Archive for January, 2009
Life Is Very Good!
Sunday, January 4th, 2009Dick Clark, Eat Your Heart Out!
Sunday, January 4th, 2009
Following the Cimarron Cutoff of the Santa Fe Trail we headed toward New Mexico. With it being New Year’s Eve we figured there was only one place that we should aim for—Las Vegas! Las Vegas, New Mexico. We didn’t notice any casinos or bright lights, but the Las Vegas Inn was offering a room and participation in their New Year’s Eve bash for only $29.99. Tempting, but we settled for a six-pack, bourbon, all the backgammon we could play and a free National Forest campground. El Porvenir Campground was where we ended up after a winding drive into the mountains west of Las Vegas. We missed our annual tradition of New Year’s Eve with Erik and other friends, but we made the most of that six-pack, the bourbon and the backgammon. So much so, that like most everyone else, we couldn’t really do too much on January 1st. I guess if your new year starts out like that it’s bound to get better. That’s smart.
We mustered up enough energy to drive to Santa Fe and get some medicinal breakfast. There’s no better place to do that than the Plaza Café right in the heart of Santa Fe Plaza. Like all good breakfast joints, you could pick it out by the line of people waiting outside for a table. After some delicious chicken enchiladas, huevos divorciados and some amazing sopaipillas we felt much better and ready to conquer a walk around town. Another night of cold and snowy camping convinced us to head south towards Albuquerque and warmer weather.
Black Mesa, OK
Sunday, January 4th, 2009Oklahoma’s high point is not what we in New Hampshire would call a “monadnock” The highest point in Oklahoma isn’t really a point either, but sits atop Black Mesa—a mesa that crosses into both New Mexico and Colorado. Apparently, the highest point on the mesa isn’t even in Oklahoma but in Colorado. However, if it sounds like we’re knocking Black Mesa, Oklahoma and its 4,973 feet of grandeur don’t be fooled—we loved it! It was a sweet 8 mile round trip hike to the top, passing through beautiful country. This really did feel like No Man’s Land, and we couldn’t believe that we actually saw two other hikers on the return part of the hike. But, what was most memorable about this hike was the wind. An incredibly strong wind that never let up and an unbelievably sunny sky gave us both a pretty good wind/sunburn (step one of the winter tanning mission!). There’s a monument up on top of the mesa indicating the high point which must have been found with a very precise measuring tool. While there may not be a peak to summit here, I will say this—at least the people of Oklahoma are smart enough to not build a snack shack and auto road up to their highest point.
Kanslahoma
Thursday, January 1st, 2009We had a short but great visit with Raven’s mom on the outskirts of Lawrence–we still can’t believe that we missed Raven! Then we were off to the Tallgrass Prairie National Preserve where some of the last remnants of tallgrass prairie can be found. It’s pretty amazing–there once was about 140 million acres of tallgrass prairie in North America and now only about 4% is left. The Flint Hills of Kansas are home to a big chunk of that 4%. We were, as usual this time of year, the only visitors there. Prescribed burns and cattle grazing have sustained the tallgrass prarie, but bison are slated to arrive next year.
Kansas is not as flat as folks make it out to be. Well, at least parts of it. The panhandle of Oklahoma–that’s flat. Parts of it. Windy–they’ve both got that covered. The wind didn’t really let up much after we left the Tallgrass Prairie. We tried to visit the world’s largest hand dug well in Greensburg, KS and it should have been an easy task with all the signs on the highway leading you there. However, when we got to Greensburg not a sign could be found. It looked like half the town was blown away in a recent tornado–it was quite a scene. It was nice to see a big “Thank you AmeriCorps” sign on the edge of town–they must have had some help recently.
Alas, we missed the big well. This was also around the time that I was wondering why I didn’t order a bunch of beef sandwiches to go from Arthur Bryant’s, neatly putting two of my regrets right next to each other.
The Oklahoma Panhandle is known as “No Man’s Land”. They nailed it. More to come on that, Oklahoma’s highest point, dinosaurs, and New Year’s Eve.
And, if you haven’t checked out the link on the right side of the page to our photos be sure to take a look!
We’re Going to Kansas City…
Thursday, January 1st, 2009We left Michigan in yet another storm–this time mostly rain and wind. We didn’t have much planned except for getting to Raven’s in Kansas to drop off a gift from a few years ago. We did make a stop in Springfield, MO to visit the Abraham Lincoln home and get out of the car for a bit. That night we found ourselves searching for camping in Mark Twain National Forest, finally finding a sweet campground with all of 4 campsites. The next day brought blue skies and the promise of some serious barbecue in Kansas City.
Arthur Bryant’s is a legendary barbecue establishment in Kansas City and it lived up to the hype. The beef sandwich is a load of beef brisket with two token slices of Wonder bread to make it a sandwich. The sauce was incredible–tangy and not sweet. The fries were delicious, and the setting was great–simple and all about the food. Right down the street at 18th and Vine was the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum and the American Jazz Museum–two great museums that also helped us move around after the barbecue feast. By the time we were done in the museums I was ready for another sandwich at Arthur Bryant’s but it wasn’t in the cards.
Yes, I’m sticking out my full stomach–sort of.
