If you are joining this leg of the trip and do not have the fall edition of the East Texan, you missed our time in Amarillo. We visited the Cadillac Ranch, The Big Texan, Palo Duro Canyon and stayed at the Barfield Hotel. There, you’re caught up.
After spending the night at the beautiful Barfield Hotel in Amarillo, we packed up again and began travels northwest.
We were moving a little slower that morning, having visited the hotel’s speakeasy the night before. The speakeasy is an adventure to the hotel itself. There is a door with no handle down in the basement and guests wanting in figure out how it opens. Once inside, the room was full, and a large group celebrating a wedding that night kept bartenders busy.
If no one has told you before, Texas is large. We drove for what felt like hours to the New Mexico line. I’m told it was only a few, but it seemed longer.
Honestly, there weren’t many things that grabbed our attention on this portion of the trip. The elevation changes were nice, and there were larger mountains in the distance.
New Mexico didn’t offer much change. There were historical spots that may have been worthwhile if we had time, but I was trying to keep something of a schedule on this day.
We did finally stop in Raton, New Mexico, after an Internet search made Pappas Sweet Shop look interesting. It has been family owned and operated since 1923, so surely something had to be good.
The name is confusing, because it is no longer a sweet shop. A restaurant was added 50 years ago to supplement the candy and ice cream establishment. The sweet part has moved to a different location in town, but the business kept the name.
They specialize in breakfast, and the chicken salad sandwich is a very popular order. I had my eye on something else.
I did ask the waitress what my order should be, and she said what I was thinking. It stuck out on the menu, seemed very New Mexico, and was something we had never seen before.
Pancake-style enchiladas was the choice. It is three corn tortillas, with cheese and onion, like you would receive in most enchilada dishes. However, these tortillas are flat and smothered with red or green chiles. When asked if I wanted “Christmas,” my first thought was, “It’s July,” but quickly figured out that, yes, I wanted both red and green chiles. I also took them up on the offer of an egg on top.
The meal was good and a lot of food, even though it didn’t look that way. Those tortillas were stacked deep. They also gave me a sopapilla that I managed to stuff down. We wanted something that tasted like New Mexico, and I think we got it.
As it turns out, we just missed a large hot air balloon festival that occurred the day before. That would have been nice to see, but didn’t really fit our schedule.
It wasn’t long before we reached the Colorado state border and got into a large mountain range at Raton Pass. The elevation of over 7,800 feet is a bit different than driving through East Texas. For someone who has spent most of his decades on flat land, it’s a shock to the system.
The scenery improves once in Colorado. There also aren’t the billboards and signs that litter so many roads in Texas. The state does a fantastic job of keeping roadways and areas clean and clear to enjoy the natural beauty it has to offer.
We drove all the way to Colorado Springs for our next stop. This one was a sightseeing adventure. We made Colorado Springs as the sun was high in the sky. The temperatures were near 90 degrees, but we had more hiking to do. In the early afternoon, we pulled into the visitor center for Garden of the Gods.
Over 100 years ago, Charles Perkins donated the 480-acre park to the City of Colorado Springs. The stipulations were that it remain free to the public, have no alcohol, and have no buildings or structures except those necessary to maintain the area as a public park.
The park is free to enter, and a drive through can be done in around 45 minutes. Like Palo Duro Canyon, there are many trails for hiking — about 21 miles.
I would suggest the visitor center for anyone visiting Garden of the Gods. It is a multi-level complex just across the street with many helpful attendants. If you go in with a look on your face like you need help, they are most accommodating.
They helped us get an idea for the attractions and plan out what we wanted to see. It isn’t difficult to take in most of the park by driving. However, some spots require a hike.
Kissing Camels is the first attraction we saw. It is just across from the visitor center. As the name would suggest, the natural rock formation resembles two camels kissing.
The next was Balanced Rock, and we got out of the car for this one. It is a 35-foot, 1.4-million-pound red rock that attracts many cell phone cameras. Also, everyone taking a selfie gets under the rock and acts like they are holding it up. All of them. Person after person, doing the same thing. The rock is on a small base and appears to be balancing above its surroundings. According to the park, it is made up of hematite, coarse sand, silica, and gravel.
Traffic in the park can be slow during busy hours and parking can be difficult. We finally found a space to hold the car for our final destination in the park.
The Siamese Twins are seen after a one and a half-mile hike. With the slight incline, it can feel like a climb. After 30 minutes, we made it to the top of the rock formation and got the view we wanted from high above. Off in the distance, Pikes Peak can be seen through a natural window formed into the rock.
Back in the vehicle, we drove to Colorado’s capital city. As the sun went down, we had at last reached our destination in Denver. The weather was cool, but not too cold, and more of what we expected this far north in the mountains.
That night, we drove a bit around the hotel in search of food. We were beginning to learn that Colorado doesn’t have a ton of must-eat stops. We found a large group of people waiting outside a food truck and decided to give it a try. It had been hours since we were in Texas, so we had to eat Mexican food. What could be more classic Colorado?
Fajita nachos, tacos and all the sides, we ate until we couldn’t anymore. The next day we had a big adventure planned. We would need plenty of rest.
