on the road again

As road trip days go, today was pretty uneventful.  No complaints, but also not that much to report.  I’d wax poetic about food today if there was anything to write home about, but truthfully, such is not the case.

After checking out of our awesome Kanab motel room, we started out on the long driving day that we knew was in store.  We first stopped at Pizza Hut (I know, I know, but we both like the salad bar, and in Kanab, it’s slim pickins) and dined on iceberg with various toppings and a mushroom and onion pizza.  Feeling satisfied and also slightly healthy (they were big salads), we headed out toward the Four Corners.  The scenery in this part of the country is absolutely breathtaking.  I mean truly, it is just something that everyone should see.  The rocks, mountains and red clay as far as the eye can see are pretty amazing, and it just kills me that none of the four cameras that we have in the car do any of it justice.

We stopped at Four Corners National Monument and stood in four states at once.  It was very cool.  We gulped caffeine like it was going out of style and I played car chef while Joellen drove after it got dark (I prefer daytime driving, she prefers nighttime…we make a good team in that way).  We satisfied ourselves with cheese, crackers, pb&j’s and tried some of the food that we have purchased along the way (the Touvelle cheese and rhubarb jam were very good choices, in our estimation).

After arriving in Santa Fe tonight, we got settled here at the Old Santa Fe Inn (very nice accommodations in a prime location) and then decided that we wanted hot chocolate.  We were told that the reception area was open 24 hours and was always stocked with Starbucks coffee and hot chocolate, so we went downstairs to check it out.  The building was locked and I had nearly lost hope when a very nice woman offered to let us in.  Although I’m pretty sure we were more of a nuisance than we intended upon, we left a few minutes later, hot chocolate in hand, and have now turned in for the night.

I’m sure that you all were hoping for more from today’s post, but some days we’re just kind of boring.  Don’t worry though, tomorrow we explore all that New Mexico has to offer, and we are definitely planning on doing that through our taste buds.  Stay tuned.

❤ Amy

big skies

Tonight we write to you from the lovely Livingston, Montana after a long day on the road.

We started out the day in Rapid City, South Dakota, where we tried to wake up early to see Mount Rushmore before getting on the road. Tried would be the operative word here. After struggling to move for almost an hour, we got up, repacked the car and headed to the Mount (that’s what all of the hip South Dakotans call it…?). Now, I thought that it was situated right in Rapid City, but I guess I was wrong, because it took us a good half hour before we were able to even see the mountain range where the Mount is carved. Oh, I don’t want to forget about the delicious breakfast that we had in RC (another hip South Dakotan abbreviation…?): bagels. Bagels have a particular significance for us, as they are delicious and we love them. That’s kind of the extent of it, but every time we are wondering what to have for breakfast, it’s usually in the top two. So we were thrilled to find Black Hills Bagels located conveniently on one of the two streets that run through RC, SD. We ordered the veggie bagel with sprouts, tomato and cucumber and added our own hummus, and we also got the sourdough bagel with an egg (we added our own old english cream cheese and it was to die for). After an easy and scenic drive, we arrived at the Mount, ready to see some former leaders.

So, the Mount. Let’s just break it down. It’s rocks. And it’s cool, and most certainly worth a trip, but I am not about to make it a destination…ever. So, if you find yourself on a road trip or passing through SD for whatever reason, you really should go. I would say that it’s worth going out of your way, but that’s pretty much a given since it’s not really in the way of anything. So that’s my spiel. Go see the Mount.

We spent many hours driving through the vast openness of South Dakota, then Wyoming, and finally, Montana before arriving here, in Livingston. We had a very notable stop in Garryowen, which is one of those little oddities on the side of the road that you wonder if you should stop for or just keep going. We stopped. And I think we really enjoyed scenic downtown.

Now Livingston is a really cool place to visit. I’m fairly certain that there is absolutely nothing here, but I did see signs for Sacajawea Park, so there’s that… We mostly decided to stay here because of a restaurant that we saw–shocker–on TV. The restaurant, The 2nd Street Bistro, is located in The Murray Hotel, a historical boutique hotel the a friendly staff and clean, quaint rooms. We definitely give four enthusiastic thumbs up. Now, I know what you’re thinking: what about the dinner? After all, I know that’s why all of you tune in day after day. To start, the bread was absolutely delicious. It had a nice soft texture and slightly salty flavor and the butter was creamy and delicious. We shared the seared sea scallops with a crawfish risotto and a red pepper sauce. I know what I said before about red peppers, but this dish was stellar. Really delicate seafood flavors and the risotto was cooked perfectly. We also had the fried okra, which was tasty but not worth ordering again, in my opinion. For the main course, Joellen had a margherita pizza which was very tasty and I had the lamb ragout, with lamb and goat cheese from a farm a few miles away. We finished with the yellow cake with lemon curd and a raspberry coulis. Delicious. Overall, a very successful and delicious dinner. I couldn’t be happier that we chose to stay in this little town, and I thank Travel Channel and Anthony Bourdain for showing us the way to The 2nd Street Bistro.

❤ Amy