Road Trip – Page 11

Road Trip – Nochi Bakery (Gallup NM), a Story About Gallup N.M., and we Arrive at La Posada (Winslow, AZ)

March 17, 2023 mmm-yoso Filipino Restaurants, Flagstaff/ Sedona/Winslow/Northern AZ, New Mexico, Road Trip, Travel

We had a wonderful night of sleep after our dinner at Geronimo and woke refreshed. Sadly, we needed to leave on this morning. So we had a light breakfast at the hotel, drove to Whole Foods and bought up more of those Red and Green Chile Peanut Brittle and hit the road. Our next destination was a visit back to Winslow and this time we were actually staying the night at La Posada. We drove down the 25 thru Albuquerque and then west on the I-40. By the time we got to Gallup it was time for a break.

It was a pretty quiet Tuesday when we drove into town and parked. We walked around a bit stretching our legs after an almost 4 hour drive from Santa Fe and enjoyed all the public art.

While strolling along Route 66, we noticed a Filipino Bakery, in Gallup!

With a tight little menu of Siopao, Lumpia, and sandwiches….here in Gallup!

I decided to get something small to eat and ordered a Siopao, then some coffee at the next counter. We noticed what looked like a Filipino Market right next door….

And took a quick look while waiting for my steamed bun.

Which was ready when we walked back thru the doorway. We had a seat, and I had my light lunch.

The pork siopao was not bad.

The bread was fluffy, slightly moist, a bit on the sweet side but that's to be expected. The filling wasn't too sweet, nice savory tones. Overall, a bit heavy in the bread versus the filling, but this wasn't bad at all.

Heck, I've had worse in San Diego!

The really nice and friendly young lady working the register me their family is originally from LA….now in Gallup of all places.

Nochi Bakery
107 W Highway 66
Gallup, New Mexico 87301

We took our time strolling back to our car.

While driving over the train tracks back to the I-40 West, I crossed over on the Miyamura overpass. Of course, the name got my attention. So, when I got back home I did that Google thing and found that the overpass (and a school in Gallup) is named for Medal of Honor recipient Hiroshi Miyamura who was born in Gallup. His parents were Japanese immigrants. Something I read in the Wikipedia post led me down a rabbit hole. When FDR signed Executive Order 9066 all persons of Japanese ancestry on the west coast were to be placed in internment camps. Cities not on the coast were given the option to do this or not. Gallup's citizens with the strong support of the Sheriff, Michael Mollica did not detain their Japanese-American citizens, the only town in New Mexico to do this! Here's more in the words of Hiroshi Miyamura himself, who passed away in November of last year:

The Only Town in New Mexico – Hiroshi Miyamura from Autry Media on Vimeo.

And more here if you're interested.

Once on the 40 west, it was a nice two hour drive into Winslow. Having been to this little town of around 10,000 before made finding our destination a snap. We had enjoyed our lunch at the Turquoise Room and checking out the La Posada Hotel on previous visit so much, that we decided to stay here for the night. We arrived and our room wasn't quite ready yet, so we headed out to explore the grounds of this historic hotel.

The La Posada has quite a history, a product of the Fred Harvey Company which built hotels all along major rail lines, allowing for passengers to spend a night and relax, or partake of the food in the restaurants manned by the Harvey Girls. Another familiar name associated with the La Posada is Mary Colter, who also designed the Desert Watchtower and was one of the few female architects of her time. In many ways this was to be considered her crown jewel. Unfortunately, the hotel opened right at the start of the great depression and remained open for only 27 years.

The La Posada was gutted and all the furnishings sold off. The building then became the offices for the Satna Fe Railroad. Finally, in a state of disrepair, threatened with demolition, Allan Affeldt and his wife Tina Mion bought the property and set about restoring it to its former glory.

And it is something to see. We spent a good two hours just exploring the halls and the grounds of the hotel.

Along with all of the quite "interesting art" of Tina Mion.

Over the years many celebrities have stayed at the La Posada.

Though I'm still trying to figure out who "Needles the Wonder Dog" was.

We were enjoying wandering around the property. Trains go right past the back of the hotel grounds.

And if you'd like to relax and watch them go by….well, that's easy to do as well.

We were really enjoying our own little "tour" of La Posada and were only about half way done!

I'll get to the rest in my next post!

Thanks for stopping by!

Road Trip – Dinner at Geronimo (Santa Fe, NM)

March 11, 2023 mmm-yoso American/New American Restaurants, European Restaurants, Fine Dining, New Mexico, Road Trip, Santa Fe/Taos, New Mexico, Travel

We took a short break after our day of hiking and exploring. Our room was very comfortable, I'm sure we'll stay here again next time.

For our "special" meal in Santa Fe, I had originally wanted Sazon, but due to the chef recently winning the James Beard Best Chef Southwest (2022), I just wasn't able to get reservations. So I searched around a bit and saw Geronimo mentioned on many lists. And I managed to make reservations with no problem.

And deciding to make the 20 minute walk up (and then down) artsy Canyon Road would turn out to be a lot of fun. The street is full of historic adobe houses, most of which have been turned into art galleries.

Canyon Road is made for strolling, exploring and enjoying all the art.

I'm glad we headed out early as we spent a good amount of time checking out various galleries and all the wonderful art!

My favorite by far is "Peace Offering" by the late Walt Horton, in which a squirrel offers up an acorn to a sweet looking and curious bear. It looks so wonderfully adorable. You can't help but smile when you see it!

