In the desert outside of Las Cruces, New Mexico the road was bare except for a few of what I'll call "Ghost Stops"--once vibrant little dinners, gas stations, and motels abandoned and left to the elements, the lettering stenciled in with dirt and wear. And I saw small properties--many of them the same: A small, plain modular/mobile home on a few acres with an impressive collection of junk cars and buses. Who were these people living in the middle of nowhere among their car-skeleton friends? I guess you have to have something to do in a place where nobody is, and space is not an issue--so why not collect old cars and pile them on your lawn!! Oh look and over there is a dust devil. Now it is gone. I'll be your friend Lonely Person In the Desert. And so my over-caffeinated-under-slept brain wandered.
Until...
We cross the threshold, reach the finish line, we enter the gates of TEXAS. The state line was marked by 10-ft stone pillars (much like ones you might see outside of an upscale, gated neighborhood) on both sides of the freeway. Atop each stone column were metal accents which gave the appearance of torch towers (BEHOLD: TEXAS!). And the crowning jewel: The Great Lone Star--Big, maybe 2-3 ft across, on each column, metal, matching the torch-lighting stuff. (REALLY, all this state line was missing was actual fire!). It was a welcome reprieve from the sad mile markers and tumbleweeds of days past.
But the true glory of Texas, for me the weary traveler, lay in her grand stops. There were many billboards advertising this strange place called "BUC-EEs" with its awkward big-toothed beaver mascot. A few hours west of Houston, we partook of this BUC-EEs. This "Gas station" was situated on a concrete slab big enough for a Super Wal-Mart, NAY, a COSTCO. There were two fueling stations--One "Pull-through" for RVs and Trucks w/ trailers (This was a MUST for Scott and all of our junk), and the other for regular old cars. I counted over 20 gas pumps on the RV side alone! And we were just getting started!
I RAN to the bathroom (three kids does a number on bladder control, but that's a whole other topic entirely!) So many stalls, so many SHINY stalls, tiled floor, clean mirrors...still running mind you. I get situated in a nice little spot right next to one of the EIGHT handicap stalls and go about my business. They have toilet covers, toilet covers that are STOCKED, and what is this now, soap? A soap dispenser in a BATHROOM? I look closer and read "Toilet Sanitizing Foam." WOW SOMEONE CARES ABOUT MY BUM! Walking out of the bathroom, my mind no longer obsessed with the need to pee, I absorb the majesty that is BUC-EEs. Are you thirsty? No problem, BUC-EE's has 20 fully stocked glass doors filled with any beverage you could name in the western hemisphere! Are you hungry? Snacks-galore and even their own food--like a restaurant. I didn't have time to try it, but people were eating FOOD, and ENJOYING it, waiting in LINE to enjoy food from a GAS STATION!! Are you in a hurry but don't want to wait in a stinky line with a grumpy lady behind that chewing tobacca'? No problem, BUC-EE's has Check-out lanes, staffed, with human people!! Are your kids tired and bored from the long drive? No worries, introduce them to BUC-EE, the giant beaver dude who in human-mascot form is surprisingly not even scary--take a picture with him if you like! The wonder of it all could make a traveling momma cry!
But alas, the road was calling and we had to bid dear BUC-EE adieu. We were headed to Boerne, TX--a little place outside of San Antonio.
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