I hear the SUMMER train coming down the tracks!!

Yep!  Words of wisdom from one of the greats. 
ATC at the start of a tournament and shift gears later on!  That's my playing strategy!

4/23 - It was back to the glamourous life of dog-walking today. 
For the record, Gus pooped, Dolly did not. 

I actually did have some fun today.  I met my friends, Craig and Barry, at Tenn Fold Brewing for lunch and a brew.  I had their new Norwegian Pour Choice lager which was pretty good.   The bad news was they no longer have the grain bowls on their menu, and while my chicken sandwich was good, that's a hard loss for me.  Afterwards, we attended a showing of the Deep Sky documentary in IMAX over at Opry Mills Theaters.  It's a fascinating look at some of the first images from the John Teller Deep Space Telescope and the story of its construction, launch and production so far.  At only 40 minutes, I wish the documentary had been longer, but it was very interesting and very inspiring.  

4/25 - I went with my pal, Curtis, tonight to a concert by the band, A Thousand Horses, at Exit/In.  I have followed these local guys since their start as a pure rock band thru their conversion to alt-country where they've found more success, especially here in this town. Even with the conversion, I still like their sound and can best compare it to .38 Special by still having that rock edge with some southern/countryfied lyrics.   

I was also interested in seeing what the Exit/In was like now that it had closed, almost got torn down for development, and then was bought and reopened again all since my last show here just before Covid hit in early 2020.  The look and feel are the same except that the very cool wall of performers who "have played here since 1971" is gone and a fancy drink menu has put in its place...LAME! The show was great and their opener, Cody Hibbard, was pretty damn good as well. 
 
Beforehand, we swung by Blackstone Brewing which Curtis had never been too before and I never realized was less than a mile from the Exit/In.  I enjoyed their Oatmeal Stout out in their beer garden on a lovely evening of mild weather.   At the show since I was driving, I tried my first bought NA craft beer, the Run Wild IPA, from Athletic Brewing (CT).  Mehhh, is about the best I can say about it.  Much better was the pint can of Christmas leftover from my beer pal, Nate I had at home before heading out to the show:  the Krampus Nacht Barrel Aged in Blue Note Barrels bock from The Black Abbey Brewing here in Nashville. 

4/26 - I went to see the 1980's glam-metal band, Faster Pussycat, tonight with my aforementioned beer/soccer/hard-rock pal, Nate, at The City Winery.  Beforehand, we checked out the first period of the Nashville Predators home playoff game against the Vancouver Canucks which was being broadcasted outside the arena as well.   Nate bought me a super-pint can of Voodoo Ranger IPA from New Belgium (CO) to pay his half of the parking fee.  Fair enough!  The show was surprisingly good as was their second opener Johnny Nasty Boots. I got to briefly meet the lead singer and got to tell him I enjoyed his set.  The first opener, a local band called Cadence, were a little rough, but gave it a good try.  Nate and I met the very young lead singer of that band as well whose name is...you guessed it (or maybe you didn't) ...Cadence.  

4/ 27 - Ashlee and I traveled down to Chattanooga tonight to see our niece, Ella, off to her senior prom. She looked beautiful, but I feel I was the star of the show in the photo above.  We met family and friends at the Westin Hotel downtown, and they had a pretty nice outdoor bar there with a good local craft beer menu.  I had a refreshing lager from Fat Bottom Brewing in Nashville called Multi-Tool.   At dinner at the nearby Tupelo Honey restaurant, I checked off another decent American Lager from Sweetwater Brewing down in Atlanta. 

4/28 - I got up early this morning and rambled out of our hotel in downtown Chattanooga, so I could take a closer look at the only house designed by Frank Lloyd Wright in this city.  It's up on Missionary Ridge and I had to park and walk about 8/10 of a mile away, but it was worth it since the weather was cloudy, but mild, and the views were still stunning despite the overcast.  The Shavin House is privately-owned and not available to tour unfortunately, but I did enjoy taking a gander at it up close.  FLW houses and buildings are a slight obsession of mine.  My local realtor friend, Mollie, says she will let me know if it ever opens for tours.   Fingers crossed!! 

We got back home briefly this afternoon before heading to downtown Nashville to catch the JOHNNYSWIM show at 3rd and Lindsley.  Beforehand, we had a snack and a libation at the new GOAT - Sobro restaurant and bar nearby and I had another decent Premium Light Lager from Mill Creek Brewing over in Nolensville.   

4/30 - My pal, Toney, and I went to see the new WWII action film, The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare, tonight at our local Roxy Theaters (recliners!) on a Bargain Tuesday ($6 movies!).   I thought the film was pretty good and definitely an amazing true story.   I walked the two miles to the movie theaters again since the weather was pleasant and even had another quick dinner at Alberto's Taqueria 2.   Yep, tacos in a gas station - they are delicious, as is their elote en vaso! 

