Category: Foodie Find
Seen in San Diego

Seen in San Diego

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Hey Guys! We spent two very full weeks in the San Diego, CA area and we still didn’t see it all, but we got in as much as we could.

But first, let’s talk about the drive from Tucson to San Diego. It’s not one that I will want to do again any time soon. Not too far after Yuma…just past the CA border you get to this area of well…wind and heat and hills. There wasn’t anything at all for miles and miles. Except the intense heat (we crossed in April and the temp got up to 95) and the wind that tried to blow us off the road every so often with a mighty gust.

The conditions are bad enough that California put in pullovers every few miles for radiator water and call boxes. Because, yeah…there’s no cell service here either. Along with the radiator water, call box, and hill percent grade warnings there was a sign that urged motorist to turn off their air conditioning…you know…so maybe your vehicle will actually make it through this little slice of the H word. I was a nervous wreck by the time we got though all 20 to 30 miles of it and if we ever decide to go back to San Diego, we are definitely going to need a different route.

When I was planning this area I had a hard time finding an RV Park that fit us. I don’t want something right downtown in the middle of all the traffic. It needs to be a safe area, kid friendly, and not cost $90 a night. I stumbled onto the Sweetwater Summit Regional Park in Bonita, CA right as I was about to give up on seeing the San Diego area. Guys, this is a great park! Look how big our yard was! And…fullhookups for right around $30 a night! Score! We were only half an hour from the coast…so not too far away from the touristy stuff we had planned, but far enough away that we weren’t stuck in the middle of the rat race everyday.

We had some pretty cute neighbors here too. We had ground squirrels as neighbors at Catalina State Park back in Tucson as well, but these guys were twice the size! Just as fun to watch though. We also had tons of rabbits as neighbors here. The little jerks liked to get up on our steps at night and do their…potty business. So, there were rabbit pellets all over the steps and our mat for the first few nights. We stopped it by putting our steps in every night. Take that rabbits. We heard rumors of rattlesnakes, but we never saw one. And ants…we heard rumors that there are legions of ants just waiting to invade your RV, but we didn’t see any of those either. We got lucky.

All National Park units tell a story. Some, like Cabrillo National Monument, has more than one story to tell. Cabrillo National Monument tells three different stories. The stories of exploration, guidance, and protection. One of the stories told at Cabrillo NM is about it’s namesake, Juan Radriguez Cabrillo who set sail in New Spain in 1542 to explore and claim new lands for the King of Spain. Cabrillo was the first European to set foot on the west coast of what is now the United States.

Another story here is the story of the Old Point Loma Lighthouse which operated from 1855 to 1891. The lighthouse was in the perfect spot as long as the weather was good, but if there was any fog…the lighthouse couldn’t be seen. So, a new lighthouse was built closer to sea level in 1891. The old lighthouse has been preserved and is set up in the fashion it would have been during the time when the longest serving keeper and his family lived there. Robert Israel worked as the lightkeeper for 20 years. He was on duty 24 hours a day 7 days a week so he had very little time to spend with his family.

The last story we learned about was of Fort Rosecrans. Point Loma is a natural protective barrier located at the entrance of the San Diego Bay. Due to its strategic location Point Loma has had an important part in coastal defense since 1797 when the Spanish built Fort Guijarros at Ballast Point. Today, at Cabrillo NM, you can explore a bunker from WWII where many soldiers spent countless hours watching for enemy ships, planes, and submarines.

The boys really enjoyed this Junior Ranger book. It had them exploring different sections of the NM in order to answer questions. They like the interactive booklets that make them get up and explore more than the ones that just have them find answers in the visitor center museum.

We spent over four hours exploring the USS Midway. We’ve been to a few different battleships, but this was our first aircraft carrier. The USS Midway was built in 1945 during WWII in 18 months by women. Most of the women had never even picked up a tool before they were drafted to work in factories and plants to help with the war effort. You are looking at the first ship that was too big to go through the Panama Canal. At the time, it was the largest ship in the world. Our favorite thing about touring the Midway was hearing all of the personal stories from the Veterans who were volunteering as guides. Hearing someone recount their time and experience as a crew member made it more personal…more real…for us. It was different than just reading a sign about what this room was used for or what that lever does.

Let’s talk foodies! It is San Diego…they are kind of a foodie town. We took Alex out to lunch one day and he got a surf and turf burger (bottom left picture). He ate it all! We found a little taco shop that served Tijuana style street tacos (bottom right picture). It was originally started in Tijuana. You know you’re in the right spot to try ethnic food when there’s a language barrier. We got the family pack and it ended up being more than we could eat for only $40! Thanks to a cousin (waves at Dev) we found Hodad’s. I think the picture (top middle picture) tells you everything you need to know. The only one who finished their burger here was Charles. Those burgers were huge!

I think I’m going to have to break this area up into two posts. We did more touristy things here than we usually do. There were sooo many pretties in San Diego! I’ll share some with you now and some with you in the next post too! If I’m being totally honest here…I have enough pictures of pretties to do an entire post on just flowers. Ha!

Ok Guys! That’s it for this post…stay tuned for San Diego part two and watch out for Nicholas’ Pizza Street post and a new Zoo Review!

See y’all down the road!

#westernloop2018
Tucson Times

Tucson Times

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Hey Guys! We made it back to Arizona! The drive to Tucson was blessedly boring. Our toad obediently followed along behind our home-on-wheels the entire time.

The last time, back in 2015, when we were in the Tucson area we stayed at an RV park right downtown. We didn’t care for it much. In fact, in our opinion, the only thing Tucson had going for it was Saguaro National Park. This time we tried out a state park that’s just north of Tucson. Catalina State Park is totally the way to go if you’re going to visit the Tucson area! We loved it!

State Parks are some of our favorite places to stay while exploring an area. One of the best things about them is that you’ve got trails right outside your door. Unfortunately that means you’ve got wildlife right outside your door too. We met this guy (left picture) out on the trail early one morning. He never rattled at us but we gave him a wide berth on the trail. It was also the last time we walked the trails for this park because I was just coming off of the whole “chased by a rattlesnake down the trail” by someone at a previous park and…we’d been told they were getting more active. I like to walk trails, but I don’t like snakes. At all. Not even a little. No thank you. There were tons of these little ground squirrels! (right picture) I had a hard time getting a photo of one because they were in constant motion. This little guy’s home was in our yard for the week. Our cats thoroughly enjoyed stalking all of the little squirrels.

We spent an entire day driving the Sky Island Scenic Byway up Mt. Lemmon. We hadn’t planned on spending the entire day doing it, but there were tons of great pull-offs that had small hikes where we could get out and climb around on some rocks and scenic vista points with amazing views.

We started at around 2000 feet and drove all the way up to 9000 feet. The temps dropped 40 degrees on us. It was 90 in Tucson and 50 at the summit! At the summit is a little ski town called Summerhaven. There were a few shops and restaurants nestled in between all of the ski lodges. We didn’t stick around because it was pretty crowded and we were getting hungry since the drive up took a few more hours than we’d planned. I hadn’t packed a lunch and teenage boys need food…often.

Oh! And just in case I thought hiking wouldn’t be as dangerous up on the mountain vs. the desert trails at the state park…It’s bear country. Bears and snakes?

It was hard to be upset at anything with views like that though. Every corner we turned we were wowed. Even when we were going back down the mountain…we were still wowed.

We made it back to Saguaro National Park! Did you know that the saguaro cactus won’t start growing an arm until they’re at least 75 years old?

The boys had already done the Junior Ranger work at Saguaro NP so this time they did the Not So Junior Ranger work and got a new badge! I believe Nicholas (rvkid04) put up a picture of it on his Instagram if you’re interested in checking it out.

We ended up driving down a dirt road we’d somehow missed the first time (back in 2015) and had it pretty much to ourselves. We stopped at an old CCC picnic area right around sunset. This is the view from one of the picnic areas. (right picture) Not a bad view! We didn’t see any snakes here…but we were being super vigilant about watching for them. Did you know that there are six different species of rattlesnakes in Saguaro National Park? Six!! Because one isn’t enough?!

Let’s talk foodies! When we were in Tucson the first time we all tried the Sonoran Dog. What is a Sonoran Dog? (top middle picture) It’s a hot dog wrapped in bacon topped with mayo, mustard, tomatoes, jalapeno salsa, pinto beans and onions all on a bolillo style hot dog bun. None of us were really impressed last time, but I wanted to give it another try. It was better than last time. I would totally get it again! It was a little sweet though. The bun is a sweet style bun and makes the whole thing almost like a dessert rather than a lunch. We also gave In and Out Burger another chance. (bottom right picture) We first tried In and Out while we were in Carson City, NV and none of us liked it. Not even a little. We’ve spent the last three years wondering what everyone sees in this place. I’ll be totally honest here…I really wanted to give it another try just so I could have this shake. A Neapolitan shake? Yes please! And Guys…it wasn’t as bad as we remembered it to be. And it was cheap! We all ate…and got full…for less than $50! Oh, and the shake…it was worth it. Every week we take one of our boys to lunch. It’s a chance to spend some one-on-one time with each of our boys. While we were in Tucson it was Charles’ week and he wanted New Mexican food. We found a place and boy-howdy…they did not mess around with the spice!(bottom left picture) The restaurant is called Goyita’s and it’s in Oro Valley, AZ if any of you are interested. Everything we had was fantastic! I got the stacked enchiladas and they were as good as anything I’ve gotten in New Mexico. Maybe even a little better.

Ok…I’ve held off as long as I can to talk about the pretties. Everywhere we looked there were pretties just starting to bloom. The ocotillo is a favorite cactus of mine. (bottom left picture) Let’s take a closer look at the ocotillo blooms! (middle right picture) I just love them! They give a splash of bright orange color throughout the Sonoran desert! I also found these little yellow beauties. (top right picture) These were pretty prevalent as well. These guys were at the very beginning of their bloom cycle. (top left picture) I was lucky enough to find three different plants in bloom, but most of them were still tightly closed up.

I have no idea what this bush is, but I love the pink wispy puffs!

We had a great time in Tucson and just like last time, we left with more items on our “to-see” list than when we’d come. Ha!

Until next time, Tucson!

See y’all down the road!

#westernloop2018
Las Cruces

Las Cruces

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Hey Guys! We spent a week in Las Cruces.

We had to tandem drive from our overnight stop in Junction, TX. If you know me, you know I’m not a driver…so I was pretty nervous about an entire day (it took us right around seven hours) of driving. It was actually ok until we got to El Paso. El Paso is huge with tons of lanes and tons of cars and I was a nervous wreck driving through it. Luckily, all I had to do was follow Jerl who was driving the RV. Nicholas rode with me and we listened to music the whole time.

After a drive day like that we needed a breather…and a burger. The next day we found our way to Hatch, NM and a place called Sparky’s where we had some of the best (and hottest) green chili cheeseburgers we’ve ever had. But, what do you expect from a town known for its chilies? We got there right before 11am and had to wait in a little line. As we sat there eating, the line kept growing and before we left it was out the door and down the block. It was that good. Aaannddd…when you’re in a town known for it’s green chilies…you have to try a chocolate green chili shake. Right? Alex said it was a good thing all of those green chilies were covered in sugar because they were super spicy!

We stopped by a little curio shop in Hatch to look around. Check out the hand painted pitcher and glasses! It’s a good thing we don’t have room for any big souvenirs…I would have walked away with a set of these. We did pick up some green chili powder. We’ve been adding it to our taco seasoning. It has a great taste!

We celebrated Alex’s 15th birthday with a pie. We now officially have a 17 year old, 15 year old, and a 13 year old… how is that possible? I swear I’m not old enough to have three teenagers!

Quite a bit of our time in Las Cruces was spent doing car work. Jerl ordered and replaced the broken headlight. We also spent a fair amount of time replacing the tow bar. You might remember our old tow bar ended up under our car. It was bent beyond repair. We upgraded and went with the next best model plus we added locking pins anywhere and everywhere someone could tamper with them. We would really like for out toad to stay behind the RV where it’s supposed to be…not racing us down the highway. No more joy riding please!

Jerl and I actually had a date night. We don’t have them often, but…we do have three teenagers who are capable of cooking for themselves…so, we out. We ended up at the High Desert Brewing Company and Guys…Oh. My. Goodness….we had the absolute spiciest green chilies EVER!! Wowzers!! Jerl had the green chili burger in the picture above with green chili queso fries. (right picture) I had a green chili quesadilla. We walked out of there with burning bellies! The food was so good, but sooo spicy!! We will totally go back the next time we’re in Las Cruces!! It’s a good thing we didn’t take the boys with us because there’s no way any of them could have handled the amount of spice those green chilies were packing. We did take the boys to a place called Andele’s Dog House for some very tasty and not too spicy food! These are the nachos I got. (left picture) They were really good! I asked for beef expecting to get ground beef…like taco meat…but got steak! The boys like it mainly because you could go get your own chips and salsa at the salsa bar. Kids. Ha!

Right down the road from where we stayed was Old Mesilla which was a stop on the Butterfield Overland Trail. The Butterfield Overland Trail is the predecessor to the Pony Express and ran from St. Louis to San Francisco. We had a good time walking around the little downtown square with all of it’s curio shops.

The Courthouse that Billy The Kid was tried in is now a gift shop. It was kind of fun to stick our heads in and see some of the old architecture.

We drove over the San Agustin Pass. There’s a little pull off at the top where there are some info signs and a pretty darn good view. The San Agustin Pass goes through three mountain ranges…the Organ Mountains, the San Andres Mountains, and the San Agustin Mountains.

We spent a little time hiking around the Dripping Springs area of the Organ Mountains-Desert Peaks National Monument. Before I tell you about the hike…let me just say that we almost didn’t do this hike. We were talking to one of the volunteers and she told us a couple times about all of the diamondback rattlesnakes down on this one trail that were super aggressive and had actually chased her down the trail. Guys…I do not want to be chased by a snake. Ever. I have a healthy fear of anything that can kill me and venomous snakes are pretty high on that list. I plucked up my courage and was bolstered by the fact that it was a pretty cool morning (and snakes don’t like cool weather) and we went for a hike up to Van Patten’s Mountain Camp. It was a pretty nice hike…it was a constant gradual up so we were breathing a little hard. It warmed us up and gave me a reason to stop every so often to take some pictures. You know, because I need a reason to take pictures. *wink wink*

Part way up the hike we found a set of old buildings that had been used as a livery for the Mountain Camp. (right picture) In the late 1800s the guests could ride a stage line from Las Cruces up to the hotel (mountain camp). By the early 1900s guests were showing up in automobiles too. About a quarter of a mile on up the trail we found the remnants of Van Patten’s Mountain Camp. (left picture) Major Eugene Van Patten built the resort hotel in the late 1800s. In 1915 Van Patten had some financial troubles and sold the resort to Dr. Nathan Boyd.

Dr. Boyd turned part of the resort into a tuberculosis sanatorium. Sometime in the 1920s Dr. Boyd sold the resort and sanatorium to a Dr. T.C. Sexton and by the 1940s the resort hotel was in ruins.

The Organ Mountains-Desert Peaks National Monument is run by the BLM. When a NPS unit isn’t run by the NPS we never know if there will be a Junior Ranger program or not. This one had a small one and even had a little badge that the boys earned. We were also warned about the Oryxx that roam the area. Apparently, they can run fast and they’re pretty muscly. They’re causing havoc with the ecosystem in the park because they don’t have a natural predator in this area. We spotted one resting under a tree. With the magic of a zoom lens we got a good look at it. Those are some serious horns!

The Dripping Springs area of the Organ Mountains-Desert Peaks NM is about 6000 feet in elevation. We enjoyed some pretty nice views through the whole hike.

There weren’t too many pretties around since it was still technically winter at this point, but these amazing little yellow pretties were in our yard for the week.

It was a stressful and busy week in Las Cruces with all of the car/tow bar work, but we thoroughly enjoyed the area!

See y’all down the road!

#westernloop2018

Phoenix Fiasco

Phoenix Fiasco

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Hey Guys! Let’s see…where did I leave you hanging?

Let’s recap just a bit… It was Tuesday and we were in one of our favorite RV parks in the Sedona area soaking up that awesome Sedona vibe, trying to figure out what was wrong with the engine of our home-on-wheels when a dealership in Phoenix called us back. If we got there that day they could get us in. Well, sweet chickens! Let’s get going! We let the office know of our early departure (no refund…we were paid up to Saturday) and we took off trying to get to Phoenix before the RV guy at the dealership left for the day.

We made it to the dealership where the RV guy listened to our engine and proclaimed he didn’t really know what was wrong with it, but that we were going to need a brand new engine. Hmmm…what? Oh, and they couldn’t even start working us in until after the first of the year. And, the RV guy made it seem like our engine was on it’s last leg. This was very new news to us since the other two dealerships we’d had it at couldn’t really find anything wrong and told us it wouldn’t hurt to keep driving.

It was Dec 19th (a Tuesday) in southern Arizona and our reservations at Lost Dutchman State Park didn’t start until that Saturday the 23rd. Well, what the hay-diddly were we going to do? Have y’all ever tried to get last minute reservations in the middle of the winter in southern Arizona? It’s nearly impossible if you’re not 55+ and you have kiddos. We called over to Lost Dutchman SP and miraculously found spots for the rest of the week. Unfortunately, you can’t reserve a spot for the same day…it’s first come…but we were told there were six available spots if we could get there. We didn’t really have a choice…we didn’t feel safe sitting in the dealership parking lot.

We chanced it. Worst case scenario we would have to dry camp for a night in one of our favorite state parks. It took us close to 2 hours to go the 46 miles from the dealership to Lost Dutchman SP.

When we got there the park office was already closed and it was getting dark. Luckily, we’d been there before and we knew our way around. Arizona gave us a pretty spectacular sunset as we were searching for a spot for the night.

We woke up in our favorite spot in Lost Dutchman. It was such a welcome sight! We’d been able to make reservations for the rest of the week until our original reservations would kick in, but we were going to have to move pretty much daily. It was going to be a week of site hopping. But, hey…at least we had a place! It could definitely have been worse. We headed up to the Ranger’s station to try and figure out what we were going to do for the three days that we needed to gap from when our reservations would run out and we could get into the dealership to get the work done. Guys, these Rangers and Volunteers were amazing. They bent over backwards trying to figure something…anything out for us and it worked. They pieced together places so that we would have someplace to stay through the end of the year.

We spent the first week spot hopping. It became a routine to get up and start watching for the people in our new spot to leave so we could move. Most days we were just a few spots over.

Let’s be totally honest here, there are no bad views at Lost Dutchman State Park. I mean, look at that view? How could anyone be in a bad mood with that view out their window? Plus the weather was ah-mazing! It was mid 70s during the day and low 50s at night. I could think of worse places to unexpectedly be stuck.

And…all of the moving made utilizing the dump station easier. The only downside to Lost Dutchman SP is that there aren’t any full hookup sites. But, geez, with those views…who cares.

It was the week before Christmas so we put engine issues on the side burner and started on our Christmas traditions. One of our traditions is to have tamales for our Christmas dinner. Some years it’s a challenge to find tamales, but this year we hit the jackpot! We ended up at a place called Old El Paso Tamales and Guys…they were soooo good!

