Favorites & Still Wanna See

Over the decades of pursuing my quest to see all the states, I have often been asked what is my favorite state? My quick reply is that there is something incredible about every state I have visited.

I'm also asked how do I find these places???  Answering that question is a bit more complex.

I started reading "Travel Books" I found at the library back in the 1970s. That led to purchasing a huge personal collection of travel books. Several favorites remain in my current collection most notably Reader's Digest:

• Off the Beaten Path (still a favorite!)
• The Most Scenic Drives in America
• Scenic Wonders of America

But the problem was it was difficult or impossible to carry them around while traveling. Then I discovered each state had a tourism department that would send FREE travel information via postage free postcards and toll free phone numbers. Not only were the brochures informative, they were also filled with beautiful photography that fueled my wanderlust. They were great planning tools and I could take them along on trips.

The Internet followed and opened my world to an endless array of information about traveling...click, click, click...I could now plan my trip in the greatest of detail. I printed pages and put them in binders and made "temporary" books that housed itineraries, maps, hotel reservations, detour routes, camping information, museum info: you name it.

My Internet world really expanded a couple years ago when I discovered Pinterest; it really upped my game for travel planning. Pinterest allow me to save the website pages on boards for every US state AND now I have added the rest of the world (plus recipes and an bunch of other categories with my interests). To add to my pleasure further Pinterest has a mapping function allowing me to placemark the different places on a map and save, which can be printed and placed in my temporary binder travel books.

I have to make a disclaimer her, because I map probably three to four times more places than I will ever be able to see. The beauty of my mapping tool is that as I wander like I always do, I feel like I am less likely to miss something cool. Or...depending on how I feel that day I can change my route to wander. But now I feel like I may of missed something!

Which leads me back to the title of this post. Yes I have been to all the US states now, most of them multiple times. And I haven't tired of visiting the USA one bit.  While I have moved on to seeing the rest of the world I still travel within the US a couple of times a year even if it is just to go home to Michigan for a visit. I am also fortunate that my career here in Texas requires me to travel for business on a very regular basis. We have incredible diversity here in the US...God Blessed America!

I love to talk about travel and the places were my adventures took me, but Pinterest led me to wanting to return to see so great places I might of missed!

• The first bullet are my favorite places

      *The second bullet are the places I want to visit

Alabama

• Sloss Factory, Covered Bridges 
• 
• 
  
• * Go to the top of Vulcan (Birmingham)

Alaska

• Saddleback Island (Big Lake), Midnight Sun Brewing (Anchorage), Talkeetna, Kodiak Island, the People!
• Denali

Arkansas

• Route 7 - Ozark National Forest
• Eureka Springs, Hot Springs National Park Bathhouse, Hunt for diamonds at Crater of Diamonds State Park 
• Hoo Hoo Monument - Gurdon

Arizona

• Sedona Pink Jeep Tour, Canyon de Shelley, Mission San Xavier de Bac, TeePee Hotel-Rte 66 in Holbrook
• Stay in a cabin at the bottom of the Grand Canyon, Summerhaven, Hike to Havasupi Falls, Antelope Canyon/Houseboat on Lake Powell

California

• Lake Tahoe, Yosemite, Highway 1 (north to south), San Diego Brewery Tour, Sequoia National Park
• Waterfall along Hwy 1, Death Valley National Park, Catalina Island

Colorado

• Hovenweep National Park, Mesa Verde National Park, Ska Brewing (Durango)
• Glenwood Springs Pool, Great American Beer Festival (again with good people), San Juan Skyway

Connecticut

• Hammonasset State Park
• A microbrewery, Architectural tour of New Caanan (Harvard 7)

Delaware

• Dogfish Head Brewing-Lewes
• Dogfish Head Brewing-Milton

District of Columbia

• Night Tour of the Monuments, Cherry Blossom Time
• Beer Tour of DC

Florida

• Daytona Bike Week, South Beach Art Deco HD, Dry Tortugas NP, Swam w Manatees at Crystal Springs, The Ringling 
• St Augustine

Georgia

• Savannah, Coastal Islands
• Georgia Microbrewery

Hawaii

• Pearl Harbor and meeting Cale Sterling-Pearl Harbor survivor from USS Arizona, Snorkeling Hanauma Bay, Plane ride Kauai, Catamaran Na Pali, Kona Brewing
• Road to Hana, Hawaii Volcanoes National Park,

Idaho

• Craters of the Moon, Scenic Idaho 97 just east of Coeur D'Alene
• Balance Rock State Park (south of I-84)
• Shoshone Falls State Park (Twin Falls)
• Just return and camp in this beautiful state

Iowa

• Madison County Covered Bridges-Camping at Ledges State Park & stopping at farm fruit and veggie stands, Effigy Mounds National Monument, Pikes Peak State Park, Dubuque Incline, McGregor Jail, Old Man Brewing (McGregor), Des Moines Sculpture Park, Grant Woods Scenic Byway, Grant Woods America Gothic House (Eldon), Barn Town Brewing (W Des Moines)
• 
  

Illinois

• Garden of the Gods, Chicago River Architectural Tour, Brick Route 66, Art Deco walking tour with Danni-ending at Vice Brewing 
• Chicago

Indiana

• Columbus Architectural Tour, Metamora, Spring Mill State Park, Marengo Cave, Madison. 3 Floyds Brewing, Round Barns
• 3 Floyds, Metamora, Van Gogh Exhibit in Indy

Kansas

• Lindsborg, 23rd Street Brewing (Lawrence)
• Scenic Byways

Kentucky

• Cumberland Falls, Natural Bridge, Rabbit Hash, Red River Gorge Geological Area, Louisville
• Natural Bridge State Park Cabins (again), Stearns train ride, Lake Cumberland houseboat

Louisiana

• Abita Brewery Tour, NOLA-Oysters @ Drago's, Touring Cemeteries, Carousel Bar, Evergreen Plantation Tour
• Great River Road Scenic Byway

Maine

• West Quoddy Head Light, Acadia National Park, Portland, Sailboat ride and lobster bake
• Breweries

Maryland

• Drum Point Lighthouse (screw-pile), eating crab on brown paper covered tables with a hammer
• Maryland Brewery, eating more crab with a hammer

Massachusetts

• Cape Cod, Seafood at Dive Bars
• Mount Auburn Cemetery-Cambridge

Michigan

• West side is the best side, driving the "Tunnel of Trees" in the fall, M-22, South Manitou Island, Bells and Founders breweries, the UP, Lakenenland-24 hr sculpture park east of Marquette, take the Badger from Ludington
• Isle Royale 

Minnesota

• North Shore Scenic Drive, Duluth Bridges, Surly Microbrewery
• 
  

Missouri

• Route 66, St Louis Arch, KCMO bbq ribs, Boulevard Brewing
• KCMO ribs, Nelson Atkins Museum

Mississippi

• Blues Trail, Natchez-Nutt House, Port Gibson, Windsor Ruins
• Natchez Pilgrimage

Montana

• NW Entrance to Yellowstone, Glacier National Park, Butte (!!!)
• Eastern side

Nebraska

• Carhenge, Scotts Bluff National Monument, Garden of Eden and Brants Meat Market-Lucas
• Lucas

Nevada

• Little White Chapel (Las Vegas), Valley of Fire State Park, Virginia City, Reno Mural Art
• Ryolithe Ghost Town, US 50-loneliest road in America, Lehmann Caverns National Park

New Hampshire

• Pawtuckaway State Park, Bath Covered Bridge

New Jersey

• Cape May, Wildwood Crest, Lucy the Elephant, Ferry from Cape May to Lewes, DE
• Brick houses with dated gable ends (SW NJ)

New Mexico

• Gila Cliffs National Monument, Bandelier National Monument, 
• White Sands National Monument

New York

• NYC! Coursed Cobblestone Houses, Storm King
• Erie Canal (!) -preferably in a boat

North Carolina

• Great Smoky Mountains National Park, Blue Ridge Parkway, Biltmore
• , Outer Banks, Waterfall hikes near Asheville

North Dakota

• Theodore Roosevelt National Park (both Units), Enchanted Highway
• Go back and explore more

Ohio

• Hocking Hills, Dayton Air Force Museum, Ohio Caverns, Covered Bridge Scenic Byway, Toledo Museum of Art, Ashtabula Covered Bridge Tour in the fall, Cuyahoga National Park
• Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, Cleveland Art Museum

Oklahoma

• Tulsa! Turner Falls, Bartlesville-FLWright skyscraper,
• Talimena Scenic byway, COOP Brewing (OKC)

Oregon

• Multanomah Falls, Crown Point, Jots Hotel overlooking the historic bridge and Rouge River in Gold Beach. Odell Lake Resort, Tumalo Falls Hike, Crater Lake NP
• Deschutes Brewing in Bend, 

Pennsylvania

• Hilliards, Poconos
• Fallingwater, Northampton

Rhode Island

• Newport Mansions
• Green Acres, Newport Mansions

South Carolina

• Brookgreen Gardens, Charleston
• Drayton Hall

South Dakota

• Rapid City, Badlands, Mt Rushmore, Needles Parkway, Firehouse Brewing, Flat tire encounter with Phil and Frank
• Sioux Falls architecture

Tennessee

• Memphis, Nashville, Natchez Trace, Stearns Train Ride
• 
  

Texas

• Enchanted Rock, Big Bend National Park, Hueco Tanks, Hill Country, Fort Worth, US Treasury Tour in Blue Mound, Palo Duro Canyon-Lighthouse Trail
• Seminole Canyon State Park- Bell Fate Tour

