Day 1 was fairly uneventful. The day was just driving to position myself for a good start In Fort Collins, Colorado. The intention was to drive within four hours of my first destination. In theory, it worked well, but it was a bit of a failure in practice. I took a northern route through South Dakota and then dropped down to Nebraska. The problem was that there is nothing there. Nothing. There are no towns, gas stations, or hotels. I had luckily filled up just before the southern turn down routes 18 and 73. There are, however, some nice landscapes. I don’t even know how to describe them. They are like mini versions of Arizona. Rock structures that look like a combo of desert sand and ancient stone cropping up out of nowhere. I ended up in Kimball, Nebraska, just outside of Wyoming, about 90 minutes from Fort Collins, before I could get a decently-priced hotel.
This trip has two challenges for me. The first is financial. I hope my final work payment makes it into my account on Friday, or this may be a Colorado beer run. I will have that answer early Thursday morning. That wouldn’t be the worst of things, to be honest. The second obstacle is Mother Nature. I have now learned I narrowly escaped massive Vermont and Hudson Valley flooding last week. This week the opponent is crippling heat. I can’t think of anything more dangerous than getting stuck between Casey Brewing and San Diego, where temps will soar between 100-120 because of a severe heat bubble. I m currently evaluating possibly hitting Casey today, then heading down to Trinity in Colorado Springs tomorrow and taking a slightly longer route to San Diego through Flagstaff. This should avoid the worst of the heat. I am also going to eliminate Bottle Logic in LA and The Breuery. I can order Breuery online any time, and Bottle Logic is all stouts, so that’s a bit out of scope. I can also get their stuff on Tavour if I want. That leaves just Beachwood in LA, so get in and out and head north ASAP.
I have come up with today’s plan. It’s a bit sloppy, but I can make it work. Head to Denver and hit the two spots opening at 11, then head to Casey for the 2 PM open. Then back up to Fort Collins to collect from my three stops before heading back to Denver for Dinner at Goud Zour. There will be an UBER involved with that. That leaves me with an 11 AM stop on Thursday at Trinity in Colorado Springs, where I can then head down through Arizona and stay in one of the cooler locations before heading to San Diego, which appears to be missing most of the heat bubble. Not ideal, but more safe.
