A Change of Scenery -- Mon., May 21

Carrizo Springs and Cotulla, Texas:

This morning I was able to get some pics of the sable antelope. I saw them just across the road, grabbed the camera, walked out the gate and took a few shots. They were spooked, but I caught some of them running away. I got a couple of pretty good shots of the bucks. You can click on the photos to make them bigger.

Today I took the Escape pod and made a get-away to Carrizo Springs to do laundry. My mental jury is out on whether it is worth an 80-mile roundtrip to go to a newer, nicer laundromat that charges almost double what the Cotulla laundromat charges. Certainly it doesn't makes sense budget-wise. Peace-of-mind-wise: um, maybe, maybe not.

What made the trip worth it was seeing another small Texas town. Carrizo Springs was settled in 1865 because local springs provided plenty of water for farming. Their artesian wells are known for pure, clean water. Today, the population of the town is around 5,000. (Cotulla's population is around 3,000.)

After laundry, I drove around town to see what was there. Kit told me there was a a very old, very small Walmart, which I found. I bought two new throw rugs for the 5er (since two of my old ones disintegrated in the washing machine today).

Walmart: check. Fill up with gas: check. Car wash: check. Next on the list: bakery. 

Anyone who knows me knows I am a fool for bakeries and the goodies lurking within. The Just Crumbs Bakery is a small storefront in old town Carrizo Springs, kitty corner from the H-E-B grocery store. When I saw the "Hours" sign in the bakery door, I figured they would be sold out of all their good stuff by 11:30 a.m. as they had opened at 5:30 a.m. Upon walking in, the display cases were almost empty.  : (  


However, it was lunch time and the Turtle Brownies looked fresh out of the oven. Two brownies just jumped in my bag somehow along with two Lemon Breeze cookies. 


After the bakery stop, to satisfy my curiosity, I drove around the back streets of town and literally drove right up to Our Lady of the Guadalupe Catholic Church, built in 1949. Two pictures later, I continued on my way.

My time in Carrizo Springs was complete. I drove 50 miles back to Cotulla, checked for mail and headed back to the 5er. 

While driving back on the road to our rig, about a 1/4 mile down from us, I saw the herd of sable antelope on the ranch (down the fenceline a few hundred feet from the road). I stopped the car, rolled down the window, zoomed in the camera and voila!, here's the results:

Sable antelope herd

By the time I made it home, my growling stomach indicated I better have some lunch. After eating a tuna with avocado sandwich and fresh red pepper slices, a turtle brownie was calling my name from its Styrofoam container, "Susan, it's time for your treat. Let me out of here." 

I opened the box and took a whiff. Mmmmmmmm...the scent of chocolate. Heavenly deliciousness delighted my taste buds. The chocolate chips and caramel in the middle of the brownie were still warm and ooey-gooey, melty and oh so yummy. This, in my mind, made the trip to Carrizo Springs worth it.


A little later in the afternoon, Bob and I ate our Lemon Breeze cookies. Think lemon, white chocolate chips, coconut, and chewy. Both of us enjoyed the cookie break.


Later in the evening, as I talked to Mom on the phone, Bob finally ate his Turtle Brownie. He was sitting in the recliner, blissful, giving me two thumbs up on his brownie dining experience.

Another gate guarding day complete. You know, when I thought about blogging during our stint gate guarding I thought I'd blog maybe every few days because I didn't think much would be happening. Guess I was wrong.  I've written almost every day we've been out here.