5/1 - Hooray! Hooray! The first of May!  Outdoor floating and craft beer drinking starts today!
I went and got a nice variety pint can six-pack from the Mt. Juliet Beer Company today and cracked the first one open when I got home for my first float of the season.  It was the excellent My Safe Word is Double IPAs by Little House Brewing (CT). 

5/2 - Today's float beer was the tasty NEIPA called Carving from Outer Range Brewing (CO).    Based on the crummy upcoming weather forecast, this will be the last float for a while looks like.  

I had to crack open another pool beer in celebration of the news I got today that I have been hired by Cumberland University as an Enrollment Specialist for East Tennessee!!  The pay isn't great, but there is travel to my favorite part of the state, much needed insurance and the satisfaction of working for a great institution.  So, cheers to me and GO PHOENIX!!   My pint can brew was the solid NEIPA called IdontwanttoBU! from The Veil Brewing Company (VA).   

5/3 - Well, the order went in today for my next personalized case of beer from Evill Nash Brewing up in Clarksville.  My beer buddy, Curtis, wanted in on the fun this year, so we collaborated on the Who's Your Daddy DIPA with these hilarious pictures of us on Curtis's last birthday shown above on the label.  LOL!  I can't wait to crack a few of these with my good pal in a few weeks!!   Thanks again to ENBC for this fun and creative way to consume their always excellent craft beer. 

Speaking of Curtis, I walked up this afternoon and met him at Barcadia (since CCBC was a madhouse) and we had a couple beers to celebrate it being Friday.  I started with the Oberon Ale (2024) from Bell's Brewing (MI) and then finished with the excellent Little B Nitro Irish dry stout (photo above) from Half Batch Brewing up in Hendersonville.  Who says you can't get good head in Lebanon! 

5/4 - Speaking of Curtis again, I took him and his wife and my friend also, Kate, to their first Nashville Soccer Club game tonight at Geodis Park vs. Montreal.  It was Star Wars night (May the 4th be with you!) and 1,000 Horses played the half-time show as bonuses.    The boys in BLACK looked great tonight and laid a 4-1 walloping on those French-Canadiens!   After the show, we stopped by Santa's Pub to let the crowd die down to call a Lyft ride back to our car.  

We (barely) parked for free at Fait La Force Brewing for the game - the place was packed for some reason well before the game.  We enjoyed some brews here during their own Fait La Fourth celebration.  I started had their brand-new and tasty New England style pale ale called Photographic Trickery (I even beat Nate to it to check in on UNTAPPD which is rare!)  We also got some great Mexican food from the Tantisimo pop up kitchen on site.  We grabbed a quick Lyft ride to the stadium from there. 

I also was able to get a pool float in before the afternoon storms came and enjoyed a pint can of Ledge Bier, a German-style pilsner from Grand Notion Brewing (OR).  

5/5 -   I went solo tonight to the SOLD OUT Better Than Ezra show at 3rd and Lindsley.  Their live-on-the-radio set was great followed by a few more tunes post-broadcast.  Their new album is good enough that I downloaded the whole thing.  And their openers, Hey Steve, were also a fun time.  

Beforehand, I was able to have a couple of pool-floating Cinco de Mayo brewskis including the excellent DNEIPA called Special Herbs: El Dorado from Two Villains Brewing (CT).  I followed that up with a solid Broken Skull American Lager from El Segundo Brewing (CA).  

5/6 - I made a final table tonight on the Gold Coin (free money) GPC Rattlesnake Event # 1-L.  I finished fourth out of 322 players and that should render me some Global Poker swag, but we shall see since I've been waiting since January for a promised trophy for an outright event win. 

5/8 - I got a small NLCP win today on Global Poker vs. 15 other players for an ROI right at 800%.

For the record, this was also my first official day working at Cumberland University and I really enjoyed it!! 

5/9 - I got a quick pool float in this afternoon and cracked the first of my variety six-pack of pint can craft beers from the Mt. Juliet Beer Company.  Today's brew was the lovely Coconut Passiflora DIPA from Decadent Ales (NY).  

5/10 - I got another small NLCP tournament win today on Global Poker vs. 9 other players for an ROI right at 600%.  Later on, I got another small NLHE Bounty tournament win vs. 16 other players for close to 900% ROI.  

5/11 - We attended the hoity-toity Iroquois Steeplechase today with some friends from Franklin who invited us.  I took three of my variety six-pack of pint beers from the Mt. Juliet Beer Company with me to imbibe in during the race day.  First up was the solid IPA from Equilibrium Brewing (NY) called Wavelength.  Next up was an even better IPA from The Veil Brewing (VA) called Broz Day Off.  

I left this dead soldier in the port-o-potty.  The Vienna-style lager from Off Color Brewing (Chicago) called Beer for the Top Shelf was very good and their creative artwork on their cans is great.  

