Missouri: Arrow Rock Camping, Part 1: Cold Coffee and Some Walks

Arrow Rock State Park, Missouri. May 2018.

I'm a bit of a camping Goldilocks, perhaps, in that I don't want to camp when it's too cold and I don't want to camp when it's too hot.

The first weekend in May was a splendiferous time for my first Missouri camping foray this year.

I chose Arrow Rock State Park.  I've been there before. I like that the state park is tucked up against the village of Arrow Rock, and it's pleasant to poke around town.

Cold coffee fixings, Arrow Rock State Park, Missouri. May 2018.

To keep things super easy for me, I decided not to cook a damn thing. Not even coffee. Whoa, wait a minute! Not that I'd do without coffee, for God's sake! Nope, I'd bring my favorite instant coffee, some sweetener, a flavored creamer, and shake it all up in cold water each morning. Damn good stuff.

Arrow Rock State Park, Missouri. May 2018.

When I arrived at the campground, I nabbed the second to the last available campsite. Hoo-wee, that was lucky! The Audubon Society was hosting a weekend birding event, so I got there in the nick of time. I saw a lot of big-rig camera gear. Impressive.

I took several walks over the weekend.

Arrow Rock State Park, Missouri. May 2018.

One of the coolest things I saw was this tree being consumed by beaver bites.

Beaver teeth markings, Arrow Rock State Park, Missouri. May 2018.

Beaver teeth markings, Arrow Rock State Park, Missouri. May 2018.

Beaver teeth markings, Arrow Rock State Park, Missouri. May 2018.

Beaver teeth markings, Arrow Rock State Park, Missouri. May 2018.

I had the thought to record morning birdsong at my campsite and see about adding that to a slide show for my youtube channel. Below is my result:

El Paso: Downtown: Coffee Box

Coffee Box, El Paso, Texas.

The first time I heard of the Coffee Box, I was cold and had just finished attending something downtown. I saw someone with a coffee cup in her hand. I asked her where she got her coffee. She said the "Coffee Box," and waved her hand in a direction and said, "San Jacinto Plaza." 

I was so new to El Paso, I didn't know about anything.

So I heard the word "coffee" and the word "box" and "plaza." The first place I saw at the San Jacinto Plaza was the little kiosk-y cafe, and I thought, huh, this must be it.

No, no, no, no.

The coffee was groaningly bad. That metallic taste when the machine hasn't been cleaned in too long, where you're much better off with the cheap-assiest brand of instant coffee than this. Now don't get me wrong - the food at this kiosk-y place is quite popular, and I love that it's open so late every night at the plaza. Just don't get the coffee there.

I didn't discover until later that the Coffee Box, which is, actually, in a box, two boxes, one atop another - is over on the other side of the plaza, in a parking lot, really.

Coffee Box, El Paso, Texas.

Coffee Box coffee: good. Not amazing, stupendous, or out of this world. It's good, and there ain't nothing wrong with that.

Local artwork.

Coffee Box, El Paso, Texas.

Pretty tight quarters on the street level; upstairs there's a breezy deck and a cozy interior. Free wifi.

Coffee Box, El Paso, Texas.

When the El Paso wind shoos through, which she likes to do, the box shivers.

The wallpaper design on one wall. Eye play.

Coffee Box, El Paso, Texas.

Coffee Box, El Paso, Texas.

Coffee Box, El Paso, Texas.

Coffee Box, El Paso, Texas.

Coffee Box, El Paso, Texas.

El Paso: Coffee, Design, and Geography

French press, Gufo di Milano, El Paso, Texas. August 2016.

August 2016


My airbnb host recommended Gufo di Milano as a place to get good coffee. One day, while apartment hunting, I dropped in.

I ordered a coffee via French press. I did this because:

1. It tastes good. 
2. It reminds me of Prospero's in Tbilisi, where I passed many, many hours, usually with a large French press, because it was the most economical way for me to imbibe a large volume of coffee. (A French press also figured in to my experience in Longmont.)
3. I am frugal, and coming from a large family, volume is important.  

