Author: Ed Armstrong

Churchill Downs!

/ Ed Armstrong
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I was very excited to visit the most famous horse track in America!

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The famous twin spires of Churchill Downs!

After I finished giving my lectures I quickly changed into jeans, grabbed a taxi and went to Churchill Downs. I have watched the Kentucky Derby on TV for years. I was so excited to see such a famous horse track. I was able to join the last tour and learned about the history of the track and facilities. I really enjoyed seeing the twin tours of Churchill Downs and learning about some of the famous horses that won the Kentucky Derby.

 

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The paddock area was beautiful.

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This starting gate is so famous!

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I especially enjoyed seeing the paddock area, the track, the grandstands, and watching two horse races. It was so much fun to walk all around Churchill Downs. The gift shop sold hats that are so popular for the Kentucky Derby.

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Here is the famous finish line of the Kentucky Derby at Churchill Downs!

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The Kentucky Derby is famous for all the hats people wear.

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There are many famous horses revered at Churchill Downs.

Bourbon Trail

/ Ed Armstrong
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This was a very smooth bourbon that I thoroughly enjoyed!

I arrived in Louisville, Kentucky and thoroughly enjoyed learning about the city. I am staying the Brown Hotel and have enjoyed seeing this classic, historic hotel and their emphasis on horses and history. It has been maintained very nicely and highly rated. I like all the horse pictures throughout the hotel. It is especially popular when the Kentucky Derby is held.

 

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The Brown Hotel was a fantastic, historic hotel filled with history at every turn.

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It was also fun to learn about bourbon made in Kentucky. I was surprised to learn that one-third of all bourbon sold in the US is made in the Louisville area. Jim Beam and Maker’s Mark and other well-known spirits are prominent here. For dinner I ate in a restaurant and, after talking with the bartender, order a bourbon (Johnny Drum Private Stock) that is from a small distillery and basically not available outside of the Louisville area. It was very smooth and I really enjoyed it. The bartender told me about a store near my hotel where it is available for purchase and I bought a bottle to take home with me.

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I will be teaching health outcomes lectures and I was excited to know that my lectures will be given in the Secretariat room. Secretariat still has the fastest time to win the Kentucky Derby at nearby Churchill Downs of any horse ever to win the Derby.

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I walked to the downtown area and came to the Ohio River and could see Indiana across the river. I walked down to Whiskey Row.

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I learned that the Louisville Slugger baseball bat is made here in town. Kentucky Fried Chicken is also based in Louisville.

Beautiful Desert Ride!

/ Ed Armstrong
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Weaving through the boulders was fun!

It is fun to visit the desert and discover new mountain bike trails. I looked on the Internet to find some options that were not too difficult. I started on one ride recommended on a mountain biking website, but could not figure out a place to park as there were no parking signs in the pullout areas. I ended up parking next to the road and started up a powerline trail. A ways down the path, I saw a single track trail go to the left, so I took it. It was a nice trail, but quite rugged. Going down one gulley I ended up going over my handlebars, but landed on my feet. I enjoyed the trail, but I would not have considered it a beginner trail, so I questioned the website summary.

 

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The trail was rough and not for beginners, but I still had quite a bit of fun riding on the trail!

After riding for almost an hour I came to a fork in the road with another trail. Looking back where I had just come from was a sign stating that it was not a maintained trail. No wonder it was so difficult!

 

I met a couple going on a hike and they directed me to some other trails. These trails were fantastic and definitely beginner oriented trails. As I rode on these new trails, I discovered there was an entire parking lot with more than 100 cars of mountain bikers and hikers. I am so glad I discovered these other trail options. They are not too difficult and wind all through the desert. I loved these trails and will definitely be back!

Forest Bike Ride

/ Ed Armstrong
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Riding in the midst of the Ponderosa Pines is spectacular!

I had the opportunity to go on a Jeep ride and bike ride in the forest. I loved both of them! It is so beautiful to enjoy mountains and all the trees. The temperatures were cool, so it was especially nice to ride my bike through all the trees.

