Well, we’ve gone and flown the coop! We are embarking on an adventure and road tripping from Austin to Colorado Springs, Colorado and The Garden of the Gods, with a few stops along the way.
The nice thing about being an EmptyNester is that you can just pick up and go whenever you want to. And, if you want to check out a dispensary along the way, well, you can because you are a grown up after all … lol!
The Big Texan Steak Ranch has been a local Route 66 landmark since 1960 when RJ “Bob” Lee decided that the area was in need of a great steakhouse to feed all of those hungry cowboys and ranchers in and around Amarillo, Texas.
We made reservations for dinner and they were kind enough to arrange for us to be picked up from our hotel by a friendly cowboy who was driving a decidedly Texan limousine. You can too! Just give them a call and they will send a cowboy right over.
The place really has quite the setup, with a huge Steakhouse, Brewery, Gift Shop, Starlight Ranch Event Center, RV Ranch, Motel for humans and Horse Hotel for your equine pals.
In 1962, they added the now famous 72oz Steak Challenge and if you can eat it all in one hour its free and you will get the all of the accolades and applause that go with this great honor! But, first, they do have a few rules…
If you are interested in giving it a go here they are: https://www.bigtexan.com/72oz-steak-rules/
You can watch the Man vs Big Texan Steak Challenge with the Travel Channel in Amarillo, TX on Utube below! Host, Adam Richman, takes and meets the Big Texan Steak Challenge in just under half an hour. It is pretty impressive…
We did not take the challenge but we did enjoy a mighty fine steak dinner as we were serenaded by a couple of local cowboys. And, of course, we also left with some cowboy swag from the gift shop.
And, I made a new friend…
Another oddity, is the famous Cowboy Dinosaur that greats everyone who enters the Big Texan… I love that Texas is weird!
After a good nights sleep, the next stop on our magical mystery tour was Strawberry Fields in Pueblo, Colorado. It is one of a chain of cannabis dispensaries. Marijuana is now legal both medically and recreationally in Colorado. I am pretty sure it will be a cold day in hell when Texas follows suit.
I am wondering… did curiosity kill the cat?? I hope not…
Colorado is definitely an early adapter in regard to both medical and recreational marijuana. Personally, I can see the great value of medical marijuana for pain management, nausea management and various other non-recreational medical or emotional uses like PTSD and such.
It seems to me that this would be a far better solution than opioids and/or other pharmaceuticals. To me, it seems an obvious and much less toxic solution to so many different kinds of problems. The thinking of dispensaries like these is that cannabis can help ‘End the Narcotics Cycle’ and this line of thinking is also strongly advocated by the Colorado Department of Public Health.
I totally agree and this is my Public Service Announcement for the day…
We were curious…. When in Rome??? When in Colorado???
Isn’t it great to be an Empty Nester and do what you want to do without the kids around and judging all the time… lol. Not really, but kind of!
Their web site is very informational and curiously strict about who enters.
“Strawberry Fields Dispensaries offers… Cannabis that surpasses all expectations. We believe in above and beyond customer service, a product that beats all expectations and at an affordable price point.”
I wasn’t sure what to expect. Everybody there was knowledgeable and very accommodating. It was all very civilized, clean and organized.
Strawberry Fields is definitely a very well run business. They have different strains and THC levels which are suitable for different purposes. You can ask to look at and smell any of the different strains to see which you prefer. They also have a variety of edibles such as gummy bears, chocolates or cookies if they are more your style.
“Strawberry Fields – With a total of 5 dispensaries and ‘growing’ we hold our growers and Bud-tenders to the highest level of industry accountability.”
It was certainly an enlightening day. You should stop in if you’re passing by!
Next stop ~ Colorado Springs and The Garden of the Gods…
The Garden of the Gods is an interesting place. In 1879, Charles Elliott Perkins purchased this beautiful land that, upon his death in 1909, was deeded by the Perkins Family and is now owned by the city of Colorado Springs. Their requirement was that this special land forever remain a public park.
There is a one way road through the park that travels throughout the most spectacular formations called Juniper Way Loop.
There are 15 miles of trails and a 1.5 mile paved trail suitable for wheelchairs, bicycles and strolling for a more leisurely and upclose view of these amazing red rocks.
Hikers, mountain biking, horseback riding and both amateur and technical rock climbers love these rocks. It is a definite bucket list stop for many.
Since then, The Garden of the Gods has been added to via gifts and purchases of surrounding land. It is today a 1,364 acre park with an impressive Visitor Center, Nature Center and Trading Post.
Many different American Indian Nations passed through the Garden of the Gods. There are petroglyphs thought to be those of the Utes which are evidence of earlier times and seem to indicate a spiritual connection of this place to these peoples.
We will definitely be back! In fact, this trip is worthy of a second or third time around following the same exact route and maybe next time we will make it up to the top of Pikes Peak which unfortunately was having snow squalls and the cog railroad was closed.
This is a trip worth taking!!!!
For more information about The Big Texan Steakhouse Ranch, Strawberry Fields Dispensary or The Garden of the Gods you can go to these sites:
http://www.strawberryfieldscannabis.com
Thank you for visiting EmptyNestingIt.com!
EmptyNestingIt 
This is great and really cool and exceptionally well done. Kudos to you, Alice! I’m very impressed.
LikeLike
Thanks, Bill! Xo
LikeLike