BBQ Ribs Cookoff in San Juan Bautista

BBQ Ribs Judge

Alrigh,t I know!  Enough of Ralle in the "shades" already.  This is the last one ...promise.  We just could not let it go to waste.

Week end number two in the Old West was, yea, sort of typical old west.  A bunch of BBQ enthusiasts were having a cook off contest in San Juan Bautista, an old mission town, near here.  What that means for us who want to participate is that one could eat oneself silly, or just gnash on a rib or two!

Ralle and his fans.

Various competing teams set up their wagons with, in many cases, very elaborate smokers and grills along the street so you can eat your way from one end to the other or just graze at the wagon of your choice.  BBQ sauces are being sold along with all sorts of other BBQ paraphernalia to make you a BBQ expert in your back yard.  It is a fun and fabulously tasty event let me tell you!

Ralle after a few beers at Mom and Pop's.

Ralle who is a hit no matter where we go was a highlight for a lot of the visitors.  He guarded the saloon  for a while as we found a shady spot there waiting for another "load" of ribs.  Don't anyone tell Ingela that even Ralle had a few tastes...... NO BONE ..... just a bite or two of the good meat. Ralle smiled!

Ralle had some competition in the cute department.

Yes people came in all shapes, sizes and ages, many with dogs at their side.  None as elegant, impressive, or as sweet as our Ralle of course.  There were babies being introduced to their first rib and their first Cook Off and many veteran Rib Eaters as well.

Yum, yum.  Now THAT is a rib judge in the making!

There was music and dancing in the street in this little town.  A Western band of course, anything else would have been so wrong.

We had the pleasure of having Ryan with us for the week end.  The rest of our family was in Minnesota fishing for walleyed pike, checking out Itasca State Park, and the headwaters of the Mississippi River.  Hmm .....  BBQ or   fish fry!  A toss up?