Geronimo is located in a historic 250 year old building. The namesake of the restaurant is not who you think it would be, but rather it is named for Geronimo Lopez who was the house's original owner.

While many folks were seated on the veranda, we chose seats in the warm and classy dining room.

The service was excellent, the perfect mix of efficient professionalism without being snobby or intrusive. Things got off on the right foot with a glass of Champagne.

After perusing the menu; the Missus decided on the four course Vegetarian Tasting Menu ($80) with a wine pairing ($90). I decided to order two appetizers and a side for my meal.

The Missus's first course was a nice Endive Salad.

Nice peppery-bitterness from the endive, I thought the onion vinaigrette had a good pungent-sweet balance.

Up for me was the Wagyu Beef Carpaccio ($30).

Man, this was so good. The clean, almost sweet slices of Wagyu Beef went so well with the bitter-nutty arugula. The shreds of Parmesan added salty milkiness, while the classic addition of capers provided the right amount of a pickled sour and salt. The herb oil really wasn't needed, but the mustard horseradish sauce was just perfect on this.

Next up for the Missus was the Wild Mushroom and Sherry Bisque.

In what was a very classy move, I was brought out a cup of the bisque as well since I had to wait for my next course! Super cool! The bisque was decadently smooth and velvety, but the Missus said there wasn't enough earthy mushroom flavor for Her. Of course, She's become quite the mushroom soup snob.

Since I hadn't expected a course, I had ordered an Old Fashioned, which was quite delish.

Next up for me….why I ordered appetizers part 2, the Foie Gras ($30).

Perfectly seared , this wiggly slice of heaven was delici-yoso, with the duck demiglace adding another layer of rich-savory flavor. The "French Toast" teetered on the sweeter side, but the foie gras nicely brought it back to earth.

I also got a side of Broccolini ($10) which was nicely cooked, because….well, I needed something that actually looked healthy, you know what I mean?

The Missus's next dish was the Risotto.

Nice basil tones and that Parmesan infusion went so well with the peppery-citrusy flavored arborio rice. The artichokes and asparagus were delicious. But, as is often the case with risotto, some of the rice was still on the hard and chewy side. Still, great flavors overall.

The Missus enjoyed Her dessert, the Meyer Lemon Crepe.

This was a nice meal, with classy, yet warm and unstuffy service, and worth the price in our mind. The Missus enjoyed the wine pairing. It was a great way to end our time in Santa Fe.

Geronimo
724 Canyon Rd.
Santa Fe, NM 87501

We headed back down Canyon Road and ran into one of the two couples (the one without the pooch) we saw during our hike. They recognized us first and said hello. We all cracked up! They were headed to Geronimo and we told them that they'd enjoy there meal there. We hope they did.

Ambling back to the hotel, in the light of the "golden hour" (the sun doesn't set until after 7pm in September), admiring all the art, gave us time to reflect on how lucky we were to be able to dine at places like Geronimo and enjoy cities like Santa Fe.

And "Peace Offering" will always bring a smile to my face!

Road Trip – The Picacho Peak Trail, the De Vargas Street House, and San Miguel Chapel (Santa Fe, NM)

March 10, 2023 mmm-yoso Breakfast/Brunch, New Mexico, Road Trip, Santa Fe/Taos, New Mexico, Travel

**** Not much food in this one, but if you want to read about the supposedly "Oldest House" and "Oldest Church" in the US read on….

Breakfast was provided by our accommodation at the attached bar/restaurant named El Charro. The Inn of the Governor's also provided a drink voucher for the place. We had walked in the previous evening after dinner for a nightcap, but the two women working were really rude and unwelcoming, something that shocked us, because folks in Santa Fe and especially at the hotel were so nice. We decided not to deal with that so we left. Luckily, the breakfast crew was efficient if not especially friendly.

Breakfast was fine, more than enough to hold us for the day.

Of course the Missus wanted to make sure I made use of all those calories and wanted to do a hike. While doing a bit of research, I came across the Dale Ball trails. This network of 25 miles of trails is named after Dale Ball, the founder of the Santa Fe Conservation Trust. The Missus decided on the Picacho Peak Trail, which didn't seem to be too bad, less than four miles. What I failed to read was the 1200 foot elevation gain! Sigh…..

Anyway, we drove on out and found the main trailhead. A really nice local couple and their trailblazing Labradoodle ("we do this a couple of times a week and he already knows the way") helped to point out where the peak portion of the trail began.

It was a nice day and a good hike, though I was kinda huffing along at the top of the peak. Considering that Santa Fe is at 7,000 feet and adding another 1200, it's no wonder.

Regardless, the scenery was quite nice and I especially liked all of the rock formations near the entrance.

Other than the nice locals with the pooch we ran into only one other couple during the entire hike.

We also came across this…..

And this sign details what we were looking at.

This article from Audubon Society is quite interesting and goes into how climate change is affecting these communal irrigation systems.

After finishing our hike, we decided to head on over to the local Whole Foods and pick up salads for lunch. We also found an interesting snack that we ended up really liking.

Not overly sweet, great peanut brittle with just enough "zip"! We actually found one of the Senor Murphy shops in downtown Santa Fe, but it turned out that WF was cheaper! We'd drop by on our way out of Santa Fe and bought a couple more packages of this.

After lunch we returned to the hotel and decided to spend the rest of the afternoon (before "siesta time") doing a bit of exploring. Santa Fe was established in 1607, so there's a lot of history here. We parked at the hotel and took a short stroll down busy East Alameda Street, then turned south on the Old Santa Fe Trail. Taking a left on East De Vargas Street we came across this.

