#43 NEVADA - Going Green in Buckaroo Country  

There are not a lot of roads or towns in northern Nevada. While driving through states we usually like to stay off the Interstates and take the two lane highways. The late Charles Kuralt once said, "Thanks to the Interstate Highway System, it is now possible to travel across the country from coast to coast without seeing anything." We like to drive through the small towns and the landscapes that shape the turns in the road and see things. That wouldn't work in this state so we zipped east along I-80 and stopped over in Elko just like a lot of motorists do when travelling between Salt Lake City and Reno.     

    
McAdoo's
Elko, Nevada

AMBIENCE:   McAdoo's can be found about a half of a block off the main highway that runs  through town. Next door to McAdoo's at Cowboy Joe's you get a latte or espresso. And next to Cowboy Joe's is the Stray Dog Pub and Cafe where you can you get a designer cocktail and a Mediterranean pizza. Some people in this city with a deep cowboy and mining tradition refer to it as "Yuppie Row". You're just as apt to find a Mercedes-Benz parked out front as a Chevy Silverado.

McAdoo's is relatively new, having been opened by a young couple in 2012. The inside of the cafe has an appealing design. It looks like a food establishment that could easily be transplanted without any modifications to the upper east side of Manhattan. It is a small space with tables set close together. In one corner is found the "bar" with four chools (my term for a combination chair and stool), fancy hanging lights, and fresh flowers adorning the counter.

There is a lot of artwork on the wall, exposed brick, and large front windows that allow ample light into the room. I was particularly taken with a painted sign on the wall that said, "TODAY I WILL BE HAPPIER THAN A BIRD WITH A FRENCH FRY".  The decor of the room, the early morning sunlight, and the hipster music playing in the background all contributed to that french fry feeling.

I am lowering my ambience rating by a half point because we were sitting at one of those tables that wobble. Wobbly tables are not an uncommon occurrence in our breakfast adventures and it irks me to no end. I urge all proprietors to periodically check that their tables are level. Stop the wobble!!

 4 1/2 out of 5 stars 

FOOD:  The menu was surprisingly pricey and upscale with 7 menu items that emphasized fresh and healthy ingredients. There are also pancakes and french toast for the random cowboy who might wander in.

I journeyed way outside my comfort zone and ordered an open-face Canadian bacon and egg sandwich with tomatoes, arugula tossed with a shallot vinaigrette, and shaved parmesan on toasted ciabatta. It came with "house-made" roasted potatoes.   

Wow. There was more green than I ever saw growing on the ground during the entire 6 1/2 hour drive from California. This looked like the cardiologist's answer to the the "leaning tower of lard" I had for my New Hampshire breakfast. Basically this was bacon and eggs disguised as a salad.

I'm not the biggest fan of arugula but I figured the peppery taste would complement the egg.  Due to the large quantity of arugula, the greens instead dominated the egg as well as the bacon. I think a little less arugula would have worked much better. Nevertheless, it was a good tasting salad and much more nutritional than that bird's french fry. The roasted potatoes were decent and appeared to be flecked with some sort of bread crumbs which were almost tasteless but possibly healthy.

The Healthy One breathed a sigh of relief when she saw the menu. Given the western feel of the town, I think she was expecting bull testicle omelets or such. She ordered the quiche special that contained roasted veggies and dill havarti. She eschewed the  roasted potatoes and requested two pancakes which came with lemon syrup and the requisite mega-blob of butter.

She found both the quiche and the pancakes to be delicious. I got to taste the pancakes and immediately regretted choosing the potatoes as my side.

4 out of 5 stars

    

COFFEE:  I'm a big fan of glass coffee mugs so I was gratified when the coffee arrived at the table in such a mug. The reason for my infatuation is that I derive joy from pouring the white cream into the mug and watching it swirl through the black coffee. I guess I'm easily entertained but I find it as cool as a lava lamp.

The freshly roasted coffee was a step above your average cup. I wonder if McAdoo's was supplied by their next door neighbor, the highly regarded Cowboy Joe's.

4 out of 5 stars

SERVICE:  Our server named Connie took good care of us which was easy to do since there was only one other customer in the place. She was high energy and chatty and made sure our coffee was refreshed and our needs were met.


 5 out of 5 stars

.

