Venus and the Moon help bring in the New Year.

If you happened to look up and towards the southwest any time after about 5 p.m. this afternoon you would have clearly seen the Moon and Venus below and slightly to the left. My attached photo doesn't do it justice. The photo by the way was taken from my garage using a 400mm lens. It is also evidence that I have more hobbies than time. The next evening that you pull up in the driveway take a moment before going into the house and just look up into the southern sky.

Warning Deep Thoughts Ahead!

If you take that moment and look up, think about the fact that the stars you see are just a small percentage of the stars out there, and how long it has taken for the light to reach us. If this doesn't make you feel just a bit small, nothing will.

So anyway Happy New Year, I hope you had your beans...

If only the summer sky could be so clear. GAW

East Coast Pizza

East Coast Pizza located in Chesterfield Valley has been around for several years. It is a family owned and operated pizza joint. Their Menu states they are from Philly and New York and that they lived in New Jersey for years. The Philly influence is seen in their menu with items like TastyKake's for dessert and Amoroso Bakery rolls for their sandwiches, both famous Philadelphia landmarks.

East Coast Pizza is what I would call a full service pizza joint. They have everything; soups, salads, appetizers, pizza, calzone - stromboli, hot & cold sandwiches, dinners and desserts. You can get your pizza by the slice or whole pie. They have hand tossed and Chicago style crust with homemade red sauce, you can also get both crust as White Pizza (mozzarella cheese, garlic, olive oil and parmesan cheese).

For me it was the usual hand tossed crust with pepperoni, meatballs, ham and onions. Leena my reviewing apprentice ordered a slice of cheese pizza. First thing you notice is the crust is a bit thinner and crispier than what you might find at other New York style pizzerias in the area. The crust still needs support when hot though. Next is that the meatballs are no longer in the form of meatballs, but more of a seasoned finely ground beef. The pepperonis were not overly spicy, the ham was thinly slice and the onion's were chopped. The cheese is of course Mozzarella. The toppings were all fresh with good taste. The sauce was a bit on the mild side. The cheese pizza could have used a little more cheese in my book (yes I was allowed one small bite), but was well liked by my 5 year old apprentice.

Overall the pizza was quite good. Not necessarily at the top of my list, but it passes the "Would I pay for it again" test. In fact East Coast Pizza is on my list for a few return visits as I need to try the White Pizza, the Philly Cheese Steak (their from Philly so it's got to be good right?) and I have yet to sample the TastyKake's. East Coast Pizza is located at 17304 Chesterfield Airport Rd at Boone's Crossing in the Vally. You can reach them at (636) 536-7888, for more information check out their web-site(click on the title link).

Recommended.

GAW

It's all in the landing,

The day before Thanksgiving, what a great day. What a great day for a bike ride, or so I thought. After a full day of errands and chores I collect my gear and load the bike. I leave the house about 3 p.m. and drive the 5 miles to Sherman Beach Park, the plan being to ride from Sherman beach to Castlewood Park.

After doing my stretches I hit the trail. I don't get to far when I realize I need one more layer, so I circle back to the car. I'm not the only one to think today is a good day for a bike ride, the trails are full of bikers and hikers. I'm keeping up a good pace, I even pass a few other bikers. I realized my pace was a bit better than I thought just a little to late as I approach a drainage ditch. When the bike transitioned from going down the ditch to going up the ditch my body didn't. As evidenced from the accompanying image the first part of me to land was my right wrist. After my wrist touched down it sent rest of me into a tumble. When I stopped spinning I had made it to the top of the ditch, me on the left side of the trail and my bike the right. At some point in my get off I heard the obligatory "OH SH#T" come out of my mouth, and then something like "that's not good". I take a moment then get back on the bike and keep going. It didn't take long to realize that my right hand is not quite right. I ride on knowing there is a bench not far up the trail. Nothing looks out of place when I get my gloves off, but I still decide to cut my ride short, leaving only 5 miles back to the car.

Fast forward 5 days, my wrist is still hurting the same or worse so I call my doctor and get some x-rays of my hand and wrist. Of course the x-rays were negative.

Fast forward 3 more days, it still hurts. We have some down time at work so I stick my hand in the MR scanner and what should I find? Take a look at the attached image the arrows point to the 2 pieces of the hamate bone in the wrist. Oh by the way there shouldn't be more than ONE!

In the end it's all about the landing, or more appropriately the sudden stop. Well my cycling is done for 2008 and I think I will remember that ditch next year and slow it down just a bit.

To be continued...

GAW

Pizza House, Merrill's Pizza or...

The phone rings, when I answer it's my contact. "How many do you want? I need to know by tomorrow". My reply as always is "I can do three, let me know when they are ready". Let me set the record straight right here, I said contact and that would be my pizza contact, not my drug dealer.

To make a long story short, this review starts in the early 70's, and if you read my earlier post you will have read a bit about the Pizza House and my humble beginnings in the world of pizza. So in the beginning (1970's) there was the Pizza House, next came Merrill's Pizza (mid 80's), the short lived McKenisey Junction steak house (late 90's early 00's) that sold more pizza than steak, until the new highway came along. When McKenisey Junction was closed we (Pizza House fans, I'm not alone) thought that was the end, but as you can see from the photo above we were wrong. I don't know who's idea it was, Merrill's (chief pizza maker and all around good guy) or a fan, but with in a year's time word spread Merrill would be making pizza again. The way it works is, Merrill goes down his phone list asking how many they want and telling them when the pizza's will be ready. Ever since his phone list has grown, he makes something like 800 pizza's a session. My contact and I are small time, combined we may order up to 10 pizza's. Once the call comes in I have about 2 weeks to plan the 6 hour round trip to pickup my pizza's. My 3 pies will last about 4-5 weeks, with the first gone within 2-3 days.

Once the pizza's are in my freezer, I'm only 20 minutes away from 35 years ago. Preheat the oven to 450, place the pizza directly on the middle rack and cook for 15 minutes, put it in the pizza box, cut it into 8 pieces, and close the box and let it rest for a few minutes. When you open the box it's just like you walked in the house from the pizza joint, if you really want the proper experience sit in your car with the pizza for 10 minutes (if you can last that long). I'm a creature of habit, so this is the same pizza we would order back in the day. Back then it was a Spartan Special with hamburger, today it's pepperoni, Canadian bacon, and hamburger. Starting at the bottom, the crust is thin, but not so thin it can't hold up whats on top, the edge is almost crunchy. I believe the crust has evolved since the early days, but it's been so long that I can's say which is better. The sauce is thick and not over spiced, it's spread around in just the right amount. The cheese is "100% Real Mozzarella Cheese" and what ever you do don't ask for extra cheese, Thats a whole other story. The Canadian bacon is the real thing, not just sliced ham, the pepperonis bight back just the right amount, and the hamburger comes from a local butcher shop. I have to make myself stop eating without some strong will power I will power through the whole 14inch pizza, and not realize what I've done. When I hear the word Pizza this is what pops into my mind.

At this point I would normally give you some contact information, but I have none to give. Even if I did have a phone number or email address I probably wouldn't give it out, as it may get me stricken from the next round of pizza's. If you aren't in Merrill's phone book you are out of luck, that includes me as I rely on an intermediary. So for those in the know (you know who you are) I highly recommend Merrill's One Man Pizza Show. for the rest of you to bad...

Highly Recommended.

GAW

Dewey's Pizza

Dewey's Pizza has been in St Louis for a few years and more specifically in Kirkwood since 2005. Dewey's Pizza is a small chain (16 locations) that was started in Cincinnati in the spring of 1998. My first taste of Dewey's Pizza was a year or two ago in Kirkwood, since that time I have made a few visits. Today was a Family gathering of 9 people, so I did the half & half routine. We went to the Ellisville location, arriving around 5:30 and had to wait 30-40 minutes. It was a packed house.

I started off the meal with a Peppercorn Ranch salad, it and the Caesar salad are the only 2 salads that don't start with the words "field greens". All of the salads come dressed and mine was no exception, the romaine lettuce had a light coating of peppercorn ranch dressing, just enough shaved Parmesan, and plenty of fresh tomatoes and red onions, not to mention the bacon.

