Overheard in a conversation with his friends in San Antonio, Robert Haley of Floresville, Texas, "Next year you should bring your family to Llano, they have things for the kids, vendors along the river, a chuck wagon cook-off and a gunfight, y'all would have a blast. We are fixin' to go into their old theater to watch a John Wayne movie and John Wayne is introducing it himself".

Crossing the Llano River Bridge on Friday and Saturday may have had some scratching their heads, with smoke coming from the chuck wagons lined up in Badu Park that were here for "The Best Chuck Wagon Cook-off in the West" according to True West Magazine, some may have thought they had been transported back in time to 1880. On the other side of the bridge at Grenwelge Park, it looked much the same on the banks of the river, camping from another era, plus Llano's version of "Boot Hill". On the northeast side of the river at the Llano County Historical Museum was the much anticipated opening of Western Trappings on the Llano, one of the largest art shows of its kind featuring artists from all over the United States and from abroad.

The chuck wagon cook-off, celebrating its tenth year got started Friday, for the third year in a row with kids from Llano Christian Academy, Llano Elementary and Packsaddle Elementary schools. Host wagon, Crossroads from Midland, Texas offered the most entertaining event, according to the students. Biscuit making, where they learned to mix flour, provided by Pioneer Flour out of San Antonio, into biscuits, cutting them and then seeing how they were cooked in a pot on the ground. After doing the labor of cooking, the wide eyed students were treated to storyteller, David Strickland and his story of the "Lantern on the Wagon". Strickland asked his friend Red Steagall if he could "use the song as a Christian story for the kids?" Steagall said yes and the story has become a true favorite of the children that come to the cook-off.

The Friday event is just the beginning of a contest that is taken as seriously as any athlete takes before the "Big" game, from competing for best wagon to all around winner, these cooks and wagon masters put everything they have into being the best. Authenticity judging begins on Friday afternoon with the judges talking with participants on what they did right and what could be improved on, a very positive conversation between the two. This year's wagon judges were Bob and Nancy Sparks who helped start the first cook-off in 2004. Then came Saturday, the cooks started early, as in way before sunrise, as they prepared the beans, chicken fried steak, biscuits and desserts. They take pride in what they do but also take time to talk to the people visiting the wagons. The beans are put on the fire early, the desserts are started with tender loving care, then come the biscuits which may be the hardest to do, a perfect amount of coal and lots of love to make sure they don't burn. The chicken fried stake is breaded and cooked to golden brown, as one cook said "watch for the blood to come to the top, wait a few seconds and then turn them, they come out just right."

After the cooking is finished each wagon takes a sample to the judges, fifteen of the luckiest people in Llano. Then it is meal time, lines of thirty or more at each of the wagons, waiting for the dinner bell to ring. There is also another line, those that didn't call early enough to get tickets, some praying there will be meals brought to the information table after everyone has been served, this year there was and most got a meal, nearly 450 meals served all together. An hour after the meals are served, the crowd has dispersed to other activities across the river or to the Western Trappings Auction, the wagons start tearing down and are ready for the awards ceremony. This year's best wagon and overall winner went to the 3-L Ranch out of Victoria, Texas. Category winners were Beans: Lazy S from Llano, Texas, Bread:3-L, Dessert: M Bar S from Burton, Texas and the best Meat: RTS from Lampasas, Texas.

Sunday morning the group held a Cowboy Church and breakfast that consisted of biscuits, sausage and gravy. At the breakfast Strickland made a comment about the cook-off being awarded the best of the west, "It is the best cook-off we go to anywhere, and the location on the river is the best also."

Across the bridge on the other side of the river, the original location for the chuck wagon cook-off, at Grenwelge Park Heritage Day got under way. Booths opened at 10:00am and the crowd soon poured in, the new location had some a little confused but the majority said it was better. With access to the river more activities were made available, gold panning was done with the help of Llano's Enchanted Rocks and Jewelry, owner Frank Rowell also had another part in the event as an outlaw in the gun fight. This portion of the Llano River is also going to be home to the Llano Texas Enchanted Rock Stacking Festival in March so naturally there was a rock stacking contest, Gregory Klein showed newbies how to stack with an artistic point of view as well as told folks about the ecological issues of the river. On down the path were primitive campers showing flint knapping and arrowhead making, plus an added attraction was Llano's Boot Hill, a cemetery that would not only work this event but would make a pretty neat Halloween decoration.

At 10:30am on Saturday morning notorious outlaw Johnny Ringo made a daring escape from the Red Top Jail that took him running from the sheriff, through the vendors and down to the river with guns a blazing. After a few hours on the lam, Ringo, who was played by Llano High School Drama student Dorian Green, was captured and taken back to the Red Top Jail. A rowdy group of citizens decided instead of having a trial that they would just have a hanging right there at the jail, but since this isn't Fredericksburg, Burnet or Mason they decided to let the law take care of them and let justice prevail. The Legends of Texas group from Ft. Worth provided a couple of shootouts on the jail grounds that entertained the crowd with wit, quick draws and a sheriff that had a really strong resemblance to John Wayne. After the gunfight the actors posed with those in the audience for photo opportunities that made everyone smile.

There was live music on stage throughout the festival with local entertainment such as Llano's McKenzie Jones and Les Hartman. The position of the stage with the Llano River Roy Inks Bridge in the background made a beautiful backdrop for photos. Moving the festival to the river made for a picturesque venue in any direction, looking to the southwest was the Llano Courthouse, standing proudly for all to see, looking to the northwest under the bridge was the chuck wagon cook-off, all within walking distance via the bridge that ties Llano together.

The fun didn't end with the action along the river, at 4:30 the Lantex Theater became home to the John Wayne, 1948 classic, "Red River" that was introduced by none other than John Wayne himself. His talk gave a detailed history of his life as an actor and how he came to be a part of what has been called "one of the best westerns ever made", "Red River", obviously the prequel to "Lonesome Dove". The movie was free and well attended, even the folks selling popcorn and coke were dressed the part and the Lantex has never looked better. Llano Main Street manager, Terry "Tex" Toler and the Main Street volunteers have made a great impact in bringing the theater back to it's glory days. They have spent countless hours painting, pulling up old carpet, restoring the lighting and concession area. This Saturday they will host the Lantex Jamboree, featuring local country music artists Cadillac Gypsies, McKenzie Jones, Les Harman, Allan Ray Reed, Garret, Joel and Kevin Ratliff and of course, the lovely Bucille Snotgrass. Tickets are $20.00 each and can be purchased at the Llano Visitor Center and City Hall. Proceeds will go to replacing the seats in the Lantex.

Heritage Day ended on Saturday evening with a street dance on East Main Street featuring 2002 Grammy Award Winner Bobby Flores and the Yellow Rose Band. The western swing band with twin fiddlers, RJ Smith and Hank Singer had the street full with folks that love to dance, a great way to end Heritage Day 2014.