A FEW WORDS ABOUT ELKO:

The famous radio and television newscaster, Lowell Thomas once called Elko "the last real cowtown in the American west". That was more than 60 years ago and things have changed somewhat. Due to a boom in gold mining, Elko has become a bustling little city of over 18,000 people with a convention center, museums, and upscale restaurants. But the buckaroo (the locally preferred term for cowboy) culture stills survives in a big way. Large cattle ranches are common in Northern Nevada and Elko is the only place where the buckaroos came come and shop, drink, and gamble.

Elko sits at an elevation of 5,000 feet and offers a beautiful panoramic view to the south of the Ruby Mountains that rise to an elevation of 11,387 feet. It is the largest city on I-80 between Salt Lake City and Reno which helps explain its 35 hotels and motels, 6 casinos, numerous restaurants, and even some legal bordellos. The city hosts a couple of large events when all these hotels and motels sell out : The Cowboy Poetry Gathering held every January and the Basque Festival in July.

Elko was born as a railroad town in 1868. One curious remnant of the Western Pacific train presence is a immense five block parking lot smack in the middle of the downtown area. This is where the main train switching station was located before it moved in the 1980s.

The State of Nevada produces more gold than all but four countries. Much of that gold is mined in the Elko area. There was a major gold boom in the mid-1980s. In one 12 month period beginning in July, 1986, Elko's population grew by 21%. The gold boom eventually went bust in the late 1990s but a new gold boom starting in 2009 continues to fuel Elko's economy.



BURN THOSE BREAKFAST CALORIES OFF:

After breakfast we walked down to the Humbolt River and strolled up and down a paved bike path. We then drove to Logan Utah where we did an extensive 5 mile stroll through neighborhoods and the campus of Utah State University.

       June 11, 2018

NEXT UP: UTAH

#42 CALIFORNIA - Where Am I?

   
Here's  a geography trivia question:  Name the city with a population of more than 2,500 that sits in the most northeastern part of California. 

Answer: Alturas

Never heard of it? Neither had I. If you put someone down in the middle of Alturas and told him he was in the State of California he would probably look at you like you were crazy. No traffic. No surfers. No vineyards. No movie stars. No cable cars. No redwoods. No almond trees. No avocados. Not much of anything in fact except pickup trucks and bovines.

We were trying to get from Oregon to Nevada and points east by minimizing our driving miles and also stopping for breakfast in California. Cutting through Northeastern California was the logical solution. I had identified a cafe that was open on Sunday morning. In fact, it may have been the only place open for breakfast in northeastern California on a Sunday morning.


       
Auction Yard Cafe
Alturas, California

AMBIENCE:   The Auction Yard Cafe sits just outside of Alturas proper on the main highway going into town. Google maps told us "your destination is on the left". "No it isn't", I said to myself because this is what I saw on my left.

The old dilapidated, seemingly abandoned building had definitely seen better days and looked like it wouldn't survive a windy day let alone be the home to an eating establishment. I was wrong on both counts. The Modoc Auction Yard operates every Saturday selling cattle and at the end of the long building we discovered what was to be our breakfast destination.

 























Located high in the sky, a gigantic Hereford was leaning over the top of the building, looking like it was ready to leap into the dirt parking lot. Below the giant heifer, a ramshackle sign that said "Auction Cafe" with the word "Yard" peeled off clued us in to where we could find the front door of the cafe.

It was a chilly morning. The car thermometer registered 47 degrees. We entered the cafe where the temperature inside felt like it was oh, about 46 degrees. Some patrons were bundled up and others looked comfortable in short sleeve shirts. The room was small and had what you might call rustic charm with about seven tables and a counter with four stools. The place was very clean but I wasn't quite sure about its structural viability. I figured I was going to be eating my meal as fast as possible to finish before my food got cold and/or the room collapsed.

There was an open kitchen visible under a large sign that said "MOM'S KITCHEN". You could see a woman back there doing all the cooking solo. I'm guessing she was Mom. The room was filled to its capacity of about 18 customers by the time we had finished our breakfast. Mom had her work cut out for her.

 4 out of 5 stars 

FOOD:  The menu was straightforward: eggs, meat, pancakes, and potatoes. I ordered the "Country Connection" which included three pancakes, scrambled eggs and sausage.

The pancakes were quite tasty. (By the way, I've run into this phenomenon in quite a few other breakfast establishments, but when ordering pancakes or biscuits why do they give you enough butter to grease a locomotive?)  The sausage was also very good but the scrambled eggs were little bit too overcooked for my taste.

The odds of the Healthy One finding granola, yogurt, avocado toast, or anything remotely healthy on the menu were about as great as the odds of us retiring to this town. Remember, this cafe is housed in a building that auctions off cattle.

