I have been to The Big Texan Steak Ranch in Amarillo, Texas a few times over the years, but recently on the way back from South Carolina the timing lined up and I was able to stop not only for a steak dinner, but to stay the night!
I was planning my stop for the night and looked for a hotel near the restaurant, and to my suprise the Big Texan Motel came up! It was very reasonable, and only a walk across the parking lot from the rooms to the steakhouse. I arrived in Amarillo and checked in and headed to my digs for the night. The room was clean and decorated in what I can only assume was “Big Texan” style.
I decided to clean up and head over to grab some dinner, with a quick stop to pet the goats who were hanging out at the Horse Hotel!
I was seated near two sisters on their way cross country via Route 66. I did not feel prepared so I skipped the 72oz “Free” steak and decided to just get a 12oz steak and some fried pickles.
Dinner was good and fast, and I took a spin around the gift shop, past the shooting galleys, had my fortune read, and headed to the bar for a nightcap.
It had been a long day of driving so I decided to call it a night. The bed was comfortable, and once I tuned out the I-40 freeway noise I fell right asleep. This was a reasonable and convenient stop, but I suppose if I ever stay again I may need to try the 72oz steak challenge!
A couple weeks ago we had planned to go to visit Mesa Verde National Park in Southwest Colorado. At that time we were hoping the government shutdown would be over, but at the time I am writing this it is still dragging on. We were not sure what to expect but as we already made arrangements for the trip and booked a hotel, we hit the road as planned.
The drive from Creede, CO to the park was beautiful weather and the Pagosa Springs side of Wolf Creek Pass was still showing fall colors. We even spotted a few of our bighorn neighbors on the drive out.
We grabbed some lunch in Cortez (Delicious, but insane portion sizes Loungin’ Lizard!) and headed to the park entrance. We were surprised to find there was a park ranger manning the gate, they were not collecting entrance fees or checking park passes, and he informed us most of the roads in the park were closed except the main route. All the museums, visitor centers, and guided tours of the cliff dwellings were shut down, however you could still visit the Spruce Tree House.
We headed into the park and enjoyed the beautiful, traffic free drive, and made our way to the Spruce Tree House. We arrived and were happy to find the restrooms were still open and clean, and there was a park ranger present. Mesa Verde is full of petroglyphs and archeological sites, so it was good to see there was someone watching over them. We have definitely seen horror stories of people causing damage or running free at other national parks during the shutdown.
The view of Spruce Tree House was pretty amazing, especially knowing this is one of the smaller existing cliff dwellings in the park. We headed out of the park, glad to have seen what we could, and we definitely want to visit again when the full park is open and guided tours to the dwellings are available. We thanked the lone ranger for looking over the park and headed home.
When I saw Ray Wylie Hubbard was playing over my birthday weekend back in August, we decided to take a little wiggle down to Red River, New Mexico. We’d never been there before, so we weren’t exactly sure what to expect, so we jumped on the bikes and headed out!
Our trip started smoothly with clear weather, and we stopped at the Wagon Wheel Saloon in La Jara, CO for lunch. We’ve driven and ridden past this place a bunch of times, and it always seems to be full so we gave it a shot. It did not disappoint, it definitely seemed like more of a local restaurant and had good food. Guess we went just in time, evidently the restaurant is now permanently closed!?!?!
As we were nearing New Mexico, we saw thunderstorms on the horizon.
We got thoroughly soaked and cold, but luckily rode out of it and into the sun as we headed towards Taos. As we got closer to Red River, the terrain became more mountainous again and the weather began to get a bit colder and we caught a bit more rain. The last 10 miles or so of twisty mountain roads was pretty wet, but luckily nothing we have not encountered before. For the record we did have rain gear with us, but decided not to put it on both times….
We arrived at our hotel, cleaned up, and headed into town for dinner. We decided to grab a little Mexican and saw the real life Hank Hill having dinner as well.
We walked over to the Mother Lode Saloon, which was taking part in the yearly 8750 Festival, a celebration of music and barbecue. Although there were some other great bands this weekend, we specifically came in for this one event which was held independent of the main festival. I’ve loved Ray Wylie Hubbard for a long time and finally got a chance to see him live. No better excuse for a road trip right?
