We're gonna party like it's...

We packed up the RV, left the Tiger Run Resort and made our way into the village-like area of Breckenridge to grab some ice for the cooler and some Starbucks for ourselves. I dropped Jennie off on the side of Main St. to run into the 'Bucks while I looped the Four Winds around town awaiting her phone call to say it was good to come back. The RV would stop traffic if I tried to settle into a spot, but luckily the line for coffee was short and I wasn't even halfway back when Jennie was calling.

Listening to 102.1 The Mountain (great station) as the clock moved just passed noon, we followed Colorado Rt. 9 toward 70 West, approached and eclipsed 2,000 miles on the trip. We never did an exact calculation on the number of miles we'd be driving, but figured this put us roughly 2/3 of the way to SF.

Our time in Breckenridge was awesome and we're both a bit bummed about leaving. The entire area is gorgeous. It almost seems fake, like a backdrop of beauty being placed around you with each step. I found myself at times to be like a tourist in NYC. I'd look up, spin around in amazement and just say "wow". NYC is my city by proxy (proxy city? anyone know?) and a lot of times I don't get the allure. The "bigness" of it all doesn't phase me, but stepping into someone else's normalcy gave me a better understanding of why people travel to see the greatest skyline on earth. It also made me remember to appreciate our daily view upon our return to the east coast.

We spent the last night in Breckenridge having the best meal of the trip by far. Actually, it may have been my best meal in 2008. During the walk to the Breckenridge Brewery on Sunday night we spotted Steak and Rib. The doors were already closed, but a look at the menu assured we'd be going back before we departed for Utah.

The day got behind us faster than anticipated and our plan to catch an earlier free shuttle than the previous night ended with us on the same 8:55 into town.


We called Steak & Rib and they said they'd be closing by 9. Damn. Why doesn't anyone want us to eat a good meal on this trip? I'm ignoring all of you thinking "well if you guys were on time for once you wouldn't have this problem". Anyway, the shuttle pulls into the Breck station and we begin our walk along Main Street to find our eatery for the night. Steak and Rib is one of the first places you come to on the east side of Main St and it was only 9:06 so we figured we'd try. I'm not sure who they are, but we'd like to thank the people who walked in at 8:55. Since they were seated and the kitchen was still open we were able to get a table. YES! Now for the meal we'd hyped in our heads to do its part and not disappoint.

And it didn't. We grabbed the large escargot as an appetizer. There were plenty of suitable apps on the menu, but Jennie had never tried snail and I'd only had it once a little over a year ago at Jazzfest when Jessica Bittmann challenged my manhood for declining an offer to try it at Emeril's restaurant. Jennie and I both thank you, Jess. I mean, you could put drawn butter and garlic on a lug nut and it would taste good. What took us so long? Then it was on to the main course...

Jennie- Filet Mignon & King Crab Legs
Me- Crab Filet

Crab Filet= 8oz. of filet wrapped in bacon and stuffed with Alaskan King Crab topped with a rich Bearnaise sauce. There was some veggies and rice involved too, but who cares, right?

Insane meal. Simply amazing. I had my last Avalanche Ale and we bid farewell to our 2nd favorite (but gaining) city in America.

Today we're on the drive to Moab, UT. I took the first half and Jennie is getting us the rest of the way. The topography has gone from plush green to more red rock and beige mountainside. A fast moving body of water accompanied us along 70 as we made our way out of western CO and we saw some folks enjoying the day as we drove by.

It'll be interesting to see how we handle the heat. Forecast for today is a high of 97. It was 39 for the low overnight in Breck. We just said goodbye to Route 70 and are on Rt. 191 in Utah. Feels strange not to see the red, white and blue 70 signs every few miles. We'll have as brief encounter with our old familiar piece of asphalt when we head to Salt Lake City, but our long hauls on the interstate are over. So far the eastern half of Utah is like the western half of CO. In the distance you can see some snow capped mountains surrounded by desert.

We decided to hit Arches National Park on our drive into Moab. The earth seemed to explode into beautiful rock formations as we got closer. More on that later...

Jimmy