Having little choice, she opted for bacon, eggs, hash browns and a small biscuit (not pictured). She actually thought it was pretty good.

   

4 out of 5 stars

    

COFFEE:  The coffee was hot which was much appreciated. Other than that, it tasted pretty institutional.

3 out of 5 stars

SERVICE:  Our server was a woman with a straightforward personality dressed in jeans and a t-shirt. I felt that she was making a statement with the shirt by having it imply that it was not cold in the room so don't you dare complain. She did exude some friendliness but was mostly all business, maybe because we were probably the only non-locals in the room.


 4 out of 5 stars

.

A FEW WORDS ABOUT ALTURAS:

Alturas, population 2,800, is the hub of just about everything in Northeastern California. The name is Spanish for "Valley On Top of a Mountain".  The town is the governmental seat of Modoc County which has a population density of two people per square mile. Compare this to San Francisco County which has a population density of about 17,500 people per square mile.

Agriculture has long been the mainstay of the area with alfalfa being the biggest cash crop and cattle ranching a major economic activity. Cattle and sheep outnumber people by seven to one. Logging at one time was an important economic catalyst but has diminished to a wisp of what it once was. The federal government owns 73% of the land in the county. This has set up an almost inevitable conflict between locals and Washington. With so little private land available, ranchers, loggers, and others have to negotiate deals with the federal government. 

Not surprisingly, the region is very politically conservative. In the most recent presidential election, Trump received 71.8% of the vote in Modoc County versus 32.8% in California as a whole.

Alturas has a stagnant economy and a declining population. Almost 20% of the population live in poverty. Young people leave for college and don't come back. The decline in the logging industry has much to do with the economic miasma.

One radical economic development strategy, which has a large amount of support, is for the town and county to secede from California. Both Modoc County and Siskiyou County which borders on the west have passed formal declarations to secede from California and form a new state called Jefferson. This break away idea has been around since the 1940s but has recently gained momentum in the Trump era. The declarations assert that state lawmakers are ignoring the counties' interests. Many feel that the State of Jefferson is the answer to revive logging, preserve ranching, protect water rights, and lure new businesses.

Another, more rational strategy, is to trumpet the natural wonders of the area as a way to bump up retirement relocation and tourism. A local real estate company promotes the county as a "giant playground" and shows a photo on their website of an attractive woman with a fishing pole clamped in her mouth while holding a foot long trout. How can anyone resist that?

Photo credit: Stevenson Realty Auction Services and Property Management


BURN THOSE BREAKFAST CALORIES OFF:

We did a short jaunt up and down the main street of Alturas including wandering through the beautifully restored Niles Hotel and then journeyed to Winnemucca, Nevada where we hiked a couple of trails in the Water Canyon area high above the city.

       June 10, 2018

NEXT UP: NEVADA

#41 OREGON - Hitting the Sweet Spot

Wine tasting is hard work and the Healthy One and I were part of a group of nine people who had been working hard. We had all been based in a house in McMinnville, OR for the better part of a week, celebrating our friends' 30th anniversary, while making daily forays into the wine country of the Willamette Valley to sample the Bacchanalian liquids. Hard work deserves a hearty breakfast and everyone was game for joining the breakfast tour, albeit for just one state.  

I found a place just down the highway from McMinnville that looked liked it might be able to handle a party of nine people. 

Block House Cafe
Dayton, Oregon

I guess I was expecting a house that was in the shape of, well, a block. Obviously this cafe was a former church. I did spot a military block house directly across the street in Court House Square Park and assumed it was responsible for the cafe's name.

The block house, a replica of one that was built in 1856, was not in the shape of a block either. The top level was set above the bottom level such that it permitted overlapping planes of rifle fire. Defenders could cover every angle of approach from the bad guys. 

It seems ironic that a cafe with a military fortification label exists in a former place of peaceful worship. It turns out that the Block House Cafe was originally located elsewhere on the square and was in fact named after that iconic structure. When the opportunity presented itself in 2014, the owners moved their cafe into the restored church without changing it's name. 

AMBIENCE:  The Block House Cafe is located in a former First Baptist Church built in 1886. In 2007 Bill Stoller, founder of a billion dollar temporary staffing company and the producer of a pretty good Pinot Noir at his nearby vineyard, purchased the unoccupied and deteriorated property and had it restored in 2012. Stoller is a Dayton native and his aim was to help revitalize his hometown.