We ordered 5 types of pizza, but I was only able to try 3 of them. Starting with mine and Akiko's, we ordered Half "Socrates Revenge" which included olive oil, minced garlic, mozzarella-fontina blend, spinach, black olives, green olives, feta cheese, red onions, and tomatoes. I had one piece and it wasn't bad, due to all of the olives it was a bit salty, but hay I've had worse. It falls under the if somebody else is paying I'd eat it. My half was... you guessed it, pepperoni, Canadian bacon, red onions and meat balls. As with the meat ball pizza I have had else where they are cooked and sliced prior to hitting the pizza. Starting at the bottom, the hand tossed crust is probably the best I've ever had, it's a bit on the soft side so you have to use 2 hands for that first bite or two, after that it holds up well. the edged of the crust looks like it has had a stick of butter rubbed across it once the pizza came out of the oven, and it tastes even better than it looks. Moving up one level, the sauce has a spicy bite to it and the very young may not like it. I could do with just a tad less sauce myself, not because of the spiciness, I just like my pie a bit dry. The toppings are all excellent, especially the meatballs. The flavors just melt in your mouth. A most excellent Pizza.

We all so had a Cheese pizza for the younger members of the group, and yes it had the same spicy red sauce as mentioned above, and yes the youngest member complained. There was a "Edgar Allan Poe" on the table as well it includes olive oil, mozzarella-fontina blend, mushrooms, roasted garlic (large whole cloves), kalamata olives and goat cheese, with fresh tomatoes and parsley after the bake. I was unable to sample the Edgar, but Akiko said it was a bit on the garlicky side.

Lastly we had a sausage, meatball and mushroom pizza. I did get a chance to sample it and it was very good. The sausage was very good, it was of the link variety and had been sliced prior to going on the pizza. The mushrooms were fresh, not a topping I would order my self as I'm a canned mushroom kind of person.

Dewey's Pizza leans towards the High Class sort of pizza joint that I'm not really into, but as I said in the beginning they have some of the BEST pizza around. I personal prefer to get it to go so that I don't have the long wait on a table and it lets the pizza attain the ideal eating temperature on the ride home. In the end you really can't go wrong with a Dewey's Pizza. Check out their web site for a location near you (click on the title above).

Highly Recommended.

GAW

Pizzarelli's Pizzeria

As I sit at the kitchen table and put my thoughts to words, I'm enjoying my Pizzarelli pizza for the 4th time. The first was Sunday evening, then Monday and Tuesday morning for breakfast and finely Tuesday night for supper.
Because the whole family is home I don't get to order pizza very often and must make the most of it when I do, hence the multiply feasting on a single pizza.

Pizzarelli's Pizzeria located at 15858 Manchester Road in Ellisville is locally owned and operated and is what I would call my local favorite. It's only 3 stop lights east on Manchester from home. It is by far the best pizza that close to home. They offer the big 3 Dine-in, Carry-out, and Delivery. The dine-in option is limited, and I would suggest you carry out or have you pie delivered. The dine-in ambiance is that of a busy take-out and delivery pizza joint, seating is limited and there is not a lot of time spent in the upkeep of the dining area, as they are all busy making pizza's for carry out and delivery.

The Pizza, you have three choices, New York Style (round hand toss), Chicago Style (thin & crispy) and Deep Dish. Before we go any further I have to discuss the "Chicago Style", living in St Louis for the past 20 plus years I know that "Chicago Style" is not thin and crispy as their menus states but that St Louis Style is thin and crispy, but it's not my pizza joint and they can call it what ever they like. I'm a New York Style Pizza kinda of person anyway so the semantics's don't really matter to me.

For me it's my current favorite, New York crust with pepperoni, Canadian bacon, meat balls, and onions. If I was feeling my oats I would have them put some anchovies on half, but not this time. As far as the toppings go the only thing I would like to see different is Red Onions as an option. By the time I get home (just three stop lights) the pizza has cooled off just a little and is the perfect temperature ( the cheese will stretch a bit but you can bite it in two). There is just the right amount of pepperonis, the sliced meatballs are seasoned just right, the Canadian bacon is the real thing (at least real for those of us south of the border), and the small slice to big hunk of onion. I can't forget to mention the generous helping of mozzarella cheese. The pizza just melt in your mouth, If I was home alone I probably wouldn't stop eating until the whole pizza was gone it's that good in my book. If you are in the neighborhood you ought to give them a try, call ahead @ (636) 394-0094.

Highly Recommended!

