I did what?

Turn up the volume and sit back.

Wow what can I say! I drove from Vancouver BC to Miami Florida and back. I toured the Gulf Coast, visited NASA in Texas and saw the desert in New Mexico, and Arizona. I rode the Ferris wheel on the Santa Monica Pier and fed stingrays in Nashville. Flew my Paramotor in Miami, cooked in The Jack and then swam with sharks in Atlanta. I took a first in The Best of the Best in Douglas Georgia and was invited back to the invitational for next year. I competed in Kansas City and Illinois and then toured the world’s largest cave in Mammoth Cave National Park. I toured the Jack Daniels Distillery and then ate at Mary Bobos in Lynchburg. I went to blues clubs, rock concerts, and on some nights I went to movie theaters. $18.00 for a little hotdog, a pop and popcorn seems like a good deal right? By the way, I loved the movie “District 9”, if you haven’t seen it, go. The list goes on and on and what I have written about is only a very small part of what encompassed a two month trip.

You want to talk barbecue? I met some amazing people along the way including some living legends. Not only did I meet them, but I competed against them. I have eaten some of the best BBQ there is and from different regions as well. I have also dined on donuts as well as crab feasts and even eaten peanut butter sandwiches. When I had family and friends it was great, but they had to go home. After that, most of the time I ate alone but every now and again I would find someone else dining alone and strike up a conversation. The last person I met was a man named Gangi at Bubba Gumps on the Santa Monica pier. He was a trapeze artist for Cirque de Soleil which happened to be performing at the pier. A very friendly guy, but man do we live different lives. I am a BBQ man with a family and he is a circus guy from Mongolia. How different can that be? This is what the whole spirit about this trip represents though, meeting new people, seeing new things and experiencing life on a larger scale. Seems like a good idea to me…

I have shared this with you because I thought it would be fun and it has been. Some of you wrote comments under the stories and I read them, and in fact loved them. Now is your chance to tell me what you thought. Any questions on what I have seen? Ask away and I will answer.



The back.



The front.

A couple of you knew that these were going to be made, so here are the shirts! You can click on the picture for a larger picture. The only difference is the tour dates on the back will be more centered then what is pictured. T-shirts are $20.00 plus shipping. There will be black, white and another undetermined color so let mne know what you would like. You can send me a link by email from the Smoke and Bones website.

Houston we have a problem...

Bourbon Street in the French Quarter

When I left Miami I headed to Panama City for the night. I arrived late and then started my drive through Alabama, Mississippi and then Louisiana. I stopped in New Orleans and drove through the French Quarter. Trust me on this, a Hummer with a large cargo trailer is not the vehicle to pull through the tiny winding streets of the French Quarter, especially with horse and buggies present. I needed to let my pulse resume to a normal rate after that escapade. The architecture is really fascinating and it is such a shame that Katrina rolled through. It has been four years since the hurricane and New Orleans is still rebuilding. It appears it will be a few more years before it fully recovers but hopefully it will recover with all its glory.



I decided that while in Texas I would stop in Houston to visit NASA at the Houston Space Center. I am a long time fan of everything to do with space and really looked forward to my visit. NASA did not disappoint. The one thing to remember if you visit the Space Center is that it is a working facility and not a theme park. On certain days if you get the right flight director in the right mood you will be allowed to come in and see Mission Control live. Today was our lucky day and this is exactly what happened. The most interesting fact about this part of my visit was just how much power the flight director has. It ranks right up there with presidential.



The one thing that comes to my mind instantly is the Saturn V rocket that you get to see in a hangar. This has to be the largest most impressive manmade object I have ever seen. Its size will blow you away. The Saturn V rocket, which is the largest rocket ever built by NASA, is a staggering at 363 feet tall! The rocket is a three stage rocket, which means it takes three different stages of fuel firing to get all the way to the Moon. It is displayed with each of the three stages separated and you can actually walk between two of the stages. By the time it reaches its third stage and goes into orbit around Earth, it is traveling at 17,500 miles per hour. It is then that the rocket can be aimed at the Moon and the third stage can fire again, beginning the three day trip to the Moon.



