Frontier days and Camping and the Ever-Open Cafe and the New Belgium Brewery

If you don't know about New Belgium you may have the same dilemma as us, they just don't sell it in your state.  Having had several trips and family living out west, I have had the pleasure of having New Belgium beer, namely Fat Tire.  But alas, Fat Tire is not sold in Virginia just yet.
I'll explain the brewery in a second, but first I want to talk about Cheyenne's Frontier Days, which we did not go to, not intend to.  However, apparently that means that just about every camping site within a hundred miles is booked up for the entire week.  Luckily, we were able to find a spot in the Poudre Canyon area just north of Fort Collins.  It was a KOA campsite, which I'm usually not big on, but this one was quite nice.
The next morning on our way to the brewery we stopped at the quintessential diner, Ever-Open Cafe.  They have been open over sixty years in the same spot, and they are quite good.  Within a few minutes you feel like just another one of the regulars with a good helping of eggs, hash-browns, sausage and toast, which they slice and butter for you.  Definitely worth the breakfast stop.
From there we went to the Brewery, unfortunately we didn't have reservations for the tour which apparently books up about a month in advance, but the staff were all really nice, and gave us several chips to sit and taste all their different creations.  The story behind the brewery is pretty interesting, the founder, Jeff Lebesch, who did a lot of home basement brewing took a trip to Europe in the late eighties.  While there he went to this small pub in Belgium, which was supposed to be closed that day, but due to the holiday it was actually open.   Lebesch was the only one in the pub other than the owner, who happened to be a Belgium beer master brewer.  After a long afternoon, Lebesch had been given a small symposium on the different ways and means to brew beer.  When he reutrned to Fort Collins he and his wife took out a second mortgage and began brewing New Belgium beer, starting with Fat Tire, named after the fact that Lebesch had been biking through Europe on a mountain bike that the locals referred to as a Fat Tire.  Now New Belgium brewery, has about twenty different beers, and is the second largest craft brewery in the US.
Due to the lack of a reservation, they put us on a wait list, but that didn't matter because one of the employees decided to take us a few other, wait-tees, on an abridged tour, where we got to see the distillery, learn about the history, and again try some incredible beer.  Oh, and because he did the tour on the fly, it was free.  The employees were all really nice, we ended up getting a few bottles, t-shirts and then they through in a poster, bottle openers and bumper stickers.  I think one of the reasons everyone there was so accommodating is that after a year of working there, each employee is given partial ownership of the company.  So when they talk to about the brewery there talking about their own company, and thus a sense of pride and concern for the quality of the whole place is really emphasized.  As Joe said in a previous comment, there really isn't much in Fort Collins, but the New Belgium Brewery is a must-see.  Almost home now, but I have several things to say about the Largest Ball of Twine, and the long roads of Kansas.  See you on down the road...

Sooo as Ian has said we've been without internet most of this week...so we've missed posting quite a bit. Tonight is our last night! It's been fun but I think we're ready to get home...esp Ian since he has only spent 2 nights in our new home.

We had a great time in AZ at my cousin's wedding. We're so happy for them :) It was also great to see everyone else in my family. The condo we stayed in had a great pool so we were able to have a BBQ with most of my family. I only get to see them about once a year so I had a great time. And so did Ian :)

After AZ we headed to Vegas with my brother and his girlfriend. I had been to Vegas only once before but I was only 18...this experience was quite different than the last. Ian played black jack and I played the slots. At the end of the night Ian was on fire! It seemed every slot machine he sat at he won money. He was so close to winning $25,000. I came out of the bathroom in the New York casino to see my brother with his arms in the air and Ian's eyes wide...but unfortunately the last number on the third bar didn't match up. It was pretty exciting. He did win $50. We broke even so I guess that means we did win :) It's amazing how fast you lose track of time there.

After Vegas we made our way to Colorado. We went on a ghost tour at the Stanley Hotel, the hotel which inspired Stephen King's "Shinning." I swore I felt a ghost...I did!! It was fun to hear the ghost stories and the employees' encounters of their resident ghosts. The history of the hotel was pretty neat too. Not only was that the hotel which inspire Stephen King...Dumb and Dumber was filmed there. Supposedly Jim Carey was so freaked out by the hotel he refused to stay in it. Something happened in his room and to this day he will not talk about it...ohhhh spooky! I bought into all of it...I'm not sure if Ian did. But fun times anyway.

