This week I traveled to Tilden for a hearing to wrap up outstanding issues in a case involving a lignite mine, and get the case finalized so that we can appeal the judgment (i.e., we represent the losing party — it happens).  I’ve never been to this part of Texas, and chances are you haven’t either.

Tilden is in South Texas, approximately 70 miles southeast of San Antonio, and is the county seat of McMullen County.  Tilden’s population is roughly 300, which might not sound like a lot, but is pretty populous when you consider that the population of the entire county is approximately 750 (making it the fifth least populous county in Texas).

Here’s an interesting fact — according to several recent articles, McMullen County is the richest county in the United States.  Its  population’s average adjusted gross income of $303,717 is the highest in the nation.  Imagine that.  This is largely attributable to the fact that it is in the heart of the Eagle Ford Shale, an oil-and-gas-rich shale formation, where production at one point was 1 million barrels of oil per day.  Black gold, Texas tea.

I traveled in style on the Vonlane bus from Houston to San Antonio.  If you hate the hassle of airport travel, I highly recommend this bus service — comfortable coach bus, wifi, free snacks (good ones, not a bag with 6 peanuts in it), Direct TV, and other amenities.  Once I got to San Antonio I rented a car and drove the 72 miles to Tilden.  The drive was pleasant, and spectacular wildflowers were in bloom everywhere, in every color except blue (the bluebonnets faded about a month ago).  I was so enamored with the wildflowers that I, of course, missed my exit — but I did manage to stop and get a picture of a field of purple Texas thistles:

The closer I got to McMullen County, the more apparent it became that this was oil and gas country:

Five pumpjacks all in a row

I <3 pipelines

Flaring gas

In Tilden I met up with the rest of the team at the Texan Inn, where we were all spending the night.  The motel is one of the few places to stay in Tilden, and its guests are mainly oilfield workers.

I was a little puzzled at first by the Boot Wash station:

But then I saw these outside one of the rooms and realized that a boot wash station is indeed necessary:

It must feel so good to take those boots off after a day in the oil patch and kick back with a beer.

Like lodging, there are not a lot of dining options in Tilden.  Our team headed to Max’s Cafe for dinner, which features home-style cooking and “Max-ican” dishes.

I had a combination plate with a crispy beef taco and cheese enchilada:

After dinner, we made a quick stop at Wheelers Mercantile, a popular gas station and food mart, for drinks for our room before settling in for the night.

My boss told us about Chupacabra Rub, a seasoning blend that he’s bought at Wheelers before and really likes, so I picked up a jar for each of us, as well as a bag of Chupacabra Cracklins for my other boss.

The next morning we headed to the McMullen County Courthouse for a full day of testimony and argument:

This courthouse was built in 1930, after the original courthouse burned down in 1929.  It is “in a Classical Revival style with Mission style influences.”

The testimony regarding attorneys’ fees was not exactly riveting, and I think we were all happy to break for lunch.  We all (and I mean all — opposing team, judge, court reporter) headed to Agave Jalisco, which has a number of locations in South Texas:

I had the cheese enchiladas:

After that meal, a siesta was in order.  Unfortunately, we had to return to the courthouse for more scintillating testimony regarding each side’s worst case scenario during the pendency of the eventual appeal.  We wrapped up around 5, and everyone skittled out of the courthouse like a bunch of cockroaches when you turn the light on, hoping to still catch flights and get on the road for the long drive home.

Heading back to San Antonio, Google Maps sent me a different way than I came in.  Driving along the lonely country road I suddenly came upon . . . the lignite mine that I’d been hearing about all day:

That big excavator is called a dragline, and it is a beast.

I didn’t get out of Tilden in time to catch the last bus out of San Antonio to Houston.  This was actually a nice thing for me, because I got to spend the night with my daughter and enjoy dinner at Tre Trattoria at the San Antonio Museum of Art.  We started with a really delicious appetizer of burrata with pickled blueberries and mint:

I was so tired from the long day that I forgot to take pictures of the rest of our meal, but I specifically recall that it was NOT cheese enchiladas.