Utah

• Capitol Reef National Park, US 12, Bryce Canyon, Zion, Springtime in Salt Lake City
• Arches NP-Angel Arch

Vermont

• Train Covered Bridge, Bath Covered Bridge 
• Vermont Brewery

Virginia

• Blue Ridge Parkway, Shenandoah NP
• Drive Blue Ridge Parkway in the fall

Washington

• Lighthouse @ Cape Flattery, Olympic NP, Snoquanomie Falls, North Cascades National Park
• Mt Rainer NP, Skagit Valley Tulip Festival (Apr/May), Kerry Park (Seattle when you can see Mt Rainier)

West Virginia

• New River Gorge NP
• 
  

Wisconsin

• Camping on Madeline Island and drinking Bloody Marys at Tom's Burnt Down Cafe - the first time with Heather, went back and it was terrible, Door Peninsula, Apostle Islands Boat Tour
• 
  

Wyoming

• Yellowstone and Grand Tetons National Parks, Devil's Tower National Monument, Medicine Wheel Passage Scenic Byway, Camping at Lizard Creek (Site #32) between Yellowstone and the Tetons, Mormon Row Historic District (Iconic Barn)

Running from the Fire-Into the Arizona Frying Pan! (#31)

There's gonna' be some trouble around here! - Tombstone, AZ

Miller Fire-SE Arizona

On the first leg of our Vegas Loop trip in 2011 we entered Arizona on I-10 from New Mexico.  We stopped at the first rest area to pick up tourist information and a map, but only found a few kiosks.

What we did see to the south was smoke and it turned out to be the first of several progressively worse fires until the Sierra Vista fire which chased us to the Phoenix area a day ahead of schedule.

Next stop was a visit to Tombstone.  We got off of I-10 at Benson and missed our left turn to head south on Arizona 80.  It was a stroke of good luck because we saw the Old Benson Ice Cream Stop sign and stopped for one of their 44 different soft serve flavors!  I had the black cherry and we were off again. Before we ventured to downtown Tombstone we stopped for a little shopping, a nice antique shop and a jeweler next door who had a super collection of fire agates. As we headed to the tourist info office downtown we watched the rumblings of the Earp brothers and Doc Holliday as they tempted the crowd to watch them finish the gunfight at the OK Corral. We then picked up a historic walking tour map and headed down Main Street.  This is a tourist trap town, but we LOVED it! We visited several shops and went into the old Crystal Palace and Big Nose Kate's Saloon to have a beer and sarsaparilla. Phil went downstairs in Big Nose Kate's to buy a souvenir t-shirt and enjoyed learning the history of "The Swamper" before we hit the road to our first Arizona campsite.

Big Nose Kate's - Tombstone

June is one of the hottest months this far south in the USA and without air conditioning camping can get quite uncomfortable. Our strategy was to camp at elevations above 5000 ft, which was a great plan...as long as the places weren't on fire.

Sky Island Scenic Byway

 We headed west on AZ 82 toward Lakeview Campground located at 5400 ft in the Sierra Vista district of the Coronado National Forest. Anticipating one of 65 scenic campsites, we turned off the main road onto one of the National Forest designated scenic drive toward the beautiful Huachuca Mountains. About 7 miles into the drive a barricade in the middle of the road stopped us...Road Closed Due to Fire. I checked my laptop for National Forest updates and another campground in the vicinity. According to the website, Lakeview was indeed closed. then I looked for a backup plan. The Santa Catalina Recreation Area northeast of Tucson wasn't showing any closures and there were six campgrounds above 5000 elevation on the 27 mile Sky Island Scenic Byway. We climbed into the mountains through a hillside of blooming Saguaro cactus as the sun began its journey into the horizon. After six miles we saw the first of the campgrounds-barricaded. I checked the website again...no postings stating it was closed. We continued on and each time, each campground was barricaded. We arrived at Summerhaven and stopped in at the trading post where they informed us the campgrounds were closed due to fires, even though we had seen no signs of smoke north of I-10. Now what were we going to do?

Mt. Lemmon Ski Area - Summerhaven

Back on the laptop (and nearing 8:30pm) I found another campground on the west side of Tucson, this time I called. The recording for Tucson Mountain Park said the gate to the Gilbert Ray Campground closed at 10pm; we had to race to get there, but got there with five minutes to spare. Tucson Mountains Park is not really in the mountains, so we woke up early and decided to retrace our route to one of the tourist stops we missed even though Saguaro National Park West adjoined this park.

Mission San Xavier del Bac-White Dove of the Desert just might be the most beautiful non-secular buildings. Completed in 1797, they boast it's the oldest extant European constructed
building in Arizona. We spent the morning here and joined one of the docent led tours before heading back into Tucson for lunch.

