Baja Billy's In Cripple Creek

 

Song:  I've Been Searchin' So Long

Group:  Chicago

First of all...

I am a typical man.

I absolutely LOVE to eat.

To crave food is to crave life itself.

To positively devour a meal is simply so soul satisfying

that it brings a deep happiness like few other things can.

To satisfy a deep craving...

especially when that craving is a particular food...

is just one of the great simple pleasures in life.

I had been craving good Mexican food all day...

but I didn't want to drive half an hour away...

especially on possibly icy roads.

Luckily...

there is a Mexican restaurant in the nearby town of Cripple Creek (7 miles away)...

which from my door, to the door of the restaurant...

is but 15 minutes away.

I had tried several times to eat there in the past...

but they had recently changed their opening days and hours.

However...

the last time I went only to find they were closed...

 I made sure of their operating hours for future reference.

I just had this mad craving for Mexican food...

particularly for tacos (I love tacos...one of my favorite foods)...

that I just had to satisfy it...

or be doomed to thinking about it all night long :)

Anyway...

the restaurant is located in a minor casino in town...

upstairs in a loft.

It is smallish inside...

but plenty comfortable...

and all of the staff were polite and attentive.

I love...love...

love this taco combo plate.

I had elected to try a different meat for each taco.

The nearest one is beef...

the middle one is pork...

and the top most one is chicken

(each was good in its own way...

but my favorite was the beef taco).

They were so flavorful...

and the ratio of meat to toppings was just spot on.

And, they had this absolutely delicious sauce on the table 

which had a flavor I had never before tasted...

but one which I had absolutely loved.

It had heat...

but only just enough...

and it filled my whole mouth with a burst of flavor with each and every bite...

and which had complimented the tacos perfectly.

I had finally found the holy grail of tacos...

and just minutes away from my home.

The combination of taste and crunchy texture was just so gratifying 

that as I am writing this...

I can still feel the initial pleasure of biting into these great tacos.

The only problem with this restaurant is that they are only open on Fridays and Saturdays...

at least during winter.

I also had an enchilada plate.

These were chicken and they were another palate pleaser.

However, the tacos were my absolute favorite.

They were...

without doubt or exaggeration...

the best tacos I have ever had in my life.

As I had parked just a short walk from the front door of the adjacent casino to this one...

as I was driving home...

I took a picture of this casino...

as it is the newest and best casino in town...

Chamonix.

The casino which houses Baja Billy's is owned by this same company as the Chamonix...

and they are connected on the interior.

All up and down the main street of town...

it is colorfully lit.

There are so many other places to explore in town...

but as for Mexican restaurants...

I need look no further.

I now have a place to eat perfect tacos...

and it just so happens to be the nearest Mexican restaurant to my home.

I know it may sound trivial to many...

but, I just love eating good food.

And...

having found perfect tacos right near home...

well...

no other word describes the feeling but...

love.

I simply love it...

the perfect combination of perfect tacos...

and close proximity to my home.

My search for the perfect taco is finally over.

-----------------

No matter how bad the circumstances which evolve in life become...

especially with the uncontrollable ones...

life is simply too short to stew in any negative feelings.

They happen...

and they will always happen.

However...

by embracing the great simple pleasures in life...

everything is put into proper perspective if we but step back...

and realize that we only have one life to live.

There is no going back.

There is only a new future...

a path of our choosing.

As we walk our path in life...

it is the great simple pleasures on that path that make the journey so worthwhile.

Our enemy in life is negativity.

Embrace the good...

and the simple...

until there is no room for the negatives in life.

Simplicity is the friend of the good life.

In it...

you will find inner stability...

serenity...

and so...

deep happiness.

You will know two things when you find food so exciting...

when you find music, sunrises, and sunsets, to be so soul stirring 

that it becomes an impenetrable refuge...

your armor against self inflicted sorrow.

Firstly...

you will know you are on the right path...

and secondly...

that anything else is the wrong path.

I say again...

death comes to us all...

but life is only truly lived...

at most...

but once.

We only have one shot at it...

and never again.

To waste it...

is one of the greatest of personal sins.

All of life is about the artful buildup of anticipation...

and the masterful release of it.

It applies to everything.

If the great simple pleasures in life don't positively excite you...

you are simply not hungry enough (metaphorically).

I usually eat but once a day (literally).

I want to feel the hunger building...

because I know the feeling of great satisfaction once it is sated.

As with everything in life...

it is only the magical events that are remembered.

Anything done by rote...

an everyday occurrence...

is not remembered.

And so...

a person could live many decades in life...

and still have only truly lived a short while.

Make your life rich in magical memories...

and even though it may be short in years...

you will have truly lived a long and well lived life.

I am excited by life.

I love where I am ...

where I am headed...

and all of the great simple pleasures in it...

only because...

I stay hungry (metaphorically).

If I don't feel the call of the wild...

I don't partake in a sunset.

I never wish it to become mundane.

I always want it to be special.

I know life can all end at anytime

(as with most of us)...

and so...I take nothing for granted.

I am still a child in many ways.

But that is the key to seeing the world with wide open wonder...

to becoming excited with a delicious meal...

to laughing with full belly laughs...

to appreciating the many great simple pleasures in life.

I had never let my inner child die.

I am my own best friend (and Bandi)...

and I love my own company.

But...

I also love being around good people...

on a limited basis :)

(I just need my own free time to recharge).

Just remember...

good food is just a thermometer in life...

not a thermostat.

It is simply indicative of your path in life.

It is a canary in a mineshaft that tells you if you are on the right path in life.

It, by itself, doesn't put you on the right path.

It warns you that you simply aren't hungry enough...

that you have been taking life for granted...

that you haven't made all of the substantive things in your life right.

Never shortcut the great motivators of life...

for then you will only be feeling good for a short while...

and you will have done nothing to effect being on the right path.

However...

a good first step in life is to deny yourself things until

the urge becomes so strong that you will know it is time to sate the urge.

If you are not ravenous...

wait until you are before you eat

(both, metaphorically and literally).

This will carry on to other things in life.

This is when events in your life become magical...

and so...

will be remembered...

 and will be used by your subconscious to motivate you.

In this...

we become our own best friend.

------------

Enough for now.

See how a simple meal can become magical in the mind?

In remembering how fantastic that meal was...

I am just rambling on about loosely fitting associations.

I think I will remember those tacos for the rest of my life...

they were that good...

with, of course...

many memory reinforcing visits  :)

Stay hungry  :)

Living "In Love"...Life's Greatest Carrot

 

Song:   It Don't Matter To Me

Group:  Bread

Okay, this article is going to seem weird to many.

But, know if it does seem weird...

there is a better way to live.

Once again...

  as I was born at the tail end of the 1950s...

this makes me a child in the 60s.

I grew up observing the Hippie Culture in Silicon Valley 

(before and through a fully blown Silicon Valley)...

and in going to my two favorite places in the world at that time...

San Francisco...the epicenter of the Hippie movement...

and...Santa Cruz...one of the epicenters of The New Age movement...

all through the Psychedelic Age of the 60s and 70s...

and later through the 80s...

through the New Age movement.

I had noticed they all had a central tie in...

an underlying creed which had interlinked them.

They had all stressed having a free heart...

of connecting with the subconscious...

and whether they had known it or not...

it was their real mission in life.

This is what they had in common with pragmatic people...

without either of them knowing it.

They were on the same mission in life...

with merely differing manifestations, parameters, and underlying reasons for it...

as well as different applicatory paths.

On one end of the spectrum were the free spirits of the Hippies...

and the New Agers and the like.

They were dreamers...

and