(2026 Wild West Wander Ep 2)
We continued west toward the Land of Buc-ees, crossing a crazy high bridge across the Mississippi River at Baton Rouge, LA. At 175 feet, the narrow four lane bridge is the highest on the Mississippi River!
Another long bridge was ahead – the Atchafalaya Basin Bridge. The 18-mile-long parallel bridge was at the time the second longest bridge in the world when completed in 1973, behind the Lake Pontchartrain Causeway.
There’s something about long bridges in Louisiana, huh!
Hot Sauce on the Bayou
On the edge of a west Louisiana bayou, we toured the home of Tabasco Sauce, a popular spicy condiment that has been burning taste buds for nearly 160 years.
Family tradition has it that Tabasco sauce inventor Edmund McIlhenny obtained pepper seeds from a Mexican War veteran in 1852. He claimed the seeds, from the State of Tabasco, Mexico, produced peppers of especially fine flavor. McIlhenny planted them at Avery Island, the family plantation near New Iberia, LA, and the quality of the peppers was so good, they because the basis of the flavorful hot sauce.
Today peppers used to produce Tabasco sauce are grown in Louisiana, South and Central America and Africa. Fourteen varieties of sauce (including super hot Scorpion Sauce and Raspberry Chipotle) and a variety of other spicy products are available.
The Geography of a Long, Long Road
The next day we started across Texas.
Interstate 10 spans nearly 880 miles from Orange in east Texas to a few miles past El Paso in the far west, about one-third of the distance across the US.
El Paso is 72 miles closer to western end of I-10 near Los Angeles than it is to Orange. and Orange is almost 100 miles closer to the eastern end of I-10 in Jacksonville, FL than it is to El Paso!
A Family Visit and Surprise in Boerne, TX
We spent the night near Boerne, TX, where we visited with my brother Jim and sister-in-law Mary. (Boerne is at I-10 milepost 341, not even halfway across the state!)
That morning we rose early to research an unexpected find at Richter Bakhous in Boerne.
The Bakhous has become famous for HUGE cinnamon buns.
Our cinnamon bun was massive – it filled the takeout box, and iced to perfection, nicely flavored and pillowy in texture. We split the bun and still had some left over for another breakfast.
In 2023, we evaluated amazing (and huge) buns in Alaska and along the Alcan Highway in Canada. We wondered how a bun from less than a dozen miles from my brother’s home in Texas would compare.
The result? See the end of this episode below.
Ancient Art
Further west in Texas, we visited Seminole Canyon State Park. Near the Rio Grande River, the area is arid, with scrubby cedars and large clumps of prickly pear cacti. This is the land of tarantula spiders and rattlesnakes. Fortunately, we didn’t see any.
We were led by Ranger Tonya nearly 200 feet down a steep cliff to several overhangs where ancient indigenous artwork is preserved in the Fate Bell Shelter. The art dates back to nearly 7000 BC and is believed to be some of the oldest in North America. The shelter is named for Fayette Bell, one time owner of the land.
Excavations of the overhangs occurred in 1932 and later in 1963. Texas Parks and Wildlife purchased the land and opened the park in 1980.
Texas vs Alaska vs Yukon: The Best Bun
The Boerne bun was a VERY close third place to the winner bun from Braeburn Lodge in Yukon and a second-place bun from Chicken, Alaska.
Third place or not, the Boerne bun we’ve had in the lower 48. We will continue this important research as our RabbiTRAILS travels continue!
Next Week
We explore Big Bend National Park, including expansive desert areas, rugged mountains and the Rio Grande River. Our visit includes crossing the river into Mexico, where we enjoy lunch and an unexpected event on our return to the US.
Take the LONG Road... 