San Xavier Interior

The 11 beer sampler

To get my microbrewery fix in Arizona we picked the Barrio Brewing Company where I had their colossal 11 beer sampler. Both beer and food were very good especially the happy hour appetizer of Pretzel Pillows with Nuclear Mustard dipping sauce. Barrio is located in an industrial area next to the railroad tracks so listen for the train crossing guard bells which of the railroad track gates, which signal Barrio Rail Pints are $3.25! We didn't know what to do, the fires had pushed us a day ahead of schedule and did not want to go back to the heat of the previous nights campground.
I called my friend near Phoenix and she graciously invited to come a day early.

We went back through the Tucson Mountain Park to Saguaro National Park West. Shortly after entering the National Park, we turned off the main park road onto the narrow and disserted Cactus Forest Drive. This one-way road lacked traffic road making it easy to stop and watch the birds who made their home in these majestic cactus pincushions. It was late afternoon as we turned north toward Phoenix and time to jump out of the frying pan. the fires finished with the blessing and the best two days in Arizona, catching up and spending time with old cherished friends.

A Delicious Bite From "The Big Apple" (#17)

How and why does an architectural historian with a big city heart avoid going to NYC until she is 52 years old? Me either. It's everything they say and more-this city eclectic, eccentric and electric. It's an architecture and art lovers mecca.

I had been all around the city from Long Island, along the NJ Palisades, across the entire length of upstate NY, but never, not even once, did I venture to the core of the Big Apple...until a baby shower took me to the Upper East Side, just a few blocks from the Jacqueline Onassis Reservoir in Central Park. And then by sheer luck, I was blessed with not one, but two six-day visits within one year, first in April 2012 and then again the following January.

Enjoyable mornings started with brisk walks around the Reservoir and often drew me further into the arms of this Frederick Law Olmstead masterpiece.  Central Park embraces its history and retains many of the original cast iron and stone bridges from the late 1850s and 60s guiding park goers from one meticulously manicured area to another like Belvedere Castle, The Ramble and Strawberry Fields.

This is truly architecture heaven, street after street excellent examples of every architectural style from every decade dating back to the late 1700s. Even post modern buildings are stunning.

Like every good tourist, I visited the top of Empire State Building, sat in the first pew at St. Patrick's Cathedral, rode the Staten Island Ferry, walked the Brooklyn Bridge and went into the Chrysler Building to view the lobby. But that is really the tip of the iceberg, because there is so much more like the new Beekman Tower, old Greenwich Village, the Roosevelt Island Tramway and the emotionally moving 911 Memorial. All this with the aid of a superb mass transportation system and a 7-day Metro Pass, this apple was mine!

Beekman Tower-Frank Gehry

And no visit to this city would be complete without a trip to one of their then their great museums-both history and art. I discovered some treasures in the Met and at the American Museum of Natural History I followed the popular self paced Night in the Museum tour. Both of these museums are pay what you can. The Guggenheim and The Frick have special times to pay-as-you-wish, but prepare to line up around the building, so these times tend to be very crowded.

My second trip in January was dubbed the NYC Drinking Tour with visits to Heartland  Brewing before riding to the top of  Empire State building and drank beer at McSorley's Ale House, the oldest continuous pub on Manhattan. I splurged $20 for Bloody Mary at the St. Regis, where the French Red Snapper made its American debut, but the real highlight here is the opportunity to admire the recently restored Maxfield Parrish murals in the Old King Cole Bar with a history lesson for the friendly and attentive bar staff. And my last evening was spent in Greenwich Village sitting at the bar of the White Horse Tavern at the opposite end of the bar where Dylan Thomas drank himself to death-but I stopped at two-I want to make sure I get to come back.

Photo courtesy of the ultra cool bartender

America's Heartland, Part 1- Iowa (#26)

Holliwell Bridge

I have traversed Iowa both east to west and back several times. Each time I said I was going to stop and take a closer look. So on a road trip from Austin, Texas to Minneapolis, Minnesota, I finally did it.

John Wayne's Boyhood Home

I got off I-35 at mile marker 52 for a bucolic mini Bridges of Madison County tour. First was the almost immediate Imes Bridge just east of St. Charles, followed by a picturesque barn, the Holliwell Bridge and the Cutler-Donahue Bridge in Winterset, Iowa-hometown of John Wayne. Winterset is the county seat and is well worth a stop to stroll around the historic courthouse square to shop & get a bite to eat in one of the well preserved Italianate buildings from the late 1800s.

My next stop was Des Moines, Iowa's centrally located state capital. As I headed east on Grand Avenue toward the downtown I caught sight of a mansard roof topped tower and just had to turn back to investigate. Terrace Hill is the stately Governor's Mansion built in 1869 by Benjamin Allen-Iowa's first millionaire. I was fortunate to catch the day's last docent led tour before heading to experience Des Moines great selection of public outdoor art.

