Cross Country 2025



This was by far the longest trip of my life, both in time and in driving distance. I spent almost a year planning it. It would have been great to just "wing it", showing up at places whenever I got there. Unfortunately this is not possible when visiting breweries, because each one is open only at certain times. Some are open 7 days a week, but others as few as 3 days. Some open in the morning every day, while others might open early on weekends but not until late afternoon during the week. Plus, sometimes the hours listed on a brewery's website differ from those listed on its Facebook page, so I had to contact some places to get the correct hours. These factors made this trip require lots of detailed planning.

Even after I'd planned everything out, I had to keep checking my preferred breweries' websites in the ensuing months to make sure things hadn't changed. Sure enough, at least 5 of them closed, one changed which days it was open, and another changed location. The closings were not surprising since the craft brewery market had reached its saturation point and many breweries were closing. After the number of craft breweries skyrocketed from about 1500 in 2010 to well over 9500 in early 2024, more breweries closed than opened throughout 2024 for the first time since 2005, and the trend was continuing into 2025.

I traveled in the spring because some of the national parks I would be visiting get very busy in summer, not to mention hot.

Tuesday April 1. Left at 10:20 AM on a cool, sunny day. First stop: Commonwealth Brewing. I'd been to their Virginia Beach location in 2023. Today I visited the one in Fairfax for the first time. I couldn't find any free parking so I parked at a pay garage. Walked into the taproom at 11:50 and sampled the following, all of which were good:


The next 3 breweries I'd been to before. At 12:50 I arrived at Aslin Beer Company, which has 5 locations in Virginia, DC, and Pittsburgh. I was at the one in Herndon VA, which has two buildings. One is the regular taproom, which wouldn't open until 3:00 today. The other, which opens at 8:00 AM, has a pizza kitchen called IZZI (all their locations except the one in DC have one). I sampled:


Arrived at Ocelot Brewing at 1:40. I like the vibe here. I tried only one beer.


After that it was on to Adroit Theory. The final 3 beers in the following list were basically chocolate milkshakes because of the things that were added to them so I wouldn't really classify them as beer.


Bought a 4-pack of EBK [Until They Kill Me] to go, then went to Dynasty Brewing, which opened in 2018 and has locations in Ashburn (where I was) and Leesburg. I tried:


Shortly before 5:00 I arrived at the home of my friends Roger and Karin in The Plains VA. They have a nice, cozy flat in a separate building that they use as an Airbnb, where I would be staying that night.


They also have a friendly dog named Jada.


We went to dinner at a restaurant called Blue Ridge Seafood.


After that we hung out at their house for a few hours, then hit the hay around 10:30.


Wednesday April 2. Woke up at 2:30 and couldn't get back to sleep. Finally got up shortly after 4:00. This sort of thing happens quite frequently when I travel. Good thing I chronicle my trips on this website, otherwise I'd have nothing to do in the morning.

It was 38 degrees and cloudy when I left at 7:20, and when I arrived in Knoxville Tennessee at 1:40 it was 82 degrees. Checked into a Super 8 by Wyndham and walked to Austin's Steak and Homestyle Buffet for a buffet lunch. You know, to lay a base for the beer.


Lyfted downtown to walk to several breweries. Arrived at Pretentious Beer Company a little after 3:30. There is a glassblowing studio next door called Pretentious Glass that owns this brewery. It makes all the tap handles, glassware, and light fixtures for the taproom. Both the beers I tried were pretty good but rather light.


Walked to Xul Beer Company, which has two locations. I was at the one on 5th Ave.


Arrived at Crafty Bastard Brewery at 4:40. It opened in 2015 and has two locations. I was at the one on Emory Place.


On the way to my next brewery I found some street art.


Got to Next Level Brewing at 5:15. It opened in 2019.


On a suggestion from my server I went to Schulz Bräu Brewing, which opened in 2016. I don't like most German beer but it was supposed to have a cool venue. It did. I ordered a guest beer:


My last stop was Abridged Beer Company's Oak Room, which opened in 2019. I thought it had the coolest venue of the day. Note that one of my samples was a bottle. I hardly ever order a bottle on my trips.


Lyfted back to the motel at 7:40. Took an edible and went to bed sometime after 8:00.


Thursday April 3. Woke up sometime in the wee hours and couldn't get back to sleep. Finally rolled out of bed at 6:15. It was warm and cloudy when I left at 10:15. Drove to Abridged Beer Company's Cedar Bluff Headquarters, arriving 25 minutes before it opened at 11:00, which gave me time to eat a hearty breakfast of unsalted nuts, fake crab, and crackers. Sampled one beer:


Got to Orange Hat Brewing's Hardin Valley Road location before 11:30. It opened during the pandemic in spring 2020. I tried:


Then it was 2½ hours to Southern Grist Brewing's East Nashville location (there is another location in town called Nations). I entered the central time zone so I arrived at 1:30 instead of 2:30.


Checked in at the Knights Inn, which wasn't as nice as the place I stayed the night before and cost $40 more. Plus they slapped on a $10 parking fee, which no other motel had ever done to me. I guess Nashville is just more expensive than Knoxville.

Set out on foot at 2:40. Crossed over the Cumberland River and arrived at Monday Night Brewing a little after 3:00. It has 6 locations throughout the South. It's been in business since 2012 and this location opened in 2021. None of the beer is brewed here - most of it is brewed in Atlanta.


When I left it was raining, and kept raining the rest of the day. Good thing I'd brought my raincoat.

By the way, every place is Nashville that serves alcohol checks IDs, no matter how old you look. Also, beer that's over 10.1% ABV (8% ABW) cannot be sold to-go. I don't think it's a coincidence that 5 of the beers I would try in Nashville were purportedly 10.1% ABV. My guess is that they were stronger but breweries claimed 10.1% so they could sell these beers to-go.

A few blocks away is Bearded Iris Brewing's Germantown location (there is another location in town called Sylvan Supply). Arrived shortly before 4:00 and tried:


Stumbled upon a place called Buds & Brews, a cannabis bar and restaurant that has THC-infused drinks and several beers on tap. I got a can of New Highs Purple Punch, which had 5 mg of THC. It tasted like grape soda.


Crossed back over the Cumberland River...


...and got to Barrique Brewing & Blending at 5:10. It opened in 2020 and has lots of barrels that give the place a nice woody smell. I sampled:

My server was also handing out samples of a very woody bourbon whose distiller he was not allowed to divulge. It was nice both on its own and when mixed with the Viennawine.


Got back to the hotel around 6:30 and went to bed shortly thereafter. I was pretty looped from all the beer, bourbon, and THC.


Friday April 4. Woke up around midnight, lay in bed for about an hour, and got up. I didn't mind being up so early because I would be leaving early.

Left at 5:25 and traveled westward for 8½ hours, the longest single drive of the trip, because when I was mapping out my journey I couldn't find any places of interest in Arkansas, so I just drove through that state, stopping only to fill my gas tank and empty my bladder. There is one brewery in the northwest corner of the state that has a pretty good rating, but it was more than an hour out of my way, and I didn't feel like turning 8½ hours of driving into 10. There were a lot of trucks on Route 40 in Arkansas. I'd say about 80% of the vehicles were trucks.

Checked into the run-down but fairly cheap OYO Hotel in Tulsa Oklahoma at 1:45 and Lyfted to Heirloom Rustic Ales, arriving shortly before 3:00. It has been in business since 2018 and started serving coffee in 2024. I sampled:


Walked to Nothing's Left Brewing, arriving around 3:30. It's a cool venue but the beers weren't that good. Sampled:


There was another brewery I wanted to visit, and there were two other breweries a stone's throw from it that I hadn't planned on visiting because their Untappd ratings were low, but I was ahead of schedule so I decided to visit them. By the way, all the breweries I would visit in Tulsa were in a dirty, ugly, smelly part of town.

Cabin Boys Brewery opened in 2018. I tried:


Marshall Brewing opened in 2008. I sampled:


Got to American Solera Brewery's Tulsa location a little before 5:00. I had visited this brewery in 2019 when it was located in another part of Tulsa and been very impressed with it. I tried:


Lyfted back to the hotel at 5:45. Worked on this web page for a few hours and crashed around 9:00.


Saturday April 5. Woke up in the wee hours. Left a little after 7:30 on a cold, rainy, windy, dreary day. Drove more than an hour to Oklahoma State's Theta Pond. The weird protrusions coming up from the water and ground are "knee roots" from the bald cypress trees. Note the Lambda Chi Alpha fraternity house in the last photo (you might have to enlarge it to read the lettering). That was my fraternity when I went to University of New Hampshire.


I couldn't get cell service for Google Maps, and since I'd just decided that morning to go to Theta Pond, I hadn't written directions from there to my next stop. It's Murphy's Law that this would happen when I had no backup directions. Anyway, I navigated with Apple Maps, which couldn't find addresses but at least it was able to show me where I was at all times, and that was enough.

