On the outskirts of George W. Bush's hometown, Ace got a lesson in a couple of Texas traditions.

He met his first tumbleweed -- and didn't care much for it at all, especially when the wind made it come to life and inch along the pavement.

Ace jumped back and decided to have nothing more to do with it.

He also had his first taste of Texas barbecue, entirely different from the North Carolina barbecue with which he is already familar.

Here at KD's -- a huge cinder block warehouse with wonderful smells wafting out -- I saved a couple of bites of meat from my sandwich for Ace.

He wolfed them down, then licked the empty Styrofoam box for another ten minutes.

This was in Odessa, just down the road from Midland, whose welcome signs tout the city as George W. Bush's hometown.

It's not the most scenic part of Texas, mostly oil wells and -- new since the last time I passed through -- windmills.

We got as far as Abilene today, and opted for another La Quinta Inn (Spanish for "We allow dogs and don't charge you extra for them.") It's also Spanish for "free wireless internet," and lots of other things, according to their ad campaign.

There's still a long way to go -- and a lot of Texas to go -- but Ace is holding up well, and I've cleared a big enough hole in the luggage pile that there's no longer a wall between us, and I can see him when he sits up.

Mostly, though, he's sleeping.

Driving through Texas does that to you.