I was in Tucson for business and decided I'd take a few days off and see a little of the country atmosphere. I left the hotel at 8:00 AM and headed out for Twin Falls, Idaho. The route I took was a long shot up the interior of the state of Nevada on Highway 93. A lot of desert and very few towns. At this time, the desert was beautiful with some cactus blooming and little bright colored flowers that seem to be an edge to the road surface with their bright red and orange petals.

I made a couple of rest stops along the way, whenever there was a little town, having lunch or just a cup of coffee. Since I was driving alone, I decided that I should take it slow and really enjoy the desert flora and fauna. Jackrabbits, roadrunners and even a few snakes crossing the lonely road. It is evidently not a well traveled highway because I only saw about 30 or 40 cars in the entire time I had been on the highway.

I had been driving about 11 hours and was getting a little tired and hungry and decided I'd pull into the next town to find something to eat and maybe a hotel or motel I could stay the night. As I drove along, the evening was setting in and it was really getting dark. I saw a light up ahead and as I got closer, I could see signs along the roadway saying, "Mabel's Cafe Just Up The Road" or "Just Good Eats At Mabel’s Cafe" or "Stop At Mabel’s Cafe For Homemade Pie." As I neared the little roadside cafe, there were a couple of cars parked in front and I could see there were only a couple of people eating. I opened the door and was immediately greeted by a little grandmother type, gray haired lady. She seated me at a table and handed me a menu. The selections were limited to hamburgers, tacos and fish and chips. However, in big hand printed letters, a piece of paper clipped to the top of the menu read, "Mabel’s Hearty Stew"...

The little hostess brought me some water and asked if I was ready to order. I said, "You must be Mabel."

She replied, "Yup, that's me."

I told her I'd like to try her stew and she smiled and said it was the best stew around. I asked if she served beer and she said she served beer and wine. So, I ordered a beer and she went off into the kitchen. I looked around and saw a couple sitting at a table, having her stew and a family of 4 at another table, all having her stew. I caught the eye of the gentleman with his wife and asked how the stew was. He said, "You'll never get any better than this anywhere."

Mabel returned with the beer and a basket of homemade bread. I asked her if there was a hotel or motel up the road. She said the only motel they had, closed down 2 months ago because the couple that ran it, retired and moved to Reno. Then she added, that there was a ranch a couple of miles up the road that has a Bed and Breakfast. They might have a room I could rent for the night. I was totally exhausted from the 11 hours I had spent on the road and really needed to lay my head down on a pillow and stretch out. I