The pizza is now all gone so I guess it's time to shut up. GAW

My List 2008 - 2009

My list is sort of a Christmas, birthday, fathers day, and Generally a good guy list that I share with family and friends so they know what I need when buying a gift for me. Normally I don't end up with much on my list, nor do I expect to get much from my list even when I only put 1 or 2 items on it, such as this year.

1. I would like to add a little Adventure to my daily commute, and what better way to do that than a BMW F800GS Adventure Touring motorcycle. I would prefer it to be Black and Yellow as pictured. It should also included the option package which includes ABS, Heated Grips (I ride in the cold also), display computer, and center stand. And what would a Adventure Tourer be with out the side and top cases? Not much so it should have them as well. Talk to Bob Honz at Gateway BMW and he will make it happen. As you can see from the photo it fits perfectly.

2. Being the environmentally conscious person that I am I would like to add some MPG to my daily commute when I'm not adding the above Adventure. I believe that a Piaggio MP3 500 would do wonders for my MPG, not to mention how cool it would also make me look. Only one option: Demon Black. As you can see in the photo it goes well with my riding gear. Although a flat black helmet wouldn't hurt. Talk to Sean Brao at Vespa St. Louis.

So that's it just 2 items on the list, that's not asking for to much is it? GAW.

Piaggio MP3 500 photo!

"He's married with kids and can't spend more than $30 without his wifes permission"

It must be written all over my face (and with the hairline receding there is plenty of room). Because not one sales man at St Louis Vespa would even look up from doodling on their desk blotter. The service manager(?) finally did ask if he could help me. He did know quite a bit about the MP3 500, but all of a sudden he was gone... and the salesmen (3 of them) sat quietly doodling not daring to lift their heads...

So no photo at this time. I will have to take my own photographer with me next time.

GAW

Katies Pizzeria Clayton, MO.

Katies Pizzeria is located about half a block east and across Clayton road from the Esquier Theater. The menu is what I would call FUFU food, its a bit hard for me to explain you either know what I'm talking about or you are one. Their wine list took up more space on the menu than all the food combined.

You have only ten choices for pizza, unlike the infinite combination's you can come up with at a more traditional American pizza joint. I choose the Fingerling Potatoes, Parsnips, Pancetta, Parmiggiano, Onion, and Rosemary it was about 12 inch's and cost $16. I choose this pizza because I know that Pancetta is a bit like bacon, and how can you go wrong with fat salty meat? Right? Outside of the Pancetta it was way out side my comfort zone, but I wasn't ordering my last meal so a little daring I was. I'm not sure if it was the Fingerling Potatoes or the Parsnips as I don't recall having eaten either item in the past, but the pizza had a very unusual flavor all most sour. It wasn't bad by any means just unusual. My dining companions ordered the Italian Market Vegetable Chop Salad which had shaved fennel, carrot, zucchini, shaved parmigiano, pine nuts, cannellini beans, and was tossed with lemon balsamic dressing ($9). They also ordered the Salami, Onion, Crushed Red Pepper, Kalamata Olives, and Fresh Mozzarella pizza ($16). Their pizza was more to my liking than my own. Would I dine at Katies Pizzeria again? Sure, but hopefully on somebody elses dime. GAW

Pizza World Maplewood, MO.

Pizza World is a small chain of pizza restaurants based in Collinsville, IL. They have resturants in 6 states and from my recollections have been around the St Louis area for 10+ years. I have had pizza from Pizza World on several occasions in the past, but those locations are no longer open. I worked in Brentwood today and I didn't take my lunch (out of bread, no really...), I was surprised when Pizza World was one of the places that delivered. Nobody eles wanted pizza for lunch so I held out until my workday was done. I placed an ordered togo and was told it would be ready in 30mins. When I got there the pizza wasn't ready, they had forgot to make it, so I got a free drink and a deep discount. I wasn't in a hurry to get any where and 3:30pm is a bit early to order pizza anyway. I wasn't even half way through the RFT when my pie was ready to go. Yes it was a Pepperoni, Meatball, Canadian Bacon, and Red Onion pizza on a hand tossed crust. It takes me about 45 min to an 1 hour to get home and that puts the pizza just about the perfect temperature in my opinion. It was a very pleasant experience when the first slice hit the taste buds. It was rather hard to not eat the whole pie, but I was feeling a bit lazy so I saved half to lunch on Tuesday. It was worth every penny I paid, I would have gladly paid full price it. GAW

And then there was the Pizza files.

