Postcard from Pikes Peak
Sunday June 28, 2009
Categories: A Sense of Place
Greetings from the steps of the Agia Sophia Coffee Shop, at pretty much the foot of Pikes Peak. I came down here from my guesthouse to borrow some wifi (coffee shop is closed) so I could get directions to Holy...
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About Crunchy Con
Rod Dreher is an editorial columnist for the Dallas Morning News, and author of "Crunchy Cons" (Crown Forum), a nonfiction book about conservatives, most of them religious, whose faith and political convictions sometimes put them at odds with mainstream conservatives. The views expressed in this blog are his own.
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Ah. Rod, you've got me jealous for the States for the first time in ages.
Not a huge fan of Colorado Springs. But they do have a few things going for them (aside from Putin putting them all quickly out of their misery at the apocalypse, when he plants a 300M hydrogen bomb atop NORAD)
1.) Truly Excellent Mexican (throw a dart at the map, there's a few dozen good joints there, and I'm not talking Taco Bell), 2.) that Mountain, and 3.) that Parish..
Holy Theophany. It's like Pike's Peak. Huge and beautiful. Dude, pray for me. And say hi to Father Anthony, too. That man is a mensch.
Granted, what they're doing is there is escaping Focus on The Family and the New Life Mega mart - I mean, church - for one of †he avatars of Orthodoxy in America..
The OCA: it's basically stuff that white evangelical christians like - escaping the prot meltdown for the Apostolic Faith; but without having to cave to Rome in all her whorishness.. I was like only one of two Catholic converts there, out of some 500 people.. and the other was a woman who had quit going to mass when she was 12..
But I'm drifting from my main point, here, which is I wish you a beautiful liturgy, Rod.
Bonne Priere, my friend.. y buen provecho!
In fact, for the Mexican, you can just cross I25 after liturgy on Filmore - it's less than 100 yrds down on the left.. 6 or 7 bucks, you can stuff yerself silly .. I forget the name, right now, but it's in a hideous modern block building just off the street.. food much better than the architecture.. Can assure that you won't regret it ..
You've just reached the edge of the West. There's still 1500 miles of empty deserts, tall mountains, ridiculous rock formations, and a seemingly endless horizon before you reach the Pacific.
Hi,
If you have never done so, take the trolley to the top of Pike's Peak. Its amazing. There's a reason the lyrics to 'America the Beautiful' were written on the top of Pike's Peak. Purple mountains majesty on one side and fruited plain on the other.
Will you be making it up to Fort Collins, CO?
"Sometimes, there's a lot to be said for not being surprised by food on a roadtrip."
well, there goes Crunchy Con Manifesto item #6 ("Small, Local, Old, and Particular are almost always better than Big, Global, New, and Abstract.) They're falling like dominoes. guess your critics had a point after all.
really now, really now, if Rod takes my advice (that of a local, of sorts) and eats where I just recommended, he be *much much* happier than if he just does the lazy thing, and eats at taco bell..
his mistake wasn't not eating at pizza hut, it was ignoring the advice of that lady, the *local*..
When traveling, always listen to the locals. 9 times in 10, they're right.
When traveling, always listen to the locals. 9 times in 10, they're right.
Indeed. Chains have a commitment to being mediocre, but locals can be wonderful, mediocre or terrible. It's foolish to have an arbitrary view that local is always better. After all, most chains got their successful starts because they were at least as good as the average local restaurant of the time and could be trusted to be reliably average. Locals don't have the quality control, particularly if there are idiot tourists who are willing to go their, just because it is local.
buddy boy, you think THAT's empty territory?
Try driving across western KANSAS into Eastern Colorado.
Diamonds aren't forever. Kansas is forever.
You need to work on your google skills, Rod :-)
http://www.tripadvisor.com/ShowUserReviews-g47169-d655332-r17157593-El_Matador-Raton_New_Mexico.html
You hit the nail on the head, freelunch. When you go local the range of possibilities is much wider, from excellence all the way to execrable. With the chains, well, you always know what you are going to get, wherever you are. Sometimes that is exactly what you want, which is why the chains took off, but I do prefer local options, myself. Of course, so long as the food is cooked and the place is clean I'll be satisfied, and if the atmosphere is warm and comfortable I'll be pleased. I'm a great lover of greasy spoons. Reading these reviews, El Matador wouldn't even meet my minimal requirements.