First stop was the 4.4 acre Pappajohn's Sculpture Park just before reaching the heart of downtown. Located just a few more blocks in Nollen Plaza is Crusoe's Umbrella, one of Claes Oldenburg's large-scale pieces.

After a very full day in America's Heartland it was time to relax and grab a pint and burger at the el Bait Shop with more than 100 craft beer taps.  I was thrilled to see several Bell's selections and after a nice conversation with my bartender decided to try the Des Moines IPA by Confluence Brewing Company.

This evenings destination was camping at Ledges State Park, recommended by the tourist information attendant just inside the Iowa border on I-35. As its name suggested, this was not the flat farmland I had driven to get there. After securing a nice non-electric site it was time to drive down into the canyon where I forded my car (Rosemary) across several little streams.

One of several stream fords

The next day I traveled several miles of the historic Lincoln Highway before findind myself back on I-35 heading north to Minnesota and looking forward to the continuation of my Iowa visit next week.

Enchanted in New Mexico (#32)

Emory Pass - Gila National Forest

I have passed through New Mexico several times, but never really lingered.  My last visit I decided next time we would return to really explore this diverse state. In June we spent two weeks making a loop from Austin  to Las Vegas, Nevada and spent several amazing days here. We were truly enchanted and hope we will get the opportunity to return soon.

We entered New Mexico briefly the first day of our trip to visit Carlsbad Caverns National Park in the southwest corner of the state. Considered one of the largest cave systems in the world, most of it has not been invaded by man and only a small fraction is open to the general public . We arrived at the park early and took a 9.5 Walnut Canyon Scenic Loop that was anything but scenic.  We also attempted to take one of the trails along the loop for a view of the canyon, but after more than one ascending mile and 100º temperature, we gave up and returned to our air conditioned vehicle (what in the world was I thinking?)

Self Guided Walking Tour

We love underground exploration, so we chose to add the 1.5 hour ranger-guided Kings Palace Tour to our general admission ticket that allowed us to descend more than 800 feet via the elevator to the underground lunchroom and rest area. Ranger guided tour tickets can be prepurchased on line (highly recommended), nothing worse than to get here and wait or find them sold out. However, as a word of caution, we reserved the last tour (3pm) on Saturday and ended up with 50 other people! I think they may have allowed more people because it was the last of the day-I recommend calling to check about their policy.  We arrived at the visitor center with what I thought was plenty of time to take the 1 mile self guided Big Room Tour, but with all the stopping, oohing and ahhing it took us every bit of the 1.5 hours they recommended. This incredible cave is not the most beautiful we have ever visited, but it harbors the entire range of formations found in caves and here they are of colossal size.

After a short wander back into west Texas we entered New Mexico again just north of El Paso. One of my new goals is to visit a microbrewery in every state I visit, so our New Mexico stop was Las Cruces (of Billy the Kid fame), for a sampler at High Desert Brewing Company.  I loved the presentation of the four samples in little mugs and loved the American Pale Ale so much that it called for a pint. Hubby enjoyed their homemade root beer. We followed the recommendation of my fellow Yelpers and ordered a couple appetizers to hold us over till we found a place to camp for the night. We chose the "small" nacho with ground beef and beer battered mushrooms. When they arrived they were HUGE-so we called them dinner. The nachos in particular were heaped on what looked like at least a 10 inch pizza tin and the mushrooms filled a burger basket.

We headed north up I-25 and found a wonderful campsite along the Rio Grande River at Caballo State Park in their Riverside Campground.  The next morning we turned west onto State Highway 152 toward Gila Cliffs National Monument following sections of two outstanding New Mexico's Scenic Byways: Geronimo Trail and Trail of the Mountain Spirits.

Downtown Hillsboro

We spent the morning exploring two great old mining (semi) ghost towns-Hillsboro and Kingston. Hillsboro had a super cute and colorful downtown district and on the hill overlooking town we discover the Miller House- an 1898 Victorian cottage constructed of black slag block made from smelter waste. As we drove into Kingston, it was hard to believe this was once a bustling boom town in the late 1800s that had 23 saloons, a brewery and three newspapers. That was until we saw the beautiful old Percha Bank (1884)-now a museum it is one of only a small handful of surviving buildings. As we left town we caught sight of the Kingston Cemetery and stopped. As we walked around a very stark cemetery we happened upon Congressional Medal of Honor recipient James McNally, who served for more than 30 year in the mid 1800s.

Kingston Cemetery

Shortly after leaving Kingston we climbed into the beautiful Black Range and stopped at the not-to-be missed Emory Pass Vista Overlook. The Gila National Forest was a land of incredibly tall pines and one scenic vista after another. We turned northwesterly onto State Highway 35 and made our way to Gila Cliffs National Monument.  This is one place where the 20 minute video at the Visitor Center is a great place to begin your visit.  We could not do the entire one mile loop due to recent fires, but we were able to go into the dwellings and back out the same way.  The 175 ft climb up into the dwellings was relatively easy considering we were at 5,700 ft elevation. We were also surprised at how relatively few people were in the park. A guide stationed in the dwellings gave us and another couple a great tour and when I commented about how difficult it must have been to raise children, he took us over and showed us an area they theorized was a nursery. There was plenty of free camping in the park proper (Upper & Lower Scorpion), but we opted to head back south on State Highway 15 towards Pinos Altos where we found the incredible Cherry Creek Campground (no fee!).