This is the second place in a row we have visited on the breakfast tour (the first being in Fayetteville, West Virginia) where a church had been converted into a breakfast place. Is this a trend? Could it be that Americans are turning away from God and toward bacon and eggs?

Upon entering the cafe one cannot help but be struck by the gorgeous, simple, and open floor plan.

The high ceilings are made of fir and the floor boards are hickory. The original church structure lives on through the retention of the arched windows and the exposed brick. The fir table tops were made from the church's original floor joists. A beautiful walnut cabinet graces the wall in back of the bar. There is even a pew in the back if you needed to sit and pray for lower cholesterol counts.

There was no problem getting our group of nine seated at a nicely appointed table. One of the more interesting touches of decor were the mason jar water glasses that came with handles.

 5 out of 5 stars 

FOOD:  Pictured below is the breakfast menu we were each handed. I realize that the writing is way to small to make out, so I'll let the reader know that the entire right hand column is a list alcoholic beverages: four craft beers, four red wines, two white wines, and twelve cocktails. This presented itself as irony number two, knowing that Baptists have long believed that drinking alcohol is morally lax and against God's will.

Apparently, not afraid of the ghosts of Baptist teetotalers, the breakfast beverage philosophy of the cafe's owners seems to be summed up below. After all this is wine country.

Our group just stuck with water and coffee for our liquid intake. After all, it was eight o'clock in the morning and we had sinned mightily the night before.

I ordered the Cinnamon Roll Pancakes and had them add strawberries and whipped cream.

I also ordered a side of sausage.

I tackled the pancake first. My sweet Lord. It was delicious. I couldn't put my fork down until it was completely gone. Then it hit me. My head started buzzing and my hands started shaking. No, I hadn't indulged in Oregon's newly legalized flora. I was on a sugar high. I hadn't had this much sugar coursing through my body since Halloween night when I was eight years old. It was a bit much for me. Luckily, eating the ample amount of sausage brought me down somewhat. The pancakes did taste wonderful but I don't think I would order them again due to the aftershock.

The Healthy One ordered the Avocado Toast which was built with two scrambled eggs, avocado, greens, tomato, and cotija cheese and came with a side of fruit. She deemed it excellent.







  





  










Two other Avocado Toasts were ordered. Guess the genders of those diners.

Also ordered were a breakfast sandwich with egg, bacon, and cheese with a side of hash browns and bacon and eggs with hash browns and a biscuit and a single cinnamon pancake. Guess the genders of those two diners.

Not to be out done, one individual ordered the same two cinnamon pancakes I had ordered but instead of strawberries and whipped cream got bacon and eggs! Guess the gender of that person.

I had recently read that, on average, women live five percent longer than men. Visit any assisted living facility and this becomes abundantly clear. I may be stereotyping somewhat but I believe that the menu choices of people in our group provided one clue  as to why this life span difference exists.

Those who ordered bacon were offered an interesting option by our server. They could either have their bacon "limp" or "crisp". In all the breakfast places we have visited I had never been asked how I wanted my bacon cooked. It was always up to the cook to decide  and you got what he or she thought was best. Personally, I like my bacon on the greasy, fatty side which I suppose equates to "limp".  However, it seemed that to order anything "limp" would be unmanly and I was glad I had ordered sausage to escape the dilemma.

Everyone thought the food was great. I heard no complaints. Little was left of the copious amounts we had ordered. We were well fueled for another hard day of work.

5 out of 5 stars

    

COFFEE:                

A hutch in the corner of the room was set up with coffee mugs and a couple of thermoses of coffee so that you could help yourself before perusing the menu.

The coffee had been roasted at Caravan Coffee in Newberg, Oregon and was pretty good. I only wished that it had been a little stronger to better cut the sweetness of my saccharine indulgence.

I should note that one of our group found the piece de resistance of  all coffee mugs in the hutch. (Hint: it's not the one with the rose.)

4 out of 5 stars

SERVICE:  Our server, Ashley, was excellent. She was pleasant, proficient, and professional. She had no problem handling our large group. The food came out relatively quickly and there were no mix ups in who got what. She also let loose with a few subtle but witty lines which is always appreciated early in the morning.

 5 out of 5 stars

.

A FEW WORDS ABOUT DAYTON:

Dayton is a work in progress. Located in the Yamhill Valley, which is a smaller valley within the greater Williamette Valley, the rural community has a population of of about 2,500. Only 25 miles from Portland, most of the working population are involved in agriculture such as vegetables, berries, nuts, and wheat. Wine also impacts the community. Five miles away are 47 wineries and vineyards.

