Garbage Can Turkey

Well we didn't make it to the last 2 Missions.  Wednesday turned out to be cool, 50ish, and rain showers in the forecast so we stuck around the RV park.  Thursday was American Thanksgiving and we joined other park residents for a pot luck Thanksgiving feast.  There were about 65 people attending the dinner and I am sure there was enough food for 200.  The treat was watching some of the men attending to the Garbage Can Turkey.  I had never seen anything quite like this before but they harvested 6 huge turkeys from the cans.  No one was hurt in the process and no turkeys were dropped in the coals.  

Following the dinner we headed over to the local Cinema to see "Widows".  Its a recently released movie whose previews and online reviews promised a movie worthy of Oscar nomination.  For some reason I never quite got fully engaged in the story and doubt it has Oscar in its future.  Although I said the same thing about "Shape of Water" last year and it did pretty well on Oscar night.  

Friday turned out to be the nicest day since we arrived in Texas almost 4 weeks ago and wouldn't you know it, it's a travel day.  Sunny, a slight breeze and mid-70's temps and we enjoyed it all from the comfort of the air-conditioned cab of our truck.  We arrived at Fort Stockton RV Park at about 4:30.  Will spend one night here before heading to Carlsbad, NM for 2 nights.  Our time in Texas has come to an end and, frankly, we are all anxiously awaiting the dependable Arizona weather.  Although if we have learned anything from watching the weather reports on the nightly news there is no longer such a thing as dependable weather.  

Garbage Can Turkey, perhaps a new American Tradition in the making. 

A 2x2 stake stuck in the ground, the stake wrapped in foil.
The turkey, wrapped in cheese cloth, dropped on the stake.
The cheese cloth keeps the bird together when its cooked.
They found that when done, the bird would fall apart into the coals below.
Drop a garbage can on top, surround with coals, add some on top.
Instant convection oven.

Heavy heat resistant gloves, long pants and heavy long sleeved shirt/jacket
are required attire for the guy retrieving the bird.
Heavy soled work boots also a requirement as retrieving the centre bird
necessitates standing in the pit amongst the coals.
Working fast is a must. 

Reach in, grab the bird and place in the foil pan.
Don't lose your balance when reaching for the bird and don't miss the foil pan.  

Next station was the carvers

Lots of selection with many of the dishes new to me.
The sweet potato dish with cinnamon and brown sugar sauce was delicious. 

One table lined up with deserts.
Pumpkin, Pecan, Apple, Rhubarb, Chocolate Silk pies and a Carrot Cake
Plus a few others I can't remember.  

Everybody gathering with a healthy appetite.
Lots and lots of left overs despite everyones best efforts.
Needed a table of teenage boys to finish off the food. 

As we were setting up in Fort Stockton a couple, out for a walk, stopped by to chat.  Turns out the husband is from Winnipeg and he noticed our Manitoba plates when we drove in.  They moved from the Peg about 20 years ago and settled in Austin, Tx.  They are now retired and tour around in their Mobile Suites 5er, pulled by a Volvo Highway Tractor with 2 motorbikes mounted behind the cab.  A pretty nice setup.   Interestingly they are headed to Carlsbad, White Sands, Tucson and Phoenix.  Perhaps we will run into them again.

Thats it for now.  Next up, Carlsbad Caverns.

Fredericksburg

Fredericksburg is a town located about 40 minutes northwest of Boerne and located in the "hill country" of Texas.  It is one of many towns in the area that were originally settled by immigrants from Germany.  The German influence can be seen everywhere in town but nowhere more so than in the many restaurants.  We sampled 2 very delicious meals during our visits to town.

Looking back at our trip so far I feel that most of what we have done is eat.  We have made a point of visiting small local restaurants rather than larger chain.  Texas BBQ, Mexican, Clam Chowder and Shrimp on the Gulf coast and now German Schnitzel and baking have all been sampled.  I can honestly say that we have not been disappointed and the only drawback has been the Visa bill and my waistline.  When we settle down for longer stays in Tucson and Gold Canyon we are definitely going to have to get back into a lower calorie diet and add in some more regular exercise.

Fredericksburg has lots of shops with plenty of interesting architecture dating back to the late 1800's.  Here is a sampling from our visit.

