On the Road Again

Road travel is fun, and often funny as well. Especially travel through Arizona and New Mexico.

Today we began the trek home to Denver. No matter which direction we’re going, we always take it easy, and make the drive in two days. We spend the night in Albuquerque, and then drive the balance the next day. It’s about 7 hours each day, give or take. We have made this same drive, oh, I don’t know, maybe 800 times. Not much surprises us, but we always enjoy it.

We have a box of travel goodies. You know, those are the things that you wouldn’t eat at home in a million years, but somehow seem okay if you’re on a road trip. We each have our weakness. Bill can’t resist those little white powder sugar donuts. I gravitate towards Slim Jims. I wouldn’t buy a Slim Jim at my grocery store at home for anything, but I can’t resist them on a road trip. Today, however, our goodie box included M&Ms, Oreos, peanut-butter-filled pretzels, grapes, and Cheetos. Don’t quite know how the grapes made it in there.

A couple of funny observations. As we left our neighborhood, I saw a couple of large birds flying around at the end of the block. When we got close, I realized they were vultures. Seriously. Vultures. Right in our neighborhood, where people have little tiny dogs. The coyotes that I can hear at night if I leave my window open must have gotten ahold of something that they didn’t finish. Or else they found Jimmy Hoffa.

The second funny thing I observed, or rather overheard, took place at our hotel. We always stay at a hotel in Albuquerque that has a happy hour each evening. It’s a nice hotel, but not fancy. Always really nice staff. Tonight the bartender was a 30-something woman who was very outgoing. She seemed friendly to everyone. But I couldn’t help but eavesdrop as she was talking to a truck driver who was quite obviously flirting with her. At one point, I heard her tell the young man, “My current husband used to be a truck driver.” I laughed out loud, and suggested to Bill that he never introduce me to anyone as his current wife, Kris.

When we are in Albuquerque, we eat in one of two places – Frontier Restaurant (a joint near the University of New Mexico that features absolutely fabulous New Mexican style food, which mustn’t be confused with typical Mexican food) or Rudy’s Barbecue Restaurant (a Texas-based barbecued meat market that sells their food by the pound). Tonight we chose Rudy’s. We always over-order at Rudy’s, and it pains me that we can’t take the leftovers home. I particularly like the pinto beans. The barbecue sauce (or sause, as they spell it) is delicious. I found this copycat recipe, but frankly, I don’t trust it. The sauce I eat is quite spicy, and this recipe only has a scant bit of cayenne pepper. But it’s worth a try.

Rudy’s Barbecue Copycat Sauce


Ingredients
1 8 oz. can tomato sauce
1 c. ketchup
½ c. brown sugar
2/1/2 T white vinegar
2 T. Worcestershire sauce
¼ c. lemon juice
1 t. garlic powder
1 t. coarse black pepper
¼ t. cumin
1/8 t. cayenne pepper

Process
Combine all ingredients in a large pot. Simmer until slightly reduced, about 30 min.

Now it's time to hit the road again. It's cold in Colorado, and I'm not looking forward to that. But I am looking forward to seeing my grandkids.