This is a picture of the liquid nitrogen tanks that NASA uses. In space, it can be really cold, so they need to somehow simulate those conditions on Earth while they are training the astronauts. Liquid Nitrogen is extremely cold and is stored at 320 degrees Fahrenheit below zero in liquid form. Equipment in space will face very cold conditions, so Johnson Space Center uses this liquid nitrogen to create harsh, cold environments in which they can test the equipment that will be sent into space. The temperatures in space can range from 200 to negative 200 degrees Fahrenheit, depending on whether they are in the sun or not. On the Moon, temperatures can drop to 370 degrees below zero.



My second night in Texas was spent in Austin. While I was in Austin I chose to visit a legendary restaurant and club called Stubbs. Stubbs has been around since 1968 when it was located in Lubbock Texas but opened in Austin in 1985. Stubbs the man himself has met HRH Elizabeth the Queen of England, Jimmy Carter, and David Letterman etc. all because of his legendary food. I can tell you this about his food. Outstanding chicken! Probably the best chicken I personally have ever ordered in a restaurant. The cool thing about Stubbs is that, even though it is split into a restaurant and a bar it also has an outdoor stage in a large courtyard that regularly draws big name acts to perform. This all happens in the middle of downtown Austin. Try that in Vancouver…



Next on the list for me to try is the famous Coopers Old Time Barbecue in Llano Texas. This happens to be George W. Bush’s favorite BBQ restaurant. Coopers is very cool and you have to watch the video to see what I mean. If you like meat you will love Coopers and it was a definite highlight of my trip. It is a place that I had read about, and viewed pictures of, but I never thought I would eat there. It is not the type of place that you take a trip to, but if you are in the area you will visit it, but usually it is for the locals to enjoy. I am so glad my path took me that way.

Miami paramotoring

Remember back at the beginning of my blog when I mentioned packing my paramotor in to my trailer? Well it is now time to pull it out and start having some fun with it. I started flying paragliders eleven years ago when I was given a tandem flight for my 30th birthday by my wife. I was hooked right away and started lessons one week after my tandem flight. Yes I got hurt once but I could not give up flying for anything. Once you get bitten by the bug I think it is there for good.

I like to do mountain flying without a motor. Just me, my glider and the thermals or wind currents to keep myself aloft for hours at a time. It really is amazing. I have shared thermals with bald eagles only metres away from me. The two of us circling in the rising air while retaining eye contact is something you have to experience to believe. When I can’t get to the mountains I use my paramotor. Basically it is a seat with an engine and propeller that takes the place of the wind and thermals.



I took this video footage when I was in Miami. I met up with a few people from South Florida and they filled me in with all that needed to be done to fly at North Beach in Miami Beach. I also had to call Ft. Lauderdale airport and get clearance from the tower to proceed. After that I was on my way. I said goodbye to my new friends and headed off for the afternoon. I flew north to Ft. Lauderdale and then back in about three hours. You can see just how awesome it is to fly like this.

My wife and children bought me a shirt and on the shirt it says Carpe diem. I think that is fitting. Seize the day..

The Best of the Best.

Yours truly.

The next stop on our tour is Douglas, Georgia for the “Best of the Best” Invitational and the Open event at the National Barbecue Festival. The city of Douglas with a population of 15000 people is about 3 ½ hours south of Atlanta and a couple hours north of the Florida state line. Driving there is not done by interstate, but through secondary highways that meander through miles of pine tree forests. In between the groves of trees there are acres of land being farmed that are filled with blooming cotton. Did you know that scientists have studied the rings of Georgia pines and can tell every hurricane that has passed through in the last 100 years?


The cotton fields of Georgia.