This is the De Vargas Street House which is one of the claimants of the oldest house in America, the west portion of the structure is said to have been built in 1646. And of course it must be haunted.

It's pretty small, half dominated by a gift shop. But there are some old drawing, photos, and a small museum.

Oldest House Museum
215 E De Vargas St.
Santa Fe, NM 87501

We were a bit underwhelmed, but right across the street is the San Miguel Mission.

Which claims to be…drum roll please….the oldest church in the Continental United States having been established around 1610. The two oldest church structures in the U.S. actually reside in Puerto Rico.

The date inscribed on the beam dates to 1710.

The Bell is said to date back to 1356 and was originally cast in Spain. It was installed in the 19th century.

There's quite a controversy about the actual date of when the bell was cast. In 1914 a Historian named Benjamin Read tracked down a Santa Fe native who remembers the bell being cast in 1856. So it is said that someone had come in and "modified" the date on the bell from 1856 to 1356. You can read more about it here.

Or perhaps even the sign in front of the bell. Which of course skews toward the 1356 date.

Many religious icons have been attached to the frame of the bell.

The Reredos (Altar Screen) is quite beautiful.

For even more controversy, the two paintings on each side of the Reredos was claimed to have been the work of Cimabue dating back to 1287. This was has been debunked.

You gotta love it! We enjoyed our visit here….especially all the "stories".

San Miguel Chapel
401 Old Santa Fe Trail
Santa Fe, NM 87501

From the miraculous staircase of the Lorreto Chapel to the oldest house, to San Miguel Chapel and controversy of the bell, we were enjoying the stories and the folks here!

Thanks for stopping by!

Road Trip – Exploring Santa Fe and Dinner at Joseph’s Culinary Pub (Santa Fe)

February 19, 2023 mmm-yoso American/New American Restaurants, New Mexico, Road Trip, Santa Fe/Taos, New Mexico, Travel

After checking out the Loretto Chapel we did some window shopping and came upon Saint Francis Cathedral.

I actually wanted to check out the cathedral. Apparently, the oldest existing statue of the Virgin Mary in North America resides in the Basilica. Sadly they were closed during our stay in Santa Fe, so I guess it's on the list for the next time.

Cathedral Park was positively buzzing with a craft market. We ended up spending a good amount of time checking things out and even bought some gifts for folks back home.

From here we strolled along East Palace Avenue until we came upon this shop.

The Missus loved this shop and even bought some gifts. I however, was here for a different reason. This…..

It is in this spot that folks like Robert Oppenheimer and Richard Feyman first arrived. It was the portal to Los Alamos. You can read about it here or even in this book.

By this time our room was ready and we walked on over to the Inn of the Governors. We enjoyed this hotel, which was perhaps a bit on the noisy side, but what do you expect being in the middle of Santa Fe? We enjoyed our room.

And were given a Sherry Tasting with some Biscochitos as a welcome gift.

We enjoyed sitting on the balcony….which while it wasn't a great view, was nice and relaxing.

The staff in the hotel were so friendly and welcoming.

Because we got a bit of a late start on planning this road trip a couple of places on our "list" were fully booked and for some reason, the Missus was not interested in trying out New Mexican Cuisine. I did manage to make two dinner reservations and on our first night, it was at a place that was a pleasant 10 minute stroll from our hotel away from the bustling center of Santa Fe named Joseph's Culinary Pub.

We both enjoyed the quite diverse menu, which ran the gamut from duck fat fries to posole verde to steak au poivre. The service was relaxed and friendly.

And while things were empty when we arrived, the dining room and bar filled up fairly quickly. Based on the interactions we saw between staff and customers, there seemed to be a nice mix of locals and visitors.

We ordered three apps and one main for our dinner.

Starting with the Polenta Fries and Grilled Radicchio.

The Missus who is a fan of radicchio loved the savory-bitterness and the sweet mild maize flavor of the nicely crisp polenta worked like a charm. The Gorgonzola sauce added a savory-salty component and this was very tasty.

The New Mexico Lamb Tartare was quite refreshing and not very gamey at all, if minced a bit too finely, making for a mushy texture.

It actually did well with the tortilla chips.

The Missus really enjoyed the "Charred" Ratatouille.

Which seemed to be a combination of charred and dried. The flavors were quite intense and the crunchy texture quite interesting. The ricotta gnudi was a nice mildly acidic-cheesy addition which added a textural contrast to the dish along with a good milkiness. It was the Missus's favorite item of the evening.

As with many meals we had, our least favorite item was the one main we ordered, the Root Vegetable Napoleon.

We found this to be on the bland side in spite of the Sherry Beurre Blanc, the Cardamom Phyllo was soggy when it hit the table and this was just a bunch of root vegetables in a bland sauce. Not quite worth the $32 for the dish.

Still this was an enjoyable meal overall and we'd return and stick with the starters.

Joseph's Culinary Pub
428 Agua Fria St.
Santa Fe, NM 87501

We enjoyed the leisurely walk back to our room. Santa Fe, at least this area seemed really relaxed and we enjoyed ourselves. Things seemed so peaceful and quiet.

There was a certain combination of color, beauty, art, and history that made Santa Fe so interesting and attractive to us.

We just felt so blessed to be able to visit and partake of what the city had to offer!

