Sopapillas, billboards, and casinos oh my!

Day 4 – Stops:  Albuquerque, New Mexico; Flagstaff, Arizona; Sedona, Arizona

Hike: Harding Springs Trail (Distance: 0.7 miles, Elevation gain: 720 feet )

We woke up in Albuquerque and quickly made our way to El Modelo’s for some delicious sopapillas and a hot tamale. I did not really understand what a sopapilla is and I still don't think I can correctly explain it but there are tons of refried beans, fresh lettuce and tomatoes in a soft pastry like shell. We only ordered one sopapilla initially but the texture and taste were so awesome that we went back and ordered another. This place is like a Mexican food making factory, they are so quick with their orders that it came out in only 2 minutes and it was equally delicious. The tamale was initially very subtle but then minutes later became incredibly hot. It just looked red.

El Modelo's in Albuquerque

Our sopapilla at El Modelo's

Downtown Albuquerque

From there we drove through the city and took in the brilliant buildings -sand colored pinks and baby blue paint the town of Albuquerque. After a quick drive through town we headed to Flagstaff and Sedona. There is nothing in between these two places except for more Casinos, billboards, random towns, cattle, and some Indian reservation land which just made me sad that we forced these people to live in a desert without any farmland. The Route 66 Casino just an hour or so outside of Albuquerque was packed with cars on a random Tuesday afternoon. On the road there were many more Route 66 billboards and advertisements for Native American Artwork and the Trucker’s value meal.  And I can’t emphasize enough the love of Dairy Queen in New Mexico and Arizona based on the advertisements. Furthermore, the number of hitchhikers in this area is unbelievable in this day and age. 

Perhaps due to sheer boredom we stopped at the Petrified National Forest, as you can see from the pictures it's like a mini version of the badlands. We didn't get to see the petrified wood because it was another 25 minute drive in the wrong direction.

Petrified National Forest Badlands

Petrified National Forest Badlands

Petrified National Forest Badlands

We hit Flagstaff, which apparently is a ski town next to the mountain, and stocked up at Walmart before heading out to Cave Springs Campground in Sedona. Upon arrival we did a 0.7 mile hike with 700 feet elevation to an outlook of the mountains (Harding Springs Trail). Then arrived back and cooked up some hot dogs and veggies.  The Deutsches Red Chair beer we bought was decent, but a little too hoppy for my taste.

Route 40's endless miles

Harding Springs Trail Hike

Must Eat: Sopapillas at El Modelo.

Cowboy boots, a Massive Steak, Barren land. So Texas.

Day 3 - Stops : Oklahoma City, Oklahoma; Amarillo, Texas; Albuquerque, New Mexico

We again awoke early and ran around Oklahoma City which is really quite small and so it didn’t take much running to see the whole city (in shorts and a t-shirt finally). It does have this really interesting Conservatory and Amphitheater unlike anything I’ve seen before.  The security guard there was intrigued by Jeremy’s Vibrams and we offered information on where to buy a pair along with some running advice which he declined stating “I ain’t gonna be doing much running, I just want them cause they look cool”. In fact everyone sort of stared at us oddly as we ran about town. Clearly running is not a popular activity here. 

Downtown Oklahoma City

Conservatory in Oklahoma City

View of Downtown OKC

OKC Conservatory and amphitheater

A mural along the city walls in OKC. Represents people that have passed through the city.

A must do for me was to obtain a pair of cowboy boots because 1. I was super jealous of the ladies wearing them in Nashville and 2. I needed a pair for our farm wedding. Langston’s in Stockyard City just outside of OKC is the place to go for Western wear. More boots than I have seen in my entire life and all the greatest brands. I spent an hour finding just the right style and fit. Word of advice- the boot should fit snuggly around your forefoot but not hurt your toes, and you’ll probably be a whole size smaller than your normal shoe size.  Finally walked out with 2 pairs and dropped way too much money but I would do it again in an instant. Jeremy bought a pair too. We stopped in Shorty’s Caboy Hattery and inquired about the cost of their hats. “Well, do you want full beaver or half beaver?” What? “Full beaver is $800 and half beaver will cost ya $500, or you can go American, those are $300”. Holy crap I never thought anyone spent that much money on a hat. Yeah we didn’t get any hats.