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When riding my bike, I met an elderly couple from Litchfield Park and they were gracious enough to take my photo in the forest. I noticed they both were wearing University of Arizona caps and they thought it was fun that I used to work there. They asked me how I thought the football team was going to do and we talked some pretty areas around northern Arizona. I laughed at the end because the guy said “Go Wildcats!” loudly as they left to go down the trail.

RV Park with a Steak House

/ Ed Armstrong
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Wonderful steak! I need to come back here again!

Since we have had our motorhome, I have stayed at all kinds of campgrounds and RV parks around the US. However, today is the very first time when I stayed at a RV park with a steak house. The food was fantastic! I ordered my favorite cut of beef, fillet mignon cooked medium rare. It melted in my mouth. The restaurant had a range of beers, including quite a few local microbrewery beers. Keeping with my desire for trying new things, I order microbrewery beer that I have never heard of before. It was sort of a pale ale and I enjoyed it immensely. A unique feature with the restaurant was that a woman played the piano and the different waiters and waitresses took turns singing songs. My waitress was quite talented. We talked a bit and she told me she was born in Saudi Arabia. We compared cities we had visited in Saudi Arabia. The meal was great and I have enough leftovers for lunch!

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Ice Cream Social!

/ Ed Armstrong
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I LOVE ice cream!

Today was a special treat! Literally. After a day on the road, it was nice to check into a nice RV park and learn that they just started an ice cream social. I love ice cream. I really love ice cream. They had chocolate and vanilla. I saw the strawberries and chocolate syrup and other toppings. I decided to order vanilla ice cream smothered in strawberries. I cannot think of anything I would have rather eaten after dinner. It was absolutely wonderful!

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The RV park had a local artist that made all these fun bears that were for sale. I liked their expressions!

Palo Duro Canyon

/ Ed Armstrong
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I made it to the lighthouse!

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The lighthouse was an impressive structure

Today I went on a beautiful hike with Neil and John. It rained last night, so it was nice and cool in the morning. The color of the red rocks within the Texas state park remind me of southern Utah. We went on a 6 mile round trip hike to Lighthouse. The scenery was spectacular. Quite a few people rode mountain bikes along the trail too. I will need to try that in the future.

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The area is so beautiful!

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Neil was leading the way and well prepared with water and snacks!

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Palo Duro Canyon is a very beautiful area!

 

Wonderful Barbeque!

/ Ed Armstrong

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It has been a while since I have been able to enjoy some fantastic Texas barbeque, so I looked for some of the best places in Amarillo. I first tried going to my favorite place, Spicy Mikes. However, Spicy Mikes had a fire and has not yet reopened. I looked on Google Maps and picked Tyler’s Barbeque. It is highly regarded by the “barbeque experts” and I have really enjoyed it on previous visits.

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As I entered the door at 6:00 pm on Friday evening, a family of four came in right behind me. The owner came out and said “You folks are the last ones to eat. We have sold out of our food.” He put a big sign on the door that said “Sold Out.” I was quite amazed. It was barely early evening on a Friday night and they were out of meat. When I ordered, the nice lady told me they had pulled pork and brisket remaining, but there were completely out of ribs and sausage. That was okay by me as pulled pork is my favorite barbequed meat.

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The meat was perfect and their barbecue sauce was fantastic! I loved it! Their beans were also great too! It was a wonderful meal that I enjoyed tremendously! I took my time eating and was the last customer to leave the restaurant. I love Texas barbeque!

 

American Girl

/ Ed Armstrong
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Charlene was show casing the American Girl dolls. Quite impressive!

I learned about the American Girl store today. I had never heard of it before, but they have some very impressive, and expensive, dolls. I was quite impressed with the details available in all the accessories. John showed me that you could buy outfights for the girl that matched the outfits for the dolls.

 

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I was impressed with the detail of the tent trailer!

I knew it was a high class operation when I saw that the prominently displayed a tent trailer. I loved our tent trailer growing up and we certainly enjoyed another tent trailer while our kids were young.

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I also saw a group of girls having a birthday party and I talked with a lady who was styling a dolls hair. I had never seen that before. We saw a young girl smile ear to ear when she told us it was her doll that was having her hair styled.