A hard exit and a soft landing

On April 14, 2023 by Judy Nichols With 10 Comments - Blog, Our wanderings

The Periwinkle Polka Dot booth(s) at the Tempe Festival of the Arts, with our upcycled clothes for girls and adults.
I always got my Fridas with me, this one on a Kantha-quilt jacket, for the Tempe Festival of the Arts.
My new Knit Stars knitalong, some Twisted Ambitions Yarn for some Summer Lee socks, and a blue sock blocker, arrived just in time to throw into The Epic Van for our departure.
On the road again: US 70 near Duncan, Arizona, heading east. We saw a coyote running across the road and a hawk flying with a long snake hanging from its talons. Love it out here.
Good morning, Guadalupe Mountains National Park.
Reading material: Our friend Tom Zoellner’s new book Rim to River. Loving it.
Welcome to Texas. At Cooper’s Old Time Pit Bar-B-Que in Llano, Texas.
The gang, Bob Moser, Clara Willoughby, me and Tom at brunch.
More barbecue. And sides.
Bob with the Texas Monthly sign at the offices overlooking the Austin skyline.
Bob at his standing computer in his Texas Monthly office.
Detail of a Texas Monthly cover of Willie Nelson.
Choosing to Run by Des Linden, with the help of my friend Bonnie D. Ford in the Book People store.
Tom shows his winning mini-golf style.
Bob, left, Clara, right, Tom and I at the Peter Pan Mini Golf in Austin, an institution since 1948 and featured in Friday Night Lights.

It’s been a long time since we’ve been on a multi-month trip in The Epic Van, and we were thrilled to envision ourselves meandering the open road on a loop to the East Coast and back. There it was in my calendar, circled in red ink, April 4, departure day.

But we first had to get out of Arizona, and it was proving to be difficult.

Austin, Texas

Speed tourism in Austin

On March 6, 2018 by Judy Nichols With 14 Comments - Blog, Our wanderings

Barbecue at Stiles Switch BBQ & Brew in Austin, Texas.
Beers at The White Horse in Austin..
Ebaugh & the Tender Things performing at The White Horse in Austin.
Roman numerals on a recovered timber from the 1684 shipwreck of the La Belle, on display at the Bullock Texas State History Museum in Austin. The number showed that it was a kit ship, the number a guide to which timber goes where.
A thin gold Sun King medallion found with the shipwreck was a symbol of King Louis XIV of France, who commissioned the expedition. Many of the muskets were embedded with a medallion.
Hawk bells, found by the thousands on the shipwrecked La Belle, brought to trade with Native Americans.
Allens Boots on South Congress, SOCO, in Austin.
Austin's clouds reflected in the Fairmont Hotel Austin.
Austin's Museum of the Weird.
The Frost Bank Tower in Austin, known as the "owl building."
The Paramount Theater in Austin.
The Texas Capitol, bigger than the U.S. Capitol, nach.
A moon tower in Austin. Amazing.
The home of the Texas Longhorns.
The Tipsy Chick and the Democrat at Torchy's Tacos in Austin.
The Alabama Shake and a breakfast taco at Torchy's.