Langston's Boot Shop in Stockyard City, OK

The drive to Amarillo was uneventful. The Panhandle of Texas is just endless flat nothingness with a sprinkling of cattle. Once in a while there was shack or gas station which left me thinking who chooses to live here? The one thing that I was impressed by on this drive were the repeated signs for a Free 72 ounce steak. And as we got closer the signs were more frequent. We had heard about this steak on Man versus Food and we figured we better check it out. The Big Texan Steak Ranch is definitely a thing to see. It’s just so Texas. And to our fortune, two men were taking on the Steak Challenge at that very moment. Seated above the rest of the dining area at a special table with timers above them. They attacked 72 ounces of steak, a baked potato, fried shrimp, a salad, and a dinner roll. I had to get some insight into this experience since I definitely was notg going to try it myself. And go figure they were from Red Bank, NJ – we’re practically neighbors. Apparently they went hard at this challenge initially, but quickly slowed and with 17 minutes left they looked ill and dejected. The steak was great but they were disappointed in themselves. So Amarillo originally a cattle raising town, lives up to its title – The Meat Capital of the World. They’re beer was quite good and after watching the pain that the other two men experienced Jeremy ordered an 8 ounce steak, ironically the smallest steak on the menu. They’re steak was tasty too (but Ruth’s Chris is better).

The Big Texan Ranch even states...Yes, everything is bigger in Texas.

We saw this free 72 oz steak sign for about 100 miles.

They have a play shooting area inside.

Site of the Challenge.

A smaller 8oz steak.

The challenge including a salad, bun, fried shrimp, baked potato and of course the steak.

We departed and continued the drive to Albuquerque on and off of highway 66 and 40 west. The only entertainment being the Billboards- for Fireworks, Dinosaur Museums, Knive shops, the World’ s best Fudge, among other bizarre knickknacks.  However, the sun setting over the barren New Mexico horizon was gorgeous.

Several cargo trains passed us on the way.

Route 40.

An example of Route 40/Old 66 billboards: a blurry sign for Knives.

We hit Albuquerque and went straight to Frontier Restaurant where we continued this all too American consumption of meat and sweets with Adam's Bonanza Burger topped with green chili sauce and bacon and a Sweet Roll (like an enormous cinnabun dunked in butter).

Adam of Man versus Food designed this chili bacon burger himself.

Must Do: Buy Cowboy boots at Langston’s in Stockyard City

Must Eat: Adam's Bonanaza Burger and Sweet Roll at Frontier Restaurant in Albuquerque, NM.

Must See: The Big Texan Steak Ranch, Sunset

Chicken and Waffles. Stupid good pancakes, gritz and BBQ! Enjoying southern cooking.

Day 1 - Stops: Roanoke, Virginia; Nashville, Tennessee

Under the stress of packing and life’s own bumps in the road, we actually departed Scranton at 7:45am instead of 6am. Jeremy took the first shift since I had been driving back and forth to Philadelphia in my apartment search five times in the past two weeks.

Adios Scranton

We took 81 South most of the way and passed through Pennsylvania, Maryland, West Virginia (new state!) and Virginia where we drove adjacent to the Appalachian mountains and saw lots of cattle, and a lots of giant crosses.

Crosses line 81 south

We then made our first stop at the cute town of Roanoke where it was a sunny warm Saturday. Lucky for us they had a Saturday farmer’s market and we picked up apples and oranges for our car ride and met a French Bulldog named Gidget Gaga and her proud owner a VAtech Huskies fan.  We ate (Fried) Chicken and Waffles at Thelma’s Chicken & Waffles, with sides of Chili Mac and Cheese and Salmon Balls with Honey Mustard.  Highly recommend that you try chicken and waffles if you have not yet combined these two things in one sitting. And sweet Chili on top of Mac and Cheese sounds terrible but is awesome.  We hit the road with some Cuban coffee at Habana café because it was my shift.

Roanoke, Virginia

An Irish shuttle in Roanoke, Virginia

Salmon Balls at Thelma's Chicken and Waffles

Chicken and Waffles at Thelma's

Mac and Cheese Chili

The trip to Nashville continued on 81South which has some of the greatest billboards I have ever seen. Advertisements for a Titanic museum (in western Virginia), the South’s Largest Adult Store, and my favorite – a Beef Jerky Outlet. I must ask, where is the demand for a Beef Jerky Outlet?

Finally we hit 40 west and Tennessee (new state!) On the way we entertained ourselves with Amazon reviews of a banana slicer which apparently saves lives.  The rain started and continued as we hit Nashville where I was immediately struck by the interesting dress of the women and men here. Cowboy boots of course but with these itty bitty shorts and shoe suspenders that attach at the waist, many women with one side of their head shaved, men with beards, women with sequin leggings, leopard print leggings, and lace leggings. I felt incredibly boring in my bomber jacket and jeans. Next time I visit Nashville I’m going to partake in this ridiculous attire because there are so few places in this world where you can get away with wearing that!

Layla's on the main strip in Nashville, TN

We were hungry again and stopped at B&C’s BBQ where we ate brisket, some of the richest mac and cheese I’ve had in my life, garlic and cheese gritz, baked beans and cornbread with some Yazoo Beer to wash it down. We listened to bluegrass hillbilly music at Layla’s – no cover and $2.50 PBRs. This town is cheap! Then it was back to our Econo Lodge which hosted a friendly bunch of crackheads and drugdealers.

B&C's BBQ in Nashville, TN

Must Eat: Chicken and Waffles, B&C’s BBQ – garlic and cheese gritz, brisket, and mac and cheese,

Must See:  Downtown Nashville late night music scene

Day 2 – Stops: Nashville, Tennessee; Memphis, Tennessee; Little Rock, Arkansas; Oklahoma City, OK 

I’ve decided that if we’re going to eat this southern food multiple times a day, we’re going to run every day too. Besides it’s a great way to cover a lot of ground in a city and take pictures! Fortunately I have a fiancé that is okay with this plan.

We woke at 7:30am and headed to downtown Nashville for our run. We ran around downtown found some funny signs to take pictures of – Nashville loves its crazy billboards and murals. We ran across the Shelby pedestrian bridge which offers a great view of the city even though it was a gloomy morning. Free street parking on Sundays by the way – we accidentally paid the meter.

How about a PBR shower?

Bridgestone Arena

Shelby Pedestrian Bridge

Then a must eat in Nashville is the Pancake Pantry featured on Man versus Food and deservingly so. It’s actually near Vanderbilt so we drove on by and the line was long but worthwhile. It moved at a fair speed. The staff was super friendly and the pancakes are definitely the best I’ve had anywhere. Keep in mind these are not your normal pancakes – we ordered their Famous Sweet Potato Pancake with Cinnamon syrup which is very sweet and the Santa Fe which is a savory cornmeal pancake. The Sweet potato is more popular but I preferred the Santa Fe. Don’t be afraid to put syrup on top of sourcream and salsa. Just do it!

Apparently the Pancake Pantry always has a line

Santa Fe cornmeal pancakes with sour cream and salsa

 

Sweet potato pancake with cinnamon syrup

It was a busy day. Once we left Nashville we headed to Memphis and decided to drive by Graceland. Never in my life did I think I would pay money to go inside Graceland but we got tricked by paying for parking and then we figured with a few discounts we might as well check it out since we have no future plans to visit the Memphis area. Let me tell you something about the surrounding area, Elvis didn't live there because it's pretty. Graceland is kind of bizarre. Peacock stain glass windows flank the living room, there’s a Jungle room, and an insane looking man cave. It was overpriced but the exhibit itself was interesting and I feel like I learned a lot about Elvis, perhaps much of it was lost on me because I’m not of that generation. But I guess I didn’t realize he died at age 42 from congestive heart failure probably due to Cocaine induced cardiomyopathy.

Lions. SAE style.

Peacocks are necessary.

An Elvis era man cave replete with a monkey statue and lightning bolts.

Who doesn't need a Jungle room?

From Graceland we drove through Memphis and stopped to check out the Mississippi river which is enormous and beautiful. Memphis itself is a cute town but the surrounding areas are a little rough which is a pattern we’ve noticed in these southern cities.

Mississippi River outside of Memphis

We got a late start and headed off to Little Rock. Immediately the change in the landscape became apparent as the land was incredibly flat. We did a drive by passed Little Rock which has some funky lit up bridges and looks to be a pretty city. Although Jeremy wanted to avoid chain restaurants we did hit up Famous Dave’s because it’s not a chain anywhere in the northeast, and it was Easter Sunday in the south which means everything is closed. I was surprised how great the BBQ was here. Delicious spare ribs and a Texas Manhandler sandwich containing bacon, brisket, and spicy sausage that was quite memorable with pickles and coleslaw on top (Memphis style) .  Jeremy reports that the brisket at Famous Dave’s was even superior to the brisket he ate in Nashville.

Famous Dave's BBQ in Little Rock, AK

And then we got in the car and realized that Oklahoma City was further than we had anticipated, 5 hours away. Jeremy woke me up from my nap just to see the giant lit up cross that adorns the side of a skyscraper in downtown OKC and is visible from the highway. I’m guessing this is a Christian town. We arrived at 1am at the Travelodge.

Must Eat: Pancake Pantry – Santa Fe pancake with syrup
Must See: Mississippi river (Memphis)