Road Trip – Jean Pierre Bakery & Wine Bar (Durango), Kakawa Chocolate House, and the “Miraculous Staircase” of the Lorreto Chapel (Santa Fe)

February 18, 2023 mmm-yoso Breakfast/Brunch, Chocolate, Colorado, New Mexico, Road Trip, Santa Fe/Taos, New Mexico, Travel

We headed out from Mesa Verde fairly early in the morning. It would be almost a five hour drive to our next destination, Santa Fe. The Missus enjoyed the drive on the 160 East thru the greenery. There was hardly any traffic on this, a mellow Sunday morning. I had heard some nice things about the town of Durango and I'd read about a nice bakery-breakfast spot in there, so we decided to stop.

We found street parking and walked over to Jean Pierre Bakery, which was doing some good business on this day.

The front area holds a bakery, while there's a restaurant area to the side. And on this morning, a piano player was in attendance.

After a quick discussion we decided to relax and dine in as most of the folks were taking pastries to go and the dining area was empty.

The service was friendly and we got our caffeine fix and shared a nice, refreshing Melon Bowl.

It was a pleasant stop and we'd eat here again if in the area. And we saw Jean Pierre walk to the dining area and engage in a lively conversation with another gentleman……in full on French. The Missus and I loved it!

I'll be sure to try the croissants next time!

Jean Pierre Bakery & Wine Bar
601 Main Ave.
Durango, CO 81301

After breakfast, the Missus and I decided to take a little stroll around town.

There's a definite outdoorsy – "old west" vibe to the town.

Durango is also known as the starting point for the Durango & Silverton Narrow Gauge Railroad. And folks were picking up their package lunches at the depot and boarding the train as we walked pass.

You know me and trains, right? This might be something we'll want to do in the near future.

We headed across the tracks and spent a bit of time exploring the D&S Rail Road Museum.

I'm sure we'll be back this way one day.

From Durango, we headed down the 550, passing thru towns with names like Aztec and Cuba, until we got to Albuquerque, where we swung up Highway 25 into Santa Fe. We were a bit early for check-in, so we made a stop at a place on our "list"; Kakawa Chocolate House.

Man, this place was quite busy. The lines did move quickly though. The Missus bought some chocolates and a couple of bags of "elixirs" and we headed on out.

The folks did a really nice job of packing things and even marked the box so the Missus would know what She's trying.

Kakawa Chocolate House
1300 Rufina Circle A4
Santa Fe, NM 87507

And while the chocolates were pretty good; we had them after checking in at our hotel. It was the elixirs that we really enjoyed after returning home.

While we had arrived too early to check-in at the Inn of the Governors, the nice staff told us that we could park and explore. One of the reasons I had chosen the hotel was the location and free parking.

There was one place I wanted to see right away, the Loretto Chapel. The Missus didn't understand why I was so interested in visiting this church until She saw it.

Apparently, She had seen an an Episode of Unsolved Mysteries about the chapel.

Well, to be more specific; it's about the staircase in the chapel. The construction of the Lorreto Chapel was completed in 1878. Unfortunately, due to some weird "oversight", there was no way to reach the choir loft which was 22 feet above. After many consultations the Sisters of Loretto were told that the only way to access the choir loft would be by ladder as a staircase would interfere with the design of the chapel. At wits end, the Sisters started praying to the Patron Saint of Carpenters, Saint Joseph. On the ninth, and last day of prayer a stranger appeared on a donkey with a toolbox! He started work on the staircase and months later it was finished. The man then promptly disappeared without requesting to be paid, never to be seen again.

The Sisters tried to find the mystery man, even placing an add in the newspaper to no avail. And that is just one of the mysteries of the staircase. To quote Atlas Obscura:

"When the Sisters and others examined the stairs, they were shocked to see it was apparently holding itself up with no supports and was made of a non-native wood which they didn’t know how or where the stranger had acquired. To top it off, the staircase, which was made with no nails, had exactly 33 stairs. (In the bible, 33 was the age at which Jesus was crucified.)"

"The twenty-foot-tall, tightly wound stairs make two full 360-degree revolutions, and indeed have no central support."

The outer railing was added 10 years after the staircase was built.

We love stories like this! And whatever the case may be, it was fun visiting the Lorreto Chapel.

Thanks for stopping by!

Road Trip – Cliff Palace, Petroglyph Point and Spruce Canyon Trail, and Dinner at Far View Lounge (Mesa Verde)

February 12, 2023 mmm-yoso American/New American Restaurants, Colorado, Road Trip, Salads, Travel

While I had enjoyed our hikes on the previous day, I was really looking forward to our one full day in Mesa Verde. I remember seeing a photo in an old Encyclopedia Britannica when I was little of these amazing looking cliff dwellings. This was of Cliff Palace, the largest cliff dwelling in the United States. From that day on, I'd always dreamed of visiting and on this morning we had a reservation with the first tour of Cliff Palace.

I got up early and then headed on down the road a bit to Far View Terrace. At the time of our visit, this was the only place open in the morning and for lunch. It's a total Food Court-ish set-up. Anyway, I got some (really bad) coffee and (even worse) pastries for breakfast. We should have stuck with the buts and beef jerky we packed!

After returning to our room we headed on out. The lack of Wifi was driving the Missus nuts, so I thought it would probably be best to hit the road. We got to the parking lot on Mesa Top Ruins Road; there was still quite a few open parking spaces. This is one of benefits of staying in the park, you can get to things fairly early.

We wandered around a bit, then headed on over to the meeting area for our tour and waited for our assigned ranger.