Visited the National Wrestling Hall of Fame because I was an avid wrestler for more than 30 years, plus it's near a brewpub. It's not very big so I was able to peruse it in 45 minutes.


A little over a mile away is Stonecloud Brewing's Stillwater location. I got there when it opened at 11:00. My server, whose name is Andie, is a beer traveler like me. She has been to 1000+ breweries. I tried one beer:

Andie.


Arrived at American Solera Brewery's Edmond location at 12:40 and sampled:


Headed down to Oklahoma City. On a tip from Andie I visited Prairie Artisan Ales. I had visited their Tulsa location in 2019. That has closed, and now the Oklahoma City location is their only one. It's inside a space called 8th Street Market. I got there at 1:40 and sampled a couple of boozy stouts.


Also at Andie's suggestion I visited Fair-Weather Friend, arriving at 2:10. It opened in 2021.


On a tip from someone I'd met at Cabin Boys the day before, I went to The Big Friendly. Got there at 2:50 and sampled:


From here I got on the famous Route 66, which isn't designated as such on maps. Here are the various sections of Route 66:

I would be traveling along Route 40 for the following week through Oklahoma, Texas, New Mexico, and Arizona.

Arrived in Shamrock Texas at 5:45, where it was 37 degrees and raining. Checked into the Blarney Inn, which at $51 including tax was the least costly place I stayed at the entire trip (if you don't count my free stays with friends). After moving my stuff into the room it started to snow.

Had dinner at Mesquite Canyon Steakhouse, which had been in business for about 15 years. At 6:20 when I arrived I was the only customer (the weather might have made some folks stay home). I got a delicious sirloin steak. About 10 more customers eventually trickled in.


Returned to the room, worked on this triplog for a few hours, and crashed around 11:00.


Sunday April 6. Woke up before 3:00 full of energy. When I left at 6:25 it was 39 degrees out. A few blocks away is the Big Red Cowboy Boot, located in front of what used to be Big Vern's Steak House.


A stone's throw away is the U-Drop Inn / Tower Station, built in 1936 as a restaurant on one side and a gas station on the other. Now it is Shamrock's visitor center / museum / gift shop / chamber of commerce.


Then I went to McLean TX to see the Restored 1929 Route 66 Gas Station. I got there at 7:00 just as it was starting to get light out. It had snowed the day before. Here are photos before and after I cleared the snow off the gas pumps.


At 7:35 I got to the Leaning Tower of Texas in Groom TX.


Arrived at Palo Duro Canyon State Park at 8:45. I had planned to hike but all the trails were closed due to lots of recent rain. The red dirt turns into goopy mud when it gets wet, so even if I had been allowed to hike, it would have taken much longer than I'd planned. Fortunately there is a 16-mile scenic drive, so I was able to see lots of nice formations. It took me about 3 hours, so it was okay that I didn't get to hike because that would have taken at least 3 hours and I'd only budgeted an hour for the scenic drive. This way I was able to take my time.


Afterward my vehicle's wheel wells were caked with mud. So were the treads of my Merrills, which I cleaned with an old toothbrush, a knife, and water. Left at 12:30 and arrived at the Big Texan Steak Ranch 35 minutes later. It's a big place and it was packed. It's known for its steaks, and they're not cheap at $23 to $85 depending on what cut of meat and what size. I ordered the "mountain oysters", and I think you know what those are. Talk about a sack lunch. Some of them were chewy but I still had a ball.

Door handle.
My meal.


They have a brewery that makes some of the lowest-rated beers in the country, so I didn't bother to try any. I did get a couple of photos of the bar though.


They have a 72-ounce steak challenge. There is a table on an elevated platform where contestants sit. While I was there someone was doing it.


Less than a mile away is Slug Bug Ranch, which has a bunch of Volkswagen Beetles and other vehicles sticking in the ground. People are allowed to spray paint on them. It was relocated here from its original location in June 2024.


Then it was on to Cadillac Ranch, which has - you guessed it - a bunch of Cadillacs sticking in the ground. They were sitting in water due to all the recent rain. This place was the inspiration for a Springsteen song.


I crossed into New Mexico (and the mountain time zone) and stopped at the World's Largest Flip Flop at 3:18. It looked like it wasn't finished yet, as evidenced by the Lowe's house wrap and the strips of corrugated metal on the ground. There is a tiny gift shop next to it, which was open but it was empty and locked; there is a bell you can ring, which will get someone to come over.


It appeared that they were putting treads on the other side with strips of tire rubber, and that wasn't finished yet either.


A tub and small toilet are there too.


I wanted to get a photo of me in front of the flip flop for size reference, but the place was deserted. Fortunately a guy - who lives in Thailand and was doing a Route 66 trip - showed up, so we took photos of each other.


Drove to a Motel 6 in Moriarty. It's located just off an exit ramp, and the left turn to the parking lot was a bit confusing. I made a U-turn instead of a left, which forced me back onto Route 40. The next exit was 7 miles away, so I had to do an extra 14-mile round trip. Checked in at 6:00. Took an edible at 7:00 and went to bed sometime after 9:00.


Monday April 7. Woke up around 3:00. Spent several hours working on this story and going over plans for the next several days. The temperature dropped into the 20s. When I left at 9:30 it was gorgeous and sunny out. I arrived in Old Town Albuquerque at 10:10 and walked around for a few hours. Old Town is a roughly 10-block area with adobe buildings, a central plaza, and many shops selling everything from jewelry to art to clothing to soap to food.


There is one shop called The Candy Lady that made the "meth" for the series Breaking Bad (it's actually blue rock candy).


For lunch I drove to Fogo de Chão Brazilian Steakhouse, which has over 100 locations in North America, South America, and the Middle East. There are regular menu and all-you-can-eat options. There is a "market table" buffet, which was $18. For all-you-can-eat steak plus the market table it was $46. I chose the market table because it was much cheaper and had lots of stuff (including smoked salmon), plus I hadn't gone to a gym in a week so I didn't need to gorge myself with nutrient-dense food.


Then I went over to La Cumbre Brewing shortly before 3:00. It has two locations in Albuquerque. I was at the one on Girard Blvd.


Arrived at Bow and Arrow Brewing at 3:30. Andie had suggested it. I tried one beer:


A little over a mile away is Gravity Bound Brewing, which has been around since 2020. I got there when it opened at 4:00 and tried:


After that I continued westward to the Route 66 Neon Drive-Thru Sign, arriving at 5:35.


There was a train car nearby so I snapped a photo.


Checked into another Motel 6 at 6:00. The weather had been gorgeous all afternoon: perfectly sunny, blue skies, and 70 degrees. Wrote for a while, then went to Junkyard on 66 Brewery, whose web page said that it was open. It looked like it was closed for good. Since it was now dark out I went back to the Route 66 Neon Drive-Thru Sign to see if it was lit up at night. Well, it wasn't lit but there was light shining on it.


Since Junkyard was closed I headed to Elkins Brewing, which opened in 2018 and has a very low Untappd rating but it was the only brewery in town. The server, who was also the brewer, told me that Junkyard had been closed for a while and he didn't know why. The beers at Elkins are served only in 12- or 16-ounce draughts, and they're the same price. I bought one beer and my server gave me some free samples so I had:


Returned to the motel, wrote for a bit, and crashed around 10:30.


Tuesday April 8. Woke up shortly before 3:00 AM. Did my usual morning routine except I didn't shower because there wasn't any hot water. Left a little after 6:30 and arrived at El Malpais National Monument just before 7:00. Hiked in the El Calderon area. There are many caves, tunnels, and holes in the area that were formed by lava.


Returned to my vehicle at 9:00 and then went to Ice Cave and Bandera Volcano, which is about 6 miles away. There is lots of volcanic rock in this area. The small visitor center is an old trading post that was built in the 1930s. It has a museum with pottery that was found among the lava. These artifacts are estimated to be 800-1200 years old.


There are many types of lava formations. This one is a "tree hole", created when lava forms around a tree trunk and then hardens.


Below is a "spatter cone", which is the result of air breaking through the surface of molten lava, causing it to splash out and form a cone.


There is a hiking trail...


...to a lookout point near the top of the volcano (elevation ~8000 feet).


There is an ice cave whose temperature always stays below freezing because the ice at the bottom is 20 feet thick and the cave is shaped to trap frigid air. The ice's green tint is caused by Arctic algae.


Photos simply can't do the cave justice, so here is a video that at least somewhat captures the experience of being there.

Got done at 11:00. It was more than two hours to Petrified Forest National Park, but since most of Arizona does not recognize daylight saving time, I got there at 12:20 instead of 1:20. This park is located inside the Painted Desert.

