A replica of the Judge Roy Bean Court House in Pecos, Texas (August 7, 2021) — Image by kenne
The tales of Judge Roy Bean are legendary; he is known as the “Law West of the Pecos.” He established his
courthouse about 1882 in Langtry, Texas, just south of Pecos, but since he was a circuit judge he held court
periodically in Pecos where he would back up his wagon and team of mules and set up court at the present day
location of the Sheriff’s Department.
Over the years, we have recorded many miles traveling I-10 east and west, but for our east coast road trip,
we left I-10 before Ft. Stockton taking I-20 to Pecos on our way to the Dallas/Ft. Worth.
After checking in at the Hampton Inn, we decided to go to dinner at The All American Inn,
which just happen to be located across the street from the historical Judge Roy Bean building.
As Joy and I often do we shared our dinner, this night a spicy southwestern hamburger and order of fries.
However, the burger was not cut in half when served, so we asked for a knife. Our server, a young Vietnam girl
(maybe 12 years old), said it was not cut because they didn’t have any knives, none in the place; but she could
bring us a plastic fork. Have you ever tried to half a hamburger with a plastic fork — it’s not easy.
A Vietnamese family owns the restaurant, and on this Saturday evening, the father, daughter, and very young boys were there.
The burger had plenty of spicy souce and jalapeño. Other than being extremely hot, it was very tasty.
The youngest boy was fighting to stay awake while watching a movie.
All in all, the day was a good start to our rode trip. — kenne and joy