Come on Home to Green River and the Arches of Moab

We didn’t foresee the size of Utah, it’s quite large.  But the landscape is amazing.  Big sky, mesas, and mountains.  So when we started to look for a campground we were in the area of Utah where just about every exit is for a Ranch Road.  Finally around 7:00pm we came upon Green River, a quiet town about fifty miles from Colorado.  We stayed at a Super 8 and had dinner at Ben’s Café, which is actually a really good Mexican restaurant.  Though at this point we’re both a little tired of Mexican food.  Anyway, we both got a really decent meal for a total of $11.  So if you’re in that neck of the woods try it out.

On Thursday, we set off for Colorado, but on the way we drove into Moab, home of red sand stone, and these incredible arches.  Apparently, about three million years ago, the ocean came in and got trapped in the valley there.  The water evaporated and left these giant salt beds.  The stone arches formed over these salt beds, and then the salt collapsed into the ground. It was amazing, and you can basically hike up to all of the different landmarks.  Definitely worth the detour, and the town seemed pretty laid back.

Well today, Friday, we’re headed to the hotel where Stephen King got the idea for the Shinning, and the New Belgium brewery home of Fat Tire.  Internet may be a bit spotty again but we’ll check in further on down the trail.

Munds Park

We spent Monday and Tuesday at Wendy’s family cabin in Munds Park, Az.  It was incredible.  We took ATVs out on the mountain roads surrounding, which apparently is called Quading.  I had never heard the term before, but it’s apparently universal, and I had never been on a four wheeler before, which was awesome.  I enjoyed the driving part but it was more fun to ride behind Wendy driving.  The scenery was incredible.  At one point we went across this large filed and came upon remnants of an old house near an abandoned train track.  The chimney was still standing, and the remains of the rock walls laid in ruin.  We also got to see a real cowboy, who might have been a little annoyed with us as we stopped and watched him with his cows, which were not the biggest fans of the rumbling four-wheeler engines.

On Tuesday, we went into Flagstaff and grabbed a quick bite at El Capitan.  The food was good, and they had a salsa bar which was quite extensive.  I also thought it was ingenious that the waitress didn’t have to keep refilling the salsa bowls, instead we got to.  Yay!  Seriously though, the place served great food if you’re into Mexican.

events out of order

Wendy has been planning the rest of our trip and she didn't have time to put up her posts on Phoenix and Las Vegas.  So I'll go ahead and post the other places we've been, and she's going to put the others up later.

Fun times in Prescott and a weekend of sickness

So when we made it to Arizona, we stayed with Wendy's Grandparents in Dewey.  For dinner we went with her family to Prescott just a few miles away.   The whole seen was amazing, Prescott is the epitome of an American town.   Apparently, almost every night in Prescott during the summer they have a  live music in the town center.  On Thursday night, when we were there, they had a small pops orchestra. They played in a small park right in front of the town hall, and seemingly the entire came out to watch. 
I was especially taken by how pleasant every one was.  When asking Wendy's Grandpa-Bowe what type of band would be playing as we walked up, a teenage kid with shaggy black hair, black nail polish, checkerboard Vans, and a Monroe piercing, immediately responded, "It's a pops orchestra man."  I said, "Thank-ya," and in astonishment moved on.  Then as we sat on the steps of the town hall listening to the band, I again asked Wendy's Grandpa-Bowe if there were any bars with outside patios, and a guy behind me with slick backed hair, Oakley shades, a tight black t-shirt, chinos, and I don't know lets say black polished Floorsheims answered, "You guys should try Coyote Joe's, it's great and the usually have live music inside."  Now, we didn't go, but I'm not the biggest fan of people, I like them on a personal level, but I guess have reservations about the concept, and I was blown away by the kind manner of everyone as we walked around.  My instinct is to bristle up a bit when someone a) ease drops on my conversation--though I do this everywhere and to everyone within earshot--and b)someone interjecting into my conversation--again, I drop my cents at will.  But, I was taken aback by how the people of Prescott were kindly intrusive.
After the we watched the orchestra for a little while, which was quite good, they mainly played American standards, Grandpa-Bowe took us all to an old Sallon called the Bird Cage which has been around since 1967.  It had a yellow exterior, and I was expecting Robin Williams or Nathan Lane to greet us in drag, instead we walked through the typical swinging wooden doors to a nice long mahogany bar.  The walls are decorated with a large collection of deer and elk head, and apparently they have loaned a large amount of these mounted beasts to the Smithsonian.  I believe they had about ten beers on tap, I ordered a red nectar, which was nice after a hot day.
From there we did go to a nice Italian restaurant, I don't want to mention the name because of the after effects.  I woke up the next morning around five with terrible pains throughout my alimentary canal, got a little food poisoning from the Chicken Florentine that lasted well into Sunday, but I did enjoy the meal, and for now I'll leave it at that. 