5/12 - Happy Mother's Day!  I sure do miss mine.  Here's a shot of that classic "Nore Look" that I am sure she would have given me today, not at the fact that I was drinking beer, but that I had paid over $5 a can for them! 

We did some floating in the pool today and I finished off my variety 6-pack from Mt. Juliet Beer Company starting with the nice cream ale called Beer for Hoops from Off Color Brewing (Chicago).   I finished with a very good DIPA from Maplewood Brewing (also Chicago) called Sidewalk Surfer.  Cheers to all the mommas out there that are still here or gone but never forgotten!!   

5/14 - My pal, Toney, and I went to check out the new series film, Kingdom of The Planet of the Apes, tonight at our local Roxy Theaters (recliners!) for $6 Bargain Tuesday.   I have been a fan of these most recent films, and this one was pretty good.  It's the start of a new trilogy evidently, so a lot of groundwork was laid amongst a kind of seen-it-before kind of story.  

5/15 - I restarted my BeerBox membership again this year (just in time for pool season!) and the first monthly shipment arrived today.  It had a nice selection from all over the country including some IPAs, a couple lagers, an imperial sour and a wheat beer.  I've missed you guys!! 

5/16 - I cracked the first one open today during a pool float after some mowing.  The Hazy Pitch New England pale ale from Revolution Brewing (Chicago) was great.

5/17 - We had a nice East Nashville stay-cation this weekend to celebrate our 23rd wedding anniversary.   We rented a very cool little AirBnb that was within walking distance of Tailgate Brewing.  We had dinner there tonight where along with our delicious street-corn and chicken pizza, I had their solid Apricot Ginger Wild Ale as well as a few sips of Ashlee's excellent Cerveza Con Lime that went great with our meal. 

We attended a show at The Ryman featuring Drew Holcomb and the Neighbors and afterwards checked out the new Garth Brooks honky-tonk on Broadway called Friends in Low Places.  It's a fun place, but their beer list was just OK with nothing new to me, so I enjoyed an always tasty and low-calorie Guinness Draught stout from a can. 

5/18 - Our East Nashville Stay-cation continued today.  I walked down to Tailgate Brewing again this afternoon and enjoyed their Crimson Tradition Red IPA out on their front patio.  We had dinner reservations nearby at Noko, a rather new and unique wood-fired Japanese restaurant.  The food was delicious, and they had a rather unique beer list too.  I enjoyed the Sorry Unami IPA from Yo-Ho Brewing (Japan) with my tasty meal.  

5/19 - Happy Anniversary to us!  23 years and counting!  We headed back home from our East Nashville stay-cation this morning to get in some afternoon pool time.  I dived in deeper to my recent Beer Box shipment and enjoyed four of them throughout the day that included the tasty Longsnapper  IPA from Tighthead Brewing (IL); next up was the great pale lager from one of my favorite breweries, 3 Floyds Brewing (IN), called JinxProof; then  another solid summer lager called Surf House from Allagash Brewing (ME); I concluded with probably the best "sour" beer I've ever had (4.75 stars!) called Big Sippin' from Odell Brewing (CO).

5/20 - Well, it's official!  My new Cumberland University bio and pic looks pretty good! 
I got a pool float in today after some mowing and enjoyed a tasty Peach Space Machine NEIPA from New Holland Brewing (MI) from my latest BeerBox order. 

5/21 - I went to see the new documentary The Blue Angels in IMAX tonight at The Streets of Indian Lake Theaters up in Hendersonville.  I thought the film was very well done.  Beforehand, I stopped by Yazoo Brewing in Madison for a couple brews including their excellent Impy Hop Project # 5 DIPA, and the very good Pilot Series: Session IPA.   My cheeseburger from the newish Grill Shack locale on site was outstanding as well.

5/23 - My old work pal, Casey, and I, and his growing-like-a-weed nephew, Colin, went to see The Fall Guy tonight at our local Roxy Theaters (recliners!).  I thought it was a pretty great flick.  Very well done, funny and clever.  May go see it again with Ashlee.  Beforehand, we grabbed some tasty Philly cheesesteaks for dinner from Penn Station Subs. 

Earlier, I had lunch at Cedar City Brewing today and enjoyed their new citrusy Orangesicle IPA along with their burger of the month, a birria beef Mexican-style messy delight! 

8/25 - I had some errands to run today including a trip up to Clarksville to get custom our craft beer order (see awesome label above)!   On the way I stopped at Cledis Burgers and Beer Garden for lunch and an excellent Turbo Reaper IPA from 3 Floyds Brewing (IN). After picking up a couple of signed copies of the book, "What a Fool Believes" by Michael McDonald and Paul Reiser at Parnassus Books (we missed the talk with them live due to bad weather last week), I stopped by North 51 Taphouse and had a light and breezy All Day Grapefruit IPA from Founders Brewing (MI).  Once I was in Clarksville, my first stop was for a brew at Strawberry Alley Ales.  Their Facedream # 10 session IPA was top-notch.  My last stop was Evill Nash Brewing where our beers were waiting, and I also had a pint of their interesting Countrypolitan Corn Lager. 

