Arthur

When you go to the White Buffalo Bar at the Gage Hotel, please be prepared to overpay.  We had some very good drinks, but they were nowhere good enough to warrant the prices the place charged.  The staff was efficient, and the drinks were good, but for a $15 old fashioned, you want a friendly, effusive staff and a spectacular drink.  We got prettty darn good.  For a $30 tab on two drinks, they needed to be oh-my-gosh great.  

Instead of a second round of drinks that would have had me unfavorably comparing our bar tab to our mortgage, we decided to take a walk through the Gage Gardens.  The hotel is pretty much the only game in town.  It’s a nice hotel with several buildings of guest rooms.  There is a fitness center on the other side of the railroad tracks, as well as a cluster of rooms.  There is also a garden.  I was skeptical- probably because I had been in a desolate desert botanical center earlier today.  This was a beautiful garden. It was clearly designed to look like a European garden.  It was really stunning and supernaturally green when you got there, but when you turned your head to the left, you saw a cow. 

It was completely goofy.  It didn’t go.  Here’s what the cow sees every day:

No logic to that at all.  It makes no sense.  I immediately asked Cas when I saw it if he thought it would support my weight and if he thought I could jump up on there.  He was so supportive... what a guy.  He said of course I should pose atop the cow statue for a photo.  When I got up to it, the cow featured a sign that said, “FRAGILE Do not stand or sit on art cow thanks.”  

A few things to unpack, there.  First, I was disappointed.  Second, I had no idea the cow was named Art.  Third, I did not know Art was a girl name, now.  Stranger things have happened.  Plenty of boys-only names have crossed over.  Arthur T. Cow could be a girl cow name.  I thought all male members of that species were bulls.  

Cas and I experimented with middle names.  We settled on T as the initial.  Guess the name as you go along.  It’s not Arthur Thomas.  

Anyhow, we spent enough time at the botanical garden with Arthur (Not Taylor), and we had it go back to the main drag where the restaurant was.  We got there in time for our reservation.  When we were seated, there was only one other person in the small room.  She paid and left, and eventually was replaced by another couple.  It was pretty much semi-private dining all night.  (Not Travis)

The place is pretty proud of their food, but the food is just that good.  In fact, it’s great.  It’s not Tantalizing, though. Nice try on Arthur T. Cow’s middle name.  It’s also not Trevor.  We had a filet and the quail. I’ve never had quail before, and we shared both dishes. Spectacular. (Also not Timothy) 

After dinner, we went back to our room and took a few things outside.  We grabbed a pair of binoculars, a bottle of wine and some plastic cups.  

We looked at a few stars, made a few new friends and drink some wine.  Tomorrow, we leave here and head to the park.  Finally, we are headed to Big Bend.  No more chatting with Arthur Tiberius Cow.  That’s the name, you know.