Photolog: meanwhile, back at the ranch...

I hadn't seen my old pal Kinky Friedman since he left on his European tour in May, so he insisted that I come up to the ranch before I went to Montana. So yesterday I grabbed a bottle of Jameson & hit the road...

Johnson City... home of LBJ & the world's best chicken fried steak. The numbers don't lie!



Outside the Sawmill Tavern in Johnson City:





A beautiful old facade in Fredricksburg:



I finally arrive at Kink's place!



He lives outside of Kerrville, up the craziest, twisty-est road I've ever traveled (and that's including Montana). His house lies within Echo Hill, a beautiful valley where his parents established a summer camp 56 years ago. Here's a view of the camper cabins & the hills beyond:



On the other side of the valley lies Utopia, an animal rescue ranch established by Kinky and Cousin Nancy. It is a Utopia indeed for animals in danger... everyone has a large pen with plenty of runnin' room, food, fresh air & love. If you're thinking of adopting a dog (or the occasional cat, chicken, or gigantic, lazy pig), do consider one of Utopia's.

Kinky has his own pack of dogs... collectively known as the Friedmans, who rule the roost with big loving hearts...




There's little Perky, the matriarch of a venerable age and Chumley, her sweet, quiet son...



...Brownie, who puts on quite a show if you stop petting him, and the famous Mr Magoo.



And Kaw-liga rules them all (until the indian maid returns)



I love staying at Kinky's house...



...where there's copious wood paneling & Jameson, dogs & a pool table and lots of interesting stuff where ever you turn. A collection of masks stemming from Kink's tenure in the Peace Corps in Borneo...



... artifacts of by-gone mystery novels...



...reliable rack storage...



...and a beautiful painting of Kink's father.



I was fortunate enough to witness the blooming of this gorgeous flower...



Kink says that these flowers only bloom once and always at night. The scent of the flower was amazing.

It was another lovely trip up the ranch. Sorry I didn't take any pictures of the Governor himself... stay tuned, Kink's got a lot of interesting things brewing in that feverish brain of his (including things of a political nature). And do check out his latest book, What Would Kinky Do?