Panoramic shot.


Arrived at the Blue Mesa area at 1:20 and hiked the one-mile loop trail. The place looks like another planet. The temperature was in the mid-70s but it was quite warm in the sun. It must be brutal in the summer (and this is one reason I traveled in the spring).

Panoramic shot.


There is some petrified wood in this area...


...but there is a lot more in the Crystal Forest area, where I arrived just after 2:00.


Went to the café near the visitor center (where there is cell service) to post my photos on Facebook and email them to myself, then left at 3:15. Arrived in Winslow a few minutes after 4:00 and checked into Earl's Route 66 Motor Court. Took a shower, ate some food, and set out on foot at 5:25. Walked to the Tiny Church of the Mother Road (which is sometimes referred to as The World's Smallest Church, but that is a dubious claim since other churches claim to be smaller, e.g., Cross Island Chapel and Our Lady of the Pines).


Just down the street is Standin' on the Corner Park, a monument to the Eagles song Take it Easy, which mentions Winslow Arizona. There is a flatbed Ford (which is also mentioned in the song), and two statues (one of which is a likeness of Glenn Frey).


The town sure capitalizes on its claim to fame.


There is a brewery in town called RelicRoad Brewing. Unfortunately at the time all it had on tap were guest beers because it was in the process of moving its brewing operations to an abandoned building across the street.

Future brewery site.


Walked back to the motel around 6:30, chronicled the day's events, and went to bed around 10:00.


Wednesday April 9. Woke up around 2:30 and lay in bed for an hour. Left a little before 6:00 for Little Painted Desert County Park, located 20 minutes north of Winslow. When I got there at 6:15 the sun was up but it hadn't risen enough to illuminate the landscape, so I waited around and then got these views.


Just north of Winslow is Homolovi State Park. Got there when it opened at 8:00. It has ancient Hopi pueblo ruins. The final two photos in this set show ancient pottery shards.


It also has wild burros.


There is a cemetery from the 1800s where infants and children are buried, as evidenced by the dates on the main tombstone.


The area is a vast desert plain.


Ran into this little guy and he let me get close to snap a photo.


About 20 minutes west of Winslow is Meteor Crater, also known as Barringer Crater because it's privately owned by the Barringer family. The best preserved meteorite crater on Earth, it is about a mile in diameter. In addition to the crater there is a museum, a guided tour, and some short videos, including a 4D movie experience. I did the 4D movie and the hour-long guided tour. My iPhone couldn't fit the entire crater in but here is the photo I took:


A little over half an hour west of there is Walnut Canyon National Monument. There was a lot of smoke in the vicinity. It turns out that they were doing a prescribed burn to reduce wildfire hazards. They'd closed the road, so I was directed to go back to the previous exit and enter via a dirt road. I arrived at 2:00 and hiked for almost an hour.


There are many cliff dwelling ruins, formerly inhabited for thousands of years by various cultures.


There are also a few pueblo ruins.


Had to leave the way I came in, backtracking via a dirt road. By now the smoke was inundating the highway.


Got to Flagstaff at 3:40, checked in at the Rodeway Inn, washed the dirt off my windows, showered, ate a bit, did some writing, and set out at 6:15 to visit some breweries. None of them had a great Untappd rating, but I hadn't had a beer in two days, and it's not like I had better options. Happened to walk by Flagstaff Brewing, which was not on my list because it has a terrible rating. A server gave me a small sample of one beer, which was marginal as expected:


Arrived at Lumberyard Brewing at 6:30 and sampled:


Next was Historic Brewing, which has 3 locations. I was at their Flagstaff Barrel House.


Got to Beaver Street Brewery a little before 7:30. All their beers had low ratings so I didn't order anything. Here are a few photos though.


My final brewery of the evening was Mother Road Brewing. They do 3-beer flights and 6-beer flights. I got the former.


Returned to the motel at 8:30 and crashed shortly thereafter.


Thursday April 10. Slept until 3:00ish. Left at 6:00 for Oak Creek Vista, which is in the Coconino National Forest. Unfortunately when I got there 20 minutes later a sign at the entrance said that it wouldn't open until 8:00. There was no place to park along the road.

I went further down the road to West Fork of Oak Creek, which also had a sign that said it wouldn't open until 8:00. When I got there at 6:30 there were 3 cars ahead of me. I talked to one of the drivers, and he told me that they open at 7:00 starting on April 1. They actually opened a little before 7:00 today. Even though it's federal property, they wouldn't accept my America the Beautiful Pass, so I had to pay $15 to enter.

This is a very popular hiking area. There is a flat trail that is a little under 7 miles out-and-back. When I started my hike at 7:02 the temperature was in the 30s. It wasn't a very impressive hike. There wasn't much good scenery, parts of the trail were unmarked and confusing, and most of the smattering of good scenery was less than half a mile from the parking lot. Anyway, here are some photos.


When I got back to my vehicle the parking lot was packed. They had blocked off the entrance because so many people were trying to get in. As I drove away I saw many dozens of cars parked along the road; people were walking in from over a quarter of a mile away. I can't for the life of me figure out what makes this place so popular.

Went back up to Oak Creek Vista. When I arrived at 10:45, the temperature was in the high 70s, so it went up 40 degrees in less than 4 hours. There is this view...


...and there were Native Americans selling jewelry.


Then I drove north, past Flagstaff, to Sunset Crater Volcano National Monument, arriving just after noon. There is a lot of volcanic rock in the area from past volcanoes. The first photo shows (what is left of) Lenox Crater in the middle and San Francisco Peaks in the distance.


Not far away is Wupatki National Monument. It has some nice scenery...


...as well as pueblo ruins.


When I got back to Flagstaff at 4:45 it was 82 degrees (and I think I had to stop at every red light on the way). Dropped my vehicle at the motel, showered, and wrote for a while. Wasn't hungry so I didn't eat. Walked to Dark Sky Brewing just before 7:00. It shares a space with a pizza restarant called Pizzicletta. I ordered:


Returned to the motel at 7:30. Note: there are a lot of loud vehicles in Flagstaff. Do they not have mufflers?

I was exhausted from 10+ miles of hiking. Hit the hay at 8:20. Woke up sometime between 10:30 and 11:00 PM and couldn't get back to sleep. Was it because of the caffeine in the lagerwine?


Friday April 11. Left at 4:30 AM. My paper directions came in handy even though I had cell service because usually Google Maps is unable to tell me which way to turn until I've driven a bit and it can determine which way my vehicle is headed. Went an hour and a half north to Grand Canyon National Park. When I drove through Grand Canyon Village, where it was 35 degrees, these characters crossed the street.


Got to the visitor center parking area just before 6:00, took one of the free shuttles to the South Kaibab Trailhead, and started hiking at 6:30. This very popular trail is a steep hike that goes deep into the canyon. It's out-and-back so you can descend as far as you want and then come back up. I did a 3-mile round trip.


Got back up to the top at 8:50, then hiked part of the Rim Trail, which goes around the top of the canyon. The latter 3 photos in this set are from Mather Point, which is the most photographed place in the canyon. My iPhone cannot do this place justice, of course. You have to be there in order to truly experience it.

Panoramic shot.


Drove down to Prescott, where it was 85 degrees, and visited Wren House Brewing, which has 3 locations. I arrived at their Prairie Patio at 1:45. True to its name, it is just a patio with beer served from a food truck; there is no taproom. As of this writing it is open only Friday-Sunday, 12:00-5:00 each day. This is the sort of place that makes planning trips difficult. I tried:


A bit south from there is Watson Lake. Got there at 2:30 and walked around for a while.

Panoramic shot.


Drove to Kingman, checked into a Days Inn at 5:15, spent a few hours writing, and crashed around 9:15.


Saturday April 12. Slept until about 2:45. Had a good deep, restorative sleep, and I felt refreshed after not having slept for 22 hours. When I left at 5:50 it was daybreak and 67 degrees. Drove on a winding mountain road...


...to Shaffer Fish Bowl Spring, arriving at 6:30. It's a little "fish bowl" on the side of a hill in the middle of nowhere. There are steps leading up to it, and there are actually goldfish in it.


There's a nice view from up there.


Continued winding on down the road...


...to Lake Havasu City, arriving at the visitor center just after 8:00. Walked the Shoreline Trail and saw many different businesses setting up for the day. There were bars, restaurants, boat rental places, and a bridge called London Bridge.


Then I went down to SARA Park (SARA stands for Special Activities and Recreation Area) in Lake Havasu City and hiked the Crack in the Mountain Trail, which is 5 miles out-and-back (2½ miles each way). It was 85 degrees at 8:30 AM. It was also a tad humid, maybe because the park is located near a lake. Fortunately it was cloudy so I wasn't walking in direct sunlight. The trail is pebbly and sandy, which requires more energy and time to walk on than solid ground does.


