05/07/2007 Texas Waffles, Cat Piss, and a Pigeon

[Name removed] and group picked me up at DFW around 11:15 am. We then drove out to the San Angelo-Big Lake area hoping for some severe multicells or perhaps a supercell. However, early morning convection killed any chance of strong moisture return and cloud cover kept instability to a minimum. We eventually migrated to Midland to grab some dinner, a motel, and await the possibility of some evening thunderstorms and nighttime lightning photo opportunities.

I’ve driven through Midland via I-20 in the past but had no comprehension of how truly awful this town is. Despite having high rise towers full of banks, the town was vacant and every restaurant was empty at 6:30 pm. We ended up crashing in a Sleep Inn that was complete with a concave bed, a hallway that smelled of cat piss, and morning waffles in the shape of Texas.

For dinner, we hit up Taco Villa after the first Mexican restaurant we visited turned out to be downright scary (i.e., a buffet-style restaurant with nobody present). Personally, I thought Taco Villa was horrible, but the rest of the clan “enjoyed” it. While eating our dinner outside, a severe, yet elevated, cell moved across the Midland area – prompting a t-storm warning. Vivid lightning and some minor street flooding made for a bit of fun at the end of the day. However, this killed any chance of a nighttime lightning photo opportunity. We eventually retired to the “cat-piss” motel and got some much needed sleep.

Oh yeah, we also witnessed three Hispanics catch a pigeon. We have no clue what came of the bird. Perhaps it was the “meat” for our Taco Villa combination burrito plate.

We will play the west Texas area again today despite a relatively minor threat for anything worthwhile. We’ll see …

The "weird place."


1.5 sombreros out of 5, IMO.