We then headed down to the staging area, where I got all excited when I saw the view…..

There it was, Cliff Palace, I was actually here! Our Ranger was just like all the rest, so knowledgeable, first going over the safety protocols, we'd be using ladders to ascend….five in total. There were a couple of folks that struggled a bit, but for us it was pretty easy.

It is said that Cliff Palace was the "social center" of the collective Mesa Verde communities and was occupied, based on tree ring dating from 1190 – 1260CE. We were told that there are 150 rooms in the dwelling and 23 Kivas in total.

The amount of kivas support the theory that Cliff Palace was the social center for the area.

We were told that the structures were made of sandstone, mortar, and wooden beams.

If you look up, you can see where you started from….

We loved visiting here. It was something I had on my "bucket list" since "small kid time".

Once we were done, we headed back up Mesa Top Ruins Road, then took a right and parked near Soda Canyon Overlook Trail. The trail was quite easy with some nice viewpoints.

And an especially great view of Balcony House.

Once back at the car, the Missus was itching to do some "real hiking", so we headed on over to where Spruce Tree Terrace is located and parked. Here we broke out the nuts and beef jerky we packed and had lunch.

We then ambled over to the Spruce Treehouse Trail where there are two other trails; the Petroglyph Point and the Spruce Canyon trails.

Petroglyph Point was the more interesting of the two and also the more strenuous. There were several tight squeezes, a couple of drops and some variations in terrain as well. The Missus was loving it.

There are some nice views along the way.

And truth be told, I was actually enjoying this trail. All the changes in terrain and views kept me visually stimulated.

As for the petroglyphs? Well, don't blink or else you'll miss it. It's along one small fenced off area.

From here it was a hike uphill where we ended up back near the Chapin Mesa Archeological Museum.

We took a short breather, then headed back down and took the Spruce Canyon Trail.

I thought this trail was easier than Petroglyph Point, but also less interesting. It was quite peaceful as we did not see another soul during our hike.

Again we ventured into a canyon, then did the hike uphill and ended up in a back parking lot? We eventually found our way back to the Spruce Tree Terrace and our vehicle.

At this point, I figured that the Missus's hiking requests for the day had been paid in full. It was time to head on back to the Far View Lodge to relax for a bit.

When the subject of dinner came up; well, I didn't make reservations for the Metate Room on this evening. Instead, I noticed that the bar on the second floor of the Lodge served the salads we had enjoyed the night before along with simpler items. This sounded like a better alternative to us, so we headed on over. The place was much more casual and the service was much better.

And the salads came out quickly and were even better than the day before!

I really liked the combination of the Ancient Grain mix with the milky-salty Parmesan and Sun Dried Tomato Vinaigrette ($10.75).

Though they were still out of pistachios for the Strawberry & Pistachio ($14) salad.

While they didn't have any entrees on the menu, there was a collection of sandwiches and burgers available. The Missus and I decided to split the Short Rib Grilled Cheese ($13.50).

While the SYSCO crinkle cut fries weren't fried very well and quite soggy, the sandwich was not bad. The bread could have been toasted a bit more, but I liked the fact that they used Parmesan Texas Toast, which had a nice salty-buttery-milkiness. The short ribs were tender and beefy, loved the caramelized onions, and the cheese, which was a Boursin was herbaceous and nice and gooey. This was nice to share.

We found that prices in Mesa Verde where a lot cheaper than in other National Parks.

All in all, we enjoyed eating here than in the more fancy Metate Room.

Far View Lounge (In the Far View Lodge)
Mile Marker 15
Mesa Verde National Park, CO 81330

We had enjoyed visiting Mesa Verde, but I could tell that the Missus was ready to move on. It was time to head on out!

Stay Tuned!

Road Trip – Step House, Far View, and Dinner at the Metate Room (Mesa Verde)

February 11, 2023 mmm-yoso American/New American Restaurants, Colorado, Road Trip, Salads, Travel

After hiking both the Point Lookout and Knife Edge Trails, we decided to head on down to the Wetherill Mesa area which is only open between certain months of the year. Along the way we stopped at the Park Point Overlook. There's a short paved trail to the highest point in Mesa Verde and the view is wonderful here.

This is where we saw the most people on this day.

The Park Point Fire Lookout stands at the highest point.

And it's still in use today. In fact, there's this interesting photo in the window of the lookout.

And then we took the long and winding drive down to Wetherill Mesa and easily found parking in the lot.

We decided to do the self-guided tour of the Step House. You basically go down a couple of switchbacks and then take a ladder down to the amazing dwellings! There is a Ranger on duty to answer questions and the area is only open when manned by a Ranger.

This dwelling was populated twice, the first set of inhabitants are called the Modified Basketmakers who settled here around 600 CE. The second set was during the Pueblo III period.

This was an amazing site!

You can tell the difference in the structures of the Basketmakers……

Versus the masonry structures of the Pueblo people.

You can pretty much linger as long as you want.

We decided to not do the Long House Tour since we'd be doing Cliff Palace the next day.

We had lunch in the parking lot. The Missus ate an entire mini-watermelon and we had a couple of terrible tamales from the motel.

We headed then back and then down toward Chapin Mesa. We decided to make a stop at the Far View Sites. This is a rather unique site as it sits at the top of a mesa rather than in an alcove.

Apparently, there were close to 50 villages in this half mile area between 900 and 1300AD.

