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November 27, 2004
along Natchez Trace Parkway
40 to 50 mph, easy hills, NO traffic. Plenty of stops to overlook or tell your story to the locals.
In French Camp, Mississippi I wowed 'em with some whoppers.
Never let the facts get in the way of a good story.
November 24, 2004
The road between
The road between
Corkys BBQ in Nashville
click photo to enlarge in new window
Corkys BBQ in Nashville Tennessee.
GO and savor! This place is very good.
[hint: my score says #2 in America, could be #1 in ribs.]
First let me get this out of the way: they have deep fried corn on the cob and she brought me mine on a stick! Food on a stick and I'm not walking around a state fair! This novelty food was tasty after peeling away the fried breading. Later I was informed that I would have liked it better if I had eaten it while it was hot, but I had to get to the Ribs and Q immediately when served.
The meat re-defined tender & tasty.
The ribs were so tender even the bones were tender! I ate the bones! Yep, mongreled my way past the outer inch or so of the rib-bone, done without shame.
In some cultures it's a complement to the cook to belch post-meal. I didn't belch, just gnawed away at the smoked bones.
Dry rub or wet? Both, yee-haw! Thinking of the dry rub ribs is making my mouth water right now!
French fries were crisp outside and tender inside.
Nice hot vinegar sauce and red sauce.
I saw a fellow diner order tamales. Please explain.
If you are ever blessed with a reason to be in Nashville, Tennessee you can grace your palate with this meal.
We thank thee for this good food.
Bless those who prepared it.
AMEN.
-------------------------------------------------------
ps: comments tell us that Corkys is located in more places than just Nashville! Christmas came early for me!
Thank You Corky May I Have Another?
November 23, 2004
Smoky Pig, Bowling Green, Kentucky
Is it too much to ask for a place named "Smoky" to actually cook their BBQ over a fire? Fire - one of those stone-age elements like earth, wind, & FIRE.
This Q was pretty good crock pot pork but come on and rename your concrete block diner from Smoky Pig to "Crock Pot Pig" and you will have no beef from me (clever wording? or too clever for anyones own good?)
Potato salad - was it bought by the tub from a grocery store?
Cole Slaw - interesting, it was called vinegar cole slaw and that's all I could taste: vinegar.
To-Go plates - cheap. Never get any repeat customers? Figure everyone is stopping in from the big highway? How serious can a BBQ place be if they serve their BBQ with a plastic fork? Losers!
Another white bread hamburger bun serving as a sponge. I didn't order a sandwich!
And then the Hot sauce (in that little Styrofoam cup beside the sole potato chip provided by a fellow diner). The "sauce" was interesting and the proprietor sure was proud of how hot it was. I agreed and sweated around my eyes to prove it. Hey Dude - Hot does not equal flavor. Any gonad can make a dish spicy, remember the plethora of pseudo Cajun restaurants a while back? Blackened this and Cajun that meant it was hot hot hot but not not not good cooking. And certainly NOT true Cajun, but that's another subject.
I know how they make this prideful hot sauce because I've done something similar: Get out the crock pot (their only cooking device?) add a bit of vinegar with some dried hot peppers, crock for hours, strain, serve as hot sauce.
Also works well using olive oil for dipping bread, but don't expect to see any olive oil in these here parts, yah hear?
BTW: we got directions to this place from the National Corvette Museum, which is the bestest Corvette Museum I've ever seen.
Decision: This place was right on the mark if you aim low. Move on. No Q to savor here . . .
November 21, 2004
Load limit 6 people
The way this suspension bridge bounced and swayed I figured the BBQ tour had caught up with me! Seemed like someone was behind me jumping up & down. A rope swing of a bridge with white water below made for a fun ride. Dizzying & extra fun in the fog.
November 20, 2004
at Falls Creek Falls
A high drop on a foggy day gave us a secluded spot to chill out. Glad to be in Tennessee. Getting used to being out of the West, getting in a better mood.
I get by with a little help from my friends.
Further along the trail we could hear falls and cascading rapids but it was too foggy to see it. That was an experience itself, misty and dreamlike.
tripping to the falls
Nashville Skyline
Nashville is a great place, beautiful homes, plenty of live music, parks galore, and a nice location between Kansas and the rest of the USA.
November 18, 2004
Ozark Q.
An example of that mid-west style BBQ. Much needed, I was very hungry and needed a place to chill out.
What I got was a to-go plate (ordered "for here") and a sample of the pulled pork. Was OK, but when is OK really okay?
The Q was fine, sauce was kinda sweet and they had a bottle of store-bought on the table. Served on white bread hamburger bun that was soaked beyond use - maybe it was just a sponge anyway. Best treatment of customer was the wet-nap on the side.