The "crack" is a nice slot canyon, with some challenging spots where you have to climb or descend rocks.


The trail ends at a place called Balance Rock Cove. The water wasn't very blue because it was cloudy.


I don't know what kind of tree this is but they sure smelled nice.


On the walk back the sun popped in and out, turning a warm hike into a hot one.


I went through the crack from the other direction.


Here is a video I took. I had to stop filming when I got to the boulder because I needed both hands to climb over it. A GoPro would have come in handy.


Got back to my vehicle at 11:00. It was 91 degrees. On the way to my next destination I stopped for gas at a place called Terrible's, which gave a substantial discount for cash, so I paid cash for gas for the first time in probably 30 years. Crossed into California just after noon, and arrived at Joshua Tree National Park at 1:45. This park's most popular months are March and April due to warm temperatures, clear skies (well, it was somewhat cloudy today), blooming wildflowers, and spring break. My first stop was the Split Rock area, which has a 2½-mile loop trail. The first photo is the rock after which the area is named.


On the left is a Joshua tree (Yucca brevifolia):


Next I went to the Skull Rock area, so named for this rock:


Hiked for about an hour and a half.


It was another 10-mile hiking day. You might wonder what kind of footwear I use. Ten-year-old, worn-out sneakers. They might be full of holes and the soles might be falling apart, but they are comfortable, and I will continue to wear them until they are so torn that they can't keep my feet in them.


By the way, there is no cell service in the park, so it's a good thing that I'd printed out maps and directions. Checked into a Motel 6 at 5:10. This was one of only 5 places on the trip where I paid more than $100 per night. Gas was very expensive here too: $4.70 per gallon (I paid $2.80 to $3.30 everywhere else). Turns out that it wasn't just here but in all of California, due to a number of taxes and fees. Wrote for a while until my brain started shutting down. Went to sleep around 9:00ish.


Sunday April 13. Woke up sometime in the wee hours, couldn't get back to sleep, and got out of bed at 3:30. Left at 6:30 for Joshua Tree, and got to the Keys View spot just after 7:00. It was very windy.


On the way to my next destination I found out why they call this place Joshua Tree National Park: there are millions of these things. Here's a video I took while driving.


Arrived at the Hidden Valley Nature Trail at 7:30 and hiked the mile-long loop trail.


Here's another driving video I took on the way to my next destination. Pointed my iPhone out the side of the vehicle this time.


Got to the Barker Dam Trail at 8:05 and hiked for over an hour.



Arrived at the Arch Rock Nature Trail at 9:30. It's 1.4 miles out-and-back. Here is Arch Rock:


There are other rock formations near it that I found interesting.


Got to the Cholla Cactus Garden at 10:30. It was closed because visitors have trampled the area but there are plenty of cholla cacti to see from the road.


On a tip from a park ranger I went another mile and a half to see some ocotillo (Fouquieria splendens).


Left at 10:45 and drove to Temecula. Paid cash for gas again for the discount. It was a picture perfect day: 73 degrees and sunny with blue skies. Checked into the La Quinta Inn at 1:20. I chose this place because it is less than a mile from 3 breweries in nearby Murrieta, one of which is very highly rated. I had a few hours to bring in my stuff, shower, work on this write-up, and eat. Left at 4:00 for Electric Brewing, the highly rated brewery I mentioned. There is a Facebook enthusiasts page, but it's not run by the brewery. It's the second of 3 breweries I would visit on this trip that are open only Friday to Sunday. It opened in May 2014. In addition to serving locally, this brewery also ships to Europe and China. My friend Tony and his girlfriend Elisabeth met me. Tony and I have been friends since the 1980s. As of this writing he is still living in Maryland and Elisabeth is living in Los Angeles. We tried several beers:


Elisabeth went home, and Tony and I stayed to visit more breweries. I bought 4-packs of Lamentable Tension and Decisive Moment, then we went to Solaris Beer & Blending, a tenth of a mile away in the same industrial complex. It opened in March 2021. We tried:


There were punk bands playing outside.


Tony bought me a bottle of The Gloaming, which at $30 was the most expensive half-liter bottle of beer I had ever seen. Then we went to 8Bit Brewing just half a mile away and sampled:


We got back to the La Quinta Inn around 8:00 or so.


Monday April 14. Woke up sometime in the wee hours and finally got out of bed at 4:30. Spent several hours chronicling the previous day's events.

In most states, a lot of breweries are closed on Mondays. Fortunately, California is not one of them. While some California breweries are closed on Mondays, most are open 7 days a week, so we were able to visit several today.

We left a little after 10:00, arrived at Societe Brewing's Kearny Mesa location just before it opened at 11:00, and tried the one beer that had a good rating.


Next stop: Modern Times Beer, which has three locations (one is for private events only). We got to their North Park Flavordome just after it opened at noon and tried:

Lamp shades hanging from the ceiling.


The bar is decorated with old VCR tape boxes and the walls are papered with pages from old atlases.


On a tip from our server at Societe we went to Bottlecraft's North Park location. It is a beer store with 12 beers on tap. We got there at 12:30 and tasted:


North Park Beer Company is across the street so of course we had to go. It has 3 locations in San Diego. They happened to be canning when we got there (photo below right). We tried:


At 1:40 we arrived at AleSmith Brewing . Everything we tried was good.


At 2:30 we went to nearby Ballast Point, which has 5 locations. We were at the one in Miramar, where the production facility had been until it was shut down a year earlier. The company has been sold at least twice. As of this writing it is owned by Kings and Convicts and most of the beer is contract brewed. Only one beer had a good rating so that's what we got.


Also nearby is Pure Project's Miramar location (there are 6). We got there at 3:15 and sampled:


We checked into the Motel 6 in Escondido at 4:40. An hour later we went to nearby Black Plague Brewing, the only brewery of the day so far that I'd never been to before (although I had visited their Oceanside location in 2018). We were at their Purgatory Lounge (they have a third location in North Park). It's got a goth vibe. We sampled:


Since it was still early we decided to go to The Lost Abbey's Vista location 20 minutes away. According to its website it was open every day, but when we got there we discovered that it is closed on Mondays. However, there are two other breweries right next to it. They don't have great Untappd ratings, but we were already there, so we visited them. The first was a combination of 3 breweries: Mason Ale Works, Eppig Brewing, and Second Chance Brewing. The former owns the latter two. This location has beers from all three breweries on tap, plus a golf simulator. We had:


Next door is Dogleg Brewing, which also has a golf simulator. (I learned that AleSmith has one too.) We sampled:


Our server informed us that there are many breweries within a few miles of there. None of them have good ratings but we decided to visit two that were less than a mile away. The first was Weir Beer. We tried:


We arrived at our 11th and final brewery of the day, BattleMage Brewing, at 8:00. People were playing Dungeons and Dragons (as they do there every Monday and Tuesday night). We sampled:


We returned to the motel around 9:00.


Tuesday April 15. Woke up at 3:00ish and wrote for several hours. When we left a little after 9:30 it was 58 degrees, cloudy, and a bit drizzly. We arrived at Green Cheek Beer Company shortly before it opened at 11:00. It has 4 locations. I'd been to their Orange location in 2023. Today we visited the one in Costa Mesa and tried:


On a suggestion from our server we walked to Windsor Homebrew Supply, which has two locations. It is a combination homebrew shop, bottle shop, and beer bar. I bought a can of Solaris Behold the Temple of Light.


At 11:50 we arrived at everywhere (yes, it begins with a lowercase letter). It opened in 2022.


We went up to Anaheim to Monkish Brewing's Beer Garden (their main location is in Torrance; I'd been to both locations before). They had many beers on tap, 10 of which had Untappd ratings of 4.3 or better. The smallest serving they offered was a half pour so we couldn't try all of them. We ordered the 4 with the highest ratings.


I bought a 4-pack of Vinyl Vice, then we went to Bottle Logic, which I'd been to twice before. We got there at 1:25 and sampled:


A few minutes away is The Bruery, which has another location in Idaho. We were at the one in Placentia, which I'd been to before. When we got there a little after 2:15 it was fairly sunny and warm. They had several monster stouts that I just had to try.


I bought a bottle of Flying High to go, then we went up to Los Angeles and visited Highland Park Brewery, which is just outside Dodger Stadium. We arrived at 4:40 and sampled:


Down the street is Homage Brewing (which has another location in Pomona). We tried:


We then went to Elisabeth's place for the evening. I crashed on a couch around 9:00ish.


Wednesday April 16. Up in the wee hours again. Left at 6:20. It was 55 degrees and cloudy. Gas was $5.60 per gallon in Los Angeles. Traffic coming into the city was heavy, but once I got about 25 miles north I was surrounded by mountains and traffic was light.