While the sites, like the Far View House above, which is thought to be the center of the community or the Pipe Shrine House below are quite stunning. I'm guessing folks are expecting those dramatic alcove settlements, which is why we saw no one here, in spite of the easy access.

We then headed further down to Chapin Mesa and made a stop at Spruce Tree Terrace. While both the Chapin Archaeological Museum and Spruce Tree House are were closed the view was…..well, let me say it again, amazing!

We'd stop by again to do a couple of hikes here the following day.

By now, it was getting close to check-in time at our accommodations. We were staying in Mesa Verde at the Far View Lodge, pretty much the only non-camping hotel within Mesa Verde. Of course, after staying at a bunch of these places we knew what to expect; no fridge, definitely no microwave, they wanted to make their money off of you. And while we'd had our own experiences with what we call "National Park cuisine", there were limited options in Mesa Verde. Yet, I'd heard that the offerings at what was described as "Mesa Verde's fine dining restaurant" were pretty good. So I made reservations for this evening.

It's located in the same structure as the hotel check-in and gift shop.

After looking over the menu, we decided to stick with appetizers and salads. And after doing so much hiking, a nice salad sounded good! When we arrived the place was half full and yet the staff seemed to be in the weeds for our entire meal….which took over 2 1/2 hours!

We started off with the "Korean BBQ Chicken Wings". This was the first item out, it took an hour to get to our table.

A basic Cho-jang style sauce, overly sweet, the coating mushy, and worst of all, I think this was refry job since the flesh of the wings, while fully cooked, was cold!

The flavors on the Roasted Mushroom Flatbread wasn't too bad.

Decent earthy flavors, the arugula a nice foil for the mushrooms and boursin. But that crust was so doughy, like it hadn't been baked long enough.

And while we waited another 45 minutes for our salads, they would be the best items we had.

The Strawberry – Pistachio Salad was quite refreshing.

Though it had no pistachios wince they had run out, so they subbed sunflower seeds, which did just fine. The balsamic dressing added a sweet-acidity, and the greens were very fresh.

I really enjoyed the Ancient Grain Salad.

All the textures and nutty-earthiness of the Ancient Grain mix, cucumbers, sweet carrots, pickled red onions, and salty-savory parmesan cheese did well with the sun dried tomato dressing.

Service was really s-l-o-w, but when it comes down to it; this might be the best "National Park meal" we've had. And the view wasn't too shabby.

Metate Room
Mile Marker 15, 6262 Far View Mesa Verde National Park
Colorado 81330

And here's the sunset from our balcony…..

Which made it all worth while.

Road Trip – Four Corners Monument, Lunch from Zuma Natural Foods (Mancos), and we Arrive at Mesa Verde

February 10, 2023 mmm-yoso Colorado, Flagstaff/ Sedona/Winslow/Northern AZ, Markets & Grocers, Road Trip, Sandwiches, Travel

**** Not much food in this one. But, if you get enjoyment out of wonderful views, you might like to read on.

Before I get on with this post, I need to thank "FOY" Dereck who provided me with tons of information on Cortez, Mancos, Mesa Verde, and Durango! What would we do without all of our helpful "Friends of Yoso" out there! Thanks Dereck!

We headed out from Flagstaff fairly early. It seemed like the drive to our first stop would be around 4 hours, but it ended up closed to 5 1/2 because of road work. I had always wanted to check out the Four Corners Monument the only place where four states meet in the whole US. We finally made it and paid the entrance fee; $8 per person and parked. We walked to the monument and stood in line to get to the spot where the four states meet.

And then got our 10 minutes at the four corners spot.

Not much else to do here, so we headed out.

We made reservations at a very comfortable motel/Inn that Dereck recommended named Retro Inn which even let us check in early. We then took a walk around downtown Cortez and went thru possibilities for lunch and dinner. Well, the Missus wasn't too keen on any of them. In the end we drove to nearby Mancos to check out Zuma Natural Foods a health food store.

And got a couple of sandwiches which they kindly toasted on the panini press for us.

And then headed upstairs to the outdoor dining area.

Both sandwiches were nicely toasted and the Hiker's Delight with the marinated mushrooms and roasted red pepper was a definite hit.

The gooey melted provolone and garlic aioli just added to the flavors.

The other sandwich was good; toasted to perfection, but it was weird having whole cashews in the sandwich.

The Missus enjoyed the sandwiches so much that we decided to just buy some salads and a mini watermelon and have that for dinner.

We always enjoy finding little markets during our road trips and thought that this was a nice little gem.

Zuma Natural Foods
299 North Main St.
Mancos, CO 81328

We headed back to the motel and relaxed a bit, then took another walk thru Cortez. Our dinner was those salads from Zuma. Love these type of set-ups; the car is parked right in front the door and there's a small table set-up where we could eat and share a couple of glasses of wine.

The next morning I grabbed a yogurt and some coffee from the free breakfast and we headed off. We had decided to stay the evening in Cortez so we could get an early start for our visit to Mesa Verde National Park. We entered and got to the Visitors Center just after they opened.

We took a walk along the short trail that goes around the Visitors Center. Man, talk about a view!

I had already planned our hikes for this day. Though when I saw the destination for our first hike….well, I wasn't too sure. The Point Lookout Trail ends on the Mesa in the photo below.

We enjoyed our time in the Visitors Center. We've found National Park Rangers to be very friendly and patient. We got some maps and info on Mesa Verde, then headed off.