We were able to sneak in a visit to a National Monument while we were in the Phoenix area. Casa Grande National Monument is preserving what remains of an ancient Hohokam (ho ho KAHM) farming village. Casa Grande (“Great House”) is one of the most prominent examples of the Ancestral People’s society.

In 1932 a steel and concrete canopy was built to protect Casa Grande from the harsh Arizona environment. At one time this Great House was four stories high and sixty feet long. This site is the largest known structure left by the Ancestral People of the Sonoran Desert. The builders of this Great House were very in tune with the sky. The walls face the four cardinal points of the compass and there are holes in the walls that align with the sun/moon at different times of the day/year. It took 3,000 tons of a concrete like mixture of sand, clay, and limestone to complete Casa Grande in 1350. We learned a lot at this National Monument and met another traveling family from Hawaii! Meeting other travel families is always fun!

We made it back to Burger House in Miami, AZ!! We drove 45 mins one way just to eat a Green Mix Burro Enchilada Style. I got one to eat there and one to take home. Yum!! If it’s possible my take home burro was even better!

Meanwhile, Arizona was showing off with all of the gorgeous sunsets.

We made it through our week of musical spots and settled into our original reservation spot. It was really nice to be able to stay put for longer than two days. Between all of the moving around, Christmas prep, and Casa Grande we only made it out to the trails once.

We hiked a portion of the Siphon Draw Trail one afternoon. I really enjoy this trail, but can’t work up the nerve to go all the way to the top of it. We’ve heard it takes about six hours to go all the way to the top and back. Now, y’all know we don’t shy away from a hiking challenge…the Guadalupe Peak and Harding Ice Field hikes are proof of that…but this trail has tons of loose gravel once it reaches a certain point. It’s at this point that I turn around. I stood there…at my turn around point…and watched countless people slip and slide and fall and I totally chickened out. Again. It’s hard enough to hike on loose rock as it is, but I’m carrying my camera in one hand so that only leaves me one hand to balance, catch myself, and climb. I’m looking into a solution to this. I’m determined to reach the top of Siphon Draw one day.

Until then, I’ll just soak up the views and the sun as much as I can! I’m always amazed at how green the Sonoran desert is. One day I’ll make it to the Sonoran desert during the spring so I can see all of the cactus flowers! I’ve heard it’s spectacular!

Let’s talk foodies! We ate at a few new places, the two worth mentioning are both called Taquitos Jalisco. No joke. We were at an office store getting my calendar printed out and asked someone where some good Mexican food could be found. She pointed us to Taquitos Jalisco. Problem was…there were two and we weren’t really sure which one she meant. So, of course, we had to try both! Guys, both places were so good! Very different from one another, but both very good! We will definitely hit both again next time we get back to the area!

Y’all might remember that Jerl had to have eye surgery back in late September 2017. Well, it was time for another post-op eye check and we coordinated with his eye doc (Dr. Benedett) to find someone to do the exam in the Phoenix area. We love Dr. Benedett, by-the-way.  December 28th we headed to Jerl’s check-up and found out that his retina was re-detaching. We didn’t really go into panic mode until the young doctor we were seeing started giving us conflicting information. That worried us. A lot. He couldn’t even tell us if Jerl would be under general anesthesia or local anesthesia during the process.

We spent the afternoon talking about all of our options. There weren’t really that many. I jumped online and tried to find an RV park that we would be able to stay at for 2 months in the Phoenix area and guess what…nadda. As good as the Ranger’s at Lost Dutchman are, there were no available spots. Not even for one night after our reservations ended. For several reasons we decided to chance a 1,425 mile dash back to Missouri on an engine that was acting up and through winter weather to get back to Dr. Benedett. Yup, he’s that good.

In the next post I’ll fill y’all in about our mad dash to Missouri and give you an update on Jerl’s eye and the RV engine.

See y’all down the road!

#grandwesternloop

Sedona Take Two

Sedona Take Two

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Hey Guys!! From Santa Fe we headed to the Sedona, AZ area where we were supposed to spend two glorious weeks hiking, hiking, and hiking some more. It didn’t quite work out that way…well, I’ll explain all of that later.

Excuse the poor quality of the top picture. Between the dirty windshield and the sun right in my face…this is as good as I could get from my phone. So! When you go to Sedona from the north you have to make your way down from the Colorado Plateau that northern Arizona sits on. This makes for a hair raising…sometimes white knuckled, puckery trip as you make your way down 18 full miles of lots and lots of down. It’s not a steep grade. I don’t think it ever goes above 7%…it’s just that it’s 18 miles of it and you have to watch out that you don’t burn up your breaks before you get down to the bottom. Fortunately for those whose breaks don’t hold up, the builders of this road put in several runaway truck ramps along with just as many pull-offs so over heated breaks can cool off before continuing on. You have to be smart when driving a big rig down this portion of the highway and if it’s your first time, I would suggest you do it during the daylight hours.

Don’t worry though, we made it to our RV park and into our spot with no troubles! One of our favorite things about our life is all the people we get to meet. We met a couple from Montana (one of our neighbors) who quickly became friends. It’s always fun to meet back up with friends we make in our travels.

We spent most of Sunday going to Jerome. Jerome has some amazing views from it’s perch on the side of Cleopatra Hill where it overlooks the Verde Valley. Originally a copper mining town, Jerome has faced some pretty big disasters and today is said to be very haunted with a local myth about lost gold in the nearby Sycamore Canyon. There are still remnants of Jerome’s colorful past scattered throughout town. Apparently, it was a really rough and dangerous place to live at one time.

We went for the views…and the burgers. The first time we were in the Sedona area we drove up to Jerome in hopes of eating at The Haunted Hamburger, but we couldn’t find a single place to park. Anywhere! So, we turned around and headed on. This time, we got there earlier and found a spot not too far from our destination. To be totally honest, we weren’t overly impressed with the burgers here. They were just kind of ok for us and the prices…we don’t mind paying for a good meal, but if I’m paying $15 for a burger…it had better be one of the best burgers I’ve ever had in my life! The view from our table was awesome though! And…according to their story, the place really is haunted! We didn’t have any paranormal experiences while we were there, but it made for some fun conversation while we waited for our food.

The boys have been talking about Bell Rock since we were there back in 2015. It’s a fun place to do some rock scrambling and see how far up the rock formation you can make it. Personally, I like to go up part way then find a spot to sit and relax and just take in the epic view of all of those red rocks.