I started the day off with a quick visit to the 4th Annual BrickUniverse Lego Expo at The Fairgrounds here in Lebanon.  What really drew me in was this exhibit by Lee Gould from nearby Brentwood, TN, and his Bear Falls Castle.  Since I like waterfalls of any type, I had to check it out.   

For the record, here's a shot of the Lego waterfall up close.  Not a bad rendition! 

5/26 - We traveled down to this side of Chattanooga today to attend the high school graduation party of our niece, Ella, at her and her parents' new home on Mowbray Mountain in Soddy-Daisy.  I took along a few "party favors" to enjoy during the soiree.  They included a nice NEIPA called Forever Alone: Vista from Resident Culture Brewing (NC); an excellent DIPA called Wandering Into the Waves from Abomination Brewing (CT) and finally my first of our commissioned beers from Evill Nash Brewing up in Clarksville: the hoppy AF Curtis and Rob's Who's Your Daddy DIPA!! 

5/27 - Today's first of four Memorial Day beers in the pool was none other than the fantastic NEIPA called Baby Kittens which I toasted to our new group of foster kittens this year.  Cheers, stinkies!! 
(Editor's note:  I had to go back to Mt. Juliet Beer Company and buy a couple more of these for Ashlee to auction off at their next kitten rescue fundraiser.)

I followed along with a nice Henry St. Pils from Equilibrium Brewing (NY); then the easy-drinking Mexican lager called Island Time from Resident Culture Brewing (Charlotte, NC); another Curtis and Rob's Who Your Daddy DIPA; and finally, the made-for-summer Cali Squeeze Blood Orange wheat beer from Firestone Walker Brewing (CA).  

I also won a small NLCP tournament on Global Poker tonight vs. 19 other players for an ROI of 900%.  And then a second (due to a bad beat, of course) vs. 33 in the same type of tournament later on for 750% ROI. 

5/28 - My pal, Toney, and I went to see the new movie, Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga tonight at our local Roxy Theaters (recliners!) on a Bargain Tuesday ($6 movies!).   I thought the film was a great prequel to Fury Road which I consider just about perfect.  George Miller does it again!  I walked to the theaters as well and stopped for gas station tacos and elote en vaso at Alberto's # 2 for dinner which was delish!

5/29 - I had a post-mowing pool float beer today - a nice wheat pint can from Rogue Ales (OR) called Mom Beer.  So, here's once more to The Nore!  Love and miss you a bunch.  

Later tonight I three-way chopped our little local NLHE tournament on PokerStars vs. 7 other players including rebuys for well over 100% ROI.

5/30 - A little more poker success tonight with a win on Global Poker in a NLCP vs. 29 other players for an ROI of over 1,100%.  I also 4-way chopped our little local NLHE tournament again on PokerStars tonight vs. 7 others including rebuys for just under 100% ROI.  

6/1 - I dropped into Barcadia here in town with my pal, Curtis, and had a couple new-to-me brews on this rainy afternoon.  First up was the decent wild ale/sour from Yazoo Brewing here in Nashville called Citraluxe Batch 2.  I finished with another Blackberry Peach Sour that I thought was pretty good with its blackberry-forward taste (where was the peach flavor?) from Ponysaurus Brewing (NC).  While drinking my brews, I finished 4th in a dollar NLHE bounty tournament vs. 155 other players on Global Poker that got me over 800% ROI and paid for that second beer, plus tip! 

6/2 - I drove by the new East of Nashville Beer Works building on Callis Road and Hwy. 109 near home today and saw that it's coming along nicely (and quickly!).   All hail, The Church of Beer!! 

Beforehand, I knocked back a couple pint cans while floating in the pool.  Both were from Equilibrium Brewing (NY) which is quickly becoming one of my new fave breweries.  Another reason to go back to upstate New York!  First up was the solid Astrophysics NEIPA followed by the smooth and satisfying DIPA called What's Past Is Present, a collab with Voodoo Brewing out of PA. 
 

6/5 - I had dinner and a couple of beers with my new work friend (and craft beer lover), Todd, and a couple other co-workers at Cedar City Brewing today after work.  The only new-to-me beer was their lovely German Pilsner which went well with my awesome dry-rub wings.   The photo above is of my new Cumberland University hat that I bought with some recent poker winnings. 

Speaking of poker, later on, I won a small NLCP tournament on Global Poker vs. 27 other players with an ROI of just over 1,000%. 

6/6 - I went to opening night of the new action/comedy Bad Boys: Ride or Die in IMAX at Opry Mills Theaters with my pal, Toney.   I thought the movie was OK with some funny parts, but kind of the same old spiel.  

