told me you want pictures so I am inserting them wherever I can. However, it is not easy when I am only getting one or two bars. :(

Stay tuned for more stories from the desert and pictures to back them up.

Good night.  May you all have Terlingua Dreams.