Arrived at Fieldwork Brewing just before it opened at noon. It has about 10 locations. I was at the one in Berkeley, which I had visited in 2018. It's north of the other breweries I'd be visiting this day, but most of them didn't open until later, so I would have to backtrack. Both beers I tried were good.


A few minutes away is Great Notion Brewing, which has 8 locations in California, Oregon, and Washington. I'd been to their Seattle location in 2024. Today I was at the one in Berkeley. Got there about 25 minutes before it opened at 1:00. Sampled:


Arrived at the Jack London Inn, which is in a run-down part of Oakland, at 1:40. No rooms were ready so I got on their wifi and did some writing while I waited for about 20 minutes. After checking in I went, on a tip from my server at Great Notion, to Tenma Beer Project, arriving shortly before it opened at 3:00. It's been in business since 2023. I had:


Got to Ghost Town Brewing at 3:25. It has two locations in Oakland: one in West Oakland (where I was) and one in the Laurel District.


Arrived at Almanac Beer Company in Alameda a little after 4:00 (I had been to their San Francisco location in 2018, which closed the following year). Every beer's rating was under 4, and after being disappointed with some beers whose ratings are even higher, I decided not to waste time, money, and liver power on so-so beer. But I did take some photos.


About a quarter mile away is Humble Sea Brewing, which as of this writing has 5 locations with another in the works. The first beer in this list had a 4.2 rating and the second had a 4.3, and I was not crazy about them. Yet more examples of beers not living up to their ratings.


Got back to the motel a little after 5:00 and walked to Sante Adairius Rustic Ales, which has 3 locations. This one is called The Arbor, which opened in 2023. (I had been to their Capitola location in 2018.) Every beer I tried was good. They should have been because I paid $33 with tip.


Walked to Cellarmaker Brewing, which opened in 2013 and has 3 locations. It is known for its pizza. I paid the most I had ever paid for a beer sample: $14 (not including tax and tip) for 5 ounces of the first of these two beers.


Got to nearby Original Pattern Brewing at 7:00 and sampled:


Returned to the hotel at 7:50.


Thursday April 17. It was cloudy, drizzly, and 55 degrees when I left at 9:35. This would be another crazy day due to breweries opening at different times, thus requiring me to drive past some on my way to others, then double back to the ones that opened later.

Arrived at Old Caz Beer more than 15 minutes before it opened at 11:00, which gave me time to relax and eat. Then I went in and ordered:


Traveled on a nice country road to Russian River Brewing's Santa Rosa location (it also has a location in Windsor). Arrived at 11:45 and got a flight of 5, which was only $9 ($11 with tip). Samples were only 2 ounces each but that was all I needed.


Bought two cans of Double Dry Hopped Pliny the Elder and a small bottle of Mortification. Then left my vehicle at the Park Inn in Petaluma, where I would be staying that night, and walked to Lagunitas Brewing. Tried to take some photos of the silos behind the taproom, and a security guard came over to tell me that the area was off limits. So I went to the taproom, which is a fun place with both indoor and outdoor seating, plus other stuff. Got a flight of limited release beers.


A little after 2:00 I went across the street to HenHouse Brewing, which has 3 locations. I was at their Palace of Barrels.


Checked into the Park Inn and Ubered to Parliament Brewing. Arrived at 3:50 and got a small pour of:


Ubered to Adobe Creek Brewing, which has been in business since March 2017. Got there at 4:45. It has two locations; I was at the one in Petaluma. Every beer in my flight was good.


Ubered back to the Park Inn at 5:30, wrote for a while, and crashed at 9:30ish.


Friday April 18. Another wee-hour awakening. It was 53 degrees and cloudy when I left just before 7:00. Drove to Calistoga, down through the Napa Valley past many wineries...


...and over to the Jelly Belly store and visitor center in Fairfield. I had visited it about 30 years earlier. There are 3 manufacturing plants (the others are in Chicago and Thailand), but most of their jelly beans are made in this one.


All the artwork is made with jelly beans.



There is a self-guided factory tour. There was no production going on this day, so most of the equipment was covered.


However, the mixing drums were not covered.


There were many informative videos and more artwork.


Afterward they gave customers a ride in the Jelly Belly Express "train" across the parking lot to their museum. It has lots of old equipment, tools, and photos, plus artwork and decorations.


By now it was nice and sunny, and would remain so for the rest of the day, with temperatures eventually rising into the 70s. Went to Fieldwork Brewing's Sacramento location, which opened in 2016. Arrived at 11:10 and sampled:


Got to Shred Beer Company at noon and tried two beers that were good but did not live up to their high ratings.


Arrived at nearby Moksa Brewing at 12:25 and tried:


Then I stopped at Moksa Barrel House, which is Moksa's restaurant/taproom. No beer is produced here. My 5 ounces of their 7th anniversary ale was $13 (not including tax and tip), which is the second most I had ever paid for a beer sample.


Got to Slice Beer Company at 1:45 and tried two beers that were good but not as good as their high ratings.


Checked into the Super 8 by Wyndham Auburn at 2:45, then went to Knee Deep Brewing at 3:25 and tried:


A few hundred yards away is Moonraker Brewing's Auburn location, which opened in 2016 (they have another location in Cameron Park). Got there a little after 4:00 and sampled:


Since it was still early I decided to visit a couple of additional breweries in the area, even though they didn't have high ratings. Arrived at Rebellion Brewing at 4:55 and tried:

The white strip on the bar (bottom left photo) is a frost top that helps keep beers cold.


Got to my final taproom of the day, Two Ass Brewing, at 5:30. It had a marginal rating and didn't even deserve that. I tried their highest rated beer, and it sucked:


Returned to the motel, did a little writing, slept from 7:00ish to 10:30ish, got up at 11:30, and wrote for 3 hours.


Saturday April 19. Was eventually able to get back to sleep for a few hours. Woke up at 6:30. When I left at 9:50 it was gorgeous and sunny and 62 degrees. Arrived at FiftyFifty Brewing when it opened at 11:00. Only one beer had a good enough rating for me, so that's what I got.


My girlfriend Melissa's daughter Madison lives in Reno with her boyfriend Jason. Melissa visits them around Earth Day every year. I timed my trip to coincide with hers. Since Madison and Jason don't have a spare bedroom, Melissa and I would be staying at Circus Circus Reno. There was an Earth Day festival going on in Idlewild Park across the street from Madison and Jason's, and attendees filled up all available parking spaces, so I went directly to Circus Circus. Got there at 11:50, parked in their garage, and went to the registration desk to make sure I didn't need a permit to avoid a ticket or towing. (I didn't; there is lots of free parking in Reno.) At noon I left on foot, walking along the Truckee River...


...and arrived at Madison and Jason's around 12:45. Jason was at work, so the other three of us walked around the festival for a while. Then we went with their dog Basil to Revision Brewing in nearby Sparks (it also has a location in Reno) and tried:

Me, Basil, and Melissa.


There had been a highly rated brewery nearby called IMBĪB, but it had closed less than two months earlier.

A little after 3:00 Madison dropped us off at the hotel. When I'd been there at noon and it was empty they told me that I could've checked in, but there would be a $28 charge for early check-in. Now there was a long line of tourists checking in. It took about a half hour before it was our turn. We put our stuff in our room and relaxed a bit. Then Madison and Jason picked us up and we went for all-you-can-eat (AYCE) sushi at OA Sushi (there are several AYCE sushi places in Reno). I was so involved with ordering and eating that I forgot to take photos. Jason and I put away a lot of delicious sushi.

Then we all went to Lead Dog Brewing, whose beers are brewed at Revision, and ordered:

Melissa, old guy, Jason, and Madison.


Afterward they dropped us off at the hotel.


Sunday April 20. Melissa and I left around 7:00ish and stopped at a place called Maverik, where she got coffee and I filled the vehicle with gas, which was a dollar cheaper here than in California, but still a dollar higher than in most other places. Then we went to Madison and Jason's, and the four of us went to Lake Tahoe on a gorgeous sunny day.


A little after 9:00 we arrived at Sand Harbor State Park, which provides a walking trail alongside Lake Tahoe.

Interesting tree.
I see a face in this.
The pinecones were enormous.


When we left the park at 10:50 there was a long line of cars waiting to get in. We drove along the north side of Lake Tahoe to Olympic Valley (which used to be called Squaw Valley until it was renamed in 2022). There is a resort there called Olympic Village, which hosted the 1960 Olympics.

Panoramic shot.


We had lunch at Rockers. Jason ordered a lager that I actually liked. Madison's pancakes were huge. The food was very good.


There is an aerial tram that goes up the mountain. Tickets are $74 for a one-way 9-minute ride (you can then ride or ski down for free), but since Jason works in the village, he was able to get us free tickets. There were some nice views on the way up.