His first song or two started a little shaky, but his voice just got stronger and better as the show went on. He played the best of the best out of his large catalog, told stories, and played for about a hour and a half ending with a drunken singalong of Up Against The Wall, Redneck Mother…I was not disappointed!
After the show we headed across the street to the Bull O’ The Woods Saloon (in operation since 1939!) to shoot a little pool.
The next morning, on my actual birthday, we hit the road and passed through Taos and into Carson National Forest. We’ve ridden this stretch before, but on this particular day, there was almost no traffic and we were just able to really enjoy the roads and clear warm weather.
We decided to end the trip with a stop at Rachel’s Keep On Keepin Onfor some delicious sliders and mac ‘n’ cheese before heading up the valley towards home.
A fun trip to another little mountain town, good food, great music, and open roads. What more can you ask for?
Bee and I decided to head up to check out Phoenix Park Waterfall, only of the many waterfalls in the Creede, CO area, but one we had not yet visited. We did a quick map download on AllTrails and headed towards Willow Creek.
We read that it was about 2.5 miles to the falls from the trail head, but that a 4×4 could drive to 2/3 mi from the falls….so we aired our tires down and hit the trail!
It started out a bit rocky and bumpy but about halfway in definitely became a bit more technical! We took our time on the trail and passed a few side-by-sides headed out as well as some hikers sharing the road. We didn’t have any real issues but I am glad I had skid plates in a few of the more narrow rocky areas on the trail! After a water crossing we came to the trails end and caught up with a cool old Toyota FJ.
We started hiking and caught glimpses of the falls, and after an easy hike we were standing at the base of the falls and treated to a cool mist.
It was starting to cloud up and we knew some afternoon rain was coming in, so we headed back to the runner and started making our way back towards town. All in all a fun few hour trip and we crossed the last waterfall in the area we had not been to off the list!
I visited the South Fork Colorado Visitors Center last week and joined up with a mushroom foray group. We met at 8:00 a.m. and went over the game plan for the day. The group leader let us know where we going and what we were hoping to find. We were going to visit three locations, so we all got in our cars and followed the leader to our first location, Big Meadows Reservoir. We pulled over to the side of the road and fanned out into the forest. When anyone found a mushroom we would call out so those in the vicinity could check out the finds.
We learned a little bit of the anatomy of mushrooms and the different types of caps and stems and how they released their spores. We also learned how to gather ethically by making sure to leave some behind and not just scoop up all the mushrooms and clear out the patch.
The second location was off of Park Creek Road. I had a little less luck here and ended up peeling off from the group at this point. The third location was going to be in Del Norte and instead of following them, I headed back home to Creede.
I wanted to take the class to get tips on gathering, where and when to find certain species and most important of all, which ones are safe to eat! There are many types of mushrooms and many look alike so the safest bet if you’re unsure is not to eat them. I can now go confidently in to the forest and harvest Oyster Mushrooms and Chanterelles for sure, I found a patch on a hike here in Creede last year and I want to go back and see if I can find them again.
They offer a few classes through the summer, next up is an herb gathering class and you can find info through the South Fork Visitor Centers Facebook page. This class was free and they had mushroom hunting guides for sale and many other maps and info available. I live here year round so I never thought of myself as a visitor and had never thought of going in to the visitors center! Lots of info, friendly folks 10/10 would recommend.
Originally this trip had been planned to be a motorcycle trip, so originally we actually didn’t have much of a plan other than riding through the park. Because of the weather necessitating a drive, we brought our hiking boots and gear. We had planned ahead and had timed entry passes (required May-October), and on the way to the park, we did a little cursory research to find some trails to hike on our way through the park. Knowing we just had the day, we wanted to be able to hike and explore a little bit in different areas and landscapes of the park.
We kept most of our hikes to only a few miles long, whether the trails were loops, or in and out trails. We were able to hike through some of the lower elevation pine forests, see beaver ponds, hike up in the tundra area where there was still was snow here and there, and were treated to the site of some elk up on a mountain top watching us go by! On the way down to the West entrance at Grand Lake we did a short hike along the Colorado river and had a picnic. (Pro Tip: There is only one restaurant in the park called the Trail Ridge Store – So unless you want to spend a long time parking and waiting in line, bring your own food in!)
