Hubby and I spent part of last weekend at a ranch in the middle of Nowhere, Texas. Before we settled in, the high temperatures and instability of a stationary front brought Nowhere some much needed rain.
That didn't stop us from driving back to "town" to eat at a local BBQ joint. The amount of food on our plates could feed several starving children or one super-sized Texan. They were a bit skimpy on the sauce which was brought to us in a small flask but they were quick to bring us some more once our flask was running on empty. I topped off my dinner with a yummy slice of Peanut Butter Pie!
Afterwards, back at the ranch, we captured a sunset photo as another thunderstorm was doing its best to dazzle us:
Hubby was trying to photograph the lightning before it got too dark.
Saturday, we enjoyed a pleasant day in Nowhere, walking dripping sweat all over the 5-mile nature trail before spending most of the afternoon in the shade at the pool.
Two geeks in Middle Earth Nowhere
At the pool, we soaked ourselves in the warm water a few times. It was almost pleasant outside while we were wet. After dinner Saturday evening, Hubby drove us back to civilization so I could get ready for my race and attempt to get some sleep.
Sunday, I got up at the quiet, non-shining hour of 4:15 am. This must be before that Crazy Early Girl Dawn but after the crickets and night owls have finally gone to sleep. I left Hubby snoring softly although he tells me he doesn't sleep well without me beside him (Neither do I when the situation is reversed.) As I drove out of the neighborhood, I disturbed a baby fox. He was adorable but I told him to go home to Mommy.
No, this isn't "my" fox. It was dark outside, remember?
My fox was close in size and color to this little tyke.
I found the event without incident and got all my stuff ready. There were several newbies and since I've done this before I played coach. Evil Twin tried to intervene and tell people they had to swim naked and wear their bike helmet while running but I didn't let her ruin their experience.
Sheesh.
The swim was held in an outdoor pool. This time of the year, the water is Texas warm (cooled bath water). Although swimming is still tough for me, the water felt great.
The bike route was reasonably scenic for Texas country; beat-up pickups on the side of the road, trees and shrubbery, a few *old-style churches here and there, cattle and horses in the fields, and flattened and chopped up armadillos in the middle of the road. Yeah, just the normal stuff.
The course had Texas hills (just ask my legs) and the prevailing southerly summer breeze (My legs didn't like this but my face did)!
It wasn't really hot on the bike since I was still wet from the swim. My backside was more than ready to be off that bike, though, after the 16 miles. Places that shouldn't be numb....er...well.....were.
By the time I was off the bike, I was reasonably dry. My legs were noodles, formed from quicksand.
The running course was on part of a golf course. I felt like I was wearing an oven.
The best part about the event besides the finish line? It was the post-race ice-cold water, pancakes and watermelon.
YeeHaw!
*In the larger cities, we have numerous what I call "new style" churches that meet in strip shopping centers. What the no steeple?
Photo credits: Geeks: Jan Powers, Storm: Hubby, Baby fox: Here Be Dragons on flickr. com, Creative Commons license (see sidebar).
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