Overall rating: move on, try again in Nashville.
The name of the place was "Sweetwater BBQ of the Ozarks".
I asked the proprietor for the best route to Nashville. The routes I planned were through National Forests, I wondered if there was a favorite of his and wanted any advice. His answer was "I ain't been to Nashville since I was a kid, my Deddy took us." He stooped forward a bit and made a palm-down horizontal motion with his hand, indicating he was a short, small, kid when he last went to Nashville. So I took this to mean he had no idea and could not be expected to know, since Deddy drove.
Looking at the map, St. Louis and Nashville are the closest cities. I guess he sticks near the BBQ place.
Beside the restaurant there was a camper trailer, a big truck, and a black metal cooking contraption. Looked like a retired Army guy living there, splitting wood and smoking the pig.
The best thing about Sweetwater BBQ of the Ozarks was the building, a stone structure that was small and tall. Seemed like a good roadhouse when Route 66 was important. - Oh yeah, it was on Route 66.
November 16, 2004
Not going well anymore
Out of Kansas, into the east, the south, out of the West for sure.
Had my 1st law enforcement officer encounter of the trip in Missouri. While photographing a sunset I was suspected of having an interest in stealing fertilizer for use in making Methamphetimine. Was an appropriate intro to the state.
Stayed in the worst Motel of the trip here - I wondered if I was going to be kidnapped - the door did not operate well, got locked in to my room. The lights flickered, the walls were concrete block, the window did not open. Trapped like a rat where no one can hear you scream.
Worst roads of the trip, bumpy, bouncy, and not well marked. Got lost due to detours of "road construction". I left Piney Grove, drove 45 minutes, approached the Same Town again, knowing I was not on track but never would have guessed I had looped around.
While in Rolla, Missouri every single person at their many traffic lights was eating from McDonalds wrappers while behind the steering wheel.
and talking with their mouth full.
Fat from junk food
and so were their stupid ugly children. Gross!
Saw the 1st Waffle House.
I miss the West. Feeling closed in, roads are too congested, sites are slight and not so impressive. The Blues were not created in the West. I want Western Swing, not oppression.
This is the point where I quit drinking the water. Nuff said.
Had my 1st law enforcement officer encounter of the trip in Missouri. While photographing a sunset I was suspected of having an interest in stealing fertilizer for use in making Methamphetimine. Was an appropriate intro to the state.
Stayed in the worst Motel of the trip here - I wondered if I was going to be kidnapped - the door did not operate well, got locked in to my room. The lights flickered, the walls were concrete block, the window did not open. Trapped like a rat where no one can hear you scream.
Worst roads of the trip, bumpy, bouncy, and not well marked. Got lost due to detours of "road construction". I left Piney Grove, drove 45 minutes, approached the Same Town again, knowing I was not on track but never would have guessed I had looped around.
While in Rolla, Missouri every single person at their many traffic lights was eating from McDonalds wrappers while behind the steering wheel.
and talking with their mouth full.
Fat from junk food
and so were their stupid ugly children. Gross!
Saw the 1st Waffle House.
I miss the West. Feeling closed in, roads are too congested, sites are slight and not so impressive. The Blues were not created in the West. I want Western Swing, not oppression.
This is the point where I quit drinking the water. Nuff said.
Worth getting arrested for?
Stop to take this photo in Missouri, risk getting arrested
Below the scene are metal tanks reflecting the sunlight.
The tanks contain fertilizer used in making meth.
Leave me alone! For 6 weeks I've been able to stop and go as I wanted. Now I must watch my step. Don't like it here.
OK, to be fair, the law man was a fine example of law enforcement.
He did his job well.
There.
It's not his fault he's stepping on my road trip buzz.
November 15, 2004
I Love Kansas
We've had some fun "seeking riders to cross Kansas", acting like it was undesirable.
Let me be clear:
Kansas was a highlight of my trip.
Beautiful, clean, and the people sure did seem to like me. They sure did stare at me. I've not experienced being stared at by dozens of locals since walking in Hungary in 1992.
A memorable image were the girls with dual pony tails, hair tied back on each shoulder. Very farm-girl fresh, very nice. Didn't see that anywhere else and let me clue you in: it's worth going to Kansas to see for yourself. This is where the girl next door lives.
So if you get a chance to go, to see a Jayhawks game for example, GO! And don't think that wearing all black is going to make you look sophisticated or tough, you'll look like a colorblind thug.
Guys: flannel.
Girls: pony tails, 80% are blonds.
Frozen custard cone served by a smiling young thing that really really hoped that I enjoyed it. Really!
Kansas is fresh air.
November 14, 2004
Lawrence, Kansas
What a beautiful town, and a great time to visit - early November.