All in all we hiked a total of around 8 miles throughout the day, and of course enjoyed all of the scenery driving through one of the most beautiful national parks. We decided to cap the night off with a stay in Grand Lake at the historic Grand Lake Lodge and enjoyed a delicious and well earned dinner!
I know I have written it before, but even if you don’t have time to spend days or a week in the national parks but are passing by, make the detour! You can still see what they are about and get the general lay of the land if you ever decide to go back for a longer trip!
A couple weeks ago Bee suggested an impromptu trip to Carson, a ghost town located outside of Lake City, Colorado. At almost 12,000 feet near the top of the Continental Divide Carson was one of the most inaccessible mining camps in Colorado. I pulled up the location on Gaia (super helpful off-line GPS maps app) and we jumped in the truck and headed over to Lake City, always a gorgeous drive. From Lake City, you drive past Lake San Cristobal and start heading along the Alpine loop. From there you take a side spur up Wager Gulch, about a 3.5 mile drive to Carson. I was aware this was an off-road situation, so at the start of the spur we aired the tires down for a more comfortable ride.
Right at the beginning of the road, we were greeted with a sign “4×4 only”. About 500 feet past the sign we found out why! This is definitely a high clearance road, and one of the rare times I’ve had to use four wheel low, many times I feel the offroad signs are overkill.
The road was not overly technical, but you do have to pick your correct line, and because it is narrow with some tight turns, you definitely need to watch out for other traffic. We only saw a handful of side-by-side, an old C7 jeep, and a couple dirt bikes on the entire trip.
As soon as we got to Carson, we could spot the town and after a small stream crossing we were able to park right in front of the remaining structures, get out, and have a picnic lunch and explore.
All in all, it’s a very cool trip and the views from Carson are worth the drive. You could probably expect to spend about 40 minutes drive time each way from the trailhead, but again make sure you have a high clearance vehicle and four-wheel-drive! You need it in dry conditions, if there was any mud or snow this would definitely be a more challenging journey. Enjoy!
We have been listening to Charley Crockett (and if you haven’t heard the man, you better check it out!) for a few years, his are some of the favorite records on rotation in our house. We saw him live the first time a few years ago at a small 500 person venue here in Colorado. I feel we were lucky to see him when he was still playing small venues; The last time we saw him was in a 5000 person venue, and generally speaking I’m not a fan of venues that size, you tend to lose the feel and energy of a packed small house.
When we heard he would be playing at Red Rocks Amphitheater in Morrison, Colorado this June, we jumped at the chance to buy tickets! We decided to plan a little trip and head out to the show, then swing through Rocky Mountain National Park on our way home. The plan was for this to be a motorcycle trip, but weather can be pretty unpredictable here this time of year, especially in the mountains.
The day we planned to leave the whole front range was getting hit with thunderstorms, so we decided to jump instead. That was a good decision, after a very eventful drive with torrential downpours and flash flood warnings, we arrived in Morrison and met up with a couple friends from out in our area. We all drove up to the venue together and began the hike up to our seats. If you’ve never been before, it literally is a hike just from the parking lot to the entrance, and then about 1 billion stairs to the seating areas. It’s an amazing venue though, the wide stepped seating nestled into the red rocks, and a beautiful view of the plains surrounding Colorado Springs and Denver.
We grabbed our seats and enjoyed the opening band Rattlesnake Milk, we have heard them plenty on Spotify, and they were fantastic live. The second band Chaparelle came on but immediately had to stop due to lightning! We waited patiently and watched the storm rolling through with lightning, thunder, and rain in the distance. We were definitely worried the show would be canceled, but after a small break, the second band came back on and finished their set.
Now came the moment we had been waiting for, Charlie Crockett and his band, the Blue Drifters hit the stage. His stage presence, set design, and lighting were better than ever. The lightning over the stage in the background added even more effect to the show. He played a mix of hits from his many albums, as well as a bunch of tracks from his newest release Lonesome Drifter, and a couple from his upcoming album.
