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Viva Terlingua!

Posted by Mark David Manders Tue, 07 Nov 2006 09:00:00 GMT

Home sweet home! I have been gone for seven of the last eight days and I cannot tell you how good it is to be home again. The annual trip to the Terlingua World Chili Championship is by far my favorite weekend of the year, steeped in traditions, but it can take its toll on you.

Here was the plan last week. Russ, Lafon, and I had a gig Wednesday at the Texas Tavern in Brenham. On Thursday we were to drive to Angelo for a show at Blaine’s Pub where Grant, Kathryn, Kim, and Sarah were to meet us followed by Bret who drove separately. From there we’d all head out Friday morning for the six-hour drive to Terlingua. We were scheduled to play Saturday night, and normally we would head back home on Sunday, but this year we decided to take our time on the way back.

Our friends, Barry and Dee Johnson, decided to follow us to Brenham Wednesday in their urban assault vehicle, a cross between a van and an RV. Barry and Dee have been our friends for quite a while and it wasn’t until this weekend that we finally gave them an official title- Head of Entourage Security. I didn’t realize it at the time, but the acronym for their position is HOES.

We had a great time at the Tavern Wednesday. Since it was the day after the big Halloween party the crowd was fairly light. Hunter, the owner, told us when we arrived that he couldn’t stay out too late that night because he threw down a little too much the night before. In fact, just about everyone who showed up looked hung over. We didn’t care; we just kept on playing.

On Thursday morning we loaded up for the drive to San Angelo. We stopped for lunch at the City Meat Market in Giddings and feasted on steak, ribs, and sausage. It had been quite a few years since I’d eaten there, but the food was just as I had remembered it. Even better, I had a huge rack of ribs and an iced tea for less than ten bucks. I’d definitely rank the City Meat Market in my top ten all time BBQ joints.

We arrived in San Angelo around 5:00 in the afternoon. I dropped the guys off at the HoJo and went down to the YMCA to work out. Grant and the girls hit town an hour later, followed by Bret who arrived around seven.

After a quick sound check we began the show. We had a good crowd for a Thursday and this time there were no fights. It was Dee’s birthday, so we got her up on stage to do “Three Fingers Tequila” with us. Believe it or not, we actually quit playing at a decent hour. I think we made it back to the hotel and to bed by 1:30 or 2:00. That might be a record for us.

Friday morning we met up with Barry and Dee and took off for the six-hour drive to Terlingua. There were, of course, stops to be made along the way. The most important was the Coors Distributorship in Alpine. When we arrived we found that Bob Ritchey, who runs the Terlingua Golf Tournament, had beaten us to the punch on the Keystone Light. He had made off with sixteen cases before we got there. That’s it, next year we’re leaving on Wednesday and heading straight to Alpine just to make sure we get there before Bob. It wasn’t a total loss; the fine people there at the distributorship gave us Coors Light bottles and a few cases of Miller.

Grant made good time, no, great time, on Highway 118 between Alpine and Terlingua, pulling into the campgrounds around three that afternoon. Everyone unloaded and began setting up camp. For Barry and Dee that meant throwing it in Park and turning off the engine. For the rest of us it meant putting up tents and stowing gear.

This year, like the year before, we camped directly behind Ted Hume, not far from the Blaine’s Pub cooking team. I think this site has pretty much become our home at Terlingua. We are close enough to Ted’s campfire to hear the late night jams and still not too far away from the Angelo camp where the food is unbelievable.

That evening Kathryn, Dee, and I got in as margarita judges with a little help from our friends Emily and Erin. There were thirty entries and, even though you only take a sip of each, it is no easy task to make it to the end. A few of the margaritas tasted good; others weren’t worth mentioning again. I mean, who makes a margarita that tastes like coconut? I thought that drink was called a pina colada. Anyway, once the judging let out I took a badly needed nap.

Max Stalling played that Friday night and we got a chance to catch up a little before and after his show. He went to bed around midnight because they had a gig somewhere around Corpus the next day. Kathryn and I remained at Ted’s campfire where we listened to music until we couldn’t stay awake any more.

Saturday morning I set out with one goal- to find a shower. This is not always an easy task in Terlingua; after all it is in the middle of the desert. Fortunately Dan from the Angelo camp had a hotel room in town and offered us a key. He was going to play golf that morning and told us that we could use his shower while he was gone.

Afterwards Kathryn and I drove over to the CASI site to try and locate our friend, Lloyd. For those who have never been to Terlingua, there are two cook-offs. One is called “Behind the Store” and the other is “CASI”, the Chili Appreciation Society of America. I’m not sure how long ago it was, but somewhere down the line the two factions split and went their separate ways. I have always attended the Behind the Store cook-off. This year was my first time in fourteen years to visit the CASI site.

The CASI campground was crowded. I mean there were people camped within a foot or two of each other. I wasn’t used to being so closed in and Kathryn and I had a hard time maneuvering down the congested roads. We never did find Lloyd, so we left.

Instead of heading back to our campsite, I took Kathryn down to see DOM. (If you don’t know who DOM is or you haven’t seen the movie, “Fandango”, I suggest you read my News from the Road entry dated Sunday, November 6, 2005.) After a few pictures we returned to the cook-off. I wanted to slip down into Mexico for a while, but we didn’t have time because I had to judge finals chili at 2:00.

The turn-ins this year were among the best I’ve judged to date. I think there were only two chilis that I ranked as mediocre. The rest were top-notch. As is always the tradition at the finals table, there were tequila toasts and pleasant banter, as well as the inevitable nap which soon followed.

The awards ceremony began later that afternoon, I think around four, and we all went down to see if any of our friends had won. Ted Hume took home quite a few trophies. I think he said he was just two points away from winning the overall prize. My friends from the Angelo camp didn’t fare as well which is a shame. I tried some of their chili afterwards and it was excellent.

I got a surprise during the awards ceremony that knocked me off my feet. Kathleen Tolbert-Ryan, one of the head hanchos, called me up on stage and awarded me the Terlingua VIP plaque for all the years I’ve been playing the event. I can’t tell you what an honor it was to receive the award. When I first started doing the music thing I set goals of places I wanted play. My top three were Willie’s 4th of July Picnic, Gruene Hall, and the Terlingua Chili Cook-off. Getting recognized by the powers that be at Terlingua made my weekend.

We had a great show that night, going on after Gary P. Nunn. They were recording the show for a live CD and originally we were just going to play a 75 minute set. I think we ended up playing for over two hours.

Sunday morning we all loaded up and drove into the National park. Bret said “Good-bye” and went off solo on a two-day float trip down the Rio Grande. The rest of us kicked around the park for a while before heading in the direction of San Angelo again. On our way we stopped in Marathon and checked out where they filmed yet another scene from the movie, “Fandango”. It was the gas station scene where Kevin Costner and crew ended up bathing in a car wash. Another photo-op.

We arrived in San Angelo later that afternoon and got cleaned up. Kathryn and I headed up to Blaine’s for a drink but didn’t stay too long. We were worn out and returned to the hotel for a good night’s sleep in a real bed.

Monday was rather uneventful. We made it home around three in the afternoon and began the arduous task of unloading. All in all we had covered over 1600 miles, from the southeast part of the state to the extreme southwest, and then back home.