What a lovely town! At 4400' elevation it's just a tad lower than where our home is in Arizona. And boy, am I glad I made it early.
Shortly after leaving Marathon I was pulled over by a Texas State Trooper for driving 75mph in a 70mph. I never dispute my speed as I seldom look at the speedometer (although I really ought to start doing this, as this is the second time in seven weeks I've been pulled over for speeding). I knew my fatigue was a big factor in my speeding, but I also knew that in Big Bend Country everyone is pulled over for going only a mile over the speed limit so that law enforcement personnel can better find illegals. I can't blame the boys in blue for this tactic as that is how many illegals are caught.
The trooper, who looked Native American, was as courteous as can be. He even thanked ME for being so courteous! He gave me a warning, I promised not to speed or at least watch my speedometer, and slowly cruised into Alpine at 2:30pm. It wasn't a minute too soon as the long desert drive had tired me. This was the most exhausting drive yet on my long vacation. The heat and highway boredom got the best of me, even though the Trooper said "Ma'am, you're from Arizona, you should be used to this heat!"
Yes, I AM used to this wonderful dry desert heat but not in late February! And after the awful humidity of The Valley and then the cool climes of the Texas Coast this dry heat is hitting my body and psyche like a Mac Truck. It's slowing me down and tiring me even more so. And that worries me as I have three exhausting days in Big Bend after today and I better make those hikes!
Alpine, TX is a small rest over town of around 5700 people. The Holland Hotel, from where I'm typing this, is in the historical part of town...which isn't much. Still, it's more than what Kevin and I saw of Alpine in 2004 when we first drove through because we took a north turn off Hwy 90 to head toward Fort Davis. The old part of town is west of all that.
I already stopped at the local IGA grocer for some food for the next few days: Swiss Cheese, tortillas, chips and salsa and even some chocolate, but I know I need to go back there for more water and candy.
The Edelweiss Brewery in the Holland Hotel claims to be owned by Harry Mois, who hails from Schwandorf, Bavaria. German and American articles are framed on the backwall, showing a rather chubby middle-aged man with balding hairline (tpypical of Bavarians) as the owner. He moved to this part of Texas and made it home, although he's allegedly looking for a few more brewmasters from Germany.
When I asked my server if Harry Mois was on the premise, my response was "Oh, he doesn't own this place anymore, it belongs to his ex-wife!" I was, admittedly, taken aback. So does that mean Mois no longer brews the beers here?
"He trained a girl [I'm sure she meant "woman"] to brew the beers after his recipe" said my young red-headed server.
I must admit, although the Mushroom-Swiss Cheese burger was excellent although it took almost 30 minutes for my well-done burger to arrive; the two lagers, both the light and the dark, were rather flat. The beers lacked body. And neither were served with any head, which always puts me on alert as a headless beer to me means a bodyless beer. The beers did not live up to their write-up in the Texas Monthly article of October 2007 or the many dateless German articles plastered on the back walls of the restaurant. I'm still I came to this place, though. It's a good place, just not a great place.
Shortly after leaving Marathon I was pulled over by a Texas State Trooper for driving 75mph in a 70mph. I never dispute my speed as I seldom look at the speedometer (although I really ought to start doing this, as this is the second time in seven weeks I've been pulled over for speeding). I knew my fatigue was a big factor in my speeding, but I also knew that in Big Bend Country everyone is pulled over for going only a mile over the speed limit so that law enforcement personnel can better find illegals. I can't blame the boys in blue for this tactic as that is how many illegals are caught.
The trooper, who looked Native American, was as courteous as can be. He even thanked ME for being so courteous! He gave me a warning, I promised not to speed or at least watch my speedometer, and slowly cruised into Alpine at 2:30pm. It wasn't a minute too soon as the long desert drive had tired me. This was the most exhausting drive yet on my long vacation. The heat and highway boredom got the best of me, even though the Trooper said "Ma'am, you're from Arizona, you should be used to this heat!"
Yes, I AM used to this wonderful dry desert heat but not in late February! And after the awful humidity of The Valley and then the cool climes of the Texas Coast this dry heat is hitting my body and psyche like a Mac Truck. It's slowing me down and tiring me even more so. And that worries me as I have three exhausting days in Big Bend after today and I better make those hikes!
Alpine, TX is a small rest over town of around 5700 people. The Holland Hotel, from where I'm typing this, is in the historical part of town...which isn't much. Still, it's more than what Kevin and I saw of Alpine in 2004 when we first drove through because we took a north turn off Hwy 90 to head toward Fort Davis. The old part of town is west of all that.
I already stopped at the local IGA grocer for some food for the next few days: Swiss Cheese, tortillas, chips and salsa and even some chocolate, but I know I need to go back there for more water and candy.
The Edelweiss Brewery in the Holland Hotel claims to be owned by Harry Mois, who hails from Schwandorf, Bavaria. German and American articles are framed on the backwall, showing a rather chubby middle-aged man with balding hairline (tpypical of Bavarians) as the owner. He moved to this part of Texas and made it home, although he's allegedly looking for a few more brewmasters from Germany.
When I asked my server if Harry Mois was on the premise, my response was "Oh, he doesn't own this place anymore, it belongs to his ex-wife!" I was, admittedly, taken aback. So does that mean Mois no longer brews the beers here?
"He trained a girl [I'm sure she meant "woman"] to brew the beers after his recipe" said my young red-headed server.
I must admit, although the Mushroom-Swiss Cheese burger was excellent although it took almost 30 minutes for my well-done burger to arrive; the two lagers, both the light and the dark, were rather flat. The beers lacked body. And neither were served with any head, which always puts me on alert as a headless beer to me means a bodyless beer. The beers did not live up to their write-up in the Texas Monthly article of October 2007 or the many dateless German articles plastered on the back walls of the restaurant. I'm still I came to this place, though. It's a good place, just not a great place.
Dan Blocker, who played Hoss in the late 1960s/early1970s western "Bonanza" hails from Alpine. His likeness in on a town mural.
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