Connected Again

So it's been some time, buy we're back on the grid, momentarily at least.  So what follows are the posts we missed due to lack of WiFi.

day 4

This morning we left Andrew's and Sam's place and we had an amazing time with them last night. (Yes Liz you are right...he's a bit lame but we gave him a pass bc his wife is so sweet and the dogs were so much fun) It was a nice break from driving. I fell in love with one of their foster dogs...which I might come back for. :) I think I still might have to convince Ian we absolutely need a second dog...

The drive today was beautiful. We finished up our drive in OK and through Texas. The pictures we posted are of a storm we drove through. We do not get storms like that in VA. The lightning was amazing. I wish we were fast enough to catch a picture of the lightning.

We're camping out now in Albuquerque (yes the campground does have WiFi...) and I'm in heaven without all the humidity. We'll finally be in AZ tomorrow afternoon. I cannot wait to see all my family :) I miss them!

The last picture you see is our nephew, Gustavo. He is the cutest baby ever. Gustavo and my sister in law, Meghan, are staying at our house while we are away. From the looks of it, him and his ducks having a great time in our bathtub. I just stuck that in there bc that picture made my day :) (Just kidding Andrew, we had a great time with you too).

P.S. Ian almost made me become a vegetarian today. We passed a truckload of cows and I said "Oh look at all the cows, so cute," to which he responded, "Yea, they're on their way to the slaughter house." And then they lingered with us for several miles as the truck moved before us, beside us, behind us, and then back beside us again.

Picher and Rest

Don't have much time, but yesterday was kind of intense.  Wendy and I drove through Picher, Ok.  I want to say more but I suggest you look it up.  The town disbanded over a year ago due to pollution, and what's left is a vacant ghost town and pretty intense.  Here are some photos I took on the cell phone, sorry for the quality:

Afterward we met up with my friend Andrew and his wife Sam at their home in Tulsa. They were awesome hosts, Andrew cooked some chicken and vegetables from his garden, and we got to play with their dogs. So it was a lot fun and very different than the morning we spent in Picher. Again see you further on down the road, long days and pleasant nights,
-Ian

DAY 2

It was another long day. We drove about 10 hours today ending at Springfield, Missouri. We're at a little hotel that we found in a coupon book at a rest stop. Ian really wanted to camp but as we were pulling off the interstate to look for a campsite in Mark Twain national park it started to pour. He tried to convince me that it was "passing through," but when the lightning hit in the direction we were going he changed his mind.

The people here in Springfield are...interesting? We just went to Wal-Mart and no one walked. Everyone was in those shopping scooters. Ian said it reminded him of Wall-E.

We drove on I-41 and it was quite entertaining. We saw about 20 different adult pleasure stores, a dozen "Jesus loves you/you're going to hell if you don't repent" signs and lots of corn. Oh and a vacuum museum.

Im really looking forward to our next few days coming up. Tomorrow we head to Tulsa to visit Ian's buddy from school. We're taking it easy tomorrow...we only have a 3 hour ride. Yey!