Our first stop, the Point Lookout Trail. This trail is close to the entrance to the park near Morefield Campground. We easily found parking. In fact, we were the only car in the parking lot! I guess that visiting mid-September might be a good time?

There were a bunch of switchbacks and about a 400-500 foot elevation gain.

But the view at the end was wonderful!

And the Missus loved the fact that there was no one else on the trail when we visited.

In fact, in the photo below you can see our car parked as we headed down the trail. There was one other car in the lot at this time.

We then headed down a bit and did the Knife Edge Trail. According to what I read, this trail follows a portion of the Knife Edge Road which was used to access the park.

While this was a pretty easy trail…I wouldn't want to drive it!

And again the payoff were some great views.

And we had yet to see another human on these trails!

From here we decided to drive down to Wetherill Mesa and do a bit more exploring and hiking.

Stay tuned!

Road Trip – Wupatki National Monument, Sunset Crater Volcano National Monument, Dinner at Atria, and Single Speed Coffee Roasters (Flagstaff)

February 4, 2023 mmm-yoso American/New American Restaurants, Caffeine Fix, Flagstaff/ Sedona/Winslow/Northern AZ, Road Trip, Travel

I had read a bit more about the Flagstaff area after our last visit and came across entries for Wupatki National Monument and Sunset Crater Volcano National Monument which caught my attention. I had never heard of these places before and was quite interested. Also, the two National Monuments are basically linked together on the same stretch of road so we could do both on the same trip. The visitors center at Sunset Crater was still closed at the time of our visit, so we headed up Highway 89 and turned off on Forest Road 545. We then headed to the Wupatki National Monument Visitors Center to pay our entrance fee.

As you exit the rear of the visitor's center you come across the paved trail for the Wupatki Pueblo. Wupatki means "long cut house" in Hopi. And the view is quite impressive.

You'll also see what is described as a round "ball court" and what is said to be a "community room or amphitheater".

We headed on down the trail. The main structure is said to have consisted of 104 rooms!

All of this built by Ancestral Puebloans. This place also ties into nearby Sunset Crater. It is said that the population of the area grew after the eruption of Sunset Crater as the ash improved the quality of the soil.

We read that this spot was used for gatherings.

While this one was a ball court.

Right next to the Ball Court is a blowhole.

There are supposedly several of them in the area.

Of course coming from Hawaii, I'm quite familiar with Blowholes, so I found this fascinating. More interesting info here.

The longer you stay, the more you start noticing things.

We spent a bit over an hour here. It was an interesting place to visit.

We then got back on FR-545 and meandered our way over the 19 miles or so, stopping at a few places along the way. The terrain suddenly changed as the road was lined with trees.

We stopped at the Cinder Hills overlook. And here you can see Sunset Crater.

Sunset crater is the youngest of the volcanoes that form the San Francisco Volcanic Field having erupted between 1064 – 1085.

We drove over to the Lava Flow Trail area. Some of it is paved and we enjoyed the unpaved portion more.

I liked getting up close to see an actual spatter cone!

And being a kid from Hawaii, I was surprised to see an A’a Trail. In case you don't know, A’a is a Hawaiian word for a specific kind of lava!

I think that having been to Volcanoes National Park at least a half dozen times gave me a really deep appreciation for this place. I know the Hopi had legends about Sunset Crater and will probably get a book one day…..I hope Madame Pele doesn't get jealous!

From here we headed back into Flagstaff and had a light lunch at Whole Foods then headed back to the hotel. After parking we decided to take a stroll and do some lèche-vitrine (window shopping).

We also took a stroll by the very distinctive gothic looking Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary Chapel.

Then heading back to rest up before dinner.

For dinner I had selected a place that seemed to have interesting appetizers. As I've mentioned before, we've often found that the most enjoyable dishes in the starters section of the menu. It seems that chefs will often provide more tasty interesting dishes as appetizers as thy don't have to stick to the "big protein" formula of mains. The menu at Atria, a block from our accommodations opened in the winter of 2021 and the menu seemed to be a good fit for our appetite.

Atria claims to serve "Modern American" and farm to table cuisine. Our Server, I wish I could remember his name, was outstanding, efficient, friendly, and a lot of fun.

The place was fairly quiet when we arrived but quickly filled up by the time we left. The Missus thought the wine selection at Brix was better, but still found a couple of glasses She liked.

I had a cocktail called "Beyond the Pines – Notes of Flagstaff in a Glass" which I enjoyed.

Things started off with the Smoked Trout Salad.

This was such an interesting amalgamation of tastes, the anise of the fennel, bitter from the arugula, the salty-briney olives, the cucumbers. We also enjoyed the pistachio "hummus". The Missus didn't enjoy the smoked trout too much, nor did She like the oranges in the salad. I was fine with this.

The Bone Marrow was quite the show stopper. The dish arrived on its own portable grill.

Man, that buttery, smoky bone marrow on tasty toasted bread! The slices of mushroom might have been overkill, but it worked fine here. This was so good. And then our Server arrived with a shot of Bourbon. When I asked what that was for, he smiled and said, "for your luge of course!" Now how did he know? So, I did the luge, it was delici-yoso! And when I noticed the shot wasn't on the bill, I was told "it's on me"!

Now Flagstaff in nowhere near the ocean and we would never think of ordering mussels here, but the Missus was interested in the Steamed Mussels.

The mussels were cooked perfectly, plump, moist, and tender. We didn't much care for the "banh mi" toast, which had a strangely flavored pate on it. "Mopping duty" would have been perfectly fine with the toasts that accompanied the bone marrow.