Gila Cliff Dwelling National Monument

Greenstone banding - Aztec Ruins

We headed for Arizona the next day, but we would return one week later to the northwest corner traveling south from Durango, Colorado. Luckily, I spotted Aztec Ruins National Monument on the map. Located between Mesa Verde to the north and Chaco Canyon on the south, the ruins here are what is left of the three story building with more than 500 room ancestral Pueblo people from 1000 to 1200. This complex possesses some unique architectural details such as a double band of greenstone, T-shaped doorways and windows placed in corners at wall junctions.  There is also a rare tri-wall structure built of three concentric walls with 22 rooms encircling a kiva.

Rio de las Vacas Campground

We continued southeasterly on US 550 to Cuba, and turned east onto State Highway 126-the northern leg of the Jemez Mountain Trail National Scenic Byway-just one of 26 New Mexico Scenic Byways. Shortly before the pavement ended across the mountain pass we found our favorite campsite of the trip at Rio de las Vacas in the Santa Fe National Forest. Soaring pines, paved level parking spots, clean restrooms and super friendly camp host at the bargain rate of $10 a night. At 8300 ft elevation this lofty campsite chased me into my sleeping bag in the middle of the night, but otherwise slept like a baby.

**Warning Soapbox Rant** I have a beef with the US Forest Service-they do not make it easy to find campgrounds on their website.  I can totally understand that they cannot afford to supply everyone with a paper map, but US Forest Campgrounds were super easy  to find on their website a decade ago. Now you have to know the National Forest for that area, then delve deeper in a time consuming search without knowing quite where they are when a decade ago I just clicked campgrounds on a map along the route I knew I was going to take. It seems they intentionally took maps off the website to force us into purchasing them...at an average of $10 per map, it gets to be rather pricey.

Grazing Elk-Valles Cadera

The next morning we headed east across the mountain pass after inquiring how drivable it was with our camp host and was told that we would "probably" make it.  And a slow go it was, but so incredibly beautiful that made us happy we have bravely chosen this route. Shortly after joining State Highway 4 on the eastern side of the mountains, we stopped a Valles Cadera National Preserve where we watched more than one hundred elk grazing in the ancient collapsed caldera. A little further on I took a short 1.5 round-trip trail to Jemez Falls before reaching Bandelier National Monument.

Main Loop Trail-Bandelier

An absolute gem of the National Park Service system, Bandelier National Monument was one of my favorite stops on this trip. This is not a "drive-thru" park by any means.  With only 3 miles of paved road and 70 miles of trails, this park is best experienced on foot. It is also very easy to have a great experience by merely spending most of one day. The best thing about this particular park is you really can imagine what life here was like one thousand years ago. We "borrowed" a guide from the front desk in the beautiful CCC built Visitor Center from 1936 and exited through the back door to the short 1.2 mile Main Loop trail.  Strategically placed concrete and  wooden stairways help you explore the places (nooks and crannies) where the ancestral Pueblo people lived their everyday lives. Make sure to take plenty of water so you can add the one-mile round-trip Alcove House trail. The Alcove House trail requires you to climb a series of wooden ladders (some up to 30 feet) to experience the ceremonial cave. So worth the effort!

**Unfortunately on June 26, 2011, the day after we were here, they were forced to close a part than all of the National Monument. The Las Conchas Fire, which began just west of the park burned well over 140,000 acres (including more than 50% of Bandelier).** 

Santa Ninos Chapel-Chimayo

Our last New Mexico destination was the Enchanted Circle. Several friends who had been to this lovely area all recommended one restaurant in particular-Ranchero de Chimayo located on The High Road to Taos Scenic Byway. The quaint town of Chimayo was impossible to resist before heading to the restaurant. We stopped at El Santuario de Chimayo (1856) and the Shrine of Santa Niño de Atocha,  Unfortunately, we had not planned very well, we had eaten a late lunch and it was too early for dinner when we arrived at the Ranchero, so we enjoyed the their delicious salsa and chips, the specialty house drink made with Jose Cuervo Gold Tequila, Chambord and Apple Cider served in a cinnamon sugared rim glass with an apple slice and split the dessert of the day-Leche de Dulce Cheesecake.We still needed to find a campground tonight and found little information on my smartphone (see my USFS rant).