The green chile parade being over, I figure I will start chapter 2, something close to home and close to my mid section. The Pizza Files. I've always loved pizza for as long as I can remember. As a small child pizza was a group thing, if we had pizza it was usally 3 or 4 familys together sometimes at the pizza place sometimes the guys went and picked up. It always came from the Pizza House on the south side of Moberly, MO. 35 years and I still vividly remember the taste and texture of the pizza not to mention the interior of restaurant. The Pizza House has been gone for almost 25 years now.

1984 I was sixteen and I had a 1973 Super Beetle with god only knows how many miles on it. It was the perfect car to deliver pizza's in, so thats what I did. I started out as a delivery "BOY" and when I quite on Christmas Eve 1986 I was the assistant manager. In the 2 1/2 years I worked there I became the best pizza maker the Pizza Works had ever seen, and I learned a very good lesson. That lesson was that I prefered to eat pizza than to make it.

Those two pizza joints enfluenced my tastes in pizza to this day. At the Pizza House I started with good old pepperoni, and as I matured the Spartan Special became my prefered pie (the Spartans were the local high school team, the pizza had pepperoni, hamburger, and Canadian bacon). While working at the Pizza Works my palette expanded again. I came to enjoy the BJ special... One of the owners was Bruce Johnson and it was his creation hence the name. I still order it on the rare occasion when I visit Pizza Works. The BJ special consist of the usual, crust, sauce, cheese and a light sprinkling of sausage pellets (yes pellets don't know what they were make of), pepperoni, onions and finally a liberal shake of parmasan cheese before in the oven.

Today my pizza should have pepperoni, meatballs, Canadian bacon, and red onions. I shouldn't have to mention it, but Mozzarella is the only proper cheese for pizza. Hand tossed crust is also called for. Please don't think I'm a pizza snob, but if I'm paying thats what I'm getting. I like all pizza and if your buying I'll eat it even if it's got green peppers (the most evil of all food).

Yes that is my 1973 VW Super Beetle that I delivered pizza's in. GAW

9000 feet, 1031 miles, 65 degrees, 18 hours, 2 gas stops, and 1 bathroom break.

When I wokeup on Friday morning it was below 40 degrees, quite chilly. Thursday night I had camped a few miles down the road from Summitville at 11,500 feet. The plan was sleeping in my own bed the next time I put my head down. When I left my campsite at 7:30 a.m. the temp was 40 degrees, before I passed the Colorado state line the temp had risen to 105 degrees and I had dropped almost 9000 feet in elevation. I made two gas stops once in Jetmore, KS and again in Blue Springs, MO. I stopped once for a bathroom break about 30 miles before Jetmore, I just couldn't wait those last 30miles. Food was granola bars and trail mix, I did get Taco Johns in Blue springs when I stopped for gas, but as it was about 10 p.m. and I had been driving all day I didn't take any photos. I arrived home about 2 a.m. and was fast a sleep by 3 a.m. Just a few notes about my trip, I didn't pay more than $10 for any Meal. I posted all of the meals I bought, I did eat some granola and trail mix while on the road. So no factory food until Friday on my marathon drive. Until the next road trip...GAW

Summitville, CO it takes your breath away.

One of the things I wanted to do on my road trip was to find a ghost town. During my pre-trip research I found some information about Summitville not to far from Wolf Creek Pass and U.S. 160 in southern Colorado. Gold was found in 1870 and Summitville sprouted up, it had 600 people, 14 saloons, and a news paper. By 1883 it was deserted, and was revied in 1935 and produced much copper during WW II. Today There is a land reclamation project going on to clean up the later mining operations. That cleanup does limit visiting some of the town. Summitville takes your breath away, no really it takes your breath away. Summitville sets at 11,500 feet above sea level in the Rio Grande National Forest. I was huffing and puffing as I walked around taking photos. It was a great expirance to see Summitville. As I walked around the town I kept hearing voices, I'm unsure if it was in my head or song birds in the distance. I may have heared voices but I didn't see any ghost. Summitville was a Highlight of my trip. To see the photos follow this LINK. You can find more information about Summitville HERE. GAW

It was so good I did it again.