One of the reasons we have the tow vehicle we have is so we can venture down roads like the one in the picture above. We really loved the Devil’s Bridge hike the first time we were in the area and decided to tackle it again. The hardest part about this hike (and possibly the best part for Jerl since he gets to do some 4x4ing) is getting to the official trail head. For those that don’t have the right kind of vehicle, there’s a parking lot you can park in that adds about 2 miles to your hike.

The trail isn’t one of those smooth, flat, well maintained trails…it’s very much a wilderness type of trail where you have to watch where you’re walking. There’s quite a bit of up with this trail, but none of it is terribly hard. There are a few places that can be a challenge for people with short legs.

Devil’s Bridge is a great TAB (there and back) trail that ends up being around a mile and a half if you can drive to the official trail head. It’s a popular trail so be prepared to share the trail and take turns at the bridge for pictures.

The only other trail we had time for was the West Fork Oak Creek Trail. This is another TAB trail and runs about 4 miles one way. Oh, and you cross Oak Creek 13 times…one way…so that makes 26 chances to fall into the creek. The boys were thrilled at the prospect of “accidentally” falling in. Ha! At the beginning of the trail you can explore a few old structures left over from days gone by when there was a small log cabin back in the 1860s which later became Mayhew Lodge in the 1920s.

All four of the boys had to smell the ponderosa trees. A ponderosa is a type of pine tree and if you’ve never stopped to smell one…well, you’re definitely missing out. We’ve smelled vanilla, butterscotch, toasted marshmallow…it mainly depends on the age of the tree and the smell can even change a bit with the season. Try it next time you see one!

The morning we hiked the West Fork trail it was a chilly 30° and the creek was mostly frozen over so we had to plan out our creek crossings. The ice made the rocks especially treacherous so we took our time at each crossing.

For the most part, this trail was super easy! The only challenge to this trail were the creek crossings…and I’ll be honest, even those weren’t bad. West Fork Oak Creek Trail ended up being one of our favorite trails in the area. We’ve already talked about going back during warmer weather to hike it again. And if you’re wondering, only a couple of us fell in the creek…a few times…you’re going to have to guess who it was though. I’m not telling.

Let’s talk foodies! We found Hog Wild BBQ during our 2015 trip to the area. Places like this are why it’s so hard to pay the high price for an ok burger. (Top right picture) This was an awesome burger for half the price. Juanita’s Taqueria was a recommendation from someone who worked in the RV park. This place has the best shredded beef tacos we’ve ever had. (bottom left picture) We had plans to eat there again before we left the area, but a monkey wrench was thrown into our plans.

We started having engine troubles when we left Amarillo. We’d had our home-on-wheels to two different Ford dealerships and none of the techs could tell us really what was wrong, only that they weren’t big enough to work on an RV and to check with a different dealership. While we were in Sedona we ended up at a dealership in Cottonwood which led us to contacting a dealership in Phoenix. The dealership in Phoenix told us they were pretty busy and that it would be a week before we could get in…which was cool because we had about a week left in the Sedona area before heading to the Phoenix area for our next stop anyway.

Ready for the monkey wrench? The Phoenix dealership ended up calling us on Tuesday telling us if we could get our RV there that day they could get us in. Now, I should mention here that we’d been hearing horror stories of how long it can take to get stuff done at these dealerships… so we jumped at the chance to get our process going. We left the Sedona area (without a refund for the week we’d already paid for at the RV park) and headed to Phoenix. Guys, when we got there…the techs spent 20 minutes (maybe) guessing and then told us they couldn’t get us in until after the first of the year. That would be two weeks from then. So…we were stuck in southern Arizona during the winter snowbird rush without reservations.

I hate to leave you with a cliffhanger, but you’ll have to wait until the next post to see what happens since we’re into the Phoenix area post now.

I’ll leave you with this video of our Sedona adventures!

See y’all down the road!

#grandwesternloop

New Mexico Foodies

New Mexico Foodies

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Hey Guys! I know what you’re thinking…a whole post just for foodies? But, y’all know we love our foodies! Our explorations are just as much about the foodies as they are the views, National & State Parks, and the hiking. Every new area has it’s specialty…certain things that you can only get there or that were started there.

For New Mexico, there are several foodies that you’ll want to seek out while visiting! New Mexican foodies aren’t really Mex, but they aren’t quite Tex either. They’re this happy little medium that usually looks like a plate of goop…but tastes very much like magic! There are six foodies that most people will agree are the quintessential New Mexican foodies, so let’s go through those first.

Before we jump into the foodies…let’s get one thing out of the way. In New Mexico…chilies reign supreme. In the grocery stores you’ll find them in these handy little tubs that are good for one meal. You can get them hot, medium, or mild. Fire roasted or not. Chopped, diced, or pureed. You definitely have options. My favorite (and the most cost effective) way is to get big 5 lb. bags of frozen chopped chilies then divvy them up into smaller one pound bags that I can pull from the freezer and throw into anything.

The most important question you’ll be asked in a New Mexican restaurant is if you want red or green. Until you’ve found your favorite, I’d suggest Christmas style. Half red and half green!

On to the Foodies! I’ll start with the Green Chile Cheeseburger. You can easily find these all over New Mexico, but not all burgers are created equal. Any green chili cheeseburger we’ve had comes with a mound of green chilies and is covered in a white cheese. The easiest place to find them would be at a Blake’s Lotaburger. Blake’s is a fast-food place. Think Dairy Queen with a New Mexican twist. And while Blake’s isn’t our favorite, it’s where the locals go for a quick burger. After two tours through New Mexico we’ve found two places that we feel have the best all around green chili cheeseburger. We found Rockin BZ Burgers in Alamogordo our first time through NM and dreamed about them for two years before we could get back there. Rockin BZ still number one for us, but a close (and we mean a very close) second is Church Street Grill in Carlsbad. With these two places you’ll get the whole package. The chilies are hot, but not melt-your-face-off, the meat is good quality, the cheese has a nice mild flavor, and the buns hold up nicely. And then you’ve got a decent selection of really good sides.

Green Chile Stew is a New Mexican staple food. Every restaurant will have their own little twist on this dish, but they don’t usually stray too far from the simple dish of green chilies, pork, garlic, onions, and potatoes in a broth. It’s one of our favorite things to make at home so we don’t usually order it out. We’re kind of partial to our own recipe after two years of tweaking and getting it just right for our taste buds. I should say though…anytime we’ve ordered it out, the green chili stew is loaded with flavor and the meat is so tender it falls apart in your mouth!