Before I left Atlanta I arranged to pick up meat for the contest along the way in Macon Georgia . I always feel better when it is purchased and all packed away on ice. One less thing for me to worry about and it gives me piece of mind. The weather in southern Georgia for the weekend was beautiful. Hot, dry and a blue sky filled with white cumulous clouds. It also meant that I was going to go through a pile of ice keeping my ice chests cool. At Douglas they have a woman that comes around a few times a day in a golf cart with 20lb bags of ice. Nice and easy to look after your coolers.
This time I have no team mates as they have all gone home to work or school. I was going to have to do this contest on my own. I did know a couple of other teams, House of Q and Diva Q, so there were a couple of friends already there. One thing about BBQ competitions that I really like is the camaraderie between the teams. I always go home with a whole new set of friends.


In Georgia forget chicken kabobs. Florida is right next door.


The vending area.

The first night is the Best of the Best invitational competition. I prep my meat by myself and get it put back on ice in the coolers. By 9:00 pm I have my big cuts on the smokers. As morning comes I get my ribs on by 6:30 am and get ready to do the whole cook and turn in process. By the time I am done cooking, arranging and turning meat in for the day I am tired already. I start my clean up because I need to prep all the meat for the open competition the following day. As I chat back and forth with the other teams before heading to the award ceremony, I (as usual) wonder how I will do. When I get to the awards ceremony, I see the awards that they are handing out. They are solid brass bells that are nicely engraved. I do not know the significance of the bell but they sure are cool looking and I would really like one. As the awards were called out for ribs and I did not hear my name by the time it hit fifth place I figured I was done. Then it reached the last call which is first place and guess what? They called Smoke and Bones! First in ribs! Yahoo!!


First place ribs!



The next night and day are like a repeat except it is even more tiring. As we head off to the awards again I was happy with what I turned in. I worked really hard on cooking, presentation and details and was hoping for a call in something. As the awards came in I got a call in chicken. Awesome! Twice in one weekend and in two different categories! Next category is ribs. I did great yesterday so it must mean I will tank today. Nope! Called again! Yahoo! Next category pork shoulder. Guess what? Called again! Seriously... All three categories and I got to do the walk. One more round and that is for "over all". Yup, I got called again and placed fifth overall against some teams that I really look up to, and I did it cooking by myself. Not only did I do well, but my friends from House of Q, Diva Q, and the BBQ Effect each picked up an award as well!


I even wore my Jack-o-lantern shirt. It was Halloween afterall.

I wasn’t sure which way to go next as far as travel. Heat won out and I headed south. It is time to go play in the sun with my Paramotor. Next stop Miami.

Atlanta and the Gentle Giants

Atlanta skyline at night.

After dropping everyone at the airport in Nashville it was time to get ready for The Best of the Best in Douglas Georgia the following weekend. I made my way to Atlanta where I would spend a couple of days before moving on to Douglas Georgia where the contest is held every year. While in Atlanta there were a few things that I wanted to see. The Georgia Aquarium was top priority as well as visiting CNN headquarters and taking the tour there. I know Coca Cola’s head office is here and I thought it would be neat to see Coke World but that was going to be a maybe. I also needed to see the Peachtree Plaza in person. This goes back to my childhood when I was an avid reader of the Guinness Book of World Records. The Plaza was in there because it was the highest skyscraper that was all hotel in the Western Hemisphere. It as a very cylindrical shaped building that is very distinctive.

From wikipedia
On March 14, 2008, the Westin, along with other neighboring skyscrapers, sustained moderate damage when a tornado tore through downtown Atlanta, with over 500 windows broken. It was the first tornado to have hit the downtown area. As of March 2009[update], the Westin is the only building still to have not replaced its broken windows, instead still being covered with black-painted plywood on the outside, and drywall on the inside. This is because the ¼-inch (6mm) uninsulated glass is no longer made by PPG Industries, and even identical new windows would look mismatched because of weathering due to three decades of hot sunshine. Additionally, new building codes require insulated glass that can withstand winds up to 90 miles per hour (145 km/h) instead of 75 miles per hour (121 km/h), necessitating heavier and more expensive glass. Replacement of all 5600 windows is expected to begin in June or July 2009 and continue from the top down until summer 2010 at a cost over 20 million dollars, which will be covered by insurance.[5][6] Until then, 81 of its 1068 rooms are unavailable, down from an initial 320.[7][8] The new windows will also be mirrored, but will feature a bronze tint.

