If you know me well, you know I'm not as much a "morning person."  It just takes me a couple hours and then I'm good to go - I'll join you for a 10K run or even an outing for Karaoke.  Knowing this about myself, I had to mentally prepare for the Del Rio Wild Game Dinner preparation that would begin at 6:30am. SIX-THIRTY ANTE MERIDIEM...is early.

As Chris and I were driving up to the Del Rio Civic Center, next door to the Del Rio Chamber of Commerce, I couldn't help but wonder if the foggy, wet, dark, and rainy weather would somehow hinder the entire grilling, smoking, and cooking process that was going to take place outdoors that day. Obviously I'm a novice and some of these volunteers have up to 18 years of experience under their belts. I shouldn't doubt the capabilities of these professionals. But I'll have you know that everyone told us that this was the first year it had ever rained on them...we got lucky!

When we walked up at 6:30am with cameras and smiles (and our coffee), we had 3 or 4 gentleman greet us with a "Well, good mornin! Come on over here - let's talk" type attitude.  Uh oh...Hi...I'm Diana and I'm not usually not a  talker in the morning...BUT for some reason, I'm all smiles and I can't wait to hang out and chat with them about what meat they are rubbing down with seasonings, where it came from, and why the heck they have to be out here so early. I'm now intrigued and have much respect for all of them.

I speak for Chris and myself when I tell y'all that we had the best time talking with these folks. It was clear that all of these people were here because of their love for this community. Every time we interviewed someone, they would say something along the lines of, "You should go talk to those guys over there at that tent. They are the real professionals and they have been cooking the exotics the past several years."

It was neat to hear them talk about how much this dinner grows every year. This year there were 100 guns raffled off, which were all displayed beautifully on a large stage. There were also a few displays set up at the back of one of the rooms with different products such as home decor and an ATV for people to gawk at while they were in the long line for the buffet, including about 10 or 15 different types of game.  To be honest, one of our favorite things was the venison chili. It was perfect ending to our cold day on the lake.

Thank you so much to Dan Kozak and Nick Erwin for inviting us out to this dinner. Dan works for the Lake Amistad National Park Service and was the one who suggested that we go out on the lake.  He would have taken us out himself, but he was tied up volunteering all day for the dinner. We were able to meet John and Sonia Sontag, co-chairs for the dinner, and they were extremely friendly and hospitable...just like every single person we met while we were there.

I would especially like to thank every single one of the volunteers who were out there before sunrise in order to make this entire evening possible for everyone who enjoyed the dinner and events. We want to give shout-outs to some of the gentleman in the kitchen who were cooking and grilling all day as well. Robert Tracy, Bill Woods, Miguel Zunigua, Randy, Todd.  Thank you to all the guys from UCO who were grilling the exotics as well.

We had a great time and look forward to seeing you all out there next year!!

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