Taos Junction Campground

Just outside Bandelier, we encountered more fires. We stopped at the White Rock Tourist Information Center and asked for camping recommendations near Taos. The very nice and super helpful lady made calls to make sure campgrounds she was going to suggest were open. She suggested Orilla Verde Recreation Area along the Rio Grande Gorge-a popular rafting area-after we visited Chimayo. We were not impressed with the campsites when we arrived here, but it was turning dusk and now we were getting hungry.  There were several campgrounds along the river and we settled on Tao Junction, the last one in the string.  There are two things I would have done different next time. First we should have headed due north along the Gorge to the high bridge and turned east toward Taos instead to driving back to State Highway 68 the way we went.  Second, I would have timed my camp stays to spend the night at Bandelier or in the Sante Fe National Forest (which was on fire), then head to areas above Taos in the Carson National Forest where we could have camped at up 9300 ft elevation. 

I have a confession...we were ready to head home.  It was a Corn Dance day when we got to Taos Pueblo, and then there was a laundry list of fees: $10 each to enter, $6 for each camera, $6 each cell phone-no pictures allowed of the actual corn dance, but there was still a fee for taking pictures-outside of course, not inside (some of this a completely understand, like inside churches). I certainly did not mind paying an entry fee and paying for one camera fee and leaving one in the car, but cell phones-really?  What did they think I was going to do, blaze  through the Pueblo, camera in one hand, cell in the other snapping pictures at the speed of light?  But wait, this was corn dance day and you cannot take pictures of them dancing. To top it off I was warned by friends, prior to leaving Austin, if they caught you breaking policy they would confiscate your camera and not return it. NO THANKS, lets keep going around the Enchanted Circle and head to Home Sweet Home in Texas. 

Old City Hall-Las Vegas, NM

We do want to come back this way, mostly it was near the end of a long journey. We did three quarters of the Enchanted Circle than headed south on State Highway 434 past Angel Fire, which looked to be a very nice ski area with a green trail from the very top. In Mora we made a left on State Highway 518. We were not going to stop an-y-where, but then there was Las Vegas again! Las Vegas, New Mexico that it :) How fitting, we just had to stop and I am so glad we did. Inhabited since 8000 BC, this charming town has nearly 900 structures listed on the National Register of Historic Places dating back to the mid 1800s.  We visited several different historic districts around town including the downtown plaza and the railroad district with the beautiful train depot and Hotel Castenega next door-one of the Harvey House gems. Stop at the train depot and pick up one of the Historic Las Vegas brochures, before venturing around town.

Visiting Las Vegas, New Mexico redeemed the final leg of our journey...I so want to return here, but the day is over...Texas here we come!

One Month - Five Texas Breweries (#44)

Three friends at Shiner

The American Craft Brewing industry is finding a foothold here in Texas...and I couldn't be more thrilled!  Hopefully legislation will follow that makes doing business here in Texas a little easier for them.  A girl can only hope...and write to her local legislators to support reform like HB660.  But on with the tour!

Thirsty Planet Tap Room

Austin has recently been honored with several new brewing venues.  I welcome them all with open arms! In February Phil and I made our second visit to Thirsty Planet Brewing, located off 290 just west of the Oak Hill Y on Circle Drive.  Thirsty has a couple "anchor" beers like Thirsty Goat, Yellow Amadillo and my favorite, Buckethead IPA. In addition, they brew small specialty batches.  Brian and his wife are great additions to our brewing community here and we are glad they picked Austin to open their venue.  Besides brewing good beer, they are warm, welcoming and community minded.  Some of their beers give a portion of the profits to causes such as the Amadillo (local cancer research/support) and the small batch Silverback Ale (for gorillas of course!) that we sampled during our visit. Phil who rarely embibes beer enjoyed the small batch Ginger Beer.

Thirsty has been offering two tours on Saturday, one late morning and one early afternoon.  You can order and print tickets on line (recommended).  When you arrive you can buy the $7 pint glass and get bigger and better tastes.  The pub style tasting room has a wonderful atmosphere and the staff have been very friendly both visits.  It amazes me that they are so willing to "talk shop" with the home brewers in the group.  I do not doubt they will be successful here and hope they continue to stay grounded.

The next Saturday was the Grand Opening of Jester King Craft Brewing on Fitzhugh Rd; practically next door neighbor to Thirsty Planet.  Jester King seems to be fashioning themselves as a Dogfish Head type of venue.  The facility is very nice with an open air "barn" next to the brewery. The party started out great, they had food vendors, great entertainment, tours and several tasty brews to sample.  An hour into the event, a very cool, slightly ratty car club showed up. They had a super selection of darker beer styles and I really liked the Commercial Suicide (oak not whiskey barrel).  It was a lot of fun and I enjoyed a tour, but less than three hours into the party, the drink lines went on forever and when people drink too much they often won't wait their turn...sadly it was time to leave.

