Going North in a Norther

My wife, Linda and I were just in Santa Fe, New Mexico for Christmas (2015) and returned to a blizzard (by our estimations) in El Paso, Texas.  We traveled a little bit in rain mixed with snow and nearly freezing temperatures and after we got home the rain began to turn to snow and overnight we got a bit over 8" of snow.

This scenario got me to thinking about the drovers on the great cattle drives and how they were hell bent to get their "cow hunts" over within a timely fashion so that plenty of time would be had to get their beef to the Northern markets before winter.There were many things that played into the timing of the start of the drive and the cowboys knew of nearly all of the dangers lurking around each bend or over every hill.  The conditions were bad enough during thunderstorms and the inevitability of stampedes.

Too, were the problems of Indians wanting beef because the white man had destroyed their hunting grounds and depleted the buffalo herds.  Another danger was the possibility of a late Norther that could bring  snow and freezing temperatures. Or if they got started to late they ran into the possibility of an early winter storm.  It was these possibilities that got me to thinking what little comforts they actually had on a trail drive.

A good cook was paramount in the necessary comforts for the cowboys because a good meal was one of the very few comforts they had and many times this particular comfort was in short supply. The meals mostly consisting of beans and bread.  The main stay was coffee, and the cowboys sought this "shot of adrenaline" anytime there was a campfire when the chuck wagon stopped at noon or in the evening....and certainly all night for the those on night watch. And it goes without saying the cup of Arbuckles with breakfast was the way to start the day when it would be as much as two hours before daylight. So the comforts were few and far between when it cam to meals and even more so when the drovers tried to get that little bit of sleep at night. (As a side note, notice the water barrel on the side of the wagon in this approximate 1880+ photo. There was a lot of discussion in the ACWA sanctioning as to whether the water barrel was ever on the outside of the wagon.)

I got to thinking about how miserable a cowboy would be in a situation where he had to deal with thunderstorms and rain.  It becomes more difficult to imagine how completely miserable he must be with very little clothing to protect him from the elements and certainly not much of a way to get dry after getting soaked during a rainstorm.  Taking that thought a bit further, how did they actually deal with freezing temperatures and heavy snowfall.  Many of the cowboys only had a canvas sleeping bag with a few sugans to help ward off the cold.  The probability of having a tipi was pretty remote in most Southern camps and the only "roof" over his head at night was the thin layer of canvas bedroll.

Are you imagining this scenario of being freezing cold, wet, sleeping on the ground with nothing to warm you but a couple of blankets?  I began to imagine long years ago how utterly tough these cowboys were in dealing with the elements.

During the time our CALK chuck wagon was competing in cook off's and on some ranches in  places like Capitan, Lincoln, Clovis, Hobbs and Ruidoso, New Mexico and several places in Texas like Dryden our crew was sleeping in the cowboy tipis.  There were times we had to deal with the weather in rain, wind, snow and freezing temperatures as low as 18 F.  We complained like crazy but usually it was for a short while and we would have a change of dry clothes and a place where we could get warm within just a couple of days.  The boys on the trail drive were out there for 2-3 months depending on where their market.  Do you get the picture?

Tough Sum Bitches and I believe it gave them every right to celebrate and let their hair down at the end of a long cattle drive........don't you?

Riding for the Brand

It has been a little while since the ole Calk Wagon went out to cook in competition but decided "it was about time".  A while back I became acquainted with a young man on the internet when he answered a question I had about a Masonic membership card.  We visited back and forth messaging and he became interesed in what was going on with this chuck wagon thing.  It turned out that there was a local event I had scheduled here in El Paso that involved cooking breakfast at a Ford dealership.  I thought it would be a good chance to get acquainted with him and him with chuck wagon cooking.  I had my usual help: Skip Clark, John Cooper, and Joy Leos.  They are all seasoned veterans with cooking, and getting there at 5:30 am was not a problem.  Turned out that John had come down with a bug and was unable to attend so the timing was perfect for the new recruit to get acquainted with some chuck wagon cooking.

Erik Briseno is a self proclaimed City Boy .  He told me that he had never had the opportunity to get out and go camping and the like but was willing to learn.  I think he explained that he once tried to fish but didn't want to get out of the car so they drove as clsoe to water as they could and he "fished" out the window. Right now it is about learning his way around a chuck wagon.  That in itself is quite refreshing.  The fact he is a Masonic brother it doubly cool.

Erik, sweating "it" in San Antonio

The gig at the Ford dealership was breakfast for 150 and that went really well with four of us preparing migas, ham, biscuits and gravy.  Everything was cooked on propane because of the asphalt location.  Even after the event was over he was still interested.  Next came the Fort Sam Houston/Cowboys for Heroes event which was a four hour serving time meal in which we fed 500 people.  He got to see all aspects of preparing many different dishes and multiple cooking techniques.

Still not deterred, we entered a brisket cook off in which we competed valiantly but did not bring home the gold.  We did however vow to come back next year with a vengeance.

He would keep telling me that he really enjoyed learning this totally "new stuff".  He took the ribbing from all the old hands in San Antonio and managed to become a team member.  He was still lacking. He had no cowboy threads and no idea what to buy but was interested in looking the part.  He said that he had never been a person who would try to look like something they were not, BUT added that sense cooking on the wagon he felt he had become the real deal and was ready to get outfitted with some duds that would make him fit in better.  You know, boots, hat, pants, shirt, vest, wild rag, authentic glasses.  You know the drill.  We are well on our way to getting him into the fold and I must say that he is fitting nicely into mold.  Yep, riding for the brand is what he is all about.  He has proclaimed about his time around the camp that everything is heavy, a person can easily get burned, cut, scraped, sun burned, exhausted, and dehydrated, cussed, yelled at, and in all kinds of weather.....and yet is still interested in hanging out with the boys of the wagon.

