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[ibglowin]

 

[ibglowin]

We could use those big rains here in Missouri. They say we are 8 or more inches below normal for the year. I did just look at the weather reports and they say 67% chance on Sat, but probably not really enough to make up much of that difference. Isn't the snow to rainfall factor something like 10 inches of snow is 1 inch of rain?? But every little bit will help us out.

I just looked at my rain gauge. It had 2" of water in it and we got about 6" of snow!

 

[Ohio Bob]

https://www.nssl.noaa.gov/education/svrwx101/winter/faq/
On average, 13” of snow yields 1” of rain. It can range from 2” for wet snow to 50” for dry powder snow.

You are spot on.

 

[ibglowin]

Since it is almost Christmas!

 

[jswordy]

One 2005 50th Anniversary Ford Thunderbird, willed to me by my Dad. 10 days rolling out West and back. 3,561.7 miles. Five hotels. Six states. Six interstate highways and a stretch of U.S. Route 66, the Mother Road. Four friends. Two in Phoenix. Then two very special handmade pizzas in Denton, Texas, served by someone I have known since we were 8 years old. One speed-trap ticket, once we got back to Tennessee on U.S. 64 (of course...bleah). Lots of fun! Photo dumps ahead.

On I-40/US 66 in Shamrock, Texas, at the restored 1935 Conoco Tower Service Station and U-Drop Inn Cafe (complete with Tesla charging stations in the back).

 

[jswordy]

Here's what happens when the US Supreme Court says your state's guy won the presidency. George W. Bush's administration constructed several of these "potty palaces" on Texas interstates, this one in the Texas Panhandle, which formerly had no rest stops at all.

 

[jswordy]

Foregoing the touristy photo of the corner in Winslow, Arizona, here we are at the Winslow rest area on I-40. I am repping Dauphin Island, AL! A guy walking by us offered to take this pic. To get here from Gallup, we went though amazing land in New Mexico that had beautiful mesas, and as a high point, some lava fields that came right up to the roadway. The lava seemed to poke up through the grass in many areas. Generally, I-40 in NM and desert AZ was in rough shape.

 

[jswordy]

We arrive in Phoenix! We had had dinner after arrival at Tailgater's Sport Grill in Buckeye, AZ, and drank The Joy Bus WOW Wheat Ale by Four Peaks Brewing of Tempe, AZ (fourpeaks.com) – and oh yes, it was WOW! I searched for it in a six-pack to bring home but never could find it. If I had found it and we had room, I would have bought a case.

First thing the next morning was a trip to the outdoor gun range for the guys. I forgot my phone that day but you pretty much know what we did, lol. A perfect day. I again proved I can't hit the broad side of a barn with a handgun, but it was fun. In the afternoon, I took my first-ever trip to Total Wine and More, and they had none of the five wines I had in mind! Nope, didn't have that beer, either. But I enjoyed talking with a sales guy about wines while my bored companions wandered the aisles, lol, and I found a bottle of shiraz and also a six of Four Peaks Lager.

The next day, we went to Western Spirit: Scottsdale's Museum of the West in Scottsdale (https://scottsdalemuseumwest.org/). This is a must-see. I was leery of $22 each for admission, but it is oh so worth it. I found a black powder measure on display that is exactly like one I have that was passed down from my great-grandfather. Then the girls took off to shop downtown while the guys sat on a bench at a roundabout and Scottsdale people-watched. I never saw so many cowboys who had never owned a cow!

 

[jswordy]

In the evening of our Scottsdale trip, we capped the day with dinner at The Barrio Cafe in Phoenix (barriocafe.com), and OMG it was so good. Our waiter was also understatedly funny and excellent. The entire place was art. First time I ever took pix on the inside of a public restroom.

 

[jswordy]

Then it was on to Denton, Texas, but not before we stropped for the night at Weatherford and had some Whataburgers. We were due the next day for some very special pizzas at 11 a.m. in Denton.

 

[jswordy]

I'm melancholy while making this next post because I just learned that the day after we were there, The Tomato Pizza trailer had a fire and is a total loss. But it will return!

This stop has quite a back story. My childhood friend Robert Slusarski (who I have known since we were age 8 ) and his wife Becky ran a chain pizza joint in college town Denton that they started in 1984. When the chain dissolved, they were allowed to slightly change the name to The Tomato Pizza and to continue in business with the recipes.

While running the pizzeria, they saw several generations of college kids grow up who came in as customers and hung out there, and they almost literally (and in some cases, literally, lol) raised several of them. Then gentrification came, rents skyrocketed, and the brick and mortar place closed. But the goodwill it had generated in the community never died.

A couple years ago, Robert began making those same style Tomato pizzas from his home for a few select people who wanted the nostalgic taste. People would post pictures of it on FB ("Look what I got! A The Tomato Pizza!") and the comments were incredible.

Then Robert's son, Michael, outfitted a The Tomato Pizza (https://www.facebook.com/thetomatopizza) food trailer and set it at the Austin Street Truck Stop, a downtown food truck park (https://austinstfoodtrucks.com/).

All those years of goodwill and nostalgia came pouring out. They sold out of pizza the first few days they were open, just could not keep up with the demand, and the business has been fabulously supported by old-time customers who bring their kids along for a taste, as well as new customers.

Now, after talking with Robert during his home pizza phase and then the process of bringing back The Tomato Pizza, we're gonna get a taste and get to meet his son Michael, the man who brought the dream back alive. Fall hours meant the place was closed for lunch, but Robert custom-made deep-dish and thin crust pizzas just for us. Joy!

Plus, we got a tour of the inside of the trailer, a tour of the food park concept (all of which is not corporately owned, as is the one in my area) and Miss Angeline's (a nearby bar), as well as a stop at The Bearded Monk (beardedmonk.com) a nearby beer store. It is all conveniently co-located. Really, a great concept overall. FUN! The Bearded Monk is the second ever time that I took pix inside a public restroom. Whoa! Picked up some Texas Lager there.

Miss Angeline's has an expansive bar with sofas and easy chairs for seating, so people can enjoy conversation and a leisurely sip.

Yet sadly, as it turns out, we were the last two people to eat The Tomato pizza for the time being and the place is temporarily closed as they recover. But if you go to the FB page link and see all the positive posts, it will return! I've already promised to help make that happen.

 

[jswordy]

Los Alamos snow pix. Holy crap, Mike!

 

[Chhams]

My place

 

[bstnh1]

We arrive in Phoenix! We had had dinner after arrival at Tailgater's Sport Grill in Buckeye, AZ, and drank The Joy Bus WOW Wheat Ale by Four Peaks Brewing of Tempe, AZ (fourpeaks.com) – and oh yes, it was WOW! I searched for it in a six-pack to bring home but never could find it. If I had found it and we had room, I would have bought a case.

First thing the next morning was a trip to the outdoor gun range for the guys. I forgot my phone that day but you pretty much know what we did, lol. A perfect day. I again proved I can't hit the broad side of a barn with a handgun, but it was fun. In the afternoon, I took my first-ever trip to Total Wine and More, and they had none of the five wines I had in mind! Nope, didn't have that beer, either. But I enjoyed talking with a sales guy about wines while my bored companions wandered the aisles, lol, and I found a bottle of shiraz and also a six of Four Peaks Lager.

The next day, we went to Western Spirit: Scottsdale's Museum of the West in Scottsdale (https://scottsdalemuseumwest.org/). This is a must-see. I was leery of $22 each for admission, but it is oh so worth it. I found a black powder measure on display that is exactly like one I have that was passed down from my great-grandfather. Then the girls took off to shop downtown while the guys sat on a bench at a roundabout and Scottsdale people-watched. I never saw so many cowboys who had never owned a cow!

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Does that T-bird have a soft roof as well?

 

[ibglowin]

 

[Boatboy24]

View attachment 108433

Jim just left your place?

 

[jswordy]

Does that T-bird have a soft roof as well?

Yes, it is s convertible with a removable hardtop.

 

[jswordy]

Jim just left your place?

No, I got the pix from someone else. We tried but could not connect. We hit the perfect seam of weather for our whole trip. It was snowing in Lost Almost and along I-40 when we were long gone from there, driving in sun and 70 on I-10 down along the border.

Funny story: As soon as we got well away from el Paso – where I-10 runs right along the border – all traffic had to stop for a Border Patrol check. We rolled up to the guard shack and a Hispanic guy in a BP uniform saw two old white folks through the windshield and then said to us in heavily accented English: "American citizens?" And we said "Yes!" and he waved us through before I even came to a full stop. We laughed and took off. Your tax dollars at work. It's Texas, man.

Note that if you take US 62 and 54 out of el Paso, you can bypass it.

 

[wineh]

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I'm slightly jealous!

 

[winemaker81]

Here's an interesting idea for a Christmas tree: