On The Way To Santa Fe

On The Way To Santa Fe originally published on Food and Fond Memories on December 3, 2013 by sandyaxelrod 4 Comments (Edit)

The Painted Desert

The day following our visit to the Grand Canyon was Steve’s 70th birthday as well as a long travel day. We knew we had about a 7 hour drive from Sedona to Santa Fe so we set out early and stopped for sustenance at our new favorite country store. It was a very chilly morning so the piping hot coffee warmed my hands and my insides. We were in no particular hurry to get to our destination so we decided that we would make stops along the way to see as many points of interest as we could.

An actual space capsule with a woman pretending to enter.

Space Capsule at Meteor Crater

Meteor Crater

A woman in a hot pink sweater behind a display of a large meteor.

Me and the Meteor

We had passed through Flagstaff when we started seeing signs for Meteor Crater. Never even having heard of it we decided it would be our first stop. The 10 mile detour took us to the spot where a large meteor crashed to earth some 50,000 years ago at an estimated speed of 26,000 miles per hour! This is a site of much research and the crater has been well preserved. At the complex we learned all sorts of scientific facts about meteors and saw a film that depicted the flight path and impact of the meteor. Ah, the magic of digital media.

A street corner with a sculpture of a man and a woman in a hot pink sweater standing next to it.

On the Corner in Winslow, Arizona

Life in Winslow, Arizona

Our next little detour took us to Winslow, Arizona. It is a tiny town where time seems to have stood still. But it does have a unique claim to fame. It is well documented in the Eagles song “Standing on the corner in Winslow, Arizona”, so of course we had to take pictures there and buy a souvenir spoon to commemorate the momentous occasion.

Multicolored striated mountains and desert.

Another View of The Painted Desert

By this time we were starving so we detoured once again to get some lunch and drive through the Petrified Forest and Painted Desert. The scenery was so spectacular. It looks like a great artist painted the desert mounds in colored stripes. I suppose it was done by the most masterful artist ever – G-d!

The Route 66 Casino

By now our 7 hour journey had already taken us about 8.5 hours but Steve wanted to make one more stop. And since it was his birthday I wanted him to be able to do anything he wanted and he wanted to see the Route 66 Casino. Honestly it could rival any I’ve been to in Atlantic City. It was huge and quite glitzy with very cool Route 66 themed carpeting. Steve sat down at a penny slot, put a dollar in, and proceeded to win $9 whole dollars. But of course he couldn’t just walk away. Oh no. He had to lose it all. We laughed so hard we could barely stop.

The outside of a western restaurant with a sign the says Cowgirl BBQ and Saloon.

Outside Cowgirl BBQ and Saloon

A woman standing and hugging a man who is seated at a BBQ restaurant

Happy Birthday Sweetheart at Cowgirl BBQ

We checked into our hotel, hung up our clothes and immediately headed out to dinner. We were starving and exhausted after riding for 11 hours and over 400 miles plus detours. We probably looked grungy but we didn’t care. I had hoped for a decent dinner to celebrate Steve’s big day but almost everything was closed. We stumbled on a little place called Cowgirl BBQ and I expected very little. We sat in the bar area where live music was playing. The place was loud, lively, friendly and fun. And much to our surprise the food was delicious. Our server Meekah cautioned us the the burger was huge so we shared it. We started with Guacamole, Blue and Yellow Corn Chips and a couple of Coronas. When Meekah brought our burger we were so glad we were sharing it. The juicy and fabulous burger and crispy fries was described on the menu as “The mother of all green chile cheese burgers. Organic black angus, antibiotic-free beef, buffalo and apple wood smoked bacon, heirloom tomato and melted Brie on a chile cheddar bun with truffle fries. And since we were celebrating we ordered the Molten Chocolate Cake with Vanilla Bean Ice Cream and Hot Fudge, garnished with Fresh Whipped Cream for dessert! The music of the Buster Blue Band was so fantastic that we danced along with everyone else. Their mix of Zydeco and Blue Grass was irresistible. It felt like a big birthday party and Steve loved it!