Dayton was founded in 1850 by a couple of pioneering gentlemen, one who happened to be from Dayton, Ohio. It can be very confusing googling information about Dayton, OR because you often turn up articles about the Oregon Historic District in Dayton, Ohio. I did learn that Ohioans pronounce the -gon in their Oregon as rhyming with "John" while those in Dayton, Oregon (and the rest of the state) pronounce the -gon as rhyming with "gun".

A quick walk through town revealed a certain shabbiness and infrastructure ennui. Dayton seems to be the runt of the litter of towns in an area that include tourist destinations such as Dundee, Newberg, and McMinville, but it has the potential to up its game.

The town has 41 places on the National Register of Historic Places. If preservation leads to restoration which leads to revitalization then Dayton is well poised to attract development money. The town is already the home to the historic Joel Palmer House, a foodie destination where nearly every dish incorporates local wild mushrooms and truffles. The restoration of the church that now houses The Block House Cafe seems like a huge momentum builder.


BURN THOSE BREAKFAST CALORIES OFF:

We did quite a bit of walking around McMinnville, including around the pretty campus of Linfield College. We also hiked outside McMinnville in the Miller Woods Conservation Area and farther afield in waterfalls-rich Silver Falls State Park outside Salem.

June 6, 2018

NEXT UP: California here we come.

#40 WEST VIRGINIA - Almost Heaven

Bless me Father for I have sinned. It has been 20 days since my last healthy breakfast and here are my sins. I have consumed about a gadzillion calories and saturated my insides with fat. I have eaten enough eggs to cause the cholesterol in my arteries to have a party. I ate chicken fried steak two mornings in a row!  Believe me, I have attempted atonement. I have walked and hiked a total of 120 miles on this trip. I have had lunches of only an apple or carrots or a small salad. Dinner however, is another matter. I'm ready to repent but... 

Jesus said  “Come and have breakfast.”  John 21:12

                               
I was in church for breakfast. Well, to be totally accurate, it use to be a church. 


Cathedral Cafe
Fayetteville, West Virginia

The Cathedral Cafe was originally built in 1905 as a Methodist church. It was de-consecrated in 1985 and next served as a storage facility until 1997 when it was converted to a cafe. Calling the building a cathedral is a stretch but may be good marketing. The name Cathedral Cafe does create more lofty expectations than Church Cafe. 

AMBIENCE:   The motto of the Cathedral Cafe is "Feeding Your Mind, Body, and Soul" which sounded like a place to bring your yoga mat as well as your appetite. As the sign hanging outside indicates, there is a juice bar located upstairs in the choir loft but it was closed and anyways I wasn't interested in organic juices or gluten free pastries. I wanted to sin in this cathedral because it was to be the last breakfast of the Midwest leg of the Breakfast Tour. (I know it can be legitimately argued that West Virginia is in the East and not the Midwest but the state was conveniently located on the way home.)

We headed into the nave of the church building and sat down under a very high ceiling at a table with a colorful hand painted design covering the top. The large room containing about 12 dining tables had a lot to look at. In one corner, there was a bar with an attractive mosaic tile top and about 5 stools. Next to the bar was a large refrigerated glass case filled with various beverages and take away food. In a far corner of the room was a small store that sold T-shirts, locally crafted pottery, and adventure guide books. To the side of us was a little self service coffee and tea table. White lights were strung from wall to wall. But what really grabs the attention of one's eyes was the morning sun filtering through two 14 foot high stained glass windows at one end of the room. The windows are framed on each side by tall book filled shelves, giving an appearance of a library room in some antiquated English church.

 Folk music played in the background, evoking the coffee houses of the 1960s and 1970s. Overall, the place had an odd yet gratifying aura.

The clientele was mostly made up of locals. One exception was a table of 5 men who all possessed the wide, dilated eyes of adrenaline junkies. I couldn't help but think that they were town to engage in some high risk outdoor activity. They were certainly fidgety, sending out certain nonverbal cues that indicated their frustration with the slow speed of service. Suddenly, one of their group, who I suppose had been out scouting other breakfast options, ran into the cafe and shouted "we're out of here!".  They rose as one out of their seats and proceeded to dash out of the cafe.

Still, there were plenty of patrons in the cafe to keep the cook busy. Some twenty-somethings who seemed to be in town to recreate, looked enviably slim and lithe and wore a high-low fashion mix. Others, who were on a first name basis with the waitress, and were obviously locals wore wool hats on this warm morning and had the rugged outdoor look of a rafting guide. One local sitting at the bar was with his dog who stared intently at me when he heard I had ordered some bacon. 