A Kansas Jayhawks B-Ball game was going on when I arrived, everyone was listening to the radio broadcast. They'd just lost the day earlier to the Colorado Buffs in football, no one seemed to care about the football game, just round-ball.
A blond coed working the toll booth night shift engaged me in about 2 minutes of conversation after I paid my 85 cent toll, nice kid!
Try getting that kind of attention in the Bay Area!
Kansas is fresh air!
November 12, 2004
1212 Louisiana Street
A great home for a college student.
1212 Louisiana Street Lawrence, Kansas
University of Kansas, GO Jayhawks!
Based on the lives of the tenants, this place has some magical properties.
Is it the drinking water? The alignment of the high plains with the polar magnetic fields? Are people in Lawrence, Kansas naturally prone to excel? Something is going on!
Oh the stories that could be told at a 1212 Louisiana reunion!
Observers from the sidelines respect the former tenants enough that groups have incorporated parts of Kansas into the must-see destinations of any cross-country excursion.
God Bless America, we need more Lawrence, KS.
November 10, 2004
Yellow Sub
Best club ever
The Country Club
Yellow Sub, Lawrence, Kansas
crumbled bacon, mushrooms, turkey, ham, with shredded lettuce and onions on the side,
on home made sub roll, with soda refills AND that good crushed ice.
Walking distance from 1212 Louisiana Street, University of Kansas campus.
November 8, 2004
The Crossing
Answers the question: "Where did the Band "Pink Bike" play? (Lawrence, Kansas)
hey hey my my
rock & roll will never die
November 7, 2004
mecca
Welcome to Bennington, Kansas
Check this off your list of places to be before you kick the bucket.
Past that brick building is a gas station and a hamburger restaurant.
small town grain elevator
Somewhere in central Kansas.
the ol' school
Bennington Sports Complex
at the all-in-one Elementary / Middle / and High School campuses.
This is a small town in the middle of Kansas. Home of Chris Frank.
A general rule is that if the Elementary School, Middle School, and High School campuses are all on one plot of land then, You Betcha, it's a small town!
Chris Frank. Chris Frank. Chris Frank. There, I said it. Let Google-bots devour the name.
He's a big ol' small town boy living in the big cities of the world nowadays. He's a big old corn-fed fella, just as nice a peacable as he can be.
A favorite story about Chris tells about how a bit of trouble was brewing in a blues bar. It was past midnight and certain people were looking for trouble. One trouble maker told Chris that they could "take it outside and settle it". And - here is the punchline - "and then Chris stood up".
End of trouble, end of story.
Think about how big the guy is to stop a fight just by standing up.
It's one of the funniest stories ever.
Kanorado, Kansas
= Kansas + Colorado
November 6, 2004
West Kansas
153 miles from Denver
and the Front Range is still visible!
West Kansas
November 5, 2004
Call for Riders across Kansas
Ok all Y'all -
ask any prior rider and you'll learn that a trip avec moi across the backroads grid of Kansas could change your life. Highway only, no I-70 for us!
Keeping it real with the Kansans / Kansians / Kansasites / anyone? Anyone?
Destinations include: Bennington & 1212 Louisiana Street, Lawrence, KS.
ghost town door series
(sampler) 
red door
humor me, I'm not posting the full outhouse series!
black & white
I'm in a Denver wi-fi coffee shop getting ready for an art walk.
So, . . .
b & w
Art is Art
Four Corners region landscape
Head out to the left of the photo and you'll wind up in Monument Valley with the buttes and mesas.
Any further and you'll wind up back in time.
Mesa Verde condo
the original fixer-upper
circa 600 AD
includes:
running water from a drain on the cliff top into a collection pool below.
We aren't the first generation of clever people . . .
This is / was a condo or apartment, there were many others along the wall.
It does have running water - a water basin filled from a gutter above.
A nice view and protection from the elements. Built on the side of a ravine with a slope which creates a natural breeze in the summer. Impressive ingenuity from way back when. We tend to think of those in the past as not so bright as we are, but this place made me long to call such a dwelling "home" after so many weeks in cheap motels and an occasional camp-out.
I want to be a farmer
On the Trail of the Ancients, in either Colorado or Utah.
with snow covered peaks on horizon.
I want to be a farmer on the trail of the ancients.
Or maybe I want to be a cowboy, (everybody sing along)
yippie yi yay yippie yi yay yippie yi yay.
Eagle County Justice Center
Mind out or you too will see the inside, like Kobe Bryant.
Recognize the Eagle County Justice Center from CNN?
ice station Zulu
Rest easy,
your weather is being monitored by a Professional.
through the screen, behind the motel
This was a favorite Motel, stayed 2 nights.
Salida, Colorado