Stoking the Fire: There were several fires within metal cages, which attracted a lot of attention all afternoon at the Mud Dauber Festival and Chili Cook Off on a cold Saturday in Luckenbach, Texas. Photo by Gary Warren/ladailypost.com
Chili Cook Off: A tasting of chili is dipped for attendees at the Chili Cook Off. The chili was a big hit on a cold day. There was no limit to how many tastes attendees could sample at the event. Photo by Gary Warren/ladailypost.com
By GARY WARREN
Photographer
Fomerly of Los Alamos
The 12th Annual Luckenbach Mud Dauber Festival and Chili Cook Off advertisement was all of the information that we needed to know. We had to go!
What is a mud dauber? A mud dauber is a type of wasp that builds its nest out of mud. You could say that mud daubers built adobe style houses before man arrived.
Apparently Hondo Crouch, the owner of Luckenbach when it gained national attention in the 1970s, liked the mud dauber because they ate spiders. Crouch also was responsible for chili (that’s the way they spell chili in Texas) cook offs becoming a popular event over the years at Luckenbach.
We are traveling around the Texas hill country, which lies just west of the Austin and San Antonio area. In mid-March, we were visiting my sister in Wimberley, Texas when we saw the advertisement for the Mud Dauber Festival and Chili Cook Off that Saturday.
Saturday rolls around and we wake up to a cold and misty rain and the air was so thick you can’t see very far but by late morning we decided to go ahead and attend the festival with hopes of better weather by the afternoon. At least the hour drive to and from the festival would be warm. We arrived at Luckenbach and the weather was still cold. The misty rain was passing through in waves and the heavy clouds were still hanging around.
While the weather was less than desirable, there was a good crowd attending the event having a great time. Had it been a sunny and nice day we would have been very crowded and the chili would have run out before noon. After all, it was a cold afternoon and the spicy, warm chili was an ideal menu item for the day.
We moved from booth to booth tasting a sample of the chili at each stop. We realized quickly that there was no way we could eat even a small tasting at each booth. After a while, we had eaten all of the chili that we could eat and we decided to move to the area where the music was playing.
On the way to the music venue, a stop at the Luckenbach Post Office and general store took a few minutes to warm up a little bit. Luckenbach consists of a general store, a shop that sells hats, and the remainder of the vendors are drink and food related. There also is a dance hall but it was not used during this event.
Finally arriving at the performance stage we settled in to listen to the band. There were no rows of seats but a series of wooden picnic tables set up in rows for attendees to gather around. The band for the afternoon, Tumbleweed Hill from Austin, Texas, played a variety of country tunes while the attendees sipped on drinks, ate food, danced and generally were having a fun afternoon.
At 4 p.m. the band took a break and organizers presented awards to the winners of the chili cook off. Following the presentation, Tumbleweed Hill returned for a few more songs wrapping up the afternoon music. Another performer was scheduled for the evening but by this time, we were shivering cold and ready for a warm ride back to Wimberley.
In spite of the cold weather this was a fun and entertaining day in Luckenbach. However, we never saw a mud dauber. Perhaps it was too cold and wet for the little creatures. If given the opportunity to attend another Mud Dauber Festival and Chili Cook Off, I would be there in a heartbeat with hopes of a sunny day and a few mud daubers!
Editor’s note: Longtime Los Alamos photographer Gary Warren and his wife Marilyn are traveling around the country, and he shares his photographs, which appear in the “Posts from the Road” series published in the Sunday edition of the Los Alamos Daily Post.
Luckenbach: There’s no need for Google in Luckenbach, Texas. This sign points to anywhere you would want to go. Photo by Gary Warren/ladailypost.com
Music and Dance: The band Tumbleweed Hill played a variety of country music for the attendees at the 12th Annual Mud Dauber Festival and Chili Cook Off in Luckenbach, Texas. Picnic tables were arranged for attendees to gather around while listening to the music. Photo by Gary Warren/ladailypost.com
Good Crowd: A good size crowd of attendees gathered for activities at the Mud Dauber Festival and Chili Cook Off in Luckenbach, Texas. As the day progressed and the cook off concluded, most people were gathering at or near the performance stage area. Photo by Gary Warren/ladailypost.com
Bundle Up and Stay Warm: Attendees listening to music at the festival were bundled up to stay warm. We left after the afternoon music concluded while several other attendees were just arriving for the next performance on what was to be a cold Saturday evening. Photo by Gary Warren/ladailypost.com