6/7 - I had an "it's Friday" float in the pool beer today - the excellent pale ale from Equilibrium Brewing (NY) called Photon.   

6/8 - I had some Global Poker hardware and swag arrive today and I have to say I am very impressed with the quality of the things I received:  the sweet trophy pictured above for my first-place finish in their Monster Stack Series Event # 11H back almost 5 months ago; a nice feather-soft T-shirt; a nice plush hoodie; some stickers; and even a sweet ballcap! 

I also had a couple more pool beers today including an excellent chili beer called Michelada from Untitled Art Brewing (WI) and a very nice Polka King Porter from Door County Brewing (also WI).  

6/9 - I won another Gold Coin (free money) Event Tournament on Global Poker today that ensures me another box of swag (pictured above) from them (no trophy this time, bummer).  I bested a field of 129 other players in the Grand Prix Turbo Series 3-L.  As slow as the last one was to arrive, i will expect this around Christmas!! 

I also cracked the Top Ten in the overall series leaderboard (9th) with some other deep runs and then today's win on the last day of this long-weekend event which earns me a little more swag too. 

The real money side wasn't as great, but I did grab a second place in a small NLCP vs. 29 other players for about 800% ROI to close out the night and fairly productive day of online poker.  

6/10 - My first Remote Day at the new job at Cumberland U! I did a little afternoon work from the patio and also won a small buy-in bounty tournament on Global Poker vs. 132 other players with 11 knockouts for a whopping 3,100%+ ROI!   

Afterwards, I went to see the one-night-only event of the remastered Oscar-winning classic:  The Lord of the Rings:  The Return of the King "Extended Edition" tonight at our local Roxy Theaters (recliners!  thank goodness with a run-time of 4 hours and 13 minutes!!).  It's still a great flick although a bit of the CGI looked a little dated, but it flew by, and I didn't have to go pee during it!  

6/11 - Hey, it's not working from the pool, but it's a pretty nice view, nonetheless.  I worked this afternoon at Cumberland U outside at a picnic table in a gazebo beside my office in Memorial Hall because it was just too damn nice to sit inside! 

6/12 - My friend, Tom, and I traveled down to Hop Springs Beer Park outside Murfreesboro tonight to catch a show from Eddie 9V, a bluesman with a great sound and a solid backing band.  I first saw Eddie at one of the free shows at 3rd and Lindsley they have on Fridays around lunchtime.   I was impressed with the acoustics inside this place.  The opening band, Sweet Leona, were pretty solid. And Eddie and the boys were tight and sharp.  But the beer, oh the beer!! WTF Hop Springs BEER Park??  No beer brewed on site for sale??  MTSU has pulled out as well?  So disappointing.  They did have some decent beer on tap, and I had two good new-to-me ones at least.  First up was the solid Main Skweez IPA from Middle Ground Brewing just down the road.   Next, I had the very good Schwarz Black Lager from von Trapp Brewing (VT).  I ended the night with a weird Cantrip THC Sidecar Cola that was too sweet and gave me no sensation at all.  Waste of three bucks. 

6/13 - I won a small buy-in NLCP tournament on Global Poker tonight vs. 18 other players with an 800% ROI.  

6/14 - I ambled back down to the Poker Barn tonight for some live tournament action.  I took along with three pint- can-sized companions in my Kanga cooler that I had picked up earlier this week at the Mt. Juliet Beer Company.  First up was the excellent Moral Codes DIPA from The Lost Abbey Brewing (CA) .  Next was another on from The Lost Abbey called Devotion: a solid Belgian blonde ale.  I concluded with the very good IPA from Clown Shoes Brewing (Boston) called Galactica: Dank Nebula.  The poker went OK but without $$ since I finished 6th out of 27 (and several rebuys of which I did not), but they only paid the top four.  Same old, same old, at The Poker Barn seems like.  

6/15 - My pool beers for the day included the NEIPA pictured above with its beautiful can art called Glass from Northwoods Brewing ((NH), and then a nice Japanese rice lager called Rising Sun from Albright Grove Brewing up in Knoxville.  

6/16 - "You boys think it'll rain??"  Our pool day/home-cooked Indian food day got cut short by some thunderstorms and downpours that just wouldn't let up this afternoon.  Luckily, I was able to get in a couple good brews beforehand including a pint can of the excellent TRIPLE IPA called Little Red Riding Hoof from the hilariously named Hoof Hearted Brewing up in Columbus, OH.   I had another one new-to-me, but I seem to have lost the can during the storm and forgot to check it in.  DOH!! 

With the rain still coming down later tonight, I did get a small buy-in NLCP tournament win on Global vs. a dozen or so players and another NLH small-buy-in bounty tournament win vs. a field of over 100 players for nice big ROIs on both.  I had the exact details, but a foster kitten walked across my keyboard and erased it...yeah, that's my life! lol 

6/18 - This month's Beer Box arrived today, and it looks like another good selection with a sour (that actually might be a repeat for me); some IPAs; a Belgian quad; and a nice summer mix including a radler, a pilsner and an ale. 