Pretty cool lad and now part of our wagon crew.

Cowboys For Heroes

About a year ago Arb Lenamon brought up to the board of directors of the American Chuck Wagon Association his involvement in a worthwhile project for wounded warriors.  He told us that we could greatly benefit from the experience by "giving back" to those soldiers who have so courageously served our country.  He went on to explain that the project had spanned nine years and that 2015 would be the tenth year.  The ACWA had been looking for something to get started with in relation to charitable work.  Arb informed us there had been about 20 wagons who served approximately 4,000 wounded, injured and ill soldiers and veterans in 2014.  The ACWA group voted unamiously to support Cowboys For Heroes at Fort Sam Houston located in San Antonio, Texas.

The difficulty with such a project is dealing with the federal regulations one must follow when organizing such an event at a military installation. Arb has dealt with personnel each year, but the personnel change every year and the new folks at the base have to be reeducated as to what we want to do.  He tells them that we just want to bring onto the base 20 or so chuck wagons and support vehicles along with about 150 cooks, food and equipment to feed about 4,000 to 5,000 of the soldiers and veterans.  They ask how much will it cost and the reply is: Nothing! Aubrey tells them we will get our on donations to cover the costs.  Most of the cost comes from our own pockets he tells them.We do have meat donated throught C4H and Greg Lyles and still others who who generously supported some of the various wagons.  I think you get the picture as to how the event has developed.  It is a private affair and is open to all branches of the military.

We had been contacted by Greg Liles about what meat we would like to serve and they tried their best to accommodate our wishes. I understand C4H purchased beef from the Houston Livestock Show and had it butchered to our wishes. Pioneer Flour donated flour, corn meal, bisquik mix, and brownie mix.

 This being the first time to be involved with the event I wasn't sure just how things actually worked. I spoke with several friends who had participated in the past and they gave me a heads up on sort of what to expect. I thought it would be a good idea to have two wagons together under one fly to serve as the host of the ACWA camp.  Marcus Reed agreed to bring his 1927 Model TT Ford chuck wagon to anchor one end of the fly and I was planning on using Arb's wagon at the other end. It wasn't until I began to put together, in my mind,  the things I would need to take to San Antonio from El Paso, that I realized all the stuff wouldn't fit in my pick up...so I told Aubrey that I would just save him the trouble of bringing his wagon and I would bring my John Deere so that I could get everything there that we would need.

It wasn't until I put a pencil to it when it dawned on me that we would need a goodly number of folks to get all that food prepared to feed about 500+ people. Hummm that means I will have to disconnect the kitchen sink too.  At one time I counted seventeen people in our camp...cooking.

Now let's see, we cooked: six briskets, 160 hot dogs, 165 chicken fired steaks, big pot of chili, 18 gallons of peaches and 36 boxes of cake mix for cobblers, 25 pounds of Greg Martin pintos, six pans of brownies, hundreds of benighs, 50 pounds of potatoes, 5 gallons of peppercorn gravy plus coffee. We managed to use about a half cord of wood and five propane cookers. It took two men plenty busy just to keep us with enough coals to keep all the Dutch ovens hot. And you need to understand that we were just one camp with two wagons. There were eighteen other camps with similar set ups preparing everything under the sun.

A little planning goes a long way

One of the nineteen serving lines

Erik and Eddie getting the sausage ready to serve

WC and some of the many warriors through the camp

Music was provided, free of charge, my Mike Carr and the Lone Star Statesmen from the Hondo, Texas area.  Mike runs the KCWM radio station in Hondo and when I approached him with doing the event he was "all in".
No question, they were going to do this for the men and women who have done so much for us. There wasn't much room for dancing but there was dancing going on.  When the mood strikes you just gotta move.

K R Wood singing Dave Crockett

Mike Carr and the Lone Star Statesmen providing the day long music

K R Wood, story teller and muscian was also on hand to provide a flavor of Texas to the attendees. Jerry Diaz, Charro extodinair was on hand to do amazing feats.  Mutton bustin was a favorite of the kids and grownups alike as well as the bull rides.  If you didn't get to help out you missed a wonderful time at Fort Sam Houston.  You might even consider putting it on your bucket list.  It was that good.

Kathy Christensen, a member of the ACWA board of directors was on hand to sell t-shirts and other items.

Ronnie Sexton, ACWA member, setting up the signs and flags for the host wagon.  Ronnie and wife Maribeth helped another board member, Lonnie Tegler and his wife prepare food in the Rocking T Chuck Wagon camp.  Brian Frankum and wife Susan also representing the ACWA was present with the Wishbone wagon.

Here you see board member Kathy Christensen selling tee shirts to benefit the "Helping Hand" award the ACWA established to help a needy military person.








If you will look closely this military gentleman has a Texas Longhorn shirt on.  Just saying!  Hook 'um Horns.  He is certainly enjoying himself on the bucking bull.

Kevin and his fellow Beignet makers.  They made hundreds of these delicious babies. 

Jim, WC, Eddie Sandoval, Erik Bresino, and Wendell Walker serving warriors and families!

Wendell, WC, Cheryl, and Joanne making a batch of gravy.

Sandoval tending the ovens. 

Joanne, WC and Marcus chopping brisket

Hero support group

"Sun Dancer" Eddie Sandoval preparing to give a Native American blessing

WW, Cheryl, Tammy, Erik serving up the grub

Fort Sam

We had a great time serving those who have and are serving us!