Day One: The Long Haul

Well we tried to make it to Indiana from Massachusetts, and after 12 1/2 hours we are now in a lovely roadside motel amongst the bright lights of Mansfield, Ohio.  The town boasts a lovely restaurant--at least in the outdoor decorum--called Salsalita, my guess is that it's offers a wide selection of quesadillas, tacos, burritos, salsas, and perhaps a side of guac.  Other than our motel, there are three others, each with a two hundred foot tall sign, flashing free breakfast and vacancies, sadly no HBO.  I was surprised and a little impressed with the free wifi, which is incredibly fast.  Other than two gas stations, the only other attraction to this small town is a large white rectangular building with no windows and a purple flashing sign that says "Adults."  Fascinating, but I think Wendy and I will pass.  
Many long stretches of highway today through Pennsylvania and Ohio.  Both have a lot of road construction, so kudos to those states for keeping alive in this economic down turn.  However, I'm not sure who is doing better.  Pennsylvania had miles and miles with lanes cordoned off for work to be done with no workers what-so-ever.  Ohio on the other hand had long stretches of one lane road with crews working well into the night, perhaps working overtime.  Only time will tell I suppose.
This of course is the slow part of the journey as we try to reach our deadline for the wedding in Arizona this weekend.  Then we can meander around.  We are trying to make it to Tulsa tomorrow to see our friend Andrew and his wife, but we didn't make it as far as I had hoped to day, so we might have to break up the journey with a quick camping expedition in Missouri, any ideas?  And Andrew if you're reading this before I talk to you, call me.  In other news I'm working on a thesis for regional fm radio and what a traveler can expect of the people there, for instance Massachusetts runs a lot of 90s grundge stations, and the people seem a bit up tight and a little moody--lots of middle fingers, lots of horn honking--like I said a work in progress.  My apologies to the people of greater Mass, for now happy trails and see you along the way.  

Rock Run

This is a small bedrock stream in Pennsylvania, maybe 15 miles north of Williamsport. A few years back I began to wonder if there might not be other similar streams. I asked some hikers who said, "Some place like this?"  They laughed. "Good luck finding it."

If you do go, plan on hiking up from the first falls all the way through to the third. Wear sandals and stay in the stream bed.

It's called Rock Run and it's near Ralston, Pennsylvania...

So many ideas...

We are so excited for you all! Traveling cross country is an amazing experience!! My first quick thoughts below. Everything is amazing but my answers are based on three months in the car, so I was more excited about getting out of the car and moving hiking walking and on seeing things that were really unique. There are a million random things that we saw that we just happened upon (like the weird weiner mobile in New Mexico) or the Dinosaur Zoo I think also in New Mexico. My suggestion is make a plan but be prepared to ditch it if something looks really interesting or fun!

First and foremost my hands down favorite National Parks in America:
1. Zion National Park in Utah: Angel´s Landing is perhaps the best hiking trail in America.
2. Bad Lands South Dakota. So strange, so surreal, so poetic.
3. Yellowstone: you jsut cant beat it for variety wildlife and majesty. It makes you understand why the American West is still the stuff of dreams
4. Glacier National Park, MT

Random things that you can´t miss because they are so unique:
1. Corn Palace, South Dakota. Weird. Sort of amazing in the ingenuity of corn. Not much else to see but then again you will have jsut driven across th ewhole state of South Dakota so it´s worth it.
2. Also in South Dakota Wall Drugs. Old time pioneer drug store. Also in the middle of South Dakota, so you will be happy to stop.
3. Roadside Giants in North Dakota ... it´s flat it gets cold they get creative. Of note Worlds largest Cow (near New Salem) and Turtle (near Dunseith)
4. Salt flats in Nevada
5. Bryce National Park in Utah: The towers of rock make you wonder what the native Americans and first pioneers must have thought when they found them
6. This could alternately go under the not as cool as you might think heading depending on your interest, but, the Mormon Temple in Salt Lake City. Take the tour. Fascintating (my review), Weird and creepy (Rafaels review).
7. Garden of Eden Kansas: Folk Art. Very cool. American Gothic.
8. Roswell NM UFO Museumç
9. San Dunes National Monument, CO. Dunes in the middle of the forest.
10. Natural Bridge, VA
11. Grand Canyon: Hike down to the CO river. Amazing.
12. Bear Tooth Highway MT if it is open it is a MUST. Amazing views.
13.Goblin Valley State Park, UT (in keeping with the MadMardigan theme)
14. Tinkertown Museum, NM ... maybe under classic American ... tinker toys!