6/19 - I had to head down to Chattanooga on my Juneteenth day off today to help my nutty sister with the CRV she's driving on loan from us.  It wasn't a total shit-show other than having to shell out $1,500+ for an A/C compressor.  We had a nice late brunch at Wally's Restaurant and then went to see The Garfield Movie, which was for kids, but still fun.    On my back I stopped at Happy Trails Brewing in Sparta (after learning that Jig Head Brewing in Cookeville has closed for good.  RIP.) where I had a couple of their brews including their solid Secret Trail Pale Ale and a decent red ale called The Warrior.  Both went well with my double-stacked fried bologna sandwich from their Trailhead Grub Restaurant. 

I captured the shot above coming across the Cumberland River on I-40 headed home as the cold water hits the warm air at twilight.  Yep, it's summer in Middle Tennessee! 

aN E-ND: The Final Two Conquered! Along with 57 Years on this Planet!

 

Hey, a law is a law!  Cheers! 

4/18 - My epic Birthday Trip started today!!  I took an early flight to Denver to start one of my most ambitious road trips ever encompassing 6 western states in a 1,700-mile+ loop.

I can't start any trip without a beer, so before I got out of Colorado, I made a stop at Parts and Labor Brewing in Sterling.   Very cool place.  This brew pub is set up in an old Cadillac dealership building (hence the name).  I had their nice Rantallion Red IPA and a tasty Thai salad with chicken for lunch.  I finished with their super-smooth Slowhand Nitro Stout.

State # 49 checked off the list! Hello, Nebraska! My rental car was this sweet, little gas-sipping Buick Encore that was a very comfy ride.   I got a great deal on it renting blind thru Hotwire.com from Dollar Rent-A-Car.  

My first Nebraska point of interest was the famous and historic, Chimney Rock National Historic Site.  I had this beautifully, quiet place all to myself during my visit this afternoon.  This stubborn piece of rock was a clear marker for settlers heading west thru Nebraska on the Oregon Trial in early America.  I am sure it was sacred to the Native Americans in this area as well (aka "Elk Penis").

Next up was Carhenge which I learned about thru AtlasObscura.com (thanks, as always, folks!).  This is a one-man odyssey of Plains art started back in 1987, and it is truly a modern wonder.  The wind was biting cold on my (again) solo stop here with no one else around and the gift shop not opening until later in the spring/summer, so I didn't stay long to explore beyond this center piece, but definitely got the feel for it. 

The miles kept rolling as did Day 1 as a Nebraska sunset shown in my somewhat dirty rearview mirror.  I, of course, cranked up "Nebraska" by Bruce Springsteen to help the flat-land miles go by. 
 
"They declared me unfit to live
Said into that great void my soul'd be hurled
They want to know why I did what I did
Sir, I guess there's just a meanness in this world"
- THE BOSS 

Another great help to pass the time and miles was an audio version of my favorite book of all time, "Watership Down" with the fantastic narrator, Peter Capaldi.   At 17 and a half hours long, I needed every minute of the adventures of Fiver, BigWig, Kee-har and Hazel-rah!! 

My first overnight stop was in Valentine, Nebraska, at The Niobrara Lodge.  Nothing fancy, but clean and quiet in this decent-sized town that I chose as a jumping off point for the only two waterfalls in Nebraska that I know of which are nearby.  I will see them tomorrow.  But tonight, it's beer-thirty!  I dropped by the Bolo Beer Company here in town.  It's small and cozy and the barkeep was friendly.  I started with their cleverly named Alpacalips IPA which was solid.  I finished with The Waggle Scottish Ale that I thought was very good.  

4/19 - Snake River Falls - yes, it's a waterfall in flat-ass Nebraska, and a pretty nice one at that with a strong volume of water rushing over a 54' wide ledge.  The neatest thing about this place is that it is located on a private sportsmen's club property, and they allow the public to view the falls from a safe distance and only ask for a dollar per visitor to help with upkeep.  They got two bucks from me because this is a special one in my waterfall collection, and I really appreciated the access.   

OK, Nebraska, now you're just showing off...Smith Falls State Park is at the end of a rather rough dirt/gravel road.  I am very glad it was a dry, sunny day.  I had this enchanting place ALL TO MYSELF this morning, never seeing another soul driving in or out or walking the half-mile or so to the base of the falls and back.  This 76' delicate drop is quite amazing to see in person and even better than I expected.   Another cool aspect to the experience is that you have to cross the national scenic Niobrara River (hence my hotel name from last night) to get to the falls whose stream runs into the river and to do so you cross the historic and repurposed Verdigre Bridge (1910).

