March 29, 2009

Roadtrip day 19

Have done the drive on 93 several times, love heading up through the Great Basin, huge open areas, no towns or houses to speak of. Looking forward to the drive again, light driving day, heading to Ely for the night. Got to Ely, a 2 block area entering town was having a big snow flurry, the rest of the town, sunny. Made for a dramatic entrance to the town… Got a great room at the Nevada Hotel, large, comfortable.

March 28, 2009

Roadtrip day 18

Packed up early from Kanab, looking through the places to visit, decided to go to Zion, another park I’d never been to. Met the CIO of Osprey packs when having Sushi in Durango, and he’d suggested checking it out as a great 1/2 day trip (or 5 day trip, depending on if you hike in and enjoy the other parts of the park). Great visit, and got their early enough to get in a couple hikes before it got crowded in the afternoon.

March 27, 2009

Roadtrip day 17

Heading east from Durango today, drove by Mesa Verde, and decided it’d be a great time to visit! Ended up being perfect weather, and again, very small crowds. Only one dwelling was open, so it was a bit crowded, but a great visit. Had no idea there were so many ancient settlements located inside Mesa Verde’s boundries, ended up being an educational visit. Spent 1/2 a day or so at Mesa Verde, then continued to head east so I could get a bit more 4 corners siteseeing in.

March 26, 2009

Roadtrip day 16

Stayed in Walsenburg overnight, heading south to avoid the incoming snowstorm up Colorado Springs way, heading east to get to Durango for the night. Only storm touched part of the route was Wolf Creek pass above Pagosa Springs. The pass got about 8″ of snow that day, temps in the mid-teens at the 10,000 foot level, pass is at about 10,800 feet. Hadn’t driven in weather like that before, very limited visibility, windy, icy.

March 25, 2009

Roadtrip day 15

Headed out early from Santa Fe. Checked with a friend in Colorado Springs (@mgion on twitter), and he told me a big storm was coming in, and I should check the weather and roads to decide if I wanted to head up. Looked like if I went up north, then came back down south, I’d avoid the biggest part of the storm (possibly 10-20″ of snow). Colorado’s had hardly any snow this season, so they need it!

March 24, 2009

Roadtrip day 14

Started with an early lunch at Tia Sophia’s, an amazing place frequented primarily by locals. Had the green chili stew, which is just wonderful. Got there at 11, when they start to serve lunch, by the time I left, there was a line.Casual day of touristing in Santa Fe, took pictures of lots of the cool art in the galleries. Dinner at Atomic Cafe, which was a bit of a mistake.

March 23, 2009

Roadtrip day 13

Breakfast, since it’s complimentary and from an actual resturant across the street, and then I’ll go the day without having to stop for lunch, since it’s going to be a long driving day. Been gaining weight with the BBQ crawls and New Orleans food, so need to cut back anyway! Slightly long haul to Santa Fe, but time for a few stops, want to get into town early enough to see the Singing Waiters at La Cantina, part of La Casa Sena, they play at 6:30, the website says, so I should make it.

March 22, 2009

Roadtrip day 12

Through Memphis for BBQ. Checked Yelp, picked the closest and best reviewed place, had a chopped pork sandwich, it was quite yummy. The, drove by Graceland, how could I not? Took a couple pictures, and picked up a tacky gift for our Sushi Chef/Elvis fan. All day drive into Oklahoma. No .real stops along the way, or pictures.Entering OK, it gets windy, very windy. 40-50mph windy..Stays that way alll day and night (and the next day).

March 21, 2009

Roadtrip day 11

Going with the advice I’d gotten yesterday, I started the day with a walk through the various streets of the French Quarter. Got some coffee from “CC’s”, the local institution (coffee here, btw, is quite good, and 1/2 the price I pay at any botique coffee shop back home. Black and Cafe O’lait are the top sellers). From there went to the New Orleans Cooking school. For 2-1/2 hours, you get entertaining stories from your instructor, ours was a history major, and told us all about the history of the region, especially as it related to food.

March 20, 2009

Roadtrip day 10

Visit Tobasco factory on the way to New Orleans. Great 1-2 hour sidetrip, fun history, and a beautiful island. You can separately visit the bird sanctuary (I didn’t want to spend the time), but that looks like a good addition to the sidetrip. You get a short walkthrough on the history, then a quick walk past viewing windows into the working factory, and then visit the large store with a variety of tobasco themed merchandise, taste a variety of foods/sauces and get a small lunch if you want.