Classic American:
1. Highway 1 in California. Amazing views. You can camp out.
2. August 9th to 15th Sturgis SD: Bike Rally. I think the largest in the world. There are no words. Google it...
3. The Field of Dreams Dyersville Iowa also has a museum of farm toys
4. Sedalia, MO: Home? of ragtime music. They have a lot of it anyway.
5. Las Vegas. A see it one time kind of thing.
6. Sequoia National Park

Cities:
1. Savannah
2. Charleston, SC
3. St Agustine, FL
4. Canon city, CO (home to many prisons but amazing amazing scenery especially their Skyline Drive)
5. New Orleans
6. Bar Harbor Maine
7. Chicago

Not as impressive as you might think:
1. Mt Rushmore. You walk up see the carvings. Thats pretty much it.
2. Niagra Falls: Very pretty but again you see it and that´s pretyt much it
3. Hoover Dam
4. Capital Reef National Park, UT

Suggestions

Sorry to have taken so long! I hope you're enjoying your trip thus far. Here are a few suggestions. If you decide you want to come through Oklahoma, I can suggest other things too. This was just what immediately came to mind-

Oklahoma:
Roman Nose State Park - you can rent a teepee for only 27.50 a night! The park is beautiful, as well. Just outside of Watonga, Oklahoma.

If you're around Roman Nose you can then head over to the Glass Mountains and Gloss Mountains State Park - a bunch of orange mesas good for hiking. You could camp, or there is a nice winery and inn nearby, Indian Creek Village Winery and Inn. Between Cleo Springs and Ringwood.

Oklahoma City - you are welcome to crash on my pullout couch for a night. There's plenty to do, great bars and food, festivals, art, music, etc. I work during the days but can whip up a map of things for you to do.

The longest portion of Route 66 goes straight through Oklahoma. I've heard it's a really neat road trip to take. Plus, you can stop at POPS 66 in Arcadia which has, bar none, the best ice cream floats and chicken strips you will ever have. http://www.pops66.com/

Tulsa is lovely. Andrew is there. He and his wife had coffee w/ me when I came through town about amonth ago. They have a nice aquarium, great art museum, lovely shopping, OK food (I love OKC more than Tulsa, and there has always been a rivalry between the two).

Also neat, near OKC - the Toy and Action Figure Museum in Pauls Valley. http://www.actionfiguremuseum.com/

Missouri:
Hermann - just off of I-70, a really cute little town with an excellent winery (Hermanhoff Vineyards). I visited Germany my junior year of college and went to vineyards on the Mosel river - this winery in Hermann is also on a river, is German in origin, and was the first winery I'd been to in the midwest that seemed authentic. There is a nice bed and breakfast in the town and a fun bar, but it is small. You can also camp in the town - which I did when I went.

Fulton - The Winston Churchill Memorial Museum. If you are a history buff, this museum is awesome. I went to undergrad here, at Westminster College, which is where ol' Winston gave his Iron Curtain Speech. But, many people really aren't into that sort of thing.

St. Louis - TOUR BUDWEISER! Go to a Cards game! Two things I've never done and would be oh-so-jealous if you did. There is also a lot more to do in STL which I can readily suggest, just let me know if you're considering going.

There is still somewhere to go in America

First, the idea behind this is simple.  My wife and I have now been married almost a year.  Given some summer activities, two weddings--one in Boston, one in Phoenix--and the fact that I will actually be leaving on our anniversary to go to school in Vermont, for the month of July we have decided to make a road trip from Boston to Phoenix and back to our home town of Richmond, Va.  The dates that we are required to be somewhere are July 9-10 in Boston, and July 15-18 in Phoenix, the in between and the exact date to return to Richmond is up to us, money and gas willing.  We wish to try and go to those remote, hardly known, worthwhile, must-see, but seldom seen, little places scattered across the country.

The title and idea is that in a world where we are constantly in connection, facebooked, google ready, footprinted, picasa'ed, tweeted and twits, the Road Trip across country has lost it's quiche, it's je ne sais quoi.  We can google places to go in Boston, New York, D.C., Miami, Dallas, Phoenix, L.A. ad nasueum.  Hell, we can even take virtual tours of these places.  We can even tour parts of our fair city Richmond, Va, but as always the real tried and true places are seldom found on the web.  You have to live there, you have to be there, you have to experience it for yourself.  So, in the weeks to come we wish to open this up to the rest of you.  Our travel plan is simple, the car will be packed with a tent, some camping gear, the computer, and a gps, we have some ideas, but where is that somewhere that you would go, or have been?  Is there a diner in Tennessee that makes the perfect eggs and grits?  What's the most breath taking spot to camp on the Colorado river? Is the biggest ball of twine worth seeing?  What about the largest skillet?  What Indian, er, Native American Casino just can't be passed up?  What would you do?  Where would you go?