See below

A more traditional Christmas tree

Lots of cute little shops

All filled with plenty of inventory

Mark doing  little window shopping

Mark resting from all that window shopping.
Lots of benches which allows the men to rest while their ladies search for deals

Lori and Jan have been training for this for years.
Both are Olympic level shoppers. 

Very pretty courtyard.
The stairs took Lori and I down to Rathskeller Restaurant for a late breakfast.
We had German Crepes.  Very tasty. 

Earlier in the week the 4 of us had lunch at the
German Bakery & Restaurant.
Highly recommend the Schnitzel with gravy and mushrooms, Sauerkraut and Spaetzle
Reluctantly I passed on some of the delicious looking deserts.

Old Gillespie County Courthouse 1881
Limestone is plentiful in the area and many buildings are constructed of this material.
Building is now utilized as a library.

St. Mary's Parish dates to 1846 with arrival of German Settlers.
The above brick structure was completed in 1863 and replaced an earlier log building.

Newer, larger church was built in 1906. 

Thats it for now.  We have spent a couple of days around the RV Park, visiting a couple of malls and walking the streets of Bourrne.  Lori and I may visit 2 of the remaining Missions on Wednesday, then Thursday is Thanksgiving and we are joining other Park residents for a pot luck Thanksgiving meal.  More calories.  Just what I need.

Friday we are off to Fort Stockton, Tx for an overnight on our way to visit the caverns in Carlsbad, NM.

Thats it for now.

Mission Nuestra Señora de la Purísima Concepcion de Acuna

Boy am I glad they shortened the names.  

Mission Concepcion.

Thats a nice front door. 

Not as big as San Jose but still pretty impressive

The missions are still active centres of worship.
Also a great setting for a wedding. 

2 more missions but as of the time I'm writing this we haven't visited them yet.

Next up a little change of pace as we visit Fredericksburg.

San Jose' y San Miguel de Aguayo

In the early 1700's the Spanish established 4 missions along the San Antonio River, each about 2 1/2 miles from each other.  The missions were administered by the Roman Catholic church with the intent of spreading Christianity to the local heathens.  They taught the local tribes agricultural and ranching techniques brought over from Europe.  The  walled enclosures also provided protection against raiding parties of Apaches.  The Spanish also hoped that the communities surrounding the missions would aid in their claim on the lands for Spain.

The first mission was established in 1718 and at that time it was called Mission San Antonio de Valero.  The more common name is the Alamo, which we saw a few days earlier.  Mission San Jose (full name noted in title above) was established in 1720 and we visited it on Saturday.  It is the largest structure and as was the case for all of these missions they were the social centre of a community surrounded by agricultural fields.

The restoration of these missions is very well done.  So well in fact that you often can't tell what is more or less original and what has been reconstructed.

The Mission is surrounded by stone walls with round turret like structures in the corners.  

Lori inside the corner structure
Holes at ground level and also one level above to allow for musket fire at invaders. 

Built into the walls were small living accommodations.  And I do mean small.
Indians who had decided to adapt their lifestyle often lived in these rooms.
They learned skills taught by the Franciscan Monks and participated in religious teachings.
The agricultural and ranching skills provided a regular and dependable source of food
and the stone walls provide protection. 

Each room included a small fireplace and out front was a stone oven for cooking. 

Some pretty elaborate stonework.
The Rose is the window in the lower centre
A close up below.  very detailed. 

Throw in a few Roman arches. 

There weren't a lot of tourists.
But sometimes I could only wait so long for them to get out of the shot. 

I can imagine this was a "happen'in" place back in the day. 

Rose window used by the Priest for special proclamations to the people

Check out the cactus growing on the roof to the right. 

What I didn't get a picture of was all of the young girls of Mexican/Spanish heritage who were getting their pictures taken.  They were dressed in what can best be described as Princess gowns, complete with Tierra's.  Many of them had their own professional photographers.  Turns out it was for their "fiesta de quinceanera".  It is basically a "coming of age" celebration for 15 year old girls.  In the Mexican and Spanish culture 15 is the age at which girls are considered old enough to assume adult responsibilities.  Similar to a "debutante" ball for the wealthy society people in England.

Thats it for Mission San Jose.  On to Mission Conception.