Sustenance for the Itinerant Geologist - Part 1

(These are my opinions.  Before seeking out these local or regional eateries, do some internet research.) 

Whether traveling for business, family, field trips, Bucket List journeys, or whatever, surely you have discovered that "eating healthy" (salads and stuff) is very difficult.  Especially when traveling alone, as the driver has to do all of the navigating and other "support chores". 

[Admittedly, I am "old school" still using paper maps and road atlases (to focus upon the "big picture") and my Android phone during local navigation stops.  Doing quick, simple sketch maps on a legal pad helps commit the route to memory.  But, all of that eats up time.]

Additional reasons for disruptions to "healthy eating regimens" include travel fatigue, storage issues, vehicle space restrictions, route/schedule changes due to weather events, navigating unfamiliar places to find local stores,...

To keep up with a schedule, sometimes you have to be satisfied with a combined fast food/restroom stop, especially while "burning up" precious daylight driving hours.

[Just a reminder, as these are not "fast food" places, it is just best to just relax out and soak in the local ambiance (and look at maps and make notes) while you wait for your food.]

From the time of my first wedding in 1984, most of my subsequent travels have had a significant "family component" to the routes taken.  [Just an observation, not a complaint.]  Most of these journeys were to OK, TX, NM, and AZ, except for 2009 - 2010, when my daughter's family lived in New Jersey.  This continued up through 2015 and 2016 when my daughter's family lived in Phoenix, AZ.

Unless I am lucky enough to find a good salad bar, for lunch and dinner, while traveling my choices tend to be Mexican food, burgers, or barbeque.  Most of the food stops listed below are fairly close to a freeway or major road.

These are the most memorable stops during my 2015 & 2016 travels between Atlanta and Phoenix (in no particular order):

Golden Rule Bar-B-Q, Irondale, AL (East Birmingham).  (Second Trip 2015)  This particular location (of a historic barbeque chain) has been a family stop for lunch for a number of years, during past westward journeys to visit relatives "out west".  As there are nearby gas stations, this is a convenient "combo stop".  The official location is 2504 Crestwood Blvd. (US Hwy 78), Irondale, AL.  Shredded pork with a potato salad side is my mainstay and the benchmark by which I judge different pork bbq restaurants (if Brunswick stew is not available.)

C-J's Butcherboy Burgers, Russellville, Arkansas.  (Second Trip 2015)  I had noticed the name on the blue interstate sign for Exit 81, on I-40 through Russellville, AR on a previous trip between GA and OK and I had made a mental note about stopping.  C-J's had appeared on a random internet article "Best Burger Joint in Each State" (or something like that) as Arkansas' best.  Just a good solid, fresh hamburger.

Silver Moon Cafe, Santa Rosa, NM.  (First Trip 2015)  On the return "leg" of the First 2015 AZ Trip, my friend Neal and I stopped in Santa Rosa, NM at the Best Western.  Just down the street was this little bit of "Route 66" history.  One or two local New Mexico beers and the Mexican food satisfied the weary travelers.

Serious Texas Bar-B-Q, Farmington, NM; Durango, CO; and other NM/CO locations (Second 2015 Trip & 2016 Trip).  While in this area on the first 2015 trip, Neal and I were usually dining at one of the local brewpubs and didn't have time to check out this intriguingly-named chain of barbeque restaurants.  I made sure to check out one of the Farmington, NM area locations and the Durango, CO location the following year.

Both times I had the shredded (chopped) pork, which defines the southeastern U.S. definition of "barbeque" and potato salad.  [The Austin, TX area barbeque experience is something that I have only briefly experienced and it is a world unto itself.]

(A second helping is in-progress.)