Heading east again, Steinbeck then cut through the Mojave Desert, where he almost decided to shoot a pair of curious coyotes (but didn't). Reflecting on the resiliency of desert life, he opened a can of dog food for the coyotes instead. He made his way to Texas, where he and his wife Elaine attended what he called a Thanksgiving Day "orgy" at a wealthy cattle ranch near Amarillo. Steinbeck, whose third wife Elaine was a Texan, talked at length about the Lone Star State and its citizens and culture. He felt that "people either passionately love or passionately hate Texas," which he described as a "mystique closely approximating a religion," but he loved and respected Texas.