Day 6 - Llano TX

Miles today: 368

Miles total: 2072

5 minutes after I left the hotel it started to rain.  And it rained pretty steadily for about 4 hours ... low IFR.  Most of the day I was riding due south along the back side of a long line of thunderstorms. As if that wasn’t enough I was riding into the wind the whole way.  Rode the old Meridian Highway (US81) to Decatur TX, where I finally gave up and stopped for coffee while waiting for  the rain to lighten up. Decatur also happens to be the home of the Petrified Wood Station, an old gas station clad entirely with petrified wood.

Rode through Mineral Wells, Stephenville, Comanche, and San Saba to Llano.  Pretty much nothing but cattle ranches and the occasional oil well.

There aren’t too many dining options in Llano but I figured Cooper’s BBQ must be all right since the parking lot was filled entirely with pickup trucks.

The way it works is this: you tell the pit master outside what kind of meat you want and how much.  He carves it up, puts it on a tray, and hands you the tray.  You take the tray inside where they weigh the meat, wrap it in butcher paper, and hand it back to you.  You choose your sides, take everything to the register, pay, and the cashier hands you a sheet of heavy wax paper.  That’s your place mat; you eat straight off the butcher paper.