Ok, I’m totally convinced. They say everything is bigger in Texas and at this point in time, I’d say I’d have to agree. We pulled in to McKinney State Park just outside of Austin and set up camp when Emma decided she needed to relieve herself. So, off we go outside into the wild-blue-yonder. Our first sighting of Texas wildlife, were 2 white-tailed deer grazing only 100 feet from our trailer. Quietly, we stood and watched until they ran back in to the woods. But we’re still wondering what-in-God’s-green-earth we saw next. It was long and skinny and the body had the appearance of bark. It had to be at least 6 to 8 inches and it had pincers on it’s butt! Which by the way, curled up in attack mode when Brian poked it with a stick. It reminded me of a praying mantis, but it wasn’t the same green color as the praying mantis we’re used to seeing and the pincers on the butt… well, have never seen anything quite like that before. Does anyone have any idea what this thing is???

Then to top off the evening, Brian took Emma out for her nightly tinkle when he runs back hollering, “get your camera!” Expecting to see more deer, I grab my camera and tip toe out to where him and Emma are standing only to find Brian, not looking toward the meadow where we’d seen the previous deer sighting but standing there gazing skyward, his neck contorted like some freak show. I stand beside him to follow his gaze and there in the sky, hovering 20 feet above our heads is a HUGE spider busy spinning it’s web from one tree, across the road, and connecting to another tree. Other than the tarantulas we saw the other day, this has got to be the biggest spider I’ve ever seen!! I swear, that thing had to be on steroids!


After the spider episode, we thought we’d call it an evening so retired to the 5th wheel where Brian clobbered me in a game called Blokus and I spanked him in a game of Cribbage. All’s fair in love and war…

The next morning we drove to the downtown area of Austin where we walked around the grounds of the state capitol and let Emma chase the squirrels. Maybe it’s the fact we just left an area of the United States where the average rain fall is less than 9 inches a year but all this “green” is really amazing! The grounds around the state capitol are well manicured and the trees must be well over a hundred years old. We weren’t able to go on the tour of the inside of the capitol because we had Emma with us but I went in to take a peek. The capitol itself was completed in 1888 and is the largest, but not the tallest, state capitol building in the United States.



Lunch was BBQ… Texas style! We stopped and ate at The Iron Works Barbecue in downtown Austin. It’s a simple place with a very casual system where you stand in line, order your BBQ platter or sandwich, go to the cashier counter, sit down and pig out. This place is not for amateur eaters. It’s a lot of meat, and trust me, even hours later, I was still feeling it. Brian had the brisket which he says was fantastic. I had the beef ribs. Beef is really not my favorite but as I was getting ready to order, I guy walked by me with a plate full of the yummy looking ribs, I pointed and said, “I’ll have what he’s got.” I should have stayed with my gut feelings and ordered the chicken as the ribs, even though very tasty, were tough. The BBQ sauce made up for anything lacking in the ribs though. It was out-of-this world YUMMY! If you ever decide to go to The Iron Works, and I highly recommend you do, just keep in mind they don’t have air conditioning which can be a bummer on a hot, humid, summer day. We were lucky, it was raining the day we visited so were able to grab a table in their outdoor seating area and really enjoy ourselves.


Oh… and here’s another thing we ran across that’s “bigger in Texas.”

We're off to Tyler, TX. See ya'll there!