Texas BBQ gets its very own post

The whole time we were in Austin we didn't get BBQ. We were waiting to get it in Lockhart at an amazing place called smittys. It was worth the wait.
Lockhart is considered the BBQ capital of Texas. It is a fairly small town with less than 50,000 people I would guess. There are a ton of BBQ places. Our friends Pete and Kim told us about smittys which has been in.Lockhart for about 100 years.
The building that smittys resides in is located in the center of town. It is brick and plain looking on the outside. There are no fancy signs or neon flashings.   When you walk inside it is magical. The walls are all black from the smoking process. There are woodfire pits just littered in a few places on the ground. They have these huge brick pits where they smoke the meat. There are no menus, you just order at the counter while looking at the list of meat and price per pound. We got hot sausage, ribs and brisket. They throw in a few slices of white bread and off you go to sit at the long, family style tables. In another part of the room are the sides. There was the usual coleslaw and beans, but there was also onions, pickles, avocadoes and huge hunks of cheese. All of this is thrown upon butcher paper and you dig in with your hands. Damn, it is so good and it was so cheap. All the meat, sides, drinks and ice cream cones for the kids came to under 20 bucks. Awesome.
Here are some smittys BBQ pics.

One of my kids has artistic flair

Coltrane is constantly drawing and making things out of found materials. It is pretty cool. He is so proud of his creations and has tremendous confidence around his artwork. It is amazing to me to see the confidence.  I hope it never leaves him. Here are a couple of things he made at our friend Virge's house here in Austin.

Keep Austin Weird

Austin is pretty fantastic. The hipness of this city is palpable the minute you enter it.
We have been staying with our friends Pete and Kim and their kiddos, Loretta and Bonnie. We have mainly been hanging around their yard, taking bike rides and playing music while drinking good beer. It is heaven!
The weather has been more than cooperative. Today was 77 and sunny. Tomorrow and the weekend are bringing more of the same. I have to keep reminding myself that is is January.
After Austin we are heading to the gulf coast toward Louisiana.  I am excited about the southern states. We cannot wait to eat Cajun food and maybe catch a little Mardi Gras action.

Big Bend has it all

Big Bend National Park is one large place with many different geological features. There are mountains, desert, rivers, and many rock outcroppings. I just read that it is the only National Park that has its own mountain range fully contained within the park- the Chisos Mountains.  The place is visually stunning.
So why is it one of the least visited National Parks? The answer is pretty simple. It is in the middle of nowhere and you really have to really put some effort in to arrive.  This is not one of those national Parks you stumble upon. Besides the tiny towns of Study Butte and Terlingua outside the west entrance of the park, there is no other towns for miles and miles.
We stayed three nights in the area and did not even get close to seeing everything.  What we did see we enjoyed thoroughly. There are many good, easy and fun family hikes.  We took one hike to the Big Bend hot springs. It was just gorgeous with sites like pictographs along the trail. We also took a wonderful nature hike along the Rio Grande river. We could see the little Mexican town  of Boquillas across the narrow river. I even got to use my Spanish a little to wish a man and his son a good day.
It is sad to leave BIG bend, but we are super excited to get to Austin to see a bunch of friends. We already have two concerts to go to this weekend. Austin is a pretty hip place. The kids are going to love it. Carl lived there for a spell in the 90's, so I know he psyched to reconnect with Texas past. I have been there a handful of times, but not for years. Can't wait.
Here are some pics from Big Bend and west Texas.

The stars at night are big and bright...

TEXAS. We are loving it thus far. We  entered the state from NM from Carlsbad into Guadalupe Mtn Nat Park.  It is absolutely beautiful country out here.
We got into the town of Van Horn on Rte 10. The focal point of the town is this gorgeous hotel called El Capitan.  It was designed by the architectural duo, Trost and Trost. Their hotels are amazing. We saw El Capitan in V Horn, El Paisano in Marfa and are going to see the Gage in Marathon.
El Paisano was especially stunning and had a room full of photos and souvenirs from the movie Giant which was filmed in Marfa.  Elizabeth Taylor, James Dean and Rock Hudson were the stars of the film. In fact, it was Dean's last film before his untimely death in a car crash in rural California.

Maybe we don't believe in you....

Exactly my thoughts

White Sands National Monument

Whoa....this place is crazy.  It is definitely one of our favorite destinations yet.
It is located about 15 miles from Alamogordo. As you are driving along it kind of just springs up at you, miles and miles of white sand dunes with the Sacramento mountains as a backdrop. It is stunning.  What we didn't realize was what a fun playground it is. You can sled down the dunes! They are up to 60 feet tall, although the most popular sledding trails are on the 30-40 foot dunes. It was magical. The kids were in heaven. I dont think they have had this much fun since goblin valley park in Utah. 
Carl and I went sledding too. You can get going pretty fast if you wax up the sled.
Here are some pics.

HAPPY 2012!

We had an amazing time in Payson, AZ at a friend's cabin. Brooke,  Candace and family met us up there. Brooke and Candace are my.best buds from Peace Corps Kazakhstan.  Candace has two kids c and e's age so it was perfect.
The kids had a blast running around, visiting a fort in the woods and watching a New Years Eve movie Marathon.
The adults chatted, ate amazing food and played a lot of bananagrams.
All in all, it was a great way to welcome in 2012.
Now, we are in NM, heading east. Coltrane says he is ready to get out the desert.  That one has some serious opinions. 
We will be seeing some amazing things in southern NM. It is the home of the Trinity site, first atomic bomb site in the USA.  Also, there is Roswell ,NM, the infamous alien crash sight town. Exciting. I know the boys are going to love it. Carlsbad Caverns and White Sands National Monument are also along our route.
It is going to be great. To boot, we get to eat more New Mexican food, which is sooooo good.