By now you may have noticed I have a thing for architecture, high rises and skylines. My wife is amazed that when we are watching a television program that pans a skyline I can usually tell her which city it is. I collect pictures of city skylines and in fact just bought one on our trip while we were in St. Louis.


Westin Peachtree Plaza

I found a hotel in Atlanta about eight miles south of downtown which isn’t too bad for distance. I tried to stay closer but I can assure there is no place to park a truck and trailer anywhere near there. It is not like Canada where we make some room for RV’s near our tourist destinations. The world of Coca Cola, CNN and the Georgia Aquarium are all down town so you must make provisions for travelling. I did talk a man and woman to letting me stay in their company’s parking lot for a modest fee (bribery) which made it easy for me.
My goal was to be at the aquarium at 12:30 and spend about two hours before heading to CNN for the tour. After that I had picked out a Brazilian Barbecue House that I would eat dinner at.


The Georgia Aquarium

When I walked in to the aquarium I was taken back by the whole thing. It is new, up to date and spectacular. As some of you know I used to work at the Vancouver Aquarium as a LSO or Life Support Operator. That is in the engineering department and our role is to maintain everything it takes to make the Aquarium exist. The Beluga, dolphin, sea lion, and otter pools as well as all the aquariums, pumps, chemicals, heat, plumbing etc., you get the picture. However the Vancouver Aquarium is old and part of it was built in the fifties. It takes a lot of work just to keep up with maintenance.
I struck up a conversation with one of the employees giving a lecture about the Coral Reef tank and after a few minutes the fact that I was an LSO at the Vancouver Aquarium got some special attention from her. I was taken behind the scenes to meet the engineering staff and then given a tour of the aquariums set-up. Much like the aquarium back home but new, state of the art and HUGE! The Ocean Voyager exhibit is the largest aquarium in the world. It holds 6.3 million gallons and is the size of a football field. The first third of the tank is visible to the public while the back two thirds are behind the scenes. Consider this; the entire Wild Coast Dolphin exhibit in the Vancouver Aquarium holds one million gallons. The reason for the enormous size? The co-founder of Home Depot, Bernie Marcus, donated 250 million dollars towards the building of the aquarium with just one stipulation; it has to house whale sharks. Yes the largest fish in the world. The Ocean Voyager exhibit is filled with four whale sharks, two Manta Rays, stingrays, a hammer head shark as well as other species of sharks, groupers, jacks etc. The glass holding back the water in the large movie screen size viewing area is two feet thick acrylic. It is the most breathtaking display of animals you will see anywhere.


One of four whale sharks.


Nandi one of the Manta Rays.

After my tour I was taken back upstairs where I was introduced to the Dive master for a program they offered. It was not scheduled for today but my enthusiasm allowed me an opportunity that I could have never imagined. At four pm I went for a classroom session inside the aquarium as well as another behind the scenes of a different area, the topside of Ocean Voyager. I was then given a wetsuit, mask, fins and regulator and tank. Together a group of five of us entered the Ocean Voyager aquarium just as the aquarium was closing at 5pm. We swam for at least thirty minutes with the whale sharks, Hammerhead shark, Tiger sharks, and Nurse Sharks, Manta rays, and Sting rays. The aquarium that I was in disbelief when I saw it for the first time a few hours ago was now my exhibit as well.



I was not afraid of the sharks at all and I was at peace as I watched them at arms length away. This was one of the coolest things I have ever done in my life. At one point one of the Whale sharks came from behind me and rose up until it brushed against my body for its entire length as it passed me! Near the end of our swim one of the animal husbandry staff had come in and started feeding by putting Krill in the pool. He was unaware that we were in the pool and it started a feeding response from the Manta rays. Nandi the big one came swooping up from in front and below me and passed underneath me by inches. She is fifteen feet in width from wing tip to wing tip. Huge!
After our swim we went back for debriefing of our swim and got to watch some video footage. My two hour trip that was supposed to be done by 2-3 pm lasted until 7pm, two hours after the aquarium closed. I did not make it to the CNN tour or to Coke world but I did something much more spectacular then that. I fell asleep that night thinking about “swimming with the Gentle Giants”.

