If you ever find yourself hankering for pancakes in Manitou Springs, Colorado, I have just the place for you. It’s called Uncle Sam’s Pancake House and they know a thing or two about serving up a hot breakfast on a cold day.
Those of you who have been around for a while should already know that I believe food tastes better when enjoyed in interesting places. The outside of Uncle Sam’s has loads of charm with an a-frame design. According to a note on their menu, the building dates to the early forties when it was first a drive-in called Michaelis. It became Uncle Sam’s sometime in the sixties.
Plus, there’s an absolutely fabulous sign.
It’s even cozy on the inside with patriotic decor.
And then there’s the food. I ordered a breakfast that came with eggs, potatoes, and THREE pancakes. This was reminiscent of my inaugural Waffle House experience when I naively believed the waffles wouldn’t be that big. After all, no one gives customers value these days. Right?
Holy Toledo. Look at this. Two big plates of food. Three giant pancakes.
Friends, I am almost permanently unimpressed with restaurant food these days but find the mom and pop shops are the best way to go. Uncle Sam’s supported this theory. These pancakes were fantastic. They have a great variety of flavors including seasonal specials but I went with good old blueberry and they were wonderful.
I’m telling you. Uncle Sam’s in Manitou Springs. Go find it!
Yesterday started in Colorado at 3:30 am. One short car ride, a flight, airport train ride, another flight, airport shuttle, and rides in two more cars brought me to my Ohio home on the ridge by about 8:30 pm.
Easy peasy!
As I turned down the bed, I couldn’t shake the sensation I was still in motion. Luckily, Scout curled up next to me and I was out like a light, sleeping through the night for the first time in longer than I can remember.
When I awoke this morning, I knew I was home before opening my eyes. The sound of the heat pump and even the feel of the bedding are unmistakable elements of home.
And when I opened my eyes, Scout was sitting at my right arm, staring at me. It’s hard to tell how long he was there. He didn’t make a noise and wasn’t asking for anything.
He just sat there watching me as though confirming I was really there. I scratched his ears and he settled in next to me for a nap.
I tried to go back to sleep but the dry nose I always bring home high western elevations made that impossible. But I have stayed in this spot, hurkle durkling for a while and luxuriating in the solace of my own home.
This is partly for me and partly for him. While he didn’t go on a journey, he’s had a rough week too. My parents take good care of him but that’s not the same as having me there and he doesn’t understand where I go or why I would want to leave him.
Our pets are our family but we sometimes have to leave them. Whether it’s for a few hours or a few days, they are left alone and wondering why you left in the first place.
They miss us. He misses me. It doesn’t hurt me to lie here with a stuffy nose for a while longer just so he can luxuriate in the moment of having his person home.
As you’re planning your shopping this season, consider supporting small businesses that provide a special experience while you shop for things you won’t find anywhere else.
I stopped by Stella’s Mercantile after my hike Saturday and was delighted to see they are decorated for Christmas. Life sized nutcrackers flank the front door that’s always painted a festive red.
Step through those red doors and warm greetings abound in a space that feels like something out of a Hallmark movie. This building operated as Fout’s Store for generations until I was a kid and I have fond memories of the old wood floors and fixtures. They’ve done a great job of holding onto the historic charm of the space while shifting their focus to local artists, candy makers and others who make things.
Here you’ll find paintings, plants, quilts, jewelry, and so much more. There’s fudge and candy, bread and cinnamon rolls. Don’t forget the cinnamon rolls.
There are so many goodies to enjoy and gifts to take home for yourself and for folks on your list.
One of my favorite memories from this place when I was a kid was going there for bulk Christmas candy. They currently have bulk candy in jars on the counter so you can take home a few pieces or a whole bag!
Check out the vintage tinsel tree that belonged to the grandparents of one of the owners.
I like a place that gives me an experience rather than just a thing. You feel something when you walk into a place like Stella’s. You feel the history, the community and charm that have made it what it is today and I think that’s way better than a big box store where no one thinks to greet you and no one cares that you get that special thing that makes you smile.
I bought myself a Christmas gift Saturday and the owner remembered that I had missed out on getting something similar earlier this year. That’s pretty impressive, if you ask me.
They’ll have Santa on Saturday, December 13. What a fun environment it would be to meet Santa!
I have written about Stella’s before. I hope you’ll take a minute to read that story. Also, I wrote about the old Fout’s Store at Christmas. I hope you’ll read that one too.
It’s a special place. Go visit. Support their efforts to give local people a venue to sell their things and to breathe new life into a historic space. I think you’ll like it!
However, if you’re not in Vinton County, Ohio this Christmas, be sure to support local businesses near you!
Modern travelers don’t really understand what a journey was like before cars and airplanes made it quick and easy to move around. The human experience has changed so much since the days of stagecoaches that we can’t imagine needing months to cross the country when airlines can get us there in a matter of hours. Days spent in a buggy on a trip my Elantra could finish in hours is unfathomable.
