mmm-yoso is a food blog. Todays post is about food but not about any local places and is written by Cathy. Kirk is really busy.
Long story short: 2020 was a sad year for all of us and for my family personally. Death certificates were involved and a small consolation was the availability of a vehicle with low mileage (opposed to mine with 230K miles). My brother started driving and called from Iowa last Tuesday. I flew into Denver on Wednesday and we began driving West together. Here are some highlights of the trip, with food.
The Denver Airport is huge and there are three terminals/train stops before you get to luggage pick up. I was fascinated.
We were on our way in the chilly weather, with a view of the Rockies. 
Needing to fuel up and get a snack or two, we stopped into one of the many Convenience Store Truck stops that line our highways and byways, Kum & Go. Yes. It was mentioned in the middle of this post. 
There is more, much, much more offered.
No, I did not purchase any branded merchandise, not even the washable face mask. 
We took the Exit in Golden, Colorado to Historic Central City, Colorado, a former Mining Town 
which has the primary road named Casino Parkway. 
We stopped here, the Monarch Casino Resort Spa. There's a 24 hour Cafe.
Shrimp linguine, a bowl of (really good) clam chowder and a side salad with my undecided dressing choices. Great food, pretty town. Still decorated for Christmas. 
That night we got to Silt-Rifle, Colorado and stayed at the Holiday Inn Express, which had a beautiful view from the room. 
and a bagged breakfast instead of buffet, because…Covid. 
(and yes, it was cold- 
).
Eventually, we got to Utah, 
which has Rest Areas with explanations of your view.
Freeway exits notify you of businesses at that exit. We saw "Mom's Cafe" and had to. It's about two miles form the exit.
The Special- Hot roast beef w/ mashed potatoes and vegetables. Soup of the day: Chicken noodle. We each ordered the same thing.
Home made noodles. Dumplings, really. A wonderful, perfect broth. Quite a bit of chicken. A great cup of soup.
A huge portion of roast beef. Real mashed potatoes, lovely beefy gravy and more fresh carrots.
Our nice waitress, Kathryn, brought this warm delight out. She called it a 'scone' and said it was what Mom's was known for. It was a sort of Indian Fry Bread. Still warm, it tasted slightly sweet and was fluffy and nice. With the honey butter on top, it was a fancy donut! So glad we stopped here.
Price? each special was $8.99, beverages $2.29
Mom's Cafe 10 East Main Street Salina, Utah 84654 (435) 529-3921 Website
We continued driving through Utah, a bit of Arizona and then Nevada, which had pretty rest areas.
I dropped my brother at the rental car area at the Las Vegas Airport and checked into the hotel, which had this view from the 9th floor in the morning. 
My dinner was an appetizer plate.
Breakfast the next morning was the corned beef hash. Driving home to California, I stopped in Baker, but only for photos. 
Then I continued on to San Diego. 
A winter trip, with food, 
and a new (to me) car.
Stay safe!
Cathy–you are in our thoughts here. Sorry about the circumstances surrounding the car coming your way.
2020 wasn’t a very good year, was it? I am sorry for your loss. Glad you are okay though. Thanks for sharing the pictures and keeping up the hard work as usual on the blog. Been saying this for years, but still craving a good casino buffet for the past 13 years. One day I’ll be back in Vegas. Be well Cathy.
virtual hugs Cathy, please take care & continue to stay safe.
Thank you, Wendy. The trip was a nice little vacation and my brother and I had some good talks as well as good meals.
**hug**, Kat. Trying to stay isolated for ten days since I was more than 120 miles from home. Thinking about the food and wish we lived closer to Mom’s Cafe.
Cathy, I’m sorry for your family’s losses. It’s hard to believe how different it is for dining inside in different states.
Thank you, Sandy. The differences began at the airports- San Diego had every other seat marked to not sit; nothing like that in Denver. Getting straws and plastic bags automatically was a long forgotten amenity, although self serve in the Truck Stop/Convenience Stores was a bit disconcerting.
My condolences about the loss, I hope you’re doing well amidst these circumstances. Thanks for sharing your journey through the states; the food looks just the right kind of comfort for a trip like this.
Thanks, Ben. It was different doing a cross country drive in Winter, but since Covid, nothing is the same anyhow. The food stops are always interesting, with some local ‘specialties’; we live in a beautiful, great country with a magnificent freeway system.
Did you try the Koolee? That’s good you found lots of food to try.
Condolences to you and your family Cathy. Thank you for sharing your story and the details of your trip back to San Diego. I am glad you were able to spend quality time with your brother on the drive back. That “scone” with honey butter looked good (as fried bread normally is).
It was cold and windy when we stopped here, Soo; the Koolee wasn’t considered, although the cherry limeade would have been my pick. It was so nice to be able to drive and see how the rest of the USA was living. The food finds were all really nice.
Thanks, cc. I suppose all of us will go through this at some point. We made it interesting, not only with the time of year, but with the stops; that scone was kind of a funnel cake batter and a real surprise…and a reminder to try something local and new to you.
I just found your comment in the spam filter, Sawyer. Thank you for your kind words. It looks like a few casinos in Nevada are going ahead with a type of buffet- sort of cafeteria style, but you do get all you want with limits on lobster and crab legs. Not ready to do that, though..