We enjoyed the gamey flavor of the lamb in the Malloreddus.

The gnocchetti was perfectly cooked, slightly fluffy, with a mild chew. The green peas were quite sweet and the watercress added a pleasant peppery-bitterness. The Castelmagno cheese was a nice touch, really good in small doses on this dish.

Since there was a beef tartare on the menu; well, I had to order it. I was shocked to see that it came with quite a large portion of rather ordinary crinkle-cut fries.

I initially thought the beef was cut a bit too large, but it was very tender. The "garlic cloud" added some decent savoriness, but would have loved a bit more briney-citrusy tones to cut thru the richness. Still, this was a pretty good version.

While some of the dishes were a bit over-the-top we enjoyed this meal, the service was wonderful. We had a fun time here and would gladly return.

Atria
103 N Leroux St.
Flagstaff, AZ 86001

The next morning we got up bright and early. It was a four hour drive to our next destination so we weren't in a rush. After grabbing breakfast at the hotel we made one last stop in Flagstaff at a little coffee shop somewhat disguised as a bike shop named Single Speed Coffee Roasters.

This place roasts their own beans and coffee nerds will have fun here.

While waiting for the Missus's Pour Over, I went up the stairs and had a look at the cozy seating area.

We got our coffee to go as we wanted to "hit the road".

The Missus thought Her pour over was ok, but I really liked the cold brew.

Nice place, friendly staff.

Single Speed Coffee Roasters
1000 E Butler Ave.
Flagstaff, AZ 86001

Next stop, Cortez Colorado!

Road Trip – Brix Restaurant and Firecreek Coffee Company (Flagstaff)

February 3, 2023 mmm-yoso American/New American Restaurants, Caffeine Fix, Fine Dining, Flagstaff/ Sedona/Winslow/Northern AZ, Road Trip, Travel

Back in September of last year the Missus and I took a wonderful road trip. For our first stop, it was between Phoenix, Sedona, or Flagstaff. While the Missus enjoyed the hiking in Sedona, we didn't care for the restaurant scene that much. And we'd do a bunch of hiking during this road trip and there was one stop I was interested in close to Flagstaff; so FLG it was. The drive was pretty long, it took us over 8 hours. We did stop for a quick lunch in Phoenix at Flower Child and headed back on the road. We got in just after 430pm and checked into the Residence Inn. We liked this location when we were last in Flagstaff and our dining destination for the two evenings here were in walking distance.

We had dinner reservations for 6pm and headed out a bit early just to stroll around the historic downtown area.

Just a couple of blocks from downtown, in a former carriage house that was built in 1909 was our dinner destination; Brix Restaurant and Wine Bar.

While the service was a bit slow, the staff was very friendly and this was far from being a stuffy fine dining destination. The Missus enjoyed the wine list and I started with a nice cocktail.

We started with the Elk Tartare and the Wood Roasted Mushrooms.

The Elk Tartare was nicely chilled, though it was on the mushy side in terms of texture.

Those yellow dots were an egg yolk emulsion…I would have preferred a drippy egg yolk as the emulsion really didn't add much to the dish, the horseradish was also strangely mild in flavor. The celery leaves did add a nice boost of palate restoring flavor. Perhaps if they chopped it a bit smaller you could get more than three bites.

The Wood Roasted Mushrooms was another dish that suffered from having a bit too much going on.

The local mushrooms were so earthy, with a mild sweetness and had been nicely roasted which created a layer of smokiness. The miso black garlic puree was so salty and just overwhelmed the wonderful mushrooms.

The bread soon arrived. Like many other places, Brix is now charging for bread and butter. It was $5 at the time of our visit.

I had ordered the Cavatelli.

The pasta, which is similar to shells was pretty thick and overcooked, making it quite mushy. I could have used more basil in the pesto and more pine nut flavor. The preserved lemon was quite strong in flavor and as with the mushrooms, it over powered the dish. The fava beans were wonderful, adding a nice nutty flavor to the dish.

The Market Fish was cooked to perfection.

Crisp skin, moist flesh, and that watercress added a wonderful crisp bitterness. The cannellini beans were undercooked and hard…and you know how the Missus us about Her beans, right? The tomato consomme was salty, but added nothing else to the dish. It was kind of sad since the fish was done so nicely.

In the end, the friendly folks working outshone the food. Yes, service was a bit slow, but the staff were so nice. I just wish the dishes were more to our taste.

Brix Restaurant & Wine Bar
413 N San Francisco St.
Flagstaff, AZ 86001

On the way back to our room I wanted to take a look at the Hotel Monte Vista.

Why you might ask? Well, the Hotel Monte Vista has been named the most haunted spot in Arizona (check out the stories on that website)! There are supposedly several, ahem, "guests" who have never checked out. There's a "phantom bellboy" that knocks on the door to room 210…in fact, John Wayne is said to have reported this ghost to the staff several times. You can even read about some of those "ghosts" on the hotel's website. And also on this website as well. You know me and stuff like this, right?

Why didn't we stay here? Well, having already having spent a couple of nights at one of the most haunted hotels in the US, without any disturbances, I really didn't feel like pushing my luck. Plus, I was pretty tired after all that driving and wanted a good night's sleep, which is what I got.

In the morning we woke and I went downstairs to the breakfast buffet and took some stuffs back to the room. I then headed out to grab us some coffee. I had a place located just two blocks away named Firecreek Coffee Company on my list so I headed on over.