Winter, who has barbed the South Plains a couple of times this fall, came in with a vengeance Wednesday night.

The result Thursday morning was a beautiful blanket of snow over everything. Except for the occasionally howling wind, it was peaceful, quiet, and glorious. Lights from the city bounced off the low clouds and then were reflected off the snow-carpeted streets and yards so that there was luminescence all around even in the dark hours of the morning.

As advertised, the storm came into the Hub City about 7:30-8 p.m. Wednesday with a mixture of snow and rain. The snow did not stick.

On into the evening, it was mostly rain until about 11 p.m. or so, when it turned to snow. Forecasters said we would have snow and blowing snow with increasing winds until mid-morning or noon. We’re expecting a high of about 39, so the six inches or more of snow we have probably won’t stay around.

Nonetheless, the voice of Der Bingler crooning the season’s anthem fills the mind.

So. We had decided some time ago that we would DRIVE to Houston for my August appointment at MD Anderson and then drive back by way of Austin so that we could take in the annual meeting of the Texas Association of Broadcasters.

Then Texas Monthly published this article titled “The 50 Greatest Burgers in Texas.” Well, you have to eat when you are on the road, yes? So Nancy comes up with this research project:

Let’s replicate the study done by Texas Monthly, and see if we get the same results!

All 50 burgers? Well, no, just a convenience sample … just top burgers that happen to be “in our way,” along our pre-determined path. So if we get an early enough start on Monday, we should be able to make Fort Worth for lunch. There, on University Drive just two miles south of I-30 and on the edge of the TCU campus is Dutch’s, home of Burger #8, Dutch’s Bacon and Bleu Cheese Burger.

We ordered a couple burgers and some onion rings and then sat down to wait for our order. Up comes this blonde woman wearing a red-and-white striped sleeveless dress, saying “I see you’re from Texas Tech.” “Oh boy,” I thought, here we are in Horned Frog Heaven, all dripping with purple and white and I’m wearing black and red with an embroidered double tee on my shirt.

While I am wondering what kind of fight I just started and considering a diplomatic response, Kay Greenlee – the blonde, who just happens to be Dutch’s general manager – wistfully announces  “I just left my baby there this weekend.” So that started a wonderful conversation about Texas Tech and Lubbock, and her son who is planing to major in sports medicine. It wasn’t long before the conversation turned to burgers and Texas Monthly. And presto! Our burgers were ready.

Verdict? A burger worthy of Top 10 designation, and better than burger #10, a designation belonging to the Cheeseburger in Paradise served up by Orlando’s in Lubbock.

Beck’s Prime

After our experience at Dutch’s we were ready for burger #9, the bacon cheeseburger at Beck’s Prime in Houston. Beck’s Prime is actually a short order café at the golf course clubhouse in Memorial Park just south of I-10. Tuesday’s experience echoed Monday’s: Another burger, worthy of top 10 designation, and probably better than Orlando’s. But choosing between Beck’s and Dutch’s was more than we could do.

We had planned to try burger #12 in Austin (Chop-House Burger), but frankly, it was so hot in Austin (103-105 each day), and the humidity so high that we just wanted to stay close to the hotel. However, on the way home we stopped in Buffalo Gap, south of Abilene. There, at Perini’s Steakhouse, was another top burger, #7. We felt it was not good enough to dislodge Dutch’s or Beck’s in our minds, but it was worth the trip off the beaten path.

The prospect of crossing California, Arizona and New Mexico in a car without air conditioning or cruise control is bad enough, but this was forbidding.

We got to Paso Robles late Friday (May 15), and Paso set a temperature record Saturday (105) while we were digging in the yard. Our plans were to head east across the desert in Jake’s car (no air conditioning, no cruise control) on Tuesday. Sunday was not much cooler. Running through my head were thoughts like, if it’s this hot in Paso, what’s it going to be like in the Mojave?

Tuesday we left in two cars, headed back to Los Angeles for Linda’s birthday party and to return Ray’s car, which he had so graciously loaned us. It was cool and foggy in many places along the coast, but grew warmer as we crossed the Conejo Grade and followed 101 in toward Studio City.

The party was nice, and we said our good-byes, then headed east in Jake’s Civic. It was hot, but bearable. We made good time, and stopped at a couple of shopping centers near Barstow before grabbing a motel room at the west extremity of I-40. Needles, through which we would drive on Wednesday, was 99 degrees at 9 p.m.

The forecast was for scattered showers between Flagstaff and Gallup. That’s exactly what we encountered. By the time we reached Williams (Ariz.), skies were overcast and threatening. The temperature fell into the 80s. Relief.

As it turned out, we had showers on and off from just east of Williams all the way through Grants (NM).  Temperatures generally were in the upper 70s and low 80s. The first rain smelled glorious, and we enjoyed mild temperatures the rest of the trip.

We got back into Lubbock Thursday evening in time to pick up the dog, bring in the mail and round up the lawn mower before dark. It’s nice to be back home, and we are grateful the trip went so smoothly.