I said in my post about Ted's Tacos if you're are within 50 miles you should stop and eat. I had to drive right by after I left Mesa Verde so I had no choice but to stop. For lunch I ordered a Navajo Taco. It is Indian fry bread with ground beef (sort of like beanless chili), beans, cheese, lettuce, tomatos and onions. It was good, but not as good as breakfast. I think if I had a few more times I would find the best items on the menu. If I hadn't been so full after the Navajo taco I would have ordered a frybread with butter and covered it with the honey and sugar on the counter. Ok you know me better than that, I got there just before closing and when I saw it on the menu the kitchen was already closed. One more reason to find my way back to Mancos. Ted asked how I liked Mesa Verde and wished me a safe trip home. I will be back. GAW.

Mesa Verde National Park.

After a fine breakfast at Ted's Tacos I headed to Mesa Verde National Park. Locals tend to say it like "mesa virdy". I had got my tour ticket on Wednesday so that I could be in the first tour of the day. When I got into the park I lined up at the gate to Wetherill Mesa. They open the gate @ 9 a.m. then it takes about 30-40min to drive the twisting 12 miles to the parking lot. The Long House is only open during the summer and only cars or small trucks are allowed to drive the road. All tours through the Long House are led by a Ranger who gives a running commtary about the site. There isn't a lot of information as to why they built the cliff dwellings as they would have been difficult to build and keep supplied. They do know that the Indians who built them moved south around 1300 do to a drought that had been going on for about 25 years. It's a very interesting place and worth a visit. To see some of the photos I took follow this link. GAW

Ted's Tacos Mancos, CO.

The first time I saw Ted's Tacos on Alton Brown's Feasting on Asphalt I knew I would eat there someday. Thursday was that day. I got there at 7 a.m. and Ted suggested a frybread sausage sandwich sort of the super breakfast burrito. It had sausage, eggs, cheese, onions, and of course green chile. Not only was the food good, but was Ted interesting to talk to. He new just about everybody that came into the restaurant. If you are with 50 miles of Mancos and you don't stop at Ted's Tacos you are making a big mistake. GAW

Green Chile means something differnt in Cortez, CO.

After a road side dog for lunch I had to do better for supper, I headed north to Mancos, CO to eat at a resturant that I found out about through "Feasting on Asphalt" Alton Browns great food road trip. As I feared once I got there I found it closed, only open for breakfast and lunch. Once I found a place to stay I asked the ladies working to suggest a place. Blondies Pub & Grub was only 5 or 6 blocks away (walking distance) so it won. It was the typical bar and grill fare. I ordered the southwestern burger (chile cheese burger) with onion rings. The onion rings were battered vs breaded and were excelant, I'm sure they came out of a box in the freezer, but I still liked them. The cheeseburger was good, but the chiles were whole very much like the canned chiles I have gotten at the market around home. The chiles in Cortez, CO are a much differnt creature than in New Mexico. GAW

It's all gone to the dogs.

Wednesday morning provided several good train photos, but the food was lacking. My plan for the day was to go to Acoma Sky City taking train photos along the way and eat breakfast / lunch there. I knew that the Acoma Sky City would be closed on Thursday but I didn't thank about them closing early on Wednesday. So that being said I saw a street vendor on old route 66 and stopped. There was no sign so I didn't know what they were selling until the lady said do you want a jumbo or regular dog. I got a regular dog with mustard, relish, and onions. It was a regular dog. GAW.

Train Photo of the Day Wednesday July 9th.

This photo was taken from Coolidge Rd just west of Top of the World, NM. It was about 9 a.m. and the is in the shadow of a cloud while the mesa in the background is brightly lit. GAW.

The jorney home begins.

Wednesday, time to start moving east. I'm in Cortez, CO tonight and will be going to Mesa Verde National Park in the morning. I got my tour ticket this afternoon, I will be touring The Long House. It's only open in the summer and it has the most climbing and walking (I need the exercise). Food wasn't much today, green chile means something different in Cortez, CO than it did in New Mexico. I have a good train photo taken from Coolidge Road. I have to be up early so I will add the food and train goodies in a day or two. The photo is from the Mancos, CO overlook near the entrance of Mesa Verde. It also proves, sort of that I'm not sleeping on the couch stealing photos from the web. GAW

Not Train photo of the day for Tuesday.

Today I also took a few IR photos and here is the best. Please see today train photo to see the differance. GAW

Tuesdays Train Photo.