Sopapillas are fried pockets of light airy dough! In New Mexico they’re served with the meal. You can eat them the way you’d eat a roll or save them for the end of the meal and have them with honey. Actually, if you get into some big time heat with your meal, this is a great way to help cut the heat.

One of my favorite ways to get a sopapilla is stuffed. It’s hard to see under that pile of cheese and chili sauce, but there’s a great big sopapilla on that plate stuffed with pork and green chilies, and more cheese. We’ve had some really good stuffed sopapillas! The Sopapilla Factory in Santa Fe and Sadie’s of New Mexico in Albuquerque are two of our favorites!

Breakfast Burritos are a staple in New Mexico. Pretty much every restaurant that sells breakfast has a breakfast burrito on the menu and we’ve never had one we didn’t like. The biggest decision you’ll have to make is if you want it dry or covered. Covered comes with the chili sauce of your choice (red or green) and cheese. Dry is…well, just like it sounds…more of a pick-it-up type of burrito. It’s rumored that the breakfast burrito started at a restaurant called Tia Sophias in Santa Fe back in the 70s. We’ve never had one there, but we have had lunch there and we highly recommend it for an authentic New Mexican meal!

Stacked Enchiladas are exactly what they sound like! Instead of rolled individually, the enchiladas are stacked on top of each other…kind of like an enchilada casserole. I was reluctant to try these. To me enchiladas are rolled up, sitting side by side, little tubes of awesome. But, I wanted the full New Mexican Foodie experience…so I broke down and tried them. And then I ordered them every chance I got. Yup, I’m a fan. My two favorite places to get this magical enchilada casserole-esque dish is at Casa De Suenos in Tularosa and at  Rancho De Chimayo in Chimayo. In forty-three states, I’ve only seen stacked enchiladas in New Mexico. Maybe I missed them somewhere? I don’t know, but I highly recommend giving them a chance!

Navajo Tacos are probably my favorite New Mexican foodie. I know, I know…it’s just a taco…but, y’all, it’s soooo much more than just a taco! First of all, it’s made on Navajo Indian fry bread. It’s the fry bread that totally makes this taco so amazing. Indian fry bread is similar to the sopapilla in that it’s a light airy bread, but that’s really where the similarity ends. Indian fry tends to have more of a chew and the outside is crisper! It really is perfection! There are variations to this, but usually you’ll find a Navajo Taco with ground beef, beans, green chili sauce, lettuce, tomatoes, and cheese. My absolute favorite is from Twisters in Albuquerque, but the Sopapilla Factory in Santa Fe is a very close second!

So, those are your six main New Mexican Foodies, but they’re definitely not the only New Mexican Foodies!

They’re called rolled tacos…but they’re basically taquitos. A corn tortilla stuffed with a meat and then rolled and deep fried! Usually served with something to dip them in. This New Mexican Foodie is Nicholas’ favorite.

Sometimes you’ll find something special on the menu. It’s a burger, wrapped in a flour tortilla, and then deep fried. It’s the ultimate New Mexican hamburger! We’ve seen them dry (where you pick them up) and covered (fork and knife type of meal). You can’t go wrong either way!

In the more authentic restaurants, you’ll find your meal comes with a side of posole. You can see it in the picture above…it’s the white stuff. So, what the heck is posole? Well, posole is a traditional New Mexican stew made of hominy, pork, and spices. It’s usually very savory and filling. Any posole I’ve had has a bit of a kick to it and the hominy still has just the tiniest bit of chew left. It’s surprisingly good (I’m not usually a fan of hominy)!

If you’re in New Mexico…you have to try some biscochito cookies! They’re kind of cross between a shortbread cookie and a butter cookie spiced with cinnamon and anise.  They’re crispy and sweet and they are a really good way to help cut the heat of some of the food when you’re done with your spicy meal! And, if you need another excuse to try them…biscochitos are the New Mexican state cookie!

I would be remiss if I didn’t mention the spices and tortillarias in a post about New Mexican Foodies! There is a brand of spices called Chimayo Traditions that I absolutely love! They’ve got some great mixes with recipes on the back like the one in the pic above, but they’ve also got my favorite chile powder! I stock up and horde it to make it stretch out. If you’ve found this brand somewhere besides New Mexico…please tell me where! We can eat ourselves silly on fresh tortillas and chips from the tortillarias! We always take the opportunity to have some with our favorite home cooked meals!

OK, Guys…that’s all I’ve got for you on New Mexican Foodies! Hopefully, I’ve inspired you to take a trip to New Mexico or try your hand at making something new at home. Get out there and try some new foodies!

See y’all down the road!

#grandwesternloop

Santa Fe Area

Santa Fe Area

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Hey Guys! We spent one week in the Santa Fe area trying to hit everything we missed last time and revisit a few of our favorites.

The first thing we did was hit one of our very favorite pizza places. Back Road Pizza. We’ve been talking about this pizza since we discovered it two years ago! The New Mexican pizza is probably our all time favorite.

We also managed to hit three National Park Units! It’s amazing how many NPS Units are in this area!

The Pecos National Historical Park preserves two Pecos Pueblo ruins along with old church ruins. Most of the pueblo ruins looked like the pic above. Not much was left. Around 2/3 of the South Pueblo ruins remain in an unexcavated mound. I wanted to include a picture of this sign to give y’all an idea of what one of these pueblos used to look like. Pecos, at its peak, was a trading place for the Plains Apaches and would have been home to around 2,000 people.

We saw several Kivas. I think I saw that there are 20 kivas at the Pecos Pueblo. You can see the remains of one in the pic above. (top right picture) During the Fall of 1540, the Pecos’ lives would be changed forever when a Spanish expedition claimed the land for their king and demanded the Pecos become Christians. The first mission built was finished in 1625. It’s estimated that the builders used around 300,000 forty-pound adobe bricks to complete the 1625 mission. This first mission functioned for 55 years but burned during a rebellion in 1680. The Pecos people tied a certain number of knots in ropes and handed them out to everyone. Each day they would untie one knot. When the last knot was untied, the rebellion started. The second mission was finished in 1717. By 1821 Pecos was almost a ghost town and in 1838 the last inhabitants left the pueblo to join their relatives at the Jemez Pueblo eighty miles away.

Fort Union National Monument protects what’s left of the three forts once built here. When the US acquired the New Mexico Territory at the end of the Mexican-American War, Fort Union was built to guard and aid in the American expansion into the Southwest.

