Chicken Fried Church Tour Post #1

We intended to begin our 2011 rural churches tour in Hood County yesterday morning, so we headed south on FM 4 toward Granbury about 9:45AM. Arriving too early, we decided to motor on down to Somerville County to worship at FUMC Glen Rose. We wanted to see the "restored" Methodist church building there anyway and hear an old friend preach. Being Pentecost Sunday, he spoke on being shaped by fire, using the analogy of blown glass to describe how the heat of trials shapes us. It was important to me given the recent issues with aging family.

Afterward we headed southwest on 67 toward Stephenville for lunch, but FINALLY stumbled across the famous Loco Coyote Cafe! Not meaning that we'd been looking for it a long while, but in the sense that we've finally seen it all, and finally met the gold standard of chicken fried steaks. We ate out on the covered porch with the bikers, listening to a ubiquitous Texas singer/songwriter doing Jerry Jeff and Robert Earl covers, with a few of his own funny tunes thrown in (He claims he’s still working on adding Willis Allen Ramsey to his repertoire, so we’ll be making a return trip soon to hear Northeast Texas Women.). The unique restrooms are pictured below.

After splitting a steak the size of a hubcap we left out going northwest on CR1004 to where it intersects FM 51 at the ghost town of Paluxy, then turned back north on FM 205 to Tolar. From US 377 we took FM 205 north to Starr Hollow Ranch and a detour to let Kay visit the golf shop, then back through Lipan on 1189 to Sugartree Cottage. It was a beautiful north Texas hill country day.