Alluvial fans, Shear Faults and a Smothered Burrito "Christmas Style"

  Today we learned some geology.  We went back to the Garden of the Gods and watched a movie in the Visitor's Center.  We then walked the inner garden and marveled at the rock formations.  We were also amazed at the rock climbers scaling the shear faces of the formations.
  We then drove down I-25, stopping for lunch in Pueblo, Colorado.
  One disappointing thing about Colorado is that their idea of Mexican or even New Mexican food is Taco Bell.  We found one restaurant which advertised "The state's best green chile burrito" but it was closed.
   We have finally arrived in New Mexico and settled in to the historic St. Jame's hotel.  Jesse James and Wyatt Earp stayed here.  Now Ellen and Tom Carrico have stayed here.
   We went down to the restaurant and there it was: a "Smothered Burrito".  "Smothered in what?"  I asked the waitress.  She replied "Green Chile or Red Chile.  Or you can have it Christmas style."  It had been a long day so I stupidly asked "What's Christmas style?"  To which she replied " Both".  So, I ordered it (Christmas Style, of course) and almost ate the whole thing.  It was wonderful.  It approached the perfect burrito.  We will keep searching......

Oh, and it went very well with Dead Man Ale.

"Add that to the ways you've tried to kill me."

  We left Denver this morning in our rented Dodge Charger.  (Special thanks to Sergio from Peru at the Hertz counter who suggested the upgrade.)  We found our way to Manitou Springs where we picked up some Pad Thai to go and headed for Pike's Peak.
   Pike's Peak is the easternmost "fourteener", or mountain higher than 14,000 feet.  It is named after Zebulon Pike who found the mountain in 1806 but never made it to the summit.  Gold was discovered in the area and prompted the "Colorado Gold Rush" in the 1850s.  The slogan of the "59ers" was "Pike's Peak or Bust", which became our motto today as well.
   We found ourselves following a large trailer being towed by a Silverado.  There was a large image of Jesus on the back of the trailer which advised "Follow me", which we did for several  very tediously slow miles.
  The rangers finally convinced the driver that there was no way, Jesus or no Jesus, that the Silverado could tow that mammoth trailer up Pike's Peak.  Gratefully the truck's driver executed an amazing U-turn, almost taking the front end of the Charger with him.
   We wound our way, switch back after switch back, until we found the Half-way Park where we claimed a picnic table and devoured what turned out to be excellent Pad Thai.
  We continued our trip up the Peak.  We realized that with every foot of increased elevation, there was less and less oxygen to be breathed.  We did however, as evidenced by this photo, reach the summit of Pike's Peak!

   The plaque in the previous picture includes the lyrics to "America the Beautiful" which were apparently inspired by the very same view we were enjoying.  The only problem was that the view was literally breath-taking.  Both Ellen and I noted that even posing for pictures made us winded.  

     We spent a few minutes in the gift shop, purchased some post cards and then departed.  It was fairly incredible to view the above scene.  I don't believe that either of us had ever watched a thunderstorm from above the storm.  We then proceeded to drive back down the circuitous route and through the aforementioned thunderstorm which came with a side order of hail.  It was about at this very time that Ellen uttered the inspired quote which entitles this missive.
   The rest of the day has been delightful.  We arrived at our Marriott hotel in Colorado Springs and saw a bunch of people with polo shirts that said "USA Basketball".  Two of them I recognized: Tony Bennet, the coach at UVa and Chaka Smart, the VCU wunderkind who somehow took the Rams to the Final Four (eliminating my beloved Hoyas in the process).  I couldn't think of anything to say except "Georgetown is having a great recruiting year and next time we'll kick your ass" so I decided not to say anything at all.   We asked the young lady at the check in desk for a recommendation for dinner and she told us about The Trinity Brewing Company.  This seemed to be divinely inspired, what with following Jesus earlier in the day, so we went.  The Trinity Brewing Company grows their own organic vegetables and brews their own beers which, according to their brochure, are inspired by Belgian breweries.  This was a very wise dining choice.
   We drove back to the hotel with a short detour through The Garden of the Gods, which is as awe-inspiring as it sounds.
   Tomorrow, it's time to move on down the Santa Fe Trail, through Pueblo, Colorado and ending in Cimmaron, New Mexico.  I will end this with a short video from Pike's Peak Summit:

The Quest for the Perfect Burrito

   This afternoon we fly out of this lovely pocket of heat and humidity which we call home (Lynchburg, VA) and land this evening in Denver, Colorado.  By Monday 8/1 we will have found our way (we hope) to Cimmarron, New Mexico to meet our son Brian, who is working for his fifth summer at the Philmont Scout Ranch.  We have several side trips planned to Antonito,CO to ride an eighteenth century narrow gauge steam train through the silver mine country of the Southern Rockies.  We will also travel to Mosca, Colorado to see The Great Sand Dunes National Park and Zapata Falls.  After depositing Brian back at Philmont on Wed evening, Ellen and I will proceed on to Taos, NM before visiting with cousin Janet and her husband Wes in Denver on Friday evening.  We return to the land of the ridiculously high heat index on Sat. 8/6.
  On the surface, there are two obvious reasons for this trip.  Number one: I'm sick of working all summer and need a vacation. 'Nuff said.  Second:  We haven't seen Brian since he escaped to the Wilds in May and need to see if he has regressed on the evolutionary scale at all.  One immediately important assessment will be how long will it take to transform our third son from Grizzly Adams into a fledgling attorney, since he meets his new dean (and all of his new classmates) on Sunday August 14.
   There is, however, one more major goal for this trip.  Much like Ponce de Leon wandered through the Keys and Everglades searching for the elusive Fountain of Youth, I am continuing my life-long quest to find the perfect burrito! 
    My Internist would say "Not too much salt!  Not good for your blood pressure!"
    My Cardiologist would say "Careful with the cheese -- remember that little surgery you had a few years ago?"
     My daughter would say "Veggie Burritos are much healthier and no animals suffer in the production of a veggie burrito!"
    You know what?  I don't care.  If one burrito pushes my coronaries over the edge, so be it.  We're going to find it.  We've come close before.  On a previous trip to New Mexico we stumbled into a local restaurant called "Maria's" in downtown Las Vegas, New Mexico (not to be confused with the neon coated city of the same name in Nevada).  The burritos there were absolutely amazing, but perfect?  I think not.  There's got to be a perfect burrito waiting for me in some small town in Colorado or New Mexico.
   I'll keep you posted.