BACK TO ENCHANTED ROCK, AND A TASTE OF TEXAS

After one afternoon of sunshine, the warm, humid weather has caught up with us again. Today's temperature has stayed in the 70's; humidity was 98% around 3 pm. The sky is overcast and gloomy.

Fredericksburg is on the far left edge of the ominous red blob that The Weather Channel uses to signify potentially severe weather, and the still, humid blanket of clouds lends credence to the forecast. It looks as though any real problems will miss us, but I am glad we have the blare of the NOAA weather radio to arouse us if necessary, and a sturdy limestone building nearby.


The weather can't squelch our fun, though. We picked up Jackie and Buddy (and a picnic Jackie packed for us) at their RV park around 10:30 this morning and headed off to Enchanted Rock for a hike to the top. Enchanted Rock is huge, pink granite dome, 425 feet high, covering 640 acres. It is a batholith - an underground rock formation uncovered by erosion - one of the largest in the US and downright fun to hike. My pictures from last year show a clear blue sky and bright sunshine. This year, as we finished our picnic after we descended from the top, a light rain began to fall.

We packed up the crumbs, hopped into the car and headed back to Fredericksburg, to Rustlin Rob's. Rustlin Rob's sells condiments, jams, jellies, marinades, glazes, salsas, fruit butters, pickles, chow chow, mustards... and you can sample every single one before you buy. Buddy was excited about a spicy salsa he had tasted (and purchased) on a prior visit, and wanted to restock a jalapeno mustard he enjoys.

It was a good place to spend time on a rainy afternoon, especially since our planned grilled chicken dinner had been rained out. We spoiled our appetites by tasting what seemed like EVERYTHING - but tasting everything would have been impossible, there is just too much.

Hidden way back in the store is a little room of the truely dangerous hot sauces. A sign on the tiny sampling table cautions: "These are EXTREME HOTSAUCES. Not for children. Use caution."

Buddy and Odel, being manly men, each put a dewdrop of hot sauce on a cracker and popped in in their mouths. Eyes buldging and tearing, they went in search of an antidote. Soon I saw Jackie, too, moving rapidly in search of something to cool the heat.

Rob, or an employee, told us they had sampled the least spicy of the dangerous stuff... that samples of the truely, truely hot sauces are available, but too dangerous to leave out - tasting under supervision only. These folks are NUTS!