On the beach.

I am writing this as I sit on the sand in South Beach Miami. Time to take a few days to relax, get some sun and get caught up on the blog. There is a lot to share. I have pictures to upload, videos to make, and stories to tell. I did really well in Georgia. How about.... 1st place in ribs! How about.... finishing in the top ten in all categories! How about this.... I swam with sharks inside the worlds largest aquarium as well!
As I get everything processed it will be up shortly. So much to share.

The Jack

Wow what a time! The Jack is everything that it is made out to be and more. As I was preparing to leave for my trip I was told by a few people that the most important thing to do was to take it all in. Unfortunately that doesn’t seem to become something you start to think about until you realize it is almost over… I feel very honoured and lucky to have been included in this year’s competition. Teams come from around the world to be here. In fact, one of the questions that I was frequently asked was how much money can you win? To be honest I don’t know the actual figure, but I do know it is not very much. That however is not that point of “The Jack”. The real prize is just being asked to attend. It is the most coveted barbecue competition on the planet and many teams have been trying for years just to make it in. I am serious when I say that as age sets in and I reflect back on just what it was that I did with my life, one of the memories that I will recall is that I went to “The Jack”. Bucket list again.

The Jack Daniels Barbecue competition is held in the little town of Lynchburg Tennessee, the same town that the distillery is located at. It has a population of 631 people except for the weekend of the competition at which time it swells to 25,000. There are warning signs alerting motorists on the highway coming in to Lynchburg about the congestion to be expected on this particular weekend. This means if you are competing you had better be fully stocked up when you arrive because you do not want to leave and fight your way through traffic back in to town.

There is another quirky fact about the tale of this town, their distillery and “The Jack” and that is the fact it is a dry county. That’s right, no liquor is to be sold or consumed in public. Personal consumption must be at home. Pretty weird for a town that is famous for a drink called the “Lynchburg Lemonade”. There is no lenience as the police are absolutely vigilant in their enforcement of the law as well. I saw one party goer have his keg of beer removed and taken away on the Thursday night that we arrived. I thought to myself, ouch, that had to hurt the pocket book.

I went from being alone to being surrounded by people rather quickly in Nashville. My wife arrived on Wednesday night and then my friend Rob Reinhardt flew in on Thursday to help compete. One day later my friend Shawn arrived to cheer us on and be a part of the event. I rented an RV and then we drove roughly 120 kilometres southeast to Lynchburg so we could set up camp on the competition grounds. We actually did not drive the farthest as that went to the tem from Fairbanks Alaska. Obviously teams that came from around the globe such as Australia, United Kingdom, Poland, Germany, Switzerland etc. travelled by plane.

On the Friday afternoon there is a parade of all the teams through the streets of Lynchburg to the distillery. They have the band who led us through the streets playing as we board an armada of school buses that are waiting to take all the teams up Barbecue Hill. Barbecue Hill is where they built a centre for entertaining the teams and judges who are lucky enough to have the opportunity to be involved. The view from the top looking out over the “holler” as the sun was setting was spectacular. Fried chicken dinner, sweet tea, live band and for those that drink they allow two cocktails at this special party. They also slow cooked a lamb over coals on a spit outside. I wouldn’t want any food to be wasted so I made sure I had a second dinner to help alleviate any problems dealing with leftovers. That was some mighty fine lamb!