Hello, again, South Dakota!  Most of my drive through the entirety of mid-South Dakota was fairly dull with all the interesting stuff farther west which Ashlee and I had seen some of a few years back, but once I got on Highway 73 North, some of the iconic Badlands topography popped up for me to see and enjoy.  What a cool little stretch of knobs and needles of white rock springing out of the seemingly endless green pastures.   

Nearing the North Dakota border is the Hugh Glass Memorial at the end of a dead-end road seemingly in the middle of nowhere just like what the man himself had to endure.  And since The Revenant is one of my favorite films in the last ten years, this was a must-stop and must-see.  Thanks again, AtlasObscura.com.  The force of the wind to get this shot was something to remember in terms of endurance.  Wow!   But, otherwise, I could not have asked for better weather for incredible landscape vistas and thus, photography, in every state I encountered.  

Even closer to the border in the little town of Lemmon, South Dakota, that have a Petrified Wood Park.  And I don't mean just some little corner park, this is their main city park encompassing an entire city block and it is chocked full of the stuff that they have around here by the ton.  It sure was tempting to find me a hammer!!  But I didn't.  

50th State!! DING! DING!!  Hello, North Dakota!  What better way to start my visit to my last state visited in The Union than by seeing the largest scrap-metal iron sculpture in the world!   Yep, "Geese in Flight" is the start of another one-man art odyssey even larger than Carhenge and known as "The Enchanted Highway." I actually did not get to experience all of the art on "The Enchanted Highway" due to fading daylight, the need to keep moving, and a bit of a navigational error on my part, but I got the gist of it and it's pretty dang amazing.  Well done, sir!  Keep up the good work!! 

One of my few surprise finds along the way was Phat Fish Brewing Company in the cool little college town of Dickinson, North Dakota.  I was ready for dinner to when I found this place and their peppery cheese curd "appetizer" was enormous and delicious.  Beer-wise, I started with their fantastic (and award-winning) Jalapeno Honey Blonde Ale which I can now say in hindsight was the BEST BEER OF THE TRIP.  It was amazing.  I finished with their solid Pipelayer IPA.  I wish I could have had more beer at this fun place and also in hindsight maybe have stayed the night nearby, but I still had an hour or so to my hotel for the night, so I forged on.   

My regret for not staying the night back in Dickinson was put away quickly once I checked into the Rough Rider Hotel in Medora, North Dakota near the Theodore Roosevelt National Park's southern entrance.  Now this hotel and town feel like the real old west!  There were mule deer grazing near the main street!  This was the nicest hotel I stayed at during my trip.  My room even had its own Teddy Bear!   

4/20 - Happy 57th Birthday to me!!  And welcome to the Theodore Roosevelt National Park - South Unit.  It also happens to be the start of National Park Week today, so FREE ADMISSION!!  This big guy in the photo above welcomed me early into my drive into the park.  I also saw tons of prairie dogs, antelope, mule deer and feral horses throughout the park.  

The badlands of TRNP have a beauty and starkness of their own.  

I moved on west into Montana (that's state # 5 for this trip if you're counting) after my national park visit and my first stop was just across the border at St. Peter's Catholic Church in Wibaux.  This amazing structure, covered in volcanic rock (aka scoria), was built in 1895, but the unusual exterior was added in 1938 in an idea by the pastor there at that time.  Thanks again for the heads-up on this one, AtlasObscura.com! 

Eastern Montana is fairly flat and monotonous similar to its bordering states to the east.  And staying tonight in Miles City was not because it's a picturesque place.  It's just a working town and the Miles City Hotel and Suites is just an interstate hotel, but again was clean and quiet.  The main reason I picked Miles City for my birthday night stay was the fact they do have TWO BREWERIES and Tiltwurks Brewery and Casino was my first stop.  

I got my 10th Birthday Brew Badge on UNTAPPD with the check-in of Tiltwurk's very nice Bang Back Blueberry Wheat beer.  I followed that with their excellent Reply IPA and a yummy fried beef appetizer.  The pinball machine decor was pretty cool, but Montana's idea of a "casino" is a few slot machines stuck in a corner.  Let's just say, there are lots of "casinos" in Miles City.  

My next stop was the tiny Otium Brewing where I started with their excellent red ale caleld Alewife.  I followed that with an interesting pairing of their solid Ora stout with a shot of nitro coffee also brewed there (photo above).  It was tasty and a nice pick-me-up!   These guys also won my buy-a-hat lottery since theirs actually reads that they are located in Montana.  

With a not lot else to do in this town and the casinos being a joke, I jumped in and won a small tournament on Global Poker vs. 11 other players for 700% ROI.  Happy Birthday to me!  I also bought me another present (besides the Otium hat).  A beautiful large chunk of petrified wood from an antique mall in town that I actually wound up chipping some of it off as presents to a couple of my friends and my dog-walker client.  

