A Quick Beer!

So a quick U turn and we returned to the "pink" BBQ shack on the side of the road. Now when I say shack I mean this place has character just like the owner. So we got out of the car and this bloke with a beard and bandana on say hi, I give my usual greeting, G'day how's it goin? The owner, Bobby told us that he wasn't officially open yet so couldn't sell us anything, but said thar "as his friends he could give us a beer". I looked at Rose and she at me, ok, why not, we would love to be his new found friends! So what began as a chance meeting with what would have to be one of Texas's nicest blokes, and that's not because he gave us free beer, developed into a great friendship. Over a few Coronas we retold our USA Gap Year story. He called Lauren "baby girl". Not too many guys could carry that off but Bobby, with his Texan accent did it well, and it was accepted as a compliment by Lauren.

Drinks at Bobby's Blues and Cosmic BBQ shack


Lauren at the shack getting her first touch of a handgun


The BBQ Bobby smokes his meat in, yep a converted tractor!



We spent a few hours chatting (or gas bagging as some would refer it as ) ending in Bobby promising to take us all out shooting at a friend's property in a couple of days time. Lauren had never held a gun let alone fire one so it was going to be a good experience for her. Me? I just love to shoot the many weapons that are available in the states.

The next day we had arranged to go on a river kayaking trip down the Rio Grande. We arrived nice and early and another couple turned up as well, they were from Mexico and their English was very limited. We all jumped into the tour bus for the one hour journey up river and our driver/guide provided us with a commentary of the surrounding desert. He definitely has a passion for his job and the desert. By the end of the trip we were almost convinced that Teringula would be a great place to live!

We arrived at our start point and got the run down on the finer points of kayaking. Life jackets were optional, we decided against it for two reasons - all Aussies can swim, but the clincher was the fact the river is currently so low we could walk out if we tipped over. Our paddles actually hit bottom several times on our trip. As the wind was blowing quiet strongly down river we didn't even work up a sweat paddling. Although the river was low the view through the canyons was fantastic. As Lauren was paired up with the guide she was able to just sat back and enjoy the view as he did all the work!

Lauren paddling hard, not!




- Posted by RnR on their IPad

Location:Terlingua, Big Bend National Park Texas