Life By The Pool. . .it's just BETTER!: Our Road Trip to Colorado Day 1

Brooke, Brad, Kevin and I left our home at 4 a.m. on Saturday May 25th. Our goal was to arrive in Santa Fe, NM around 4 p.m. I believe we got there around 5:30 pm. Not bad considering all of our impromptu stops along the way.

Our first stop was Fort Worth, TX for Starbucks. I love the greenery they have growing all along the store front of Starbucks.

#fortworth
#starbucks

I love the clock on the street corner.

How cool is this topiary? It is a cowboy on a horse. :)

Our next stop was the Big Texan Steak Ranch. This was our first time here.

#bigtexanranch

They are known for the World's Famous free 72 oz. steak.

#worldsfamoussteak

I'm not a steak eater so I can't begin to understand why someone would want to eat something like this. Just saying!

How the FREE 72 oz. Steak Dinner legend was born...

Soon after the original Route 66 Big Texan open its doors in 1960, owner Bob (RJ) Lee was amazed at how many REAL Texas Cowboys were coming in for his HUGE TEXAS SIZE STEAKS. He also saw how much fun his out of town patrons and visitors were having watching these true Texans trying to "out do" each others carnivorous appetites. Most of his Big Cowboys diners came from a near-by stockyard operation and would stop in after a long days work. Friday was payday at the stockyard and he would cash their paychecks and offer 25 cent beer.

One Friday he put several tables together in the center of the dining room and sat all the cowboys together and told them he wanted to see who could eat the most one pound steaks in an hour. The cost was $5 per eater and whoever ate the most got to keep the entire entry fee.

The rules were simple; you could not get up during the contest or have anyone help you eat, you didn't have to eat the fat and if you got sick, you were out.

The cowboys put in their money, took a seat and the contest was on. Steaks were flying. One of the eaters took the lead by swallowing two steaks in ten minutes. Next he politely requested a salad and a shrimp cocktail be served with his third steak. He consumed the extras, then this soft spoken giant called for his fourth steak and asked for a baked potato and a bread roll. He wasted little time on devouring those items and called for his fifth steak.

As the hour contest came to an end, this gastronomic superman had eaten 4 1/2 pounds of steak (72 ounces), a baked potato, a shrimp cocktail, a salad and a bread roll.

In his amazement and delight of the crowd, owner Bob (RJ) Lee stood up on a chair in the middle of the dining room to proclaim that "from this day forward, anyone who could eat the entire 72 oz. dinner in one hour --- gets it for FREE."

On that date in 1962 the legendary 72 oz. Steak Challenge was born and to this day the contest stands strong.

Here are the 72 oz. Steak Rules

Meal consists of a shrimp cocktail, baked potato, salad, roll, butter and of course the 72 oz. steak.

1. Entire meal must be completed in one hour. If any of the meal is not consumed (swallowed)...YOU LOSE!

2. Before the time starts you will be allowed to cut into the steak, and take one bite. If the steak tastes good and is cooked to your satisfaction, we will start the time upon your acceptable approval. The time will not stop and the contest is on, so make Sure before you say YES.

3. Once you have started you are not allowed to stand up, leave your table, or have anyone else TOUCH the meal.

4. You will be disqualified if anyone assists you in cutting, preparing or eating of your meal. This is YOUR contest.

5. You don't have to eat the fat, but we will judge this.

6. Should you become ill, the contest is over...YOU LOSE! (Please use the container provided as necessary.)

7. You are required to pay the full amount up front; if you win we will refund 100%.

8. You must sit at a table that we assign.

9. If you do not win the steak challenge, you are welcome to take the leftovers with you.

10. No consumption or sharing of the leftovers is allowed in the restaurant once the contest is over.

Here are is a record holder.

A sneak peek into the restaurant.

And no...we didn't attempt to eat a 72 oz. steak!!!

We stopped by the Cadillac Ranch. It is located on Route 66 west of Amarillo, TX.

We were lucky the rain stopped while we were walking around.

We stopped at Russells Travel Center on Route 66 in Glen Rio, NM. They have an awesome Car and Collectible museum that is free. The cars are so fine. These photos are from Russells Travel Center website as my photos didn't come out. :(

We had lunch at Russells Cafe. The food was delicious.

Here are a few photos from our drive.

I was so excited when we began to see snow capped mountains. Like I may have made some sounds of joy. I happened to mention that I had brought my snow boots and they began to make fun of me and say "you won't need those boots". Ha!!! Guess who got the last laugh? Me!!! I'll be sharing those pics in a couple of posts from now. Let's just say my feet were nice and toasty!

We stayed at the Hilton Santa Fe Buffalo Thunder Resort and Casino.

The pool area is without a doubt the most beautiful part of the hotel.

The Iguana Cafe has the most amazing brisket nachos. Seriously...I ordered them for dinner and everyone couldn't keep their hands off of my food!!! Which was fine with me.

We did a little gambling. I won $80 on the slot machines. It didn't last long as my group "encouraged" me to try other machines so I walked away with nothing. :) We had a great time. I have never seen so many penny slot machines. I believe I only saw like six quarter slot machines.