My airbnb host was right. The coffee was good. 

Cafe di Milano, El Paso, Texas. August 2016.

I had to squint and use my imagination a little bit to move beyond the parking lot when I looked out the window. But I savored the comforting Southwest colors of coral and orange spiny oyster and sand, in contrast with a brilliant blue sky.

If you look at the photo above, you can see one example of how El Paso incorporates its many geographical levels - the valley, laps, and peaks of the Franklin Mountains.

Louisiana: Where I Found My True Love

You know what they say. You'll find the love of your life when you're not looking.

So it was with me.

When did I first meet my love?

As I wandered through the super-lit aisles of a Walmart in Lafayette? 

Or was it at my neighborhood grocery store in Opelousas? The one that used to be the Piggly-Wiggly before it became the Cost Saver? 

And was it the handsome, midnight-blue uniform that first caught my eye? Or was it the price? 


None of these questions matter. Because when I got it home and tasted its loamy, forest-floor, dark richness, I knew we were fated for long-time love.

French Market, Restaurant Blend coffee.

At first, when I left Louisiana, I thought our affair would have to end, and I grieved.

But then I discovered, no, I can order my French Market, Restaurant Blend, online. As many as I want, whenever I want. The perfect relationship.

French Market, Restaurant Blend coffee.

Colorado: Coffee Trials

Ethiopian coffee ceremony at friend's house, Washington, D.C. 2007.

On my way in to my sister Murphy's place, where I was to stay for a month, I picked up some flavored coffee, already ground.

I shortly discovered that Murphy had no coffee-making paraphernalia except for a small, one-cup French press. Oi.

Don't get me wrong. I like coffee from a French press. The thing is, though, the coffee I'd brought wasn't the right grind for a French press. Also, it takes a good six minutes just to let the ground coffee steep in the French press before you can drink it. And that's after you've heated up the water to the right temperature. One little cup at a time in Murphy's baby French press.

Coffee in Lalibela, Ethiopia. 2011.

I tried to make it work, but it was excruciating to have to wait, over and over again, for a small cup of less-than-mediocre coffee. Murphy had some ground coffee in the freezer that past visitors had left, but still, it just wasn't doing it for me.

Even if I were to schlep to the store, buy a supply of good-quality coffee in the bean, and grind it to the right French press standard, I'd still have that impatient wait for each cup.

So it was back to the instant coffee for me. I'd buy my go-to favorite, Nescafe Taster's Choice French Roast.

But then I had a thought.

Coffee on kilim, Istanbul, Turkey. 2012.

Why don't I peruse the reviews of presumptive instant-coffee connoisseurs, and try out the alleged best of the instant brews?

So I did and here's one example of a review list.

Starbucks Instant was in the top five in any review list I looked at, but it was cost-prohibitive for me, which eliminated it from my personal testing list.

Jabena for coffee making. Washington, D.C. 2007.

Other Top 10s were either unavailable to me locally or they, like Starbucks, exceeded my budget ceiling.

But I tried out two brands with top marks: Bustelo and Medaglia d'Oro. Disappointing. Neither had a pleasing aroma. One had a chemical note. The flavors were nondescript.

I returned to my old lover, Nescafe Taster's Choice French Roast.

Related posts:

• Travel Blasphemy #1: Turkish Coffee
• Ethiopia: A Sweet Coffee Goodbye in Nazret
• Rustavi: In the Society of Women
• Keshalo: A Tiny Adventure
• Dubai: The Creek: Bur Dubai Side 
• Coffee and Salt: The Essences of Life

Colorado: Longmont: Big Coffee

What size would you like?

Big.

A big mug of coffee. Longmont, Colorado. May 2016.

Lake Atitlan, Guatemala: The Oatmeal and Honey Moment

Oatmeal and honey, Santa Cruz, Lake Atitlan, Guatemala. April 2016.

I can close my eyes and picture the oatmeal and honey moments of that breakfast at the Arca de Noé Hotel and Restaurant that is on the other side of the dock from La Iguana Perdida. The simplicity of the oatmeal in the large, plain bowl, the amber honey, looking out onto the lake. Flowers. Wooden plank table. Makes me inhale deeply and smile a little.

Oatmeal and honey, Santa Cruz, Lake Atitlan, Guatemala. April 2016.

Did I have the café con leche before or after the oatmeal and honey? I don't remember.

Café con leche, Santa Cruz, Lake Atitlan, Guatemala. April 2016.

Doesn't matter. It was milky, rich. I rarely take milk in my coffee, so the luxury of the added velvety weight to my coffee always gives me a little shock of pleasure when I do.

Oatmeal and honey, Santa Cruz, Lake Atitlan, Guatemala. April 2016.

Oatmeal and honey, Santa Cruz, Lake Atitlan, Guatemala. April 2016.

Oatmeal and honey, Santa Cruz, Lake Atitlan, Guatemala. April 2016.

To spoon this oatmeal and honey, to drink the café con leche, outside, while looking onto Lake Atitlan, amidst bright flowers, so nice.

Guatemala: Coffee and Salt, the Essences of Life

Mmm, salt. Source: Amazon.

I make no apologies for this: I packed both salt and, yes, get this --> instant coffee (to Guatemala! Coals to Newcastle!) for my trip to Guatemala.

Thank the baby deity I have.

I'm sure there's salt somewhere in my temporary digs, but without searching through various cabinets or finding my hostesses at home to ask, I don't care one whit where it is. Because I've got my own supply! Not a moment's worry have I had about where I can find this precious mineral.

There's coffee here, too, but the coffee maker is on the fritz, so making it requires me to do some technical things with a hand-held filter thing and a pan of heated water, and I haven't yet figured out how to make the stove burner as hot as it needs to be.

Again, it matters not! Because I have my own coffee with me! And before you scoff, let me tell you it is addictive - it's Nescafe Taster's Choice French Roast. Not the classic or the other flavor. These are fine, but the french roast - smells good, tastes good, and it makes me sigh when I take a drink. Not to mention injecting me with the requisite buzz. And my hostesses have a microwave and I can work it and therefore heat up my mug of water to fold said loamy-brown, crystalline drug into its liquid embrace.

Mmmmm. Sometimes I get the packing just right.

Louisiana: Bread Pudding Coffee

How can you not love this?

Community Coffee's Southern Bread Pudding coffee.

Travel Blasphemy #1: Turkish Coffee

Nescafe, this traveler's friend. Credit: Nestle.

A lot of international travelers rave about turkish coffee and sneer at instant coffee.

I like a good cup of coffee, myself. I drink it black, no sugar.

If I'm going to have an espresso drink, I'm going to have an espresso or an americano. Because there's no milk, sugar, or other flavorings in the coffee, I can taste the beans, the roast, and the preparation. I know the difference between a good cup of coffee and a bad cup of coffee.

Hell, I've even been to the birthplace of coffee. Twice.

Coffee roasted Ethiopian style

If an establishment doesn't make a good espresso, then I'll just have the house brew, thank you very much. Why spend the extra money for a product that's no better than the brewed?


So when I say I am just as happy with a cup of instant coffee, strong, as I am with a turkish coffee, I do so without embarrassment. In my experience, most turkish coffees are no more flavorful than ol' Nescafe, giving me insufficient reason to suffer the sludge at the bottom of my cup.

And when I'm traveling, instant coffee is a loyal friend always ready to give me a dose of energy without any fuss.


For the record, though, my favorite coffee is at Coffee Zone in Jefferson City or Columbia, Missouri. Their everyday brewed Rocket Fuel is so muscular, it'll walk your cup right off the table if you don't keep an eye on it. To get Taisir or Osama's espresso would be redundant. (But for those who like turkish coffee, you can get that, too.)

Taisir Yanis' Coffee Zone, Jefferson City, Missouri