 5 out of 5 stars 

FOOD:  If you're going to be sinful you've got to start off with something really decadent. I ordered a "Ooey-Gooey Cinnamon Roll". It was heavenly with a nice warm chewy inside and finger licking  sugar and cinnamon frosting on the outside. It bordered on being a mortal sin. Of course I shared it with The Healthy One, if you call sharing 80% for me and 20% for her. 

I also ordered the "5.10 Special" so cleverly called because it sold for $5.10. It turned out to be a great bargain. The two scrambled eggs tasted fresh and the pecan-smoked bacon was gobbled up before it drove the dog crazy. The potatoes were not as crisp as I like breakfast potatoes but they were still pretty good. The marbled rye toast tasted like it may have come from a local bakery    

The Healthy One was singing "Hallelujah". The menu had all sorts off healthy options. She settled on something called the "Nutty Doodle" which was peanut butter, granola, local honey, and sliced bananas spread between two slices of 15-grain toast. She thought it was very satisfying and was happy to end the trip on a healthy, grainy, note.

5 out of 5 stars

    

COFFEE:                

"Praise Be!" "Thank Heavens!" "God is Good!" Finally, a great cup of coffee was had on this trip. Now I'm convinced that West Virginia does not belong in the Midwest.

I've come to learn that cafes and restaurants that have their coffee set up on a self-help altar of sorts, usually means the cup will come close to coffee Nirvana. Here, that was no exception. The French Roast Bottomless Coffee was as magnificent as the local scenery and offered political correctness as well. The coffee beans were purchased by the cafe from the 30 year old Equal Exchange, headquartered in West Bridgewater, Massachusetts. Equal Exchange is one of the largest democratic worker cooperatives in the world. The enterprise uses a trade model that eliminates the expensive middleman by buying directly from small farmer cooperatives in Latin America, Africa, and Asia. By eliminating the middleman, Equal Exchange offers the farmers above market prices for their coffee beans and other goods.

5 out of 5 stars

SERVICE:  The lone server was friendly and self composed. Given that most tables were filled and she was the only one working the room, she seemed nonplussed about the overwhelming task she faced. It took about 15 minutes for her to get to our table just to take our orders but once she arrived she was very pleasant. Additionally, it took another 20 minutes to get our food. My guess was that there was only one cook in the kitchen. The delays gave us plenty of time to feed our minds and souls and to pray that we would  soon be feeding our bodies.

 4 out of 5 stars

.

A FEW WORDS ABOUT FAYETTEVILLE:

There are a number of Fayettevilles throughout the United States; 13 to be exact. The Fayettevilles are named for the Marquis de Lafayette who at the ripe age of 19 became a hero in the Revolutionary War as a major general in the Continental Army. Fayetteville, West Virginia is small compared to its namesakes in North Carolina and Arkansas with only a population of about 2,900. The town avoided the great decline of the coal industry that rendered so many small southern Western Virginia towns impoverished. It did this by turning to sport recreation as its economic base. Rafting and kayaking on the Gauley and New rivers, as well as mountain biking and rock climbing in the New River Gorge bring in the tourist dollars, provide jobs, and help preserve the historical charm of the downtown area.

Just a mile from where we had breakfast is the New River Gorge Bridge. The steel arch bridge is 3,030 feet long which makes it the 4th longest single-span arch bridge in the world. It is also the 2nd highest bridge in the United States with its road bed 876 feet above the New River. (The highest is the Mike O'Callaghan-Pat Tillman Memorial Bridge which bypasses Hoover Dam.)

Every year on the third Saturday of October is "Bridge Day" a festival that celebrates the day the bridge was completed in 1977. It also happened to be on the day after we left town and I noticed that the locals were more filled with trepidation than excitement at the invasion of people. About 80,000 people show up for Bridge Day. The bridge is closed to vehicular traffic and throughout the day about 400 BASE jumpers hurl themselves off the bridge and parachute to the water below. There is also music, food, and other insane extreme sport events.


BURN THOSE BREAKFAST CALORIES OFF:

We drove across the breathtaking bridge over the New River., Whoever named it the New River had a fine sense of irony because it is an ancient river system which is purported to be the oldest in North America and the second oldest in the world behind the Nile River. Just past the bridge is the New Gorge National River park where we spent about 4 hours hiking out and back along the spectacular rim of the gorge.

