The Fly Over States

I'm beginning to see the flaw in my decision to drive...Arkansas, Oklahoma, and Kansas. Holy boooooring states! No offense AK, OK, and KS...but would it kill you to grow a hill?

After leaving Nashville, I decided to drive through Memphis and stop at one of Triple D's  fried chicken features, Uncle's Lou's. I'm usually not a fan of fried chicken but it looked pretty amazing and I couldn't resist.  The place looked a little sketch town from the outside. It was located in a strip mall and surrounded by other "businesses" that were probably being surveillanced by the FBI or DEA. 

There were about 15 employees who all looked extremely similar...probably offspring or relatives of Uncle Lou...who were all roaming from table to table with a giant grins asking his patrons if they liked their fried juicy goodness. I figured the food must be pretty good because it looked as though all the employees ate there on a regular basis...like every meal. Either that, or there is a "you must weigh 300 lbs to work here" rule. The chicken was definitely as advertised on Triple D.

Unfortunately, I don't know anybody in the stretch from Nashville to Woodland Park, CO where I planned to stay with Kevin's Uncle Mike and Aunt Lynn so I stopped at a cozy little hotel in Tulsa. The diners, drive-ins, and dives were pretty scarce in this part of the country but I found one in Wichita, KS called Brint's Diner. There is not much to report about this place other than it was my first below average meal in the last 4 days.  I had a chicken salad that I'm pretty sure my four year old niece could have made better. If you plan to stop through Wichita anytime soon...don't go out of your way to seek this place out.

I woke up refreshed and ready for the last half of my drive and only family to see ahead of me...I also woke up to a snow storm. I was really hoping to make it to Woodland Park tonight but was stopped about 4 hours short (along with every other person traveling east or west on I-70) in Colby, KS.  The interstate had shut down and I was scrambling to find a place for the night. I stopped at 6 hotels until finally I snagged the last room in the last hotel of the town at Motel 8. 

As I was checking in the hotel manager suggested I eat at Mountain Mike's across the street before it started to get really busy from all the people forced to take refuge in the small town. My heart sank. I was immediately taken back to several conversations about one of Kevin's favorite places called Mountain Mike's. This place always came up in conversation about the best pizza he had ever had. He told me about it so many times that I just gave up on telling him "yes babe, you already told me that story" and let him tell it just one more time. I'm pretty sure this is not the same Mountain Mike's as this was a steakhouse and not a pizza place, but I couldn't help but think he had a hand in directing me to this town for safe refuge from the blizzard and in getting the last hotel room. Otherwise I would be sleeping on a hardwood floor with several other people in some community shelter for the night.

I had jumbo mushroom caps stuffed with a blend of cream cheese, cheddar cheese and ranch seasoning, dipped in crunchy breadcrumbs and crispy fried, served with creamy horseradish sauce, and a bacon wrapped 8 oz. filet mignon with steamed broccoli and a loaded baked potato. And no I did not eat all of it...I had left overs for when I would be trapped in my hotel room in the middle of a blizzard in the middle of nowhere.

I decided to treat myself (yes I know I've been treating myself this whole time) but this meal was a little different. I am now traveling on the exact road he and I traveled the first time.  I wish I could travel back in time and have him here with me forever but I am forever grateful to have the amazing memories with him.

 Here is a pic of one of our many pit stops along the way.