At the top there is a museum, a restaurant, and some nice views.

Original rings from the 1960 Olympics.


Then we rode the tram down...


...and went north to Donner Memorial State Park, which has a museum with information about the famous Donner Party. We walked to Donner Lake.


Then we returned to Madison and Jason's. Melissa and I went to the hotel to shower and rest a bit, then around 6:15 they came with their friend Abby to pick us up and go to dinner at Fox Restaurant & Brewery's Reno location (there is also one in Carson City). The brewery has a marginal rating so my beer expectations were low. We tried:

So, as expected, the beers were so-so, but the food and company were great.


The five of us returned to Madison and Jason's, walked across the street to Idlewild Park, and got stoned (it was 4/20 after all). Then Madison dropped Melissa and me off at the hotel.


Monday April 21. Woke up around 2:00 and couldn't get back to sleep, which was just as well as I hadn't updated this page in two days and I would be leaving early.

We left the room a little before 7:00 and got lost finding the garage where we had parked, as the maze of floors and corridors was confusing. I dropped her off at Madison and Jason's at 7:15 and headed east for 516 miles on Route 80. Once I got about a half hour out of Reno there was virtually nothing but desert and mountains all the way to Salt Lake City.


There were also some salt flats. The first photo is from Nevada and the second is from Utah.


It took 6½ hours to get to Epic Brewing. I lost an hour due to the time zone change so I arrived at 2:50. Epic has a "tapless taproom", where everything is poured from a can or bottle, because Utah law prohibits having beer over 5% ABV on draught, and everything Epic makes is over 5%. The taproom is Salt Lake City's smallest bar. I got samples of:


Less than a mile away is Templin Family Brewing, which opened in 2018. I arrived just after 3:30. Unlike Epic, this place doesn't serve samples from bottles/cans; you have to commit to a whole one. So I got a can of:


Checked into a Quality Inn in nearby Midvale and walked...


...to 2 Row Brewing. As with Templin, no samples were offered from bottles/cans, so I paid $17 (plus tax and tip) for a can of:


Around 6:00 there was an influx of people. Some played cornhole and others played a variety of games.


Walked back to the motel, crashed a little after 8:30, woke up around 11:00, got up an hour later, took an edible, and wrote for a while.


Tuesday April 22. Stopped writing at 2:30 AM and tried to get back to sleep. Dozed for several hours but not sure I slept. Got out of bed at 6:30 and left at 7:10. The drive across Utah was a mixture of desert and flat-topped mountains.


Got to Canyonlands National Park at 10:30. There were only a handful of vehicles waiting to get in. My first stop in this park was Shafer Trail Viewpoint.


Next was Mesa Arch.


Then the Buck Canyon overlook.


Got to the Grand View Point trailhead a bit after noon, which is the worst time of day to go to any popular spot because that's when parking lots fill up. Sure enough, every spot was taken, but I was able to find space in the dirt. Spent about an hour on this trail.


Got to the Upheaval Dome trailhead at 1:45 and hiked to the dome and back in 45 minutes.


Here are a few more Canyonlands photos.


Left the Upheaval Dome trailhead and drove to Arches National Park. Cell service was spotty so it was fortunate that I'd printed out directions. Arrived shortly before 3:30. Had to use a timed entry pass because this park is so popular. Got to the Devil's Garden trailhead at 4:00 and there were a lot of people there. The trail is challenging, with lots of hiking up and down rocks. There's lots of nice scenery.


Here is Landscape Arch.


Here is Double O Arch.


Here is Partition Arch.


Some more photos from the trail:


Got back to my vehicle at 6:10 and snapped this:


On my way out of the park I pulled over for this:


Checked into the Adventure Inn Moab at 6:50. Unpacked, showered, and wrote. I was pretty tired.


Wednesday April 23. Woke up at 3:00 and left at 6:35. Went back to Arches National Park. When I arrived at 6:45 they were already taking entrance fees (most of the national parks I've been to don't start charging until 7:00). Stopped along the road to take several photos.


When I got to the Delicate Arch trailhead there were already about 100 vehicles there. Hiked...


...up to Delicate Arch.


One section of the trail is a steep rock face.


There are some petroglyphs.


Returned to my vehicle and drove to the Windows section at 9:25.

Turret Arch.


South Window.


North Window.


North Window.


Double Arch.


Had to take this photo.


Then I went to Balanced Rock.


The final area I went to is called Park Avenue.


Made it back to the visitor center at 11:00. Uploaded my photos (there was no cell service in most other parts of the park), changed clothes, hit the restroom, and left at 11:35. Most of the drive through Utah was plains. When I crossed into Colorado there were more mountains.


Got to Casey Brewing & Blending at 2:20. It started operations in 2014 and has been at this location since 2019. Everything I tried was good, although the farmhouse ales were a bit too sour for me.


Driving out of Glenwood Springs the road was surrounded by mountains.


Arrived at Outer Range Brewing at 4:30 and sampled:

View from the upstairs balcony.


Met my cousin Bob, who I hadn't seen in 40+ years, at a place called Vinny's in Frisco. Some friends of his were having a birthday celebration, and we hung out with them for a few hours.


Then we went to nearby Ollie's Pub & Grub and shared memories and what's been going on in our lives.

Bob and me.


I followed Bob to his place in Keystone and crashed there a little after 10:00.


Thursday April 24. Woke up sometime between 3:00 and 4:00, and got up about an hour later. Had breakfast with Bob and headed out at 9:00. It was a beautiful sunny day. The first part of my drive was on winding roads surrounded by snow-covered mountains (I was at over 9000 feet). The road actually climbed higher before it descended, with the temperature dropping to 36 degrees.


Arrived at Red Rocks Park and Amphitheatre at 10:00. There is a loop trail that begins and ends at a building called the Trading Post, but the parking lot was full (apparently it's a very popular place). However, there is a road that leads to the amphitheatre, so I went up there. They were setting up for a show that would take place later in the day and they had the bottom section roped off, so I couldn't go all the way down to the stage to take photos from there.


I would be hitting many breweries before I stopped driving for the day, so I would get no more than 4 ounces of beer at each.

Drove to New Image Brewing, which has two taprooms just outside Denver. The one in Wheat Ridge opened an hour earlier so I got there at 11:00. They had some highly rated high octane BBA stouts that I wanted to try, but I passed them up because I was driving, so instead I got:


Went into Denver and stopped at Crooked Stave Brewing, which I'd visited in 2018 when it was at a food hall called The Source. It left there at the end of 2019 and moved to its original taproom a few weeks later. I got there before it opened at noon and sampled:


Stopped at TRVE Brewing, which I had been to in 2018 (it also has a taproom in Asheville NC). The smallest pour this place serves is 10 ounces, none of their beers were highly rated, and even their table beer cost $10, so I didn't drink anything here. I did take some photos though.


Next I went to Cerebral Brewing, which has two locations with another to open sometime this year (2025). I went to the one in Congress Park at 1:00 and tried:


One wall is papered with pages from old textbooks (similar to the Modern Times taproom).


Then I went to Cerebral Brewing's Aurora Arts location, arriving 20 minutes before it opened at 2:00. I thought I'd give one of their sours a try since it had a good rating.


Stopped at Cohesion Brewing a little after 2:30. All this place makes is Czech lagers. I got:


At 3:15 I arrived at Burns Family Artisan Ales, which used to have another location called the BarrelHouse until it closed in September 2024. I was here in 2018 when it was a corn-based brewery called Dos Luces. Burns has been in business since 2018 and opened this location in 2023. It offers 2-ounce tasters, so I got:


A few doors down is Monolith Brewing, which opened within a week of its neighbor Burns. I was here in 2018 when it was another brewery called Black Project. Arrived at 3:30 and sampled:

Belgian feather bowling.


Went to the River North Arts District, where there are several breweries walking distance from each other. Hotels there are expensive, so I stayed at an Airbnb, which was about half the price of the hotels, but still pricey: $162, the most I paid to stay anywhere on this trip, and by far the most I have ever paid for an Airbnb. Arrived at 4:10, brought in my stuff, and walked to Odell Brewing, arriving a little after 5:00. My friend Kevin, who lives south of Denver, met me here. Odell has a taproom in Fort Collins (where it was founded and I'd been in 2018) and two in Denver. It also has a winery in Fort Collins. We were at the Five Points Brewhouse. We had:

Me and Kevin.


Just down the street is Ratio Beerworks, which has two taprooms in Denver. We were at the RiNo location.


We got to River North Brewery, which also has two taprooms in Denver, at 6:23. We were at the Blake Street location.


At 7:05 we arrived at Black Shirt Brewing, which opened in 2012, and tried:


Then we went to Great Divide Brewing's RiNo Barrel Bar & Cellar, which I'd been to with Kevin in 2018. As of this writing Great Divide has 4 other locations with another on the way.