       October 20, 2017

NEXT UP: The last segment of the breakfast tour will probably occur in June 2018 - Washington, Oregon, California, Nevada, Utah, Wyoming, Montana, & Idaho. Also, at some point I'll report on a breakfast in DC.

#39 KENTUCKY - A Fast Track

   
I thought we would do something a little different and Kentucky-appropriate for breakfast on this beautiful morning so we headed out to the Keeneland Race Course, a National Historic Landmark.

       
Track Kitchen
Lexington, Kentucky

AMBIENCE:   Keeneland has two Thoroughbred racing seasons: a Spring Meeting in April and a Fall Meeting in October. We happened to be there at 9 AM on a race day so the whole area was bustling with traffic, both mechanical and equine. We told a parking lot attendant that we were not there for the afternoon races but only for breakfast at the Track Kitchen. He gave us a funny look but directed us to a one-story building at the end of a street lined with stables. We parked directly in front of the building which brought to mind a suburban dentist's office. We warily went inside. I had the feeling that we were treading on private property, like walking into the "employees only" cafeteria of a corporation. There was no sign that indicated the public was welcome. Indeed, most everyone in the place looked like they were associated with the racetrack.  We continued on only because I had been assured by the Track Kitchen's website that the non-horse crowd could partake in the food: "You don't have to be a horseman to enjoy the food, but you might end up sitting near a famous jockey, trainer or owner when you do." 

The Track Kitchen is part cafeteria, part conventional restaurant. You grab a tray, order off a menu hanging on the wall, self serve your beverage, and pay at a cash register. If you order something that needs to be cooked and assembled, a friendly employee delivers the meal to your self chosen table. How they know where to deliver what is a mystery. After the meal is consumed you just leave the remains at the table and someone will take care of the mess. This was not anything like the breakfast I once had at the Saratoga Springs NY horse track where you eat at tables with fresh cut flowers and are served by people in white shirts and black bow ties. But the Track Kitchen was ten times cheaper!

The dining area is strictly utilitarian in design. With cinder block walls, linoleum floor, and panel ceiling tiles, the room reminded me of a larger version of  the rooms where Target or Costco employees take their breaks. There was however some redeeming decor. In the front of the room were large plate glass windows that looked out on the parking spaces (at Saratoga you look out on the racetrack where you can see the horses gallop through their morning routines) so there was some natural light. The one feature that made you feel that you were at a horse racing track and not sitting at the Department of Motor Vehicles waiting for your number to be called was a collection of horse with jockey photographs covering the cinder block walls. Each frame identified the pictured horse, none of which I recognized. I assume each horse had won  a stakes race at this track but with a few rare exceptions, the purses at Keeneland are not nearly as large as those at the major tracks like Santa Anita, Saratoga, and Churchill Downs.

   

Never mind the purely functional environment of the room, it was the people watching that made the Track Kitchen a stellar place to eat breakfast. The dining room was filled with all sorts of interesting looking people, from stately gentlemen in official looking green blazers to stable hands who left clumps of dirt from their boots on the floor. About three-quarters of the customers were intently studying the day's racing form, more interested in odds and previous times than the fact that their breakfast was getting cold. Trainers, owners, exercise jockeys, track officials, security personnel, and gambling addicts were all gathered under one roof. It seemed everyone associated with Keeneland was there except the horses. I'm sure I could have picked up some "hot tips" but we weren't staying for the afternoon races.


 5 out of 5 stars 

FOOD:  I ordered oatmeal, the first time that had happened during the Breakfast Tour. I figured this was a good place to have oatmeal since we were surrounded by hundreds of horses and what do they eat? Subsequent research revealed that horses no longer eat straight oats like at one time when they were the staple of any horse's diet. Evidently, today's horse eats a much more balanced diet that may contain some oats. To balance my diet I also ordered an egg, bacon, and cheese sandwich.

The oatmeal came with a small plastic container of raisins, and a similar container of brown sugar. I poured the contents of the containers into the oatmeal and went at it as my sandwich had not yet arrived. The oatmeal didn't bowl me over. It was too watery for my tastes and in fact, didn't taste too different than the instant variety. 

The egg, bacon, and cheese sandwich on the other hand, was excellent. The egg was especially outstanding. Perfectly grilled, (in butter or bacon grease perhaps?), it tasted fresh and delectable. 
   

Ironically, as the creamy yellow yolk was coating my lips, I looked up and saw this scene through the window:

Those weren't horses but free range chickens! Maybe that explains why the egg sandwich was so yummy.  

