White Rob | Red State

I’m just now coming out of the food coma induced by Friday night’s BBQ dinner at The Salt Lick. A socially go-getting classmate organized a party bus that transported us to and from The Salt Lick 45 minutes away from central Austin. Since the bus originated 10 blocks from my house and allowed us to consume beverages to and fro, Tania and I gladly signed up for $10 a piece. The BBQ was all you can eat and, of course, the school provided plenty of beer and wine. (I like these guys. They’re alright.) The BBQ sauce was amazing, inducing me to consume ribs, sausage, and brisket to the point of physical discomfort. (Oh, man. Eating to the point of discomfort. Does that ever take me back to childhood!) Anyway, I poo’d for two days.

But Rob, what’s up with the politically questionable title of this post? Do these Mexicans not have a home? (And, damn! Why so many?) Actually, their permanent residence is in Mexico. They come up to Austin each summer and spend their days sleeping under the Congress Avenue Bridge. They usually wake up a little before dusk and spend the night eating mosquitoes.

Oh, shit. Have I mentioned they’re bats? I should do that. Yeah, they’re Mexican Free-Tailed Bats. At 1.5 million strong, they form the largest urban bat population in North America. Because of their fondness for eating mosquitoes, Tania, a.k.a. “Mosquito Bait”, thinks they’re awesome. Even if they cause the bridge to smell like rat excrement.

Here are some pics of the bats flying from their bat cave, err... bridge, at dusk.

Labels: austin, bars, bbq, pics