I had almost exactly the same experience in Rawlins, Wyoming on my way to Denver, from northern Utah 2 weeks ago. I decided I would try some local place, rather than a chain- even though where I chose wasn't food local to the region. I stopped to get some food, and cold hardly find a restaurant in town- seriously. After about twenty minutes driving along the main street, I finally spotted a Chinese place, went in and as soon as I walked in, realized I had made a mistake. There was only one customer inside and one island of food entrees. All of which were near empty, and unmistakably, hours (or even days,) old. The old Chinese lady working the register and serving as hostess, essentially cornered me, and I didn't have the heart to leave, given the awkwardness of her fixing her full attention on me and standing next to me as I looked at the menu. She obviously wanted my business very badly, and I didn't have the heart to tell her no, even though I knew since walking in it was going to be a mistake. I ate two plates of rice and General Tsao's chicken, (which was really General Tsao's soup- as the breaded chicken pieces were entirely soggy from sitting in 2-3 inches of brown water. I ate two plates so as not to be rude- as the lady watched me the whole time I ate and, then left as soon as possible. By far the worst Chinese food I have ever eaten.
Though I was somewhat full, I still drove down to the Subway, just off the freeway, a couple of exits down, just to eat something that was worth eating.
Man, this thread is making me long for Colorado! I've been to Holy Theophany, spent much time in ColoSpgs, driven and ridden the trolley up Pike's Peak, spent time in Ft Collins. Sigh.
We ate at a really good local New Mexican place in Raton, Rod. Unfortunately I can't remember the name, but it's several blocks west of I25 in a residential neighborhood. Really good place. Maybe someone will know what I'm talking about. It's just north of the main east-west drive that crosses I25 as you come in to Raton.
Enjoy your time at Agia Sophia. That's one place I haven't yet visited.
Here's the food lesson I would learn: "Local New Mexican" in Albuquerque is worth going for. But "Local" at a freeway road-side place, avoid at all costs, go to the Mcdonalds or BK.
1. tmatt – Someone told me 30+ years ago that Kansas was the longest state in the Union. They were right. I slept thru the entire state of Nebraska to avoid a possible return trip.
2. Done the Amarillo – Raton – Co. Springs route. Much nicer. Go see Mo. Cassiana @ Holy Protection Monastery while you're out there.
3. Try Ft. Collins, CO to Rapid City, SD. No interstate. Talk about desolate.
Diamonds aren't forever. Kansas is forever.
LOL, TMAtt! I can attest to this from personal experience.
btw, I was in Denver without a car the other day. I really wanted to go to Colorado Springs, and I found the FREX bus for getting there, but I couldn't figure out how one would get around on public transportation inside Colorado Springs. I wanted to visit the Air Force Academy, Garden of the Gods, and Pikes Peak, but was unable to find information on how to do that. So I stayed in Denver and enjoyed the Tattered Cover, the art museum, the aquarium, and Confluence Park instead. Does anybody out there have any suggestions for how I could have gotten around Colorado Springs?
The chain is only as good as the local who owns the franchise and the teenagers who staff the kitchen. The small town Subway where my parents live, for instance, is pretty horrible. My mother and I ate at a locally owned Italian place instead of the Pizza Hut this spring and were served barely warmed up spaghetti, disgusting sauce with still frozen broccoli, and soggy garlic bread. There was Christmas music playing over the loudspeakers in March and no one else was dining in the restaurant at noon on a Saturday. This should have been the first hint.
Diamonds aren't forever. Kansas is forever.
Ever done I-94 between eastern Montana and Fargo, ND? Somewhere around Dickinson I swore I saw Dante and Virgil on the side of the road on their way out of Purgatory:)
What are you doing eating that New Mexico stuff, Rod? Any Texan, native or otherwise, should know better.
As a 7th generation Texan with roots deep in West and South Texas, I have enjoyed reading about your trip through the flatlands. Regarding Mexican food, if you haven't eaten it at points south of San Antonio, you haven't really eaten it.
Watch out for the chai (or whatever they are calling it) at Agia Sophia, unless you enjoy going into sugar shock.
It's a nice place, but by golly, if I go into the Samovar Room, I want to see a working samovar!
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