At 8:20 we arrived at our final brewery of the day: Brewdog, which is headquartered in Scotland. This location opened in 2024. We got:


14 breweries in one day. A record for me.

Kevin dropped me off at the Airbnb at 9:10 and I went to sleep shortly thereafter.


Friday April 25. Got up around 4:00 and wrote for several hours. Left at 10:10. It was cloudy, drizzly, and in the mid 40s, and would remain so all day. Stopped at a Trader Joe's in Boulder, which was very busy. Went to Avery Brewing, which I'd visited in 2018. Arrived a few minutes before it opened at 11:30 and tried:


Went out of my way to visit a highly rated brewery. Had to drive up a mountain to get there.


Arrived at Knotted Root Brewing shortly before it opened at 1:00. The people were friendly and the beer was good. My server gave me free samples of several beers in addition to the ones I ordered, so I tasted:

My server put my sticker on the side of the fridge.
They put this guy on one of their beer labels.


Bought a 4-pack of Blurry and Green, drove down the mountain, and arrived at Odd13 Brewing at 2:20. This place makes a beer that was my favorite at the 2018 GABF. I ordered it today and it was good, but not as great as it was 7 years earlier.


Got to Oskar Blues Brewery at 3:00. It has two locations, both of which I'd been to. I was at their taproom in Longmont.


Went to nearby Bearded Brewer Artisan Ales at 3:20 and tasted:


Also nearby is Left Hand Brewing, which has two locations in Longmont and one in Denver. Arrived at one of the Longmont locations at 3:50 and sampled:


Went up to Greeley, which is an ugly, smelly, industrial area with trains going through. Checked into the Rainbow Motel at 5:20 and walked in the drizzle to two breweries, both of which I'd visited in 2018. First I went to Wiley Roots Brewing. Got a bit lost on the way. Arrived at 6:15 and tried:


Then I visited WeldWerks Brewing at 7:15 and sampled:


Returned to the motel at 8:20 and crashed a little while later.


Saturday April 26. Woke up before 1:00, which is what I wanted because I would be leaving very early. Wrote for a while, then at 2:40 I heard a bang and the power went out. The lights across the street were on, as were the street lights, so this was apparently specific to the motel. Fortunately I had brought a flashlight with me.

Left at 3:45 on another cloudy, drizzly, mid 40s day, and drove up to South Dakota (a state I'd never been to before). The first part of the journey was on lonely highways without a single street light. When the sun came up I could see that I was surrounded by Wyoming prairies and pastures with cattle grazing.

Arrived at Jewel Cave National Monument at 8:20. The only tour time available to me was 9:00, which is why I had to leave so early. There was no cell service there. Incidentally, the difference between a National Park and a National Monument is that the former must be approved by Congress, whereas the latter can be established by the President alone.

Since being in a cave is a completely immersive experience, a camera (at least mine) cannot begin to capture it. But here are some photos anyway.


Tried to drive the Needles Highway to Cathedal Spires and Sylvan Lake, but it had been closed for a few days due to snow. There is a tunnel on the road that plows cannot fit through, so when there's snow they close the road until it melts.

Made it to Mount Rushmore National Memorial at 12:15. Admission is free but you pay to park. When you pay at one of the machines, it asks you if you're over 62 or active military (both get you a discount). But it doesn't check, so you can lie and pay $5 instead of $10. Anyway, here are some photos of the monument.


There is a short (0.6 mile) loop called the Presidential Trail, but most of it was closed. There was one spot on the open part of the trail that led to the base of the mountain. Upon getting there I saw that it isn't extremely tall.


There is an amphitheatre in front of the monument.


Then it was on to Rapid City to visit Zymurcracy Beer Company, which opened in 2019. I got there at 2:10 and sampled:


Then I went to Woodland Republic Brewing & Blending, which opened on Halloween 2021.


Checked into a Days Inn at 3:25, wrote for a little while, and walked to Lost Cabin Beer Company, which has two locations. Got to their Rapid City location at 5:20. Only one beer had a good enough rating for me:


A tenth of a mile away is Dakota Point Brewing.


Walked back to the motel and crashed at 7:30ish. Woke up sometime before midnight and couldn't get back to sleep.


Sunday April 27. After lying in bed for an hour or so, I got up before 1:00 and wrote for a while. Then at 3:15 I turned the lights out and was able to drift off to sleep a few times. Woke up for good around 5:00.

Left at 6:45 and drove to Badlands National Park. When I arrived at 7:35 it was cloudy and 59 degrees. I hiked two short trails whose trailheads are near each other. First was the Door Trail.

Pano shot from the same spot as the previous photo.


Then the Notch Trail.


At one point there was a ladder to climb.

Near the top.


There is an expansive view at the end.


There is this view near the parking lot:


Here are a few videos I took wile driving:


On my way out of the park there were these views:


Left the park a little before 11:00 and headed east. Drove through hundreds of miles of plains to Sioux Falls. When I stopped for gas it was a pleasure to pay $2.85 per gallon after what I'd paid in California. Close to 4 hours after leaving Badlands I arrived at WoodGrain Brewing at 3:50 (I lost an hour due to the time zone change). My beers here were:


I was hoping to visit Covert Artisan Ales, the highest rated brewery in Sioux Falls, but the taproom was closed and a new one was supposed to open in the summer.

Went to nearby Remedy Brewing at 4:13 and sampled:


Hotels in town were a bit pricey (though not nearly as expensive as Denver) so I checked into an Airbnb about a mile from the breweries I'd visited. Settled in around 5:00, took a gummy, and spent a relaxing evening on the couch writing and watching old Married With Children episodes (the first time I watched TV in over 4 weeks). Went to sleep a little after 10:00.


Monday April 28. Woke up around 5:00. When I left at 7:18 it was cloudy and 66 degrees. Drove 3½ hours to the Bloomington/Minneapolis area. As I was driving I thought about how while fun life experiences are good, it is even better to be in a place where you feel good just being, so that you don't need to chase experiences. Once you find your true self, life is good almost all the time, and problems don't bother you as much because you have a comfortable sense of well being. This begs the question: if you live in bliss, then why do anything at all? If lying on the couch is just as good as seeing a mountain landscape, then why put in the time and effort to do the latter? Well, certain experiences certainly are more enjoyable than others, whether you're in bliss or not, so pursuing better experiences can make a better life. It's just that when you feel your true self, there is no sense of urgency to experience anything in particular, and you don't have to wait for peak experiences in order to enjoy life.

Some of the breweries I wanted to visit in this area are closed on Mondays, so I put them off until the next day and visited two that are open on Mondays, plus the Mall of America. First I went to Bricksworth Beer Company's Burnsville location, arriving at 11:15. (The owner's father owns BlackStack Brewing, which I would visit the next day.) Sampled:


Then I spent several leisurely hours at the Mall of America, which is the largest mall in the United States. Got there at 11:50 and walked around for almost 4 hours. It has a zillion stores, some arcades, two mini golf places, and more food stands and restaurants than you could eat at in a month.


It also has an aquarium, which I didn't go inside but could see the rays swimming around.


There is a sushi place that has a robot that brings food/drinks to tables. I asked one of the employees if it ever drops anything. He said, "Yes. All the time."


The entire center of the mall is occupied by Nickelodeon Universe, which has a ferris wheel, a rollercoaster, bumper cars, and many other rides.


The most fun part of the mall for me was the mirror maze. At the end it has a couple of funhouse mirrors.


Went to a nearby brewery called Wild Mind Ales, which opens at 4:00 on Mondays (and I got there right when it opened). It shares its taproom with a coffee shop called Wild Grind Coffee, which is open 7:00-3:00, so in effect the taproom is open all day - you just have to wait until 4:00 to get beer (although beer was already being served when I walked in). Both beers I tried were good.


Checked into a local Super 8 at around 4:45 and had another relaxing evening writing with the TV on. I guess being alone on the road so long made me miss human voices. Went to sleep after 11:30.


Tuesday April 29. Woke up sometime after 3:00 and lay in bed for a few hours. Got up a little after 6:00. Wrote for several hours and left at 10:30 on a beautiful sunny yet cool and windy day. Got to Super Moon Buffet 10 minutes before it opened at 11:00. There were lots of different food dishes. My favorite was the Mongolian barbecue.


Got to Back Channel Brewing at 12:30 and tried:


Arrived at Brickworth Beer Company's North Loop location at 1:30. It was closed for a corporate event (which they called a "private buyout") so I couldn't order any beer. Good thing I'd been to their other location the previous day. Here are some photos of the place.


Modist Brewing is across the street but didn't open until 4:00 on Tuesdays. Fortunately I'd already been there in 2017.