Tuesday travel led me to several great locations for photos, just not necessarily at the right time. The photo you see here was taken near Lupton, AZ the train was heading east as the sun sets in the west. Before a west bound train came the sun dropped enough to put the tracks in shadow. I also found near Two Guns, AZ but I would have had to been there early in the morning, and I got there after lunch. There is always tomorrow. GAW

They have green chile in Arizona. Joe and Aggie's Holbrook, AZ.

Lunch, dinner I'm not sure, all I know is it 4pm and I'm hungry, breakfast was at 8am. The menu say they are famous for their cheese crisp. I ordered mine with beef and green chile (vs red the hotter of the two). The crisp is a large flour tortilla deep fried covered with cheese, beef and those green chiles. So far this was the best combination of flavors, it was just so satisfying. It was a struggle not to overdo and order a second. The next time I'm within a 100 miles or so of Holbrook, AZ I'm getting a Crisp. GAW

The green chile continues.

I have already told you about the El Rancho, so I will go straight to breakfast. Huevos rancheros, two eggs on a soft corn tortilla covered with green chile and cheese with beans and rice on the side. I almost forgot the flour tortilla also. I ordered the eggs over easy, but would probably get them a little more firm next time as the whole affair became a bit soupy. But then again I guess thats what the tortilla is for. GAW

The El Rancho Hotel Gallup, NM.

The El Rancho Hotel & Motel opened in 1937 and was exclusive choice of Hollywood movie stars when filming westerns in the area. I guess it didn't hurt that the owners brother was D.W. Griffith a big shot in the movie bussiness. The hotel looks much like it did in 1937.

Did I mention they have a restaurant? I orderd the Rita Morino other wise known as the enchilada plate. I choose beef over chicken or beans. The beef and I believe some potatos were wrapped in corn tortillas and covered with green chile and cheese. There were chips and salsa, rice and beans, and a flour tortilla (think dinner roll).

You may have noticed a trend in food post since crossing into Colorado and New Mexico, The green chile. The green chile not just for breakfast, lunch and dinner. I asked for ice cream instead of green chile on my apple pie. GAW

Mondays Train Photo.

Finnaly have I haved reached the rail line that can have as many as 100 trains a day, not today though. This photo was taken west of Belen, NM from state road 6, in just the setting I've been looking forward to. The sky's have been a bit hazy on my trip and today was no different. You just can't get this view in the show-me state, The locomotives and almost all of the train glide down a slight grade on a broad curve with the mountains as backdrop. I hope to find more locals in the coming days. GAW.

Mondays suck!

My plan was simple, breakfast, lunch, and dinner. Knowing that the place I wanted to eat breakfast was only open for lunch and dinner I tried to arrive around 1030 or 1100. The only problem... I couldn't find it (I'm sure if it had been a fly it would have bitten me). After looking for 30 minutes I figured it was time to move on, Leona's in Chimayo, NM will have to wait until the next time.

So my breakfast would now move south. Now the job was to find Bobcat Bite in Santa Fe, NM. Easier said than done. I did find it. I found it closed! It appears that it is closed on Mondays, there was no sign stating their hours so I assume it will be open on Tuesday when I'm not there. The Chile cheese burger will also have to wait until next time, and breakfast will move even more to the south.

Things were beginning to look better, even though I took the long short-cut. I would eat my late breakfast soon. The Frontier was where it was supposed to and it was open (open 24 hrs except from 1 a.m. To 5 a.m.. The clock may have said 2 p.m. But it was still breakfast, so a breakfast burrito it would be. I ordered mine with sausage and a side of hash brown. After collecting my breakfast I stopped at the steaming couldren of chile, but had second thoughts. I had been forewarned by my friend Ben who has partaken in said chile. The chile in the burrito was just the right amount no extra was needed. The burrito was over running with scrambled eggs, sausage and the afore mentioned green chile. The hash browns turned out to be unnecessary as the burrito filled the plate and my stomach. GAW.

