Sunset Crater and Wupatki National Monuments

Sunset Crater

Yesterday, I took a day trip north of Flagstaff to Sunset Crater and Wupatki National Monuments. These two Monuments are nestled within and adjacent to Coconino National Forest.


Sunset Crater - This volcanic cone is part of the San Francisco volcanic field and erupted/formed about 1,000 years ago. What started as a fissure in the ground spewing lava, continued to build into the cone we see today with subsequent eruptions. The area is replete with lava flows and cinders.

Welcome

The Visitor Center

Black and blue

The barren, south-facing slope of Sunset Crater

Lava flow, then trees, then the San Francisco Peaks

Wupatki - Wupatki sits on a high plateau with alternating areas of sage brush, grasses and pinyon/juniper. This area is known for its ancient pueblo ruins. The various ruins are mostly situated near the edge of the plateau, overlooking the Painted Desert to the north.

Welcome

Wukoki Pueblo ruins - Wukoki is Hopi for "Big House"

Inside looking out

Note the small, narrow passageways between rooms

The curve of an exterior wall

The Visitor Center

Morman Tea

Wupatki Pueblo ruins behind the Visitor Center

The community room

Cave Creek, AZ

Welcome to Cave Creek

Yesterday, I took an afternoon drive up to Cave Creek, which is north of Phoenix. It's a small tourist-y town with art galleries, restaurants and specialty shops. I made stops at Big Earl's and Cave Creek Coffee Company, aka C4.


Big Earl's

In my tireless, thankless job as Marker Researcher for Flippin' Jimmy's, I stopped at Big Earl's to try out the food. It's a small place filled with a lot of old-time memorabilia. Inside, there's a horseshoe-shaped counter along with a couple tables. Very quaint, but very crowded. There is also a large outdoor patio that provides most of the seating. The structure itself is a converted gas station.

I ordered the mushroom burger with Swiss cheese, fries and iced tea. The beef patty looked a little too symmetric and uniform to be a hand-formed patty. It was probably pre-formed and frozen. To be honest, it was a pretty bland sandwich. The french fries weren't anything special. All in all, not as good as Heart Attack Grill, Two Hippies or In-N-Out.

I wouldn't go out of my to go to this place. The entire meal cost me $11.50, $7.00 of which was the burger. If you're gonna charge me $7 for a burger, it better be lights out! FAIL. A lot of customers were there just to buy their milkshakes and malts, so maybe those are good.

Big Earl

The patio with two old gas pumps

My lunch

Stick your face here. Wait for it......That's what she said!

The front end of something being used as a fire pit

Big Earl's from across the street with Black Mtn. in the background

Cave Creek Coffee Co.

After lunch, I stopped here for dessert. This place is a combination coffee house, wine bar and live music venue.

C4

Chocolate pastry puff and latte

Some religious-themed artwork

Meatza = Awesome

Mmmmmmm

For those of you looking to avoid or reduce grains, flour, etc. in your diet; I give you: Meatza. I tried out a recipe I came across online and, for the first run, it turned out pretty good. It's basically a pizza baked on a "crust" of flattened meatball.

Seasoning blend consisting of salt, pepper, garlic salt, oregano and caraway seeds

Mix ground beef with two eggs. Add seasoning blend and grated parmesan cheese and mix some more. Spread onto a 12x17 pan

Bake for 10 minutes and pour off excess grease

Then, add toppings. In this case, marinara sauce, mozzarella cheese, pepperoni and chopped onions

Back in the oven until the toppings are cooked.

Next time: I'm going to reduce the amount of salt, spread the crust out a little more on the pan and add more pizza sauce. Below is the link to the recipe:

http://www.justinowings.com/b/index.php/me/meatza-meatza

Two Hippies - Phoenix, AZ

The front patio

Two Hippies is a small place on E. Indian School Rd at 8th St. It's easy to miss and I've passed it several times myself without noticing until the last moment. Burgers are their specialty, but they serve hot dogs, too. The small interior is decked out with kitschy memorabilia of days gone by.

The fries were better than Heart Attack Grill(see previous post) and the onion rings were very good. The burger was good, but, like most food in general and burgers specifically, it was overcooked. If you're like me, you want your burger juicy with a little pink in the middle. Also, it was a little over-salted; I actually like a pepper flavor to my burger.

So, take note burger makers of the world. Ditch the lean ground beef for fattier blends and ditch the food cops that want everything cooked until it reverts back to pure carbon. Burger lovers unite! Unlike Heart Attack Grill, I will return here for another visit. I wanna try their Magic Mushroom Burger.

Burger, fries, drink:

Heart Attack Grill - $14
Two Hippies - $7.50

Today's special. How could I say no?

Let the tasting begin

Note the sweet Schwinn Cruiser 3 hanging on the wall

Old school lunch boxes. Yes, they're made of metal

You gotta love Curley from The Three Stooges

The coup de grace

The Mr. T key chain is a classic. Push one of the buttons and you get a classic catch phrase from Mr. T himself:

"I pity the fool"
"Shut up, fool"
"Quit yo jibber jabber"
"Don't make me mad. Grrrrrrrrr"
"First name Mister. Middle name Period. Last name T"
"Don't gimme no backtalk, sucka"

Heart Attack Grill - Chandler, AZ

Chandler Blvd.

At the request of my brother, I reluctantly took a mini road trip to Chandler, AZ to taste the wares at Heart Attack Grill. Some of you may have seen this place on the Travel Channel.

The menu is simple: Single, Double, Triple or Quadruple Bypass Burger;(.5, 1, 1.5 or 2lb)all-you-can-eat fry bar and drinks. All the burgers come plain and the customer helps themselves at a topping bar. Also, every customer is given a hospital gown and wristband to wear.

I opted for the 1lb Double Bypass and fries. After about 3/4lb., your intrepid blogger started to really sloooowwww down. I took occasional breaks punctuated with deep breaths and belches. The fries were OK, but I like a thicker cut fry. The burger wasn't bad, but I've had better. They definitely are using their hospital theme and marketing to their benefit - it's a fun atmosphere. With that said, if I make a 2nd trip, I'll opt for a Single Bypass without fries.

Need burgers! STAT!

Old School

All You Can Eat

Note the blood pressure machine

A challenge is thrown down

The Double Bypass with fries

Holy Shit!

The Bill

The waitresses wear skimpy nurse outfits

The Rte. 85 Experience

I left Phoenix on Sunday morning with the intention of driving to Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument, taking some pictures and posting a blog. Well, that one blog turned into three. There were too many interesting things along the way that piqued my interest to keep it to one blog post. You never know what might happen on your journey towards your destination.

Rte. 85 begins about 30 miles west of Phoenix at Interstate 10 and runs south all the way to the Mexican Border.


Gila Bend, AZ - this town sits at the intersection of Rte. 85 and Interstate 8, which goes between Tucson and San Diego.

Stout's Hotel

Disrepair in Gila Bend

North of Gila Bend on 85

Silhouette and sky

High clouds over the range

Cactus Draw

Ajo, AZ - is a mining town south of Gila Bend and just north of Organ Pipe. Interesting little town with a mix of architecture. There were a lot of small, single-level homes along with a plaza area that resembles a small, coastal town on the Mediterranean.

North boundary

Disrepair in Ajo

Immaculate Conception Church - across from the plaza

Federated Church - across from the Plaza

Looking west from the plaza

The Ajo Plaza

Lukeville, AZ (aka Gringo Pass) - From what I could tell, Lukeville consists of an RV park and a border crossing, and not much else.

Just chillin'

Lunch at the Gringo Pass Cafe