Got to BlackStack Brewing a few minutes after it opened at 2:00 and had:


Arrived at Falling Knife Brewing 10 minutes before it opened at 3:00. It's been in business since fall 2019. I sampled:


Got to Surly Brewing at 3:30. It's a big place. It's been there since late 2014. I'd visited it in 2017 when HomebrewCon was in Minneapolis. Got a taster of:


Dealt with heavy rush hour traffic and arrived at an Airbnb at 4:30. A half hour later I Lyfted to Barrel Theory Beer Company, which opened in 2017. Since I wasn't driving anymore I could drink as much as I wanted, so I got:


Lyfted back to the Airbnb at 5:48. Wrote for a little while, dozed off, and finally turned out the lights at 11:30.


Wednesday April 30. Woke up sometime in the wee hours, lay in bed for a while, eventually fell back asleep, and woke up a little after 4:30. Had plenty of time to write, shave, and shower. Good thing I had this time because upon doing some research regarding the final several days of my trip, I decided to reroute my itinerary so I could visit a highly rated brewery that otherwise would have been closed when I was in the area. This resulted in the trip being one day shorter than originally planned.

Left shortly before 11:00 and drove southward to Forager Brewery, which opened in September 2015. Arrived at 12:15. It has a kitchen and a café, and some antique objects such as an old television, typewriter, and adding machine. I tried:


Drove past lots of farmland and pastures to Decorah Iowa, where I'd been in 2019, and visited the same two breweries I'd visited back then. First I went to Pulpit Rock Brewing, which opened in 2015. Arrived at 2:23 and sampled:


Checked into a Super 8 at 3:00 and wrote for a bit. My server at Pulpit Rock suggested Hometown Taxi for local transportation, and since they were cheaper than Lyft/Uber, I used them to travel to my final brewery of the day. The driver told me that the company started in 1987, and if you ride with them after 6:00 PM they charge an extra $25.

Got dropped off a little after 4:30 at Toppling Goliath Brewing. It makes good IPAs and even better stouts. The stouts are very expensive though: $10 or $20 for 4 ounces. The final beer in this list cost me $20, which is by far the most I had ever paid for a 4-ounce sample. When all was said and done I paid $70 (including tax and tip) for 8 beer samples.


I had arranged for my driver to pick me up at 6:00. He dropped me off at the motel around 6:15. I wrote for a bit but because I was inebriated I didn't last long.


Thursday May 1. Woke up around 1:00 and couldn't get back to sleep, so I had lots of time to finish planning my altered schedule. Left at 7:10 on a cloudy, drizzly morning. Drove past lots of Iowa and Wisconsin farmland to New Glarus Brewing, which I'd visited in 2019. The hospitality facility was undergoing a two-year, $55 million construction project to be finished in fall 2026 (but beer was still being brewed there). In the meantime, visitors were being welcomed at an old location a mile and a half away. Arrived 15 minutes before it opened at 10:00. It has two facilities across the street from each other. One is a production facility with a self-guided tour.


Across the street is the welcome center, which has a tasting room and a beer-to-go shop. A tasting is $8, which includes 3 samples, a free taster glass, and a coin that can be exchanged for a free New Glarus beer at any one of about 25 local pubs.


I tasted:


Bought a case of Wisconsin Belgian Red and headed toward Chicago. Drove past more Wisconsin farmland into Illinois and arrived at More Brewing, which has 3 locations, at 12:25. I was at their Huntley Brewery & Restaurant. Sampled:

The place has hundreds of barrels with beer aging in them, some of which were leaking.


Got to Mikerphone Brewing at 1:25. My old friend Susan, whom I've known since the mid-1990s, met me. She is retired from the same place I am and had recently moved to Chicago. We tried several beers:


Traffic was bad in the middle of the afternoon on our way to Hop Butcher for the World, where we arrived at 3:00. Everything we tasted was good.

Growler-filling station next door.


We got to Half Acre Beer Company a little after 4:00 and tried:


On the same block is Spiteful Brewing. We sampled:


At this point Susan went home and I checked into a low-class OYO Hotel with traffic whizzing by 24/7. Walked to Une Année / Hubbard's Cave at 6:45. The place had a wonderful aroma of smoked meat, so I ordered a nice pulled pork sandwich and got:


Walked back to the OYO and crashed around 8:00ish.


Friday May 2. Woke up and went back to sleep a few times, waking up for good sometime before dawn. Lay in bed until after 6:00. Left at 9:35, which was earlier than I needed to leave but the motel room was ugly and stuffy and I wanted to get some fresh air.

Arrived at Phase Three Brewing more than a half hour before it opened at 11:00. It has two locations; I was at the one in Elmhurst, which opened in September 2023. Brewing is done at the main location, which opened in 2019. I sampled:


There had been a highly rated brewery on my route called Afterthought Brewing that I'd put on my itinerary while planning this trip in 2024, but it closed at the end of that year. Bummer. Instead I went to More Brewing's Villa Park Brewpub. Arrived at 11:41 and tried only one beer because I'd tried two of their beers the previous day at their Huntley location.


Headed to the West Chicago area and visited Riverlands Brewing at 12:48. It opened in March 2019.

My server's dog Boots.


Drove more than an hour to Brothership Brewing. Arrived at 2:38 and sampled:


Went to nearby Hailstorm Brewing at 3:30 and tried:


Rush hour traffic made what should have been a 40-minute ride take over an hour to get to Gnosis Brewing, which opened in 2022. It's the only Indiana brewery I would visit on this trip. It shares space with Manic Meadery. I arrived at 5:00 and tried:


Checked into a nearby Super 8 at 5:35. Fell asleep very early and woke up before midnight.


Saturday May 3. Spent the wee hours writing and planning the rest of the trip. Decided to go to an all-you-can-eat place called Kintaro, which has 4 locations in Ohio. I chose the one in Brooklyn because it was the least out of my way. It was a 5-hour drive, plus I would lose an hour due to the time zone change, effectively making it a 6-hour journey, and since the place opened at 11:00, I left at 5:00. About halfway through my drive it started raining, and would rain the rest of the day.

Arrived at Kintaro just before it opened. Had my fill of good sushi, hibachi, and teriyaki.


Went to Crooked Pecker Brewing, which opened in September 2019. Got there at 1:05 and sampled:


Arrived at Magic City Brewing at 2:35. Everything I tried was good. Also, I paid $2 for one of their stickers. Normally I refuse to pay for stickers. I'll take them if they're free, and if they're not, I'll try to barter with my stickers. Many places, including this one, won't barter. Well, there was one sticker that I particularly liked, so I bought it.


When I got to Hoppin' Frog Brewery at 3:10 there was a group of homebrewers brewing in the rain. It was a club called Society of Akron Area Zymurgists (SAAZ). The first Saturday of May is National Homebrew Day, and many clubs across the nation get together to brew in celebration. (Several Maryland clubs get together at Maryland Homebrew every year, and I missed it this year due to my trip, so it was a very fortunate coincidence that I stumbled upon the SAAZ event.) Each year there is a different "official" recipe. This year it was Big Blimp!, a barleywine that won gold medals at the 2019 and 2023 National Homebrew Competitions. The brewers of this beer, a couple named Larry and Donna, are SAAZ members - another coincidence. The beer got its name from the fact that the Goodyear Airdock, in which blimps used to be constructed, is located in SAAZ's hometown of Akron OH. One of the people brewing was Hoppin' Frog's head brewer, named Lee. Hoppin' Frog's owner, named Fred, was there too. I hung out for almost an hour and sampled many of the beers that people had brought, including:

Goodyear Airdock.
Larry.
Lee.


I went inside the taproom a little after 4:00 and tried:


Checked into an OYO Hotel at 5:51, then went to Ill Will Brewing at 6:25. This was the third of three breweries that were open only Friday-Sunday (and my final brewery of the trip). There is no sign; you have to know where it is. It's located behind a place called Smoke Worx. Ill Will specializes in smoothie "beers", which I don't consider beers because they are mostly fruit or other non-beer ingredients. I had 4 of their "beers" and one guest "beer".


Bought a can of Impeached to go (they were out of Conquest). When I left at 7:15 it had finally stopped raining. Returned to the OYO at 7:30 and went to bed an hour later.


Sunday May 4. Woke up in the wee hours and couldn't get back to sleep. Finally after an hour or two I got up at 2:30ish and wrote for a few hours. Left at 6:35 on another gray, drizzly day and got home at 11:20.

What a trip. Five weeks of nonstop fun. Everything went off without a hitch.

I've compiled some statistics from the trip, which you might or might not find interesting:

Miles driven: 8452
States driven through: 21
Breweries visited: 150
Breweries I'd never been to: 127
Beers sampled: 389
National parks/monuments/forests visited: 13
State/county/commercial parks visited: 9
Average lodging price, including tax (does not include free stays with friends/relatives): $84