The night before the contest as my meat was smoking on the pits, I contemplated sleep. I was tired but had no ambition to give up the night. I was here and I was just taking in the moment. You don’t know when you will be back again. Unlike another contest that you know you can just sign up for next year, this one has no guarantee. Eventually I crawled in to bed at about 3 am. As I laid there, my mind wandered constantly. I imagined what it would be like to win, even just an award. I eventually succumbed to sleep somewhere I presume around 4 am. I was woken up at 5:30 am by rain and scrambled out of bed concerned about the effects of the rain on the cookers. I went out and checked on everything and at that point decided to get the ribs out and start warming them. The first half of the day was a flurry of activity. After cooking all night we had to prepare our turn in boxes for our entries. Our turn in times went as follows, chicken at 12:30, ribs at 1:00, pork at 1:30 and brisket at 2:00 pm. The tension started to build around 11:30 when one of the teams cranked up the volume on the stereo and Ozzy Osborne’s Crazy Train started things off. At that point you could feel it building and I was getting charged. Here we were at the Jack and it was time to go! Our food was awesome and it looked great. By the time the turn ins were done I turned to Rob and Cheryl and said “we have just competed in the Jack!

See how fast you can move when your motivated!


We didn’t win the Jack this year as far as trophies or money goes. That went to a team from Massachusetts. That however is of no consequence to us. Every team that is here is a winner; every one. The fact that we have been invited and competed at the Jack is something that very few people in all of the culinary arts can say. I just hope that my turn comes again. Until next time Lynchburg.

Next stop Douglas, Georgia for “The Best Of The Best” Invitational at the National Barbecue Festival.

Nashville

Nashville skyline.

When we arrived in Nashville we had plenty of time to spare. After all the driving, touring and the competitions it was time for a rest. It can be a tiring process living on the road where nothing is the same from day to day. I think the entire stimulus has an effect on you. We immediately found a hotel and settled in before heading out for some dinner on our first night in town. Can you guess what kind of food we ate? You guessed it, barbecue. We ventured out to a long time favourite called Jacks Bar-B-Que on Music Row which is on lower Broadway in Nashville.


Music Row in the district.

We wandered in to the restaurant and had a good look around. The smell of burning Hickory, pictures of people involved in barbecue as well as neon beer signs on the wall, lots of happy people. Yup, looks like an old school barbecue joint. I ordered the brisket, beans and coleslaw while Jessica ordered the rib special. Good food, crappy seats. I think the booth was last reupholstered in the mid seventies. When I sat down, I sunk to a level familiar to a six year old and felt like asking for a booster seat. Yes sir, old school.


Jacks Bar-B-Que

If you are in Nashville also known as Music City USA I hope you like country music. I, other then a few Carrie Underwood and Taylor Swift songs am not the biggest fan. However the second night we were here, one of my favourite bands Creed was performing at The Sommet Centre, which is where the Nashville Predators of the NHL play. We purchased tickets and really, really enjoyed the show. It was Creeds last date on their tour so they went all out, guns a blazing to finish it off. Nice.


I recognize this guy from somewhere..

We chose to visit the Nashville Aquarium which is not an aquarium like you and I are normally familiar with. This one is actually an indoor restaurant with a 200,000 gallon aquarium in the middle of the restaurant that is full of sharks, rays, tuna and other marine tropical fish. You actually sit at your table and look at the marvellous spectacle in front of you. Odd quirk to this set-up is that the menu is heavily made up of fish? I would think chicken, beef, pork etc., but no, I am eating fish tacos that in theory could be related to the fish in the tank. Hmmm. Anyways, what a great way to have dinner.



After our dinner we headed across the hall to the Sting Ray touch pool. Here you pay to get in and can buy cups full of shrimp to hand feed the full size rays, and there are lots of them. I will post movies of this hilarious adventure next post when I have more time.
We are not done with Nashville as there is more to see but we are getting ready for the Jack Daniels Competition which starts tomorrow. I will have lots to write and share in a few days. My wife flew in from Vancouver last night and my daughter flew home four days ago so we have a changing of the guard so to speak. I also have my friend Shawn Coulter from Vancouver Island, who I have known since I was fifteen arriving tomorrow. I also have a friend from Regina, Rob Reinhardt who has his own top competitive BBQ team, arriving today. Collectively we hope to do our best and make Canada proud.

Bucket List

Metropolis town center.