Just inside the Buffalo Bill Center Of The West stands an old sightseeing coach that was once used to give folks tours of Yellowstone. They called it the Yellowstone Observation Wagon. Pulled by a team of four horses, it followed a set route at 6-8 miles per hour. At that pace, the route took about six days. Your car could travel it in four to seven hours, according to their signage.
These coaches fell out of fashion with the rise of the automobile and were deemed unsafe after cars were allowed in Yellowstone in 1915. The horses were afraid of noisy cars so the touring companies closed down the fleet in 1917. Unfortunately, a retired sightseeing coach wasn’t in demand at the time and those that didn’t sell were piled up and burned. This coach at the Buffalo Bill Museum is a rare survivor.
Imagine how dusty and exhausting that trip would be. Plus, you were packed into the wagon with other people including some you might not want falling asleep on your shoulder! There was also a chance that the driver would need you to get out and walk and passengers were asked to not complain if this occurred.
After having spent a lot of time in the car that week, I was conscious of how cushy my ride was compared with what it might have been like in 1915. I need to apologize to my friend for how many times I complained about the journey from Cody to Casper! It could have been worse.
There are lots of grand treasures and tales to be found at the Buffalo Bill Museum. Learn more here and keep coming back for more of these stories.
Some of my favorite travel memories are odd. For example, as we were headed out of Yellowstone we encountered this big boy at the side of the road. We had seen him on the way in, a memorable sight because you don’t often find bison traveling alone. There’s safety in numbers.
We pulled over at a safe-ish distance to snap a couple of photos and admire his beauty when he started to meander down the road. Toward us.
In case you’ve never seen one, they’re about the size of an Elantra.
And as he meandered and we sat there silently hoping he didn’t notice us, he slowly began moving toward the center of the road and then turned his head so that we could see the red of his eye. And we simultaneously, wordlessly, and with urgent certainty knew that we were in the absolute wrong place at the wrong time.
We are fortunate he did not ram the Jeep and send us both flying like rag dolls off the side of a mountain.
Our saving grace was that an older couple in a Buick interrupted the moment and he kept moving.
Holy cow. What a moment. I will be eternally grateful that this situation was resolved without incident. I told my friend later that my favorite trip memory was when the bison didn’t kill us. I said it as a joke but it’s true.
If you go, keep a safe distance from the wildlife and don’t try to pet the fluffy cows.
Around here, I am freshly back from vacation and barely acclimating. I’m not one to rest well when I travel nor do I allow myself a lot of time to just breathe. If I’m going to the trouble of traveling someplace, I want to enjoy that place and see as much as possible. Then I was in hurry up and wait mode as air travel felt like more like a chore than a luxury this time.
So I came home tired, jet lagged and possibly fighting off a cold or something worse.
I slept about fifteen hours last night. While I regret missing so much of this day, I am glad to wake up feeling much better and less like knocking on death’s door.
Around here, the colors are muted, the sky is dull and it is chilly. It’s the perfect day to lollygag with a book and cat and to piddle around the house, putting things back in order. Dishes are done, the bedsheets are drying, and the bed is airing out while it waits to be made up.
It’s also a good day for soup. I found a recipe to try but I’m going to Brandify it so wish me luck. This could go well or be terrible.
Around here, I broke down and turned on the heat today. Overnight temperatures outside have been in the thirties since I got home. I play this game to see how long I can hold out before turning on the furnace. My goal is November 1. It’s October 25 and was 50 degrees inside when I got up.
I’m choosing comfort over valor this year.
Around here, I am five books behind on my annual reading goal with little hope of catching up by December 31. Thats ok. The reading goal is really designed to keep me pushing forward rather than to make me feel bad for missing the mark. In the end, I will still have read a ton of truly good books this year.
Around here I am contemplating what travel stories to tell you in the coming weeks. This trip to Cody was exactly what I needed – some museums, some outdoors, some shopping and some time with my friend who I miss very much.
There wasn’t any hiking though as my knee continues to be an issue. Instead, we did some sightseeing and even some off-roading in her Jeep. Cody isn’t especially friendly to those of us who don’t eat meat so I came home excited for vegetables and with few restaurant recommendations to share.
And much of what we learned in museums wasn’t especially cheerful. The most meaningful place we went was Heart Mountain, the site of an internment camp where Japanese Americans were held during World War II. Their interpretive center is a place I believe every American should experience at least once. Yet, I notice that people I have tried to talk to about it completely check out of the conversation because they don’t want to hear it.
Because ignoring it will certainly make it go away, right?
Around here I’m thinking a lot about the stories we tell ourselves, the ones we choose to hear, and how our ability to only be exposed to what we like or agree with is killing our nation.
Around here, I have a lot on my mind. But for now, I’ll cuddle my kitty cat who is desperately glad to have me here and I’ll make my soup and read my book and be glad to be back home.
Like Superman’s Fortress of Solitude, around here is a pretty cool place to be.
