New Ribs and Stew

The next morning, we got up early thanks to the noise of traffic and wandered back to Bathhouse Row. After getting ready for the day, we spent the next few hours exploring one of the old hot spring bathhouses that had been converted into a museum. It was very cool, featuring some exhibits and allowing the visitor to roam throughout the numerous areas of the Fordyce Bathhouse, each dedicated to making people well in some specific way. After we had gotten our fill, we walked past the other houses, most of which weren’t open yet, and eventually decided to hit the road. We set our sights on Sulphur Springs, TX where one of my coworkers, Mike, lives. From the start of vanlife, he told me that we had to visit, and we were finally making good on my promise to fill his request. The drive was a few hours long, and I had a lot of work left, so Faith took the wheel, and I took to typing. It was a nice drive, not quite a pretty as the Ouachita, but certainly not dull. We met up with Mike at one of my company’s manufacturing facilities where he gave us an in-depth tour of all the various things they do. It was a fascinating look into a side of the business that I don’t get to see much of. With our tour over, we followed him back to his house and chatted for a bit with his wife, Susan, before Mike and I got back to work. Once we were done for the day, Mike and Susan took us out to get beef ribs at a local joint. Faith and I had never encountered beef ribs before, and we were rapidly infatuated with them. Pork ribs are good, but they don’t quite compare to the sheer magnitude of beef ribs. We each got just two ribs and were full by the end of the meal. We rolled back to our hosts’ house and learned a fast-paced card game called “Oh Hell” that we will certainly be playing again. You can find some combinations of the rules on Wikipedia, though, as for many card games, there are subtle differences between how people play. The night continued on and, once finished with our game, we quickly passed out.

The next day was beautiful; we got up, had coffee, breakfast on the veranda, and enjoyed a cool fall morning before starting work for the day. Mike and I logged in to work while the ladies took of into town to shop and explore. The day went fast, and we soon found ourselves clocking out as the ladies returned and dinner arrived. With the few remaining hours of sunlight, we went downtown so I could get a peek at it. The central square area is beautiful and hosts a variety of restaurants and shops, one of which we stopped in to grab some excellent ice cream for dessert. We returned to the house and finished the night with another game of cards. We got going to bed a little earlier than normal, as tomorrow was a very special day that required getting up long before the sun would peek its rays over the horizon.

Beep! Beep! Beep! My alarm went off, and I hopped out of bed. It was about 5AM, and we were leaving shortly to head to the Hopkins County Stew Contest held in Sulphur Springs. It features ~170 teams who make either beef or chicken stew in cast iron cauldrons over a bed of hot coals. This was no light matter, so we got there early and found the rest of Mike and Susan’s team already set up and just about to light the fire. There were teams as far as the eye could see in every direction, and smoke blowing towards you from every which way. We got to meet the rest of the team that had adopted us for the day, and got to know them all in the hours we had before the stew was schedule to be ready at 11AM. We helped stir the pot and, in Faith’s case, prepare some of the ingredients but were otherwise doing our job as morale support. The sun rose and the stew got closer and closer to being ready. Faith and I took a few trips around to peek into other people’s pots and gawk at the sea of stews and eager samplers. When 11 came, people lined up to buy their bowl and get scoops of stew from anyone they wished. Faith and I sampled some excellent and some not so excellent bowls. We agreed that the chicken stew we helped make was the best chicken we tried, and found a few beef stews that were very smoky and savory. With thousands of people in attendance, the stew quickly disappeared and the day heated up with the sun at its zenith. We helped pack everything back up and went back to Mike and Susan’s to take a quick shower and rinse off the layer of smoke on our skin. Once refreshed, we made a short jaunt to the nearest Buc-ee’s as neither of us had been to one before. It was quite the place. I don’t know exactly what I expected, but it didn’t include random home decor, a huge selection of beef jerky and fudge, and the largest restrooms I’ve ever been in. We enjoyed our visit and grabbed a few snacks we wanted for the trip back to Iowa. That evening, we had some excellent homemade tacos and played some more cards before drifting off to sleep. The final tally: Mike & Susan: 3, Faith & Lafe: 0. We’ll get some practice and turn those numbers around next time we’re there!

Stats

• ~225 miles of driving
• 2 beef ribs (plenty for anyone)
• Many bowls of stew
• 3 card games (all losses for us)

Animals Seen

• Crows
• Squirrels
• Turkey vultures