Sugar's

I have been anticipating this destination ever since seeing the photo's of Sugar's and the food you can get there on Roadfood.com. I wasn't disappointed mostly. I arrived at 6:55 p.m. and they close at 7 p.m. I ordered the brisket burrito and as my luck would have it they were out of green chili. The lady running the show asked if she could put in some onions instead. The brisket was tender and had just the right amount of smoke. The tortilla had been fried in a little bit of butter to give it just the right amount of crispiness. It was a little bit of Heaven for only $7 with a drink and tip. I'm already planning My return, and I won't be the last customer of the day the next time. GAW

The Road.

Today I stopped and smelled the flowers along the way, only covering about 300 miles compared to the almost 700 miles on Saturday. No really I smelled the flowers! Only 7 miles out of La Junta, CO I found my self drawn to the side of road. The only trees in sight were the signal poles along the railroad tracks. Looking down the tracks they seem to go to the horizon.

Because gas in this neck of the woods runs 4-4.20 per gallon I have been taking a relaxed pace along the road. That relaxed pace allowed me to see the vivid blossoms on a road side catus near Colfax, NM. You can see the catus in the "Not Trains" photo album see the links on the right.

Not far from the blooming catus I decide to find out were county road A38 leads. It just happens to end at the Dawson cemetery, all that is left of the once 6000 strong mining town of the same name. The marker states the mine opened in the mid 1800's and shut down for good in 1950. There doesn't appear to be a single brick left of Dawson, if there is it's on private property. The road kept going... behind a locked gate with a no trespass sign on. While exploring the cemetery I suffered a unprovoked attack by a catus, and yes the needles are very sharp. It was just one needle, but it hurt.

Back on the road I travel up the Cimarron valley going from 6000 ft to 8600 ft and from 95 to 64 degrees Fahrenheit. I pass by the alpine lake at Eagle Nest. Soon I'm on heading down the other side towards Taos and points south, including supper, but is the next post. GAW

Late breakfast.

I left Lamar about 9 a.m. this morning and took my time getting to the Copper Kitchen in La Junta, CO. When I got there at 11 a.m. the only seats open were at the counter, and the waite staff looked like bees buzzing about the small dinning room. The gentleman running the register said this was the Weekend "Hob-Nobbing" crowd. The special today was the breakfast burrito and it came with hash browns and toast. The waitress suggested salsa on the side as it came covered in green chile sauce. Was it something special? No not really, but it was very good and well worth the $6 I paid for it and the coffee. It's basically scrambled eggs with big hunks of sausage wrapped in a tortilla. If I'm in the area I'm ready to stop and have another. GAW

Train Photo of the Day. July 5th.

Trains, the other reason I'm doing this road trip. I'm following one of the busiest railroads (BNSF formerly known as AT&SF) on my trip. The particular line I'm following is host to Amtrak's Southwest Chief from Chicago to Los Angles, but apparently not much else. I only saw one freight train on the line as I crossed Kansas. So the train photo of the day has no train in it, instead it is a ghost from the past. The photo was taken just east of Offerle, KS on the BNSF Kansas Div.

GAW

Supper time.

By 1030 a.m. I was truly on the way...to supper. My Supper destination was Hillsboro, KS and the Olde Towne Restaurant. The trip across eastern Kansas was uneventful, I arrived in Hillsboro about 4 p.m. and decided it was as good a time as any for supper. I had planned to eat the German buffet that they only have on Saturday night, but I was to early. Not wanting to stay in Kansas any longer than I had to I ordered off the Menu. I ordered the German Sausage and Verenika, it also came with a side of seasoned potatoes. The sausage is locally made and was quite good. The verenika is sort of a deep fried pastry filled with cottage cheese and then covered with country gravy. I ordered not knowing what it would be (trying to be brave) and was pleasantly surprised.

With supper done it was time to move. Leaving Hillsboro and heading west on U.S. 50, I started to get that same feeling I had several years ago when crossing Kansas on my motorcycle. I just wanted it to be done. Originally I thought I would spend the night in Kansas someplace, but I didn't stop until I arrived in Lamar, CO. GAW

Starting the day (trip) off right!

"Start the day off with a Hearty breakfast". Isn't that what your mother says? Well I took it to heart and started my trip at the family favorite, The Brick in Moberly, MO. The wait staff doesn't ask my dad for his order, they know already. They still ask for my order, but I only get to eat there every 3 months or so. Whats my order you ask? Eggs overeasy, sausage, hash browns, toast, and a side of biscuits & gravy. This Breakfast tends to take care of lunch also. As always it was great. GAW