So no sooner had I returned from the Dum Dum, than I was on the road again, this time to the 2022 Robert E. Howard Days. I wasn’t the only one who attended both.

Things didn’t officially kick off until Friday, but I went down on Wednesday for an unofficial excursion on Thursday.

Robert E. Howard was born in Peaster, Texas and spent his first years in Dark Valley. John Bullard put this excursion together. He and I were joined by Jason M. Waltz and James McGlothlin. We were all staying at the Flagship Inn on Lake Brownwood. Will Oliver met us in Peaster. Better traveling companions are hard to find. This is becoming an annual thing for us. I wonder where we’ll go next year. Maybe Lincoln, New Mexico?

R. to L., James McGlothlin, Jason M. Waltz, Will Oliver, John Bullard

There’s not much to see in Peaster. It’s mostly a community spread out along the highway. We took a few photos in front of the sign for the high school and headed on down the road.

Dark Valley wasn’t too far away. We were able to drive up to the mouth of Dark Valley Creek and walk along the bank. We know the Howards lived somewhere along the bank. We didn’t have enough information to make a definite identification of the location. It was easy to see how REH would find the place forboding. There was some speculation among us that perhaps Dark Valley contributed to the creation of Cimmeria. Below are a few shots from Dark Valley.

After leaving Dark Valley, we stopped at Mary’s Cafe in Strawn for chicken fried steak, which came in three sizes. I got a combination plate with a small CFS and enchiladas. The mashed potatoes hadn’t been served yet when I took the picture. The gravy was in a large bowl that everyone ladled from. It hadn’t been brought yet, either.

Some people, who I won’t name, didn’t eat anything later that day after this lunch. Amateurs.

James gets his point across to Jason in a discussion of Howard’s works.

Thursday was the soft opening of the house. In other words, the Howard house and gift shop were open, but there weren’t any docents on duty. I got a couple of shirts at the gift shop. There weren’t any books I didn’t already have. I hung around the pavilion and visited with friends.

Friday dawned bright and hot. The theme this year was gaming. I’m not much of a gamer, so I didn’t hit as many panels as usual. The panels I did attend were interesting. The Foundation Press had a both outside. The second volume of Howard’s collected letters premiered. There were only 25 copies available, and it sold out quickly.

Mark Finn (l.) and Chris Gruber (r.), Fists at the Ice House

The panel I liked best on Friday afternoon was REH in 1932. This year was the 90th anniversary of “Worms of the Earth”, the poem “Cimmeria”, and the first appearance of Conan in “The Phoenix on the Sword”. After the banquet Friday night, Mark Finn and Chris Gruber did the Fists at the Ice House panel. It concerns Howard’s boxing stories and his involvement with the local boxing scene in Cross Plains. This is always one of the most popular things about Howard Days. It’s different every year, depending on who is able to attend. Chris and Mark did their usual excellent job of reading from some of Howard’s boxing stories.

The Saturday panels I attended were Paul Sammon relating some of his experiences working on the Conan the Barbarian movie that morning and the What’s Up with REH? panel that afternoon. The traditional barbecue dinner on the grounds of the Howard House and conversations with friends provided an excellent ending to the day.

A few more photos: