5/21/12 - Lamar to Garden City and Beyond

Tuesday begins in the southeast corner of Colorado, in the small town of Lamar.  We choose the RodeWay Inn over our usual Holiday Inn Express for a myriad of reasons.  1. Its a lot cheaper, 2. We saw no tornadoes, so no cushy cumfy lodging and 3.  The latter was booked.

It was again late, and a Monday, so dining options were limited.  We decided to live on the edge and try the hotel bar.   I didn't catch the name but it was probably something like the Horseshoe Club, or The Roundup Saloon.   The clientelle was pretty much "cowboy" - blue-collar men with jobs and lives much tougher than ours (paper jams not being at the top of their concerns).  We wore our caps to blend in and settled on a table in front of one of the dozen big screens. The Lakers were playing the Oklahoma Thunder.  While Lamar was more likely a Denver Nugget town, I could feel the room was rooting for nearby OKC.   Storm chasers by trade, and LA haters by heart we also pulled for the Thunder.

Cowboy food has changed a lot since we first started roaming the plains.   Menus once dominated by ribs, steaks and burgers now have a more sophisticated and lighter touch.  Not quite quiche, scones and vitamin water, but ours did include turkey chili and a variety of salads.  We both tried the chili, while I paired it with a Ceasar and John with the house salad.

I was very impressed when the food arrived.  The Caesar was whole-leaf with shaved parmesan, a quality dressing and even artfully drizzled with balsamic vinegar.  I think it cost me $5.   This was twice the size I might expect at any Bay Area restaurant, and half the price.  John house was also large and well stocked with veggies.  Also around $5.   The turkey chili, albiet a bit cold, was also well presented with a dolllup of sour cream and some shredded cheese.  It was spicy enought to make us both perspire a bit and to order a second draft.  John went all Blue Moon on me, but I stuck to native faire - Coors.  All that for under $30 plus tip.  We ARE not in California anymore Toto!

Our Brunch Stop - Irish Coffee Anyone?

The next morning, after our obligatory hour run and late checkout request, we headed east to marginal dew points and favorable shear.  North Dakota was where the big dance was, but the 700+ mile drive was more than we could fathom (or make).  We opted for the local show and a more leisurely drive.

The drive found us in the nice town of Garden City (which is really neither, but then again I live in Walnut Creek, which was also named for some items which are not so readily available).   Graced with onboard internet we did a Google Map search for "yuppie eatery minus Starbucks".  Boom - Patrick Dugan's Coffee House popped up and we directed our iron horse to that pasture.

Armed with coffee cups the size of your head, a bottle of juice and bagels with cream cheese, we exercised our fingers to alert the world of our plans, as though they cared.  John plugs away with meteorological insight and blather, and I focus more on topics for the other 99%.

Upon turning on my trusty Acer Notebook I notice that power switches on most newer techie devices have the "I" and "O" on them rather than ON and OFF.  I have never quite grasped this and am admittedly too lazy to Wikipedia it.   Obviously using the first letter of On and Off would be of little use, so perhaps it means IN and OUT, so that the electricity knows which way to go.  Another theory is that these are not letters but partial emoticons - just the mouth, in the position it might be should electricy enter your head.  :-0

Storms are forming over the western OK panhandle and my coffee is cold.  Time to go.