Fort Union was positioned where the Santa Fe Trail’s two main branches met. Some years over 3,000 wagons made a trip up or down the Santa Fe Trail’s 900 miles. For many, Fort Union was the end of a long 800 mile journey through the Great Plains under constant threat of attack. At Fort Union there was someone on watch at all hours for incoming riders/wagon trains on the trail. When riders or wagon trains were spotted Fort riders were sent out to get everything organized and into a single file line by the time they reached the Fort. So, what was a trail wide enough that it would allow up to four wagons to ride side by side ended up being a single file trail closer to Fort Union. Can you imagine having that job? Telling riders at the end of an 800 mile wagon ride that they need to slow down and get in single file line? I imagine they were met with some grumpy people.

Fort Union protected the Santa Fe trail and it’s travelers, aided in protecting against Native American attacks, and was a major supplier for the US Army. There were three forts built here from 1851-1891 each fort getting bigger and stronger than the one before it.  What once was the largest fort west of the Mississippi River is falling into ruins today. The NPS isn’t allowed to do anything but try to preserve what’s left. They’re trying their hardest to preserve this part of our history.

The grass has grown up over the trail. If there wasn’t a sign, you’d never know you were looking at one of the most important trials in US history. Can you imagine setting off on a 900 mile wagon journey across the Great Plains? Wagons could only cross in the summer or early fall when there was enough grass to feed the mules and oxen that pulled the wagons and they would only make around 8 to 10 miles a day. I’m not sure I’m cut out for that kind of travel. I feel like we’re crawling when we’re going 55 mph down the highway in our home-on-wheels!

The last NPS Unit we made it to in our week in the Santa Fe area was the Valles Caldera National Preserve. Valle Grande, in the picture above, was formed around one million years ago when a series of huge volcanic eruptions spewed a volume of material 500 times greater than the May 1980 eruption of Mt. St. Helens. There’s a visitor center here and some trails, but we didn’t get to do much because it was cold and icy the day we went. I’d love to go back during the spring when it’s all green!

Valles Caldera looks like a big bear paw on a map. Can you see it?  (top picture) We heard some of the Natives in the area call it that. This area is gorgeous even with the forest healing from a big fire a few years back.

One of the neat things about this NPS Unit is due to all of the volcanic activity. There are tons of obsidian laying around! What you might not know (we didn’t) is that when obsidian reaches a certain temperature it turns into poofy obsidian. A what obsidian? Poofy. In the picture above, you can see a normal shiny, black piece of obsidian. Next to it is the poofy obsidian. Poofy obsidian is soooo light and airy! It was pretty neat to see and feel the difference. If you step on it, it poofs. If you hold it too tight, it poofs. Due to the large fire there are tons of poofy obsidian in the park now. If you visit this park, please don’t poof their obsidian.

We also stopped back by Bandelier National Monument to revisit it in hopes of seeing it without snow, but the main trail was closed due to maintenance…so, we hopped back in the car and drove on. The views in this area are pretty stellar!

New Mexico is one of our favorite states. The views, the hikes, the NPS Units, the foodies, and the vibe all speak to us. There are so many postcard worthy vistas in this gorgeous state!

I imagine we will go back to New Mexico again and again throughout the years!

See y’all down the road!

#grandwesternloop

Sand, Science, and Chilies

Sand, Science, and Chilies

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Hey Guys! We spent one jam packed week in the Alamogordo area of New Mexico. This was our second visit to the Alamogordo area and we still didn’t get through our entire to-see list!

The first thing we did when we got back to town was grab one of our absolute favorite burgers! Rockin’ BZ Burgers is still as good as we remembered them to be.

The second thing we did was revisit White Sands National Monument to get some sled time in!

Alex thought his sled was going a little slow so he waxed his sled up for some speed, then he found the tallest dune he could find! We expected a scene out of Christmas Vacation when Clark sprays his varnish on the bottom of his sled. It wasn’t quite that fast, but he did say he could tell a difference!

We did a Ranger guided sunset stroll one evening at White Sands. I love how bright white the sand looks next to the vivid blue the sky on a bright sunny day, but I have to admit…I’m kind of digging how soft everything looks in the late afternoon lighting.

And Guys, check out this sunset!

We finally made it to the New Mexico Museum of Space History! We tried to make it last time we were in Alamogordo, but we ran out of time. We learned about Ham, the worlds first Astrochimp who traveled into space in that little capsule you see in the above top picture. Nicholas had a good time dressing up in astronaut gear! :-}

There was a whole section on Star Trek. Beam me up Scotty!! There were some very cool exhibits! This one in the right picture was a rumble pad where you felt the power of a shuttle take off. It was a really cool exhibit!

We had way too much fun with the Whisper Dish! We all took turns whispering and listening to each other from across the Museum park. The nerd always comes out of us when we find an interactive museum! Our nerd hearts were very happy at this one.

We found an old train trestle while we were out exploring Cloudcroft. Check out the view we found! Can you find White Sands NP in the pic above? It’s there! Check the left side of the picture.

Oh! We found these really yummy and super huge biscochitos at a place called Rizo’s! They were fresh baked and so so good.

We never know what the grocery store is going to be like. The first time we visited Alamogordo we found Lowes and fell in love with it! We were all excited to go back to the tortillaria for some fresh made tortillas and to grab some roasted chilies from the produce section!

We had to stock up on our favorite treats before we left town. What’s not in the picture is the 10lbs of frozen green chilies we bought. We love green chilies!! The only other thing we had time for was hitting up the two pistachio farms to stock up on some tasties!

Alamogordo was one of our favorite places from our first loop back in 2015. When I added it to this loop I worried that it really wasn’t as great as we remember it to be. That burger wasn’t really that good. White Sands really wasn’t that fun. But Guys, it totally was! Alamogordo is definitely one of our favorite places and after two visits…we still have new things to do there!

See y’all down the road!

#grandwesternloop

Back In New Mexico!

Back In New Mexico!

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We’re back in New Mexico!! We’ve been missing that New Mexico vibe ever since we found it back in 2015 during our first visit to the “Land of Enchantment”.

We spent two very very full weeks in the Carlsbad, NM area and Guys…we didn’t even come close to seeing it all! I can’t cover everything we did so I’m going to stick with our three favorite adventures in this area. Nicholas will cover a different one for y’all in a different post! The RV park we stayed at had this cool mural on the side of one of it’s buildings.

By chance, I found out about a very cool place in Lincoln National Forest. I’m hesitant to even tell y’all the name because it would be a shame for it to be overrun with people and ruined.  But, because I love y’all so much…I’m going to spill it. Just for you. Sitting Bull Falls!

The CCC was assigned to work at the Sitting Bull Falls Recreation Area in 1940. Most of the structures there today were built by them and they’re still standing strong.

A long long time ago a big portion of the United States was under a Permian Sea. The mountains we know as the Guadalupe Mountain Range is, in fact, an ancient barrier reef very much like the Great Barrier Reef off the coast of Australia today. There are places where the ancient reef is exposed and you can see it. Sitting Bull Falls is one of those places!

On our hike to the top of the falls we kept marveling at all of the fossil bed we could see. If you look closely you can actually see some of the ancient reef fossils! How cool is that? And how nerdy does it make us that we spent quite a lot of time looking at the ancient fossil beds? Don’t answer that…I don’t really want to know. We’re nerds and proud of it! Ha!

When we got to Sitting Bull Falls there were two other families there. One family was leaving, but the other family looked like they were…well, just getting started on a selfie session. They were selfie-ing fast and furious. So…we hiked to the top of the falls to kill some time and see what we could find. We found some really pretty fall colors! We walked the path beside the stream that made the falls for a while before heading back to the falls. When we got back that same family was still taking selfies. Seriously…how many selfies does a person need of the exact same spot?

Speaking of the falls… There are actually three falls. You can explore all of the nooks and crannies at the base of the falls. The boys had the best time here! We found this little pool of green algae that was flowing with the water. It would move and sway with the current. I took a video of it…hopefully the movement shows up in it. I’ll add it to the video that I’ll add to the last post for the Carlsbad area so watch for it there.

Because the falls are so gorgeous…here’s one more shot of them.

Just in case y’all didn’t know…New Mexico is Cougar Country. And…as if that isn’t frightening enough…there’s all kinds of different types of rattlesnakes. I’m kind of glad I didn’t see these signs before we went on our little hike to the top of the falls.

Let’s see…oh yeah, foodies! Carlsbad was a total surprise to us! In a completely good way! I was expecting more of a wider spot in the road with some touristy shops type of area, but it’s not that at all! We found a great little Mexican place called El Jimador, another spot called Danny’s Place that not only had some great smoked meat but, a pretty darn good smothered burrito!

And then there’s Church Street Grill with their Green Chili Burgers and their Texas Toothpicks (onion straws and strips of jalapenos). Guys…this place was soooo good! Too good! Like, I-need-bigger-pants-now good!

They’re not your typical pretties, but you have to admit…they are pretty.

Well, I think I’m going to have to break the Carlsbad area into a few different posts. So stay tuned for the two National Parks we explored along with Nicholas’ post on a zoo we visited!!

See y’all down the road!!

#grandwesternloop

Heading West

Heading West

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Hey Guys! We’re back on the road and heading west this loop! We’ll spend the next year making our way through twelve states before heading back to Missouri to visit family again. The plan is to finish up the remaining six states in the contiguous US left on our map, grab a few places we missed as we went through some of the states the first time, as well as, revisit a few of our favorite places. We’ll (hopefully) hit around 40 different National Park Units as we make our way through our #grandwesternloop!

We spent two weeks in the Amarillo, TX area. We don’t normally stop at “roadside attractions”, but we found ourselves at two different roadside attractions while we were in Amarillo. Cadillac Ranch was created in 1974 along Route 66 just west of Amarillo by Chip Lord, Doug Michels, and Hudson Marquez . For those traveling The Mother Road this roadside attraction is a must. And don’t worry…it’s completely legal to spray graffiti on the cars at Cadillac Ranch.

We had to leave our mark. Can you find it?

We’ve heard that the city is thinking about closing Cadillac Ranch down because of all of the spray paint cans being left there. We saw quite a few littering the ground near the Cadillacs. We brought our own cans and we threw them away in the handy dumpsters the city has provided when we left. If you go…make sure to do your part and put trash where it goes.

The other roadside attraction we found ourselves at was the Jack Sisemore RV Museum. We weren’t really sure what to expect here, but we’d heard it was a neat stop and at a great price. Free!

Jack Sisemore has been collecting old RVs for over 25 years. He’s redone some of them and left some in the condition he found them in. He has several RVs in his collection put together to make this museum that you can walk through and see how much RVs have changed over the years. The oldest one he has is the 1921 Ford Lamsteed Kamkar you can see in the pic above. The Kamkar body was mounted onto a standard Model T Ford and came with everything you needed. It was made by Anheuser-Busch and sold for a grand total of $535.00 in St. Louis, MO.

This is a 1976 FMC and was owned by Max Factor, Jr. You might know him as the president of Max Faxtor Cosmetics. We had way more fun going through these old RVs than we thought we would.

Each RV that had been restored also had been set up with items popular the year the RV was made. Check out that video camera! The kitchens were stocked with items from the specific year of the RV. Check out the old tins!

You might recognize this bus from the movie RV! It’s the one they used to film the movie! The inside of the bus was…a little lackluster. I’m going to have to rewatch that movie and pay attention to the scenes shot inside the bus.

Some of the vehicles in the museum aren’t strictly…RVs, but they’ve been used as one. I love this old VW bus! Talk about vintage vanlife!

At the back of the museum they had an old gas station set up. Check out the air conditioner on this car! Here, let me give you a better look at this beast of an air conditioner. Can you imagine sitting right by it? My head would be frozen! It was a true feat of engineering and could be yours for the low price of only $12.85!!

We snuck in a National Park that we hadn’t planned on. The Alibates Flint Quarries National Monument was a very cool place to visit. When we got there we almost didn’t make it inside due to an infestation of paper wasps. I didn’t get any photos…I was more worried about being stung, but oh my word…there had to have been a couple hundred wasps flying around the visitor center. It was slightly terrifying.

Unfortunately, we didn’t get to see the actual quarry because we’d just missed the last tour. We did peruse the museum and watch a film about the area before heading out to see what we could of the park. This area was known for it’s flint. The Native Americans would come here to get the flint to make their weapons and tools. We were able to see and touch some of the flint! Somehow, we ended up on this one lane (but not one way) dirt road. We hoped it would lead to some amazing overlook of the flint quarry, but it just kind of wound it’s way around the area where Lake Meredith used to be. Our GPS was convinced we were driving through Lake Meredith. Ha!

Let’s talk foodies…we found an awesome burger joint called Hil’s Burgers in Canyon, TX! If you go…make  sure to get the onion rings. We also found a Torchy’s Taco in Amarillo…so we had to eat there. Once… or twice…or more.

We also went to a very cool state park, which I’ll tell you about in the next post because this post is getting to be way too long!!

See y’all down the road!

#grandwesternloop