Next weekend it was off to Houston to celebrate my very dear friend Heather's birthday. Now living in Minnesota, she flew home to Houston so we could help her usher in the big 4-0!  Phil and I planned to pick her up at the airport and head to Saint Arnold, but we had to venture there alone.

Saint Arnold recently relocated from their original industrial strip complex to a huge facility in a refurbished old warehouse just north of downtown and I-10. Houston traffic, even on the weekend is never fun and parking for the facility took some patience too. They profess to be Texas' Oldest Craft Brewery and amazingly they have a small staff of less than 30 who do it all.  Tours are free, but if you want to sample the beer it is $7. For your money they provide you with a very nice 8oz tasting glass and three wooden tokens for samples. They open at 11am and when we arrived about 11:30am the huge beer hall was jam packed (the website had warned us) and super LOUD. Did all these people come here to tour?

Saint Arnold Beer Hall

People brought in their personal larger sized Saint Arnold barware and bartenders often poured a bit more then the 8oz promised. Root Beer was free...and delicious. I questioned if all these people were using it as a cheap place to drink? At 11:30, we could not find two seats. I was rather surprised to see how many people had brought kids and babies (and even though I was raised in Las Vegas I do not consider it a family friendly venue either). Many people brought lunch/pizza/munchies/chess/cards as the website had suggested.  I wish we would have too, but there was no place to sit but on the floor anyway.

I have not been a big fan of Saint Arnold beer and I hoped somehow visiting the source would be different. Their best chance to impress me was their Stout, it lacked any complexity. I took the noon tour as my wonderful husband escaped to the van for a nap. The young women leading the tour did a fabulous job and all the staff members were super friendly. I was thrilled to see the brewmaster tossing hops into the batch of IPA and having my picture taken next to the tie-dye Rolls Royce, they were absolutely the highlights here.

My kinda ride

See those beautiful kettles

My friend Heather lived in Texas most of her life and had never visited the Spoetzl Brewery in Shiner, Texas! I learned of this terrible oversight shortly after she relocated to Minnesota and insisted we journey to Texas Beer Mecca for a tour on one of her upcoming visits. So what better way to spend a day of her birthday week visiting the place "every drop of Shiner Beer is made"? They have a really nice tasting room and an extensive gift shop.  Tours are free and come with three wooden tokens good for small tastes (I think it was about a six oz plastic glass).  My one complaint was they do not allow pictures.  The area around Shiner is a wonderful place to visit and we topped off the day visiting some of the area's beautiful Painted Churches.

When I moved from Michigan in November 2005 I had to leave behind my beloved Bell's Porter. Shortly thereafter Shiner Bock became my "go to" beer.  Shiner Bock is Texas beer...hands down. Bock is Spoetzl's primary beer.  I also enjoy their 97 Bohemian Black Lager and a couple of their small batches-Alt and Kosmos Reserve.  Unfortunately the small batches can only be acquired by buying a "Family Reunion" 6-pack which also includes one each of Bock, Blonde, Black and Hefeweizen.  They will switch out the Alt with something else down the line.  I asked during our visit and they are just small batches and have no future plans to market them in 6-packs. The variety pack is their marketing gimmick, so check the 6 beers before you buy, I have encountered 6-packs that were switched out and the Kosmos has always one of the missing.  They also produce a numbered anniversary beer coinciding with the number of years they have been brewing.  This year is number 102, a double wheat, I did not care for, but I loved the (97) Black and it was so popular they made it a regular.


Twenty nine days after Thirsty Planet, I stopped at Freetail Brewing on the northside of San Antonio on a Sunday evening.  I had been at an event for most of the day and was looking forward to a relaxing dinner and samples of the dark beers I had read about on their website. I like to sit at the bar, especially when I am alone like this time. Staff let me sit, apologized, then forgot me again without beer! Did she think I wouldn't notice the guy that walked up and got immediate service when I waited...and waited...and waited??

I ordered a beer sampler and was really looking forward to trying some of their dark small batches. They were out of three I wanted to try including the Lucinda Obscura (the black IPA) that I specifically wanted to taste. Maybe they should pay more attention to their website content. The Ancho Oscuro was flat and I do not like chili beer.  Of the five I tried the brown hbb660 was tolerable.

The food was terrible too. The Rueben panini was awful. They used a fake tasteless corned beef, perfectly round, like Oscar Mayer DeliFresh. The fruit salad they gave me was several days old and on the verge of spoiling. Price: $9, come on! There aren't many beers or breweries that I haven't liked, but this one rose right to the top. Bad service, short beer supply, awful food=I won't be returning!

Three out of five breweries were great, and the "not-so-great" two made the three great ones even better.  I may be a little bit of a beer snob, but hey, life is too short not to drink good beer. What I really need is to plan a hike to the top of Enchanted Rock so I can visit my very first Texas brewery-Fredericksburg Brewing Company for the umpteenth time ;)

Cheers!!