I only took a few pictures and videos because I was too busy enjoying the performance and venue. He’s absolutely one of our favorites artists to see live, and the venue made the performance that much more memorable. Thanks Red Rocks, and see you down the road Charley!
Summer has come around again which means mountain man rendezvous are happening! Last year I was able to attend my first rendezvous when the Rocky Mountain National Rendezvous was held here in Creede, Colorado. This year the nationals are being held in Lonetree, Wyoming, however the Wild Bill Rendezvous was held right down the road from our cabin here in Creede, CO this June. This year Wild Bill didn’t make it….hence the (A’int Here) in the name this year! Jay and Ramona Weber from Wild Beaver Mountain Man Emporium did all the heavy making this Rendezvous happen, so if you are in Creede make sure to visit their store!
I spent the winter working on some new clothing, which would be correct to the fur trapper era, as well as building a black powder muzzle loader rifle as well. I also pulled Bee into this project, utilizing her sewing skills to help with some things like making an appropriate shirt and helping pattern my vest. She also made a new shirt and dress of her own so she could join me at this years event.
The nice thing about this rendezvous being so close to home is I was able to pop in and out through the week and still work my day job. I went in the first day of the weeklong rendezvous to get the lay of the land, said hello to everybody, and checked out the short-term camping situation. I acquired a canvas wedge tent, but I had not yet waterproofed it…and of course, every afternoon that week it rained!
Later in the week I was able to test my newly built rifle out. It changes the experience shooting in costume and loading from my possibles bag, and because that day there weren’t too many people at the range I was able to really test the limits of my rifle, backing up further and further until I was 100 yards from the target. I was pretty impressed at the accuracy for a black powder rifle with iron sights.
During the week I managed to get my tent waterproofed (or waterproof enough any way), and decided Friday morning I would go in and set up camp. I arrived and the weather that day was beautiful, I set up my camp using period correct items as much as possible, and spent time hanging out with the rest of the attendees. Bee joined me in the evening so I could cook her a steak dinner over the open fire!
That evening I attended the auction, the proceeds from the donated items helped to pay for the event. That evening, we all gathered in the main tent to listen to the band play some music, listen to Woodman tell some trapper tall tales, and there may or may not have been some mason jars passed around.
The next morning, I was woken up at 6:15 AM by the sound of a cannon! This was new to me, I’d heard the cannon before, but I had no idea there was a wake up call: I think if I had known I may have gone to bed a bit earlier! I spent the morning chatting with a couple people and cooking breakfast over the fire. At 9 AM there was a flag ceremony signaling the end of the rendezvous so I said my goodbyes, packed up camp and headed back home.
This was definitely a lot of fun, and not just a normal camp out. The fact everybody is dressed in a certain era of clothing and using equipment from those eras definitely made it feel completely different from any camp I’ve ever done. It’s really interesting talking to some of these people who have been doing this for decades, listening to their stories and journeys in this world, and discussing all the clothing and accoutrement they have made themselves. Goodbye camp until the next rendezvous!
I spent a couple of months last fall working on the bike at home in Creede, CO, going over everything, upgrading the brake system, and making sure the bike was in running condition before hauling it back to the motorcycle shop in Ohio. My brother and Tim offered to handle swapping out the front wheel, as well as replacing tires, and installing some new Mikuni 34 mm carburetors. They also took it to a dyno, which allows you to run a motorcycle in a controlled environment, to tune the motor and make sure it was running well before racing. They were able to get the motorcycle tuned and running well ahead of the spring ECTA land speed racing event which is held in Blytheville, Arkansas on an old airstrip. I met my brother, my dad, Tim, and a bunch of our friends in Arkansas to test the motorcycle under real world conditions. My brother also brought his dual engine Triumph out to do the same, all in preparation for Bonneville 2025.
Waiting for technical inspection to clear my 1967 Triumph motorcycle for racing
We arrived at the track on Thursday and went through registration and inspection. During inspection they go over the bike to make sure it meets all the rules and regulations and to be sure you are placed into the proper class. This year they added a new classic class so I was running on open records, which means any speed sets a record in that class. I went in, hoping to be able to run about 130, which puts it on par with past racing and gives us a good baseline. Most importantly, this event gave me a chance to get back on the bike after five years of not racing. Purpose built race bikes are very different from a street bike, you are pushing the limits of these vintage motors and testing all the fabrication and engineering you have done. They’re a very different riding position as well, they are extremely low to the ground so you need to get a position laying down on the bike with your feet back behind you. The idea is just creating a smallest hole in the air, trying to maximize aerodynamics, which is especially important with a larger rider, such as myself! We made it through inspection with no issues and spent time preparing and readying the motorcycle for racing on Friday.
At the starting line!
Friday I woke up, excited and nervous, but with a heavy rain coming down. We decided to hold off on heading to the track since there would be no racing until things were dry out. We headed back after lunch, the rain had stopped and they were actively working on drying the course off so we would be able to run later that afternoon. Once they started racing we got into line to wait our turn to run! By the time I was able to run it was the end of the day, but I was able to run the full 2 km race course. The bike faltered in second gear, but eventually did pull through, and I was still able to complete a run and shake off the cobwebs. We headed back to the pits and started looking over the bikes to reset everything, check oil levels, fuel up, etc. and I discovered one of the slides in the carburetors was out of adjustment, possibly from transport, so we planned on synchronizing the carburetors again first thing in the morning.
Good luck!First run in the bag!
Saturday morning was supposed to be be clear, but again we woke up to rain. Luckily this time it was much shorter lived! Around 10 in the morning, we pulled the bikes out of the trailer and synchronized my carburetors, which made an instant difference in how it ran. We did discover my tachometer, the only instrument on the motorcycle, died. These are electronic gauges and mine is a bit older, and unfortunately it chose that day to die. I knew this would be a challenge. This is the instrument I rely on, because of data from dyno sessions I know at what RPM the power is being generated and where I should be shifting, but without it I had to do everything completely by feel and sound. It is a challenge on such a fast short race track, there are so many things going on quickly. We headed back to the starting line; “Hurry up and wait” as we say in racing. I was able to do my second run of the event, and this time the bike ran absolutely amazing. I wound it out high in every year and was able to put up much higher speeds than the previous day, raising the records I already sent the previous day. Looking at the timing slips I did notice I had lost some speed between the 1 mile and 2 km mark, I tried to determine whether this was the motorcycle or my fault. After after reviewing the video my brother was able to take near the end of the race track we were able to determine that I let off on the throttle before heading through the 2K park. Again, it’s amazing how quickly things happen, I would’ve sworn I did not let up, but subconsciously I must’ve seen the flags and let off the throttle.
I headed back to the pit and reset the bike again for another run and had lunch with the crew. It is always great to hang out with our friends at a race! We headed back to line to do another run and worked our way up in line. This time I felt much more ready to go and comfortable on the bike, and I had a fantastic start. It is difficult to do identical runs, you have to guarantee every shift is clean, you get into position fast, and you need to run the bike into the power band in each gear….and terribly hard to do without gauges! When I got the timing slip, I found that I had unfortunately gone a little bit slower. I had more of a cross wind this run, which can affect things, but most likely I just did not shift quite as well as I did on the second run. After going over the bike, I made the decision to run further this weekend. Without being able to do consistent runs it’s extremely difficult to achieve faster speed, or sort out tuning issues.
My brother on his dual engine motorcycleThings break!Tyler back at it
I’m still thrilled with the weekend, it felt great to get back on the bike and the changes we made all seem to be positive. My bike went back to our shop in Ohio, where it will receive some more work on the exhaust system and tuning in the search of more horsepower. It will also receive a brand new tachometer so I don’t have the same issues with that, as well as a few other small tweaks. The goal is to get everything back and ready to go to Bonneville in September for the World Finals! In 2011 I set the class record for A-PG 650 at 116.541 mph, and it was taken from me a couple years later and set to 130.51. Last time I ran at Bonneville in 2020, I was only 1/2 mph off the record, I’m hoping to be able to go back and take my record back. To be continued!
Even my pup Maya came out!Timing slipsA little mexican with the family and crew
Current ECTA Records set by Kyle Malinky Class A/PC-65-/4 1/2 Mile: 118.172 MPH 1 Mile: 126.086 MPH 2K: 124.550 MPH
Ramble Around 