We stopped for lunch first, at Red House BBQ, and it was incredible. Almost worth the trip alone. Not only did they have Teepees in the back, which delighted the kids to no end...
But the BBQ really was as good as you'd get in Texas. Pops and I got pulled pork sandwiches and mac and cheese, and Dave got one of every meat and basically stuffed his face. The other picture is of him in mid-bite, which he asked me to delete.
After that it was on to the Tehachapi Loop. Frankly, I was expecting a big museum and picnic tables, but instead we found ourselves at a little pull-off of a windy road, with a cliff that overlooked this wonder of engineering.
Trains can't climb hills at too steep a grade, so the Tehachapi Loop is a way for the train to gain altitude in less space. It basically loops around on itself in order to get over the mountains.
Danny quickly decided we needed to get closer to the tracks, so down the hill we went, into the chaparral. The environment was truly beautiful.
We parked ourselves in the front row just in time to see a huge, hundred-car train lumber up the hill.
Time to go, but before we did, we did a little apple picking at the only place open. It was run by an old vet-type dude who lived in a mobile home on the orchard. He sold abandoned library books for a quarter and homemade apple muffins for a dollar. We ran around, picking a bag full of red and golden delicious apples and were happy to give him the $3 for the 3 pounds.