The Healthy One found some granola and yogurt with fruit in a self serve refrigerated cabinet. That wasn't going to provide enough energy for the busy day we had planned so she added a scone. The scone was decent, not decadent. The granola and yogurt she said was nothing special, on par with what you might get at a McDonald's. 

4 out of 5 stars

    

COFFEE:  The coffee wasn't bad considering it came from one of those large dispensers you often see at conference breaks.

3 1/2 out of 5 stars

SERVICE:  No nags working here. After you grabbed your tray and moved a few feet down the line, you ended up facing a couple of women with big smiles on their faces. They sincerely looked happy to see you. How could anyone look this cheerful at this hour of the morning? You placed your order with one of them and they pleasantly explained where to get your coffee and that someone would bring you your breakfast sandwich. The cashier was no less amicable.

I had purchased a container of juice which I had planned on taking with me and drinking later in the day. About 15 minutes after I left the Track Kitchen, I remembered that I had left the juice on the table. I went back, but the table had been cleared. "No problem" said the cashier when I explained my situation, "just grab another one from the refrigerator". Nice.

 5 out of 5 stars

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A FEW WORDS ABOUT LEXINGTON:

Lexington, "The Horse Capital Of The World" and a city of 300,000, is located in the Bluegrass Region of Kentucky. The Bluegrass Region is primarily located in Northern Kentucky and is known for its phenomenal grazing land. The region, once dominated by agriculture has become increasingly developed with residential and commercial properties. The grass looked green to me but I learned the term came about because in the Spring, the bluegrass produces bluish-purple buds that convey to the grass a bluish tint when seen in large fields. The bluegrass is high in calcium content which greatly benefits the diets of horses.

Lexington is home to the University of Kentucky, Transylvania University, and Bluegrass Community & Technical College. Transylvania University (enrollment about 1,000) is much, much smaller than the University of Kentucky (enrollment about 30,000) but much older. Transylvania, meaning "across the woods" in Latin was established in 1780. It is the oldest college in Kentucky and the 19th oldest in the United States.

Lexington has a vibrant downtown area filled with restaurants, hotels, performing arts venues, shopping, and bars (where you can drink the famous Kentucky bourbons). In 1958 the city put in place the first urban growth boundary in the U.S. in order to limit urban sprawl and preserve the city's surrounding farmland. The boundary originally surrounded 67 square miles of developed land that was eventually expanded by 8 more square miles. When we drove from the city center to Keeneland, it was obvious when we crossed the boundary. All of a sudden the housing developments and strip malls disappeared and were replaced by rolling hills of grass filled with horses getting their calcium fix.

Although a source of continual tension between preservationists and developers, the boundary has helped preserve the area's numerous horse farms. Lexington is home to two horse racing tracks (Keeneland and The Red Mile, the latter the second oldest harness racing track in the world), as well as facilities for equestrian competitions. Economic activities related to horses generate approximately $4 billion annually for the area.


BURN THOSE BREAKFAST CALORIES OFF:

We walked the grounds of Keeneland. The access to the stables and the practice track was unbelievable. This place was really laid back. Riders were smiling and saying good morning. Even the horses looked content. Every place we wandered into I kept thinking "we're going to get kicked out of here" but nobody seemed to care. And I certainly wasn't being mistaken for a jockey after all I had eaten the past two weeks. We watched the horses engaged in their morning workouts and visited a few in their stalls. I gave this handsome guy a pep talk for his upcoming race which turned out to be all for naught because I learned that he was just an escort pony.

We also visited the renowned Keeneland Sales Pavilion where Thoroughbreds are sold at auction. Thoroughbreds are a distinct breed of horse known for their agility and speed and primarily bred for racing. There are a number of sales throughout the year (19 Kentucky Derby winners have been sold at Keeneland) but the September yearling sale is the world's most important Thoroughbred sale. The highest price ever paid for a yearling was at Keeneland. Seattle Dancer sold for $13.1 million (about $30 million in today's dollars) in July, 1985.  Seattle Dancer went on to win a grand total of two races and had total earnings of about $150,000; not a very good return on the investment. He did have some additional value as a stud however, siring a number of high stakes winners.

We then took a short drive to a place where pari-mutuel betting on horses was unheard of.  The Shaker Village of Pleasant Hill is the largest restored Shaker village in the U.S. We wandered through the tranquil grounds of the village and took the three mile loop trail to the Kentucky River.

       October 18, 2017

NEXT UP: WEST VIRGINIA