I have a couple of fun pictures left from Metropolis Illinois. Metropolis, also known as Super City is big on everything to do with Superman and super heroes and villians. It even has a fifteen foot tall bronze Superman statue in the middle of the town centre that has been perfectly painted to match Clark Kent’s secret identity. The town which has grasped the superhero theme and developed it wholeheartedly has photo opportunities all over the city. There is a museum and a very large store with absolutely everything, and anything to do with Superman, that you could imagine. Jessica and I spent quite awhile inside the store looking at all the paraphernalia for sale. Recent items like brand new DVD box sets of the television series Smallville, to old school lunchboxes, trading cards, and comics etc. Clothing, flags, you name it they have it. It is a collectors dream store.




Mammoth Cave National Park.

Our next big stop on the trip was one that we had been eagerly waiting for, Mammoth Cave National Park. Mammoth Cave is the largest known cave in the world with 367 miles (587 km’s) already mapped! Besides the main cave, there are also adjacent ones that are currently not part of the Mammoth system yet. However, as exploration continues, the belief is that some of these will eventually be connected to Mammoth. Located northeast of Bowling Green Kentucky, the Mammoth region offers many different types of tours, and lodging choices, as well as many other tourist attractions for the whole family including the towns of Cave City and Park City. Mammoth Cave itself will blow your mind and this is definitely something that should be on your own "bucket list".
There are about fifteen tours that you can take part on while visiting the National Park. These range from a mild thirty minute stroll to a strenuous seven hour spelunking adventure that requires they measure your chest before allowing you to partake. If your chest is more than 42 inches wide, you will be denied the chance to participate because some of the passageways that you will be crawling through will not be large enough.
We opted for two different trips on two different days. Our first trip was through and adjacent cave called “The Great Onyx.” We chose this one because it was what they call a lantern tour. What that meant is rather then being lit up with spot lights like most of the cave tours, our group of 35 people had eight Coleman lanterns as our only light source the whole time we were in the cave. This gave us a very different perspective, and was the way that people originally toured the cave. In fact, people have been touring Mammoth Cave since the early 1900’s, travelling for long periods of time and spending large amounts of money to see this natural wonder.


This is from a wet section of the cave.

Our second trip took us on a 4 ½ hour, fairly strenuous hike through Mammoth Cave itself. All I can say is that the cave is absolutely amazing. I have been to Mt. Rushmore in the Black Hills of South Dakota and have been lucky enough to tour the two big caves of that region, Wind Cave and Jewel Cave, both of which are fantastic, but this one sets the bar to a new level. The sheer size is incredible and our trip is just over four miles in total. After about the first hour (roughly one mile) of our hike we came upon a large opening inside the cave and to my disbelief it was a restaurant! I am not kidding. There were picnic benches, boxed lunches, hot soups, drinks and snacks all available, as well as washrooms. In the middle of the cave! One mile inside, 300 feet down and we are eating soup and sandwiches.
Mammoth Cave National Park attracts over 2,000,000 million visitors a year with over 500,000 of them taking part in cave tours.


Our menu.


Cave Restaurant




Next stop Nashville.

St.Louis Missouri

Lets go flying!

This is a little out of order as we were in St. Louis before Illinois, but I was preoccupied with getting ready for the competition. That said, St Louis was so much fun for us that I had to write about it. Known as “The Gateway to the West” it features one of the most recognizable landmarks in the United States, the Gateway Arch. I have wanted to see the arch since I was a little boy playing hockey back in the prairies and was actively following all the NHL hockey teams. Whenever St. Louis was shown on television during a Blues game, the arch always captured my attention and since then I have always wanted to see it in real life. Life sometimes has a funny way of working out for you.

When I was planning this trip I had made this city a definite stop and quietly planned a few activities that we would do. I did not say anything about my ideas but waited until we got here and just proceeded to have fun. The Arch was first on the list as well as a trip on the Mississippi aboard a river boat. I also wanted to visit the old St. Louis Union Station as well as a helicopter ride around the Arch depending on availability.


Our ride awaits.

The Arch is huge, 670 feet high to be exact and it dominates the skyline in a very impressive way. When you approach it you do not realize just how big it actually is until you get beside it. It is downtown, right on the waterfront of the Mississippi River and right in front of the Old Courthouse.