I tried to get another couple regional craft beers at a promising looking beer bar in town tonight, but they had had an issue with their taps and weren't serving tonight.  Bummer.  So instead, I headed out of the city lights about 20 miles to catch some of the night sky.  Light pollution is real, folks!  Even with an almost full moon, I was able to see with my naked eye the International Space Station orbit by and it was clear enough to even capture it on my phone camera.  Amazing!!  

4/21 - On south to Wyoming, that's six states touched on this epic road trip!   Flat, fairly uninteresting landscape continued and I detoured a bit for lunch at Blacktooth Brewing in Casper. Casper looked to be a pretty cool town and they actually have a nice bunch of craft breweries, but BBC was the only one open on Sundays.    Come to find out they didn't have food here, but some decent beer.  I started with their excellent Scotch ale called Cattle Kate.  I finished with a bit of a disappointing DIPA called California Transplant that just didn't have the hoppiness I was expecting. 
I was given advice to have lunch nearby at Wyoming's Rib and Chop House and it was good advice!  I choose the excellent steak and eggs off their brunch menu and washed it down with a very good Outlaw Amber ale from Ten Sleep (WY) Brewing.  

Near where I was staying tonight in Wyoming are a couple of cool historic places associated with the Oregon Trail.  First up are these amazing 4- and 5' deep ruts (photo above) left in soft sandstone by countless wagons heading west along the Oregon Trail.   This is national historic site and another place I had all to myself during my visit. 

Nearby is Register Bluff where these same Oregon Trail passersby would carve their names into the soft sandstone.  Over the years others have carved their names here as well which diminishes the overall affect a bit, but I still saw carvings from as far back as 1872.  

I chose this area to stay my last night thanks to this sweet AirBnb I found near in Hartville, Wyoming.  Nice AirBnbs were kind of non-existent on the route that I took, so I was happy to at least snag one that I thought was really comfy and cool.  It is a private loft apartment with a huge deck and a hot tub as well.  The flooring seen in the photo above represents cattle brands throughout Wyoming.   

I had accumulated a few beers-to-go on my trip and enjoyed them tonight out on the deck of my AirBnb in mild, but cloudy weather.   First up were a couple (or three) Jenny Lake Lagers from Snake River Brewing over in Jackson, WY.  I picked up a six-pack of these at a liquor store during a gas stop on the way today.  They were smooth and tasty.  I left the other three for my host.  She thanked me for them.  Cheers!  Next up was a crowler pint can of Drowning Mountains IPA from Otium Brewing back in Miles City, MT.  It was very good.  I concluded with a crowler can that had rolled around in the back of the car for a few days (photo above):  The superb Boost Juice DIPA from Parts and Labor Brewing a thousand-plus miles ago in Sterling, CO.  
I had a fun, relaxing evening even though the cloud cover remained and blocked most stargazing as I had planned (glad I went out last night in Miles City).  I got to see the Preds play (and lose, unfortunately) in the Stanley Cup Playoffs and played a little online poker as well with more losses to report.   Oh well, at least the losses were ON VACATION IN WYOMING!! 

4/22- Sadly, I had to drive back to Denver today to fly home tonight, but I did have all day to get there!  I said goodbye to the great AirBnb and continued my trek south under sunny skies. 

My great AirBnb was stocked for breakfast, but I had it in mind to drive an hour or so and eat at the historic Chugwater Soda Fountain.  I had their giant breakfast burrito that keep me full for most of the day and a coffee-flavor shake as well made in their vintage soda fountain (the oldest operating one in Wyoming). 

My next stop was back in Colorado at the beautiful, gushing Boulder Falls.  As with many of my other stops I saw a few people coming in and out but had the falls to myself for a good amount of time.  Such a beauty!!    A perfect place to visit on Earth Day! 

I had some time to hit a "brewery or two-ery" (aren't I witty) on the way to the airport and started with the cooly-named, Liquid Mechanics Brewing in the Denver suburb of Lafayette.  Here I began with their West Coast Cartel (Beachwood) IPA.  It's a collaboration with Beachwood Brewing (CA) and it was excellent.  I finished up with their also impressive Skin and Bones pale ale.  

I had very nice views of some of still snow-covered Rockies on my drive around the northern outskirts of Denver.   I believe that's Long's Peak in the distance at 14K+ in elevation.  

My last stop before the airport was the very cool Something Brewing (clever name) in the Denver suburb of Brighton.  I started with their excellent NEIPA called By the Beard of Zeus, and finished with their solid Vienna-style lager called Godspeed. 

My flight home was smooth and uneventful.  A nice closure to one amazing trip!! 

And if you are keeping score, that's:  

1,900+ miles driven 
thru 6 states
with 8 craft breweries visited 
20 new-to-me craft brews consumed 
and 1 dead tumbleweed,,,

- yep, my only "road incident" was when a tumbleweed rolled out in front of my car (in Wyoming I think) and instead of getting caught under my car, it exploded into a thousand pieces.  Who knew??