The old court house.

It is as impressive at night as it is in the day because of the high intensity lighting used at night to light it.



One thing about the Arch is you can not even see the entrances which are at the bottom of each end as they slope down and out of view. When we entered underneath, we were immediately reminded of the post 9/11 era, as the security measures are extreme. This is one very recognizable landmark and is protected as such. The security measures are exactly like boarding an international flight from the airport and there are lots of armed guards on patrol.



We took the elevator to the top and that alone is something very cool in itself. The arch is curved but elevators go vertical right? Here, they have a train of about eight, five person pods, all attached together like a roller coaster. As the cars go up they start to tip on their sides, the cars stop and then rotate back to align vertically again and then continue up the arch some more, and then repeat the procedure all over again.


The door in to each pod.


This is your 5 person pod for the rotating ride up!

The view from the top is awesome but you have to lean forward and lean on to the wall to peer through the tiny windows. Way down below, the people of St. Louis go about their lives while the tourists marvel at the view from this unique piece of architecture. I loved every minute of my time at the Arch.

At the top.

Super City Blues and Ques, Illinois State Championship

Before we left Kansas I did a little more research in regards to cooking and in particular brisket and the pork butt categories. I have done okay in the past but they have never been my strongest in competition. I went over these two areas with different individuals and teams at the Royal and then once again with another person before we left. We made our way to St. Louis and enjoyed our stay there, but I could not stop thinking about what I had learned. I really did not feel like cooking a brisket and a pork shoulder in the parking lot of the hotel we were staying at, however I did entertain the thought. One night I went to the Kansas City Barbeque Society website and looked for upcoming events that might be near by. The 2009 Supercity Blues and Ques Illinois State Championship in Metropolis was scheduled for October 9th and 10th so I called to find out if I could still compete. I was told by their organizer, a nice woman by the name of Pris, that they would fit me in. Great! Now I could practice some of the things I had recently learned.

We drove to Metropolis and paid our entrance fees and then made our way to Paducha Kentucky across the Ohio River to rent a hotel.
When we registered I asked where a good place to buy some quality meat was and was directed to a market in West Paducha. I placed a call to see if they had what I was looking for and sure enough they did, so off we went to go shopping. When we got there I asked for two pork shoulders, two beef briskets, and four racks of ribs. The lady behind the counter looked at me, turned her ear to me and said "four what?" I said "four racks of ribs." She looked at me and said in a heavy southern accent, "I thought you said rocks", "you mean rarks?" I responded, with "yes, I need four rarks." Good to go.

We arrived at the competition on Friday about noon. When I pulled around the block to make my way up to our spot on the main street the first thing I saw was the” Lotta Bull BBQ” RV and BBQ pit parked in the first spot. Immediately I thought, “Competition is going to be very tough.” There were teams from Kentucky, Oklahoma, Tennessee, Missouri, Kansas and Illinois. I was the only one with Weber’s, everything else were big pits, trailers and homemade converted oils tanks.

We met a lot of really nice people at this weekend and they really treat us well. It seems they are generally thrilled that a team would come so far and visit them. No shortage of new friends and memories from this trip. I was told that southern hospitality is really amazing and I am definitely finding it to be true. I was surprised that when Mike Davis from Lotta Bull and I were chatting, that he offered his help in lining up a pit for me to compete at the Jack in two weeks. He then also informed me that he had a stockpile of wood in Tennessee that I could have access to. Mike and his wife Debbie are very friendly and it is no wonder they have so many friends around the country.



Awards time came and I honestly thought I turned in the best brisket and pork that I ever have, but I still thought I am among some big contenders here. As the results came in we got second in brisket, and seventh in pork, right here in barbeque country. We finished fifth overall and feel pretty good about our spur of the moment decision to compete. We also got a special award of recognition presented to us from the city of Metropolis, signed by the mayor, for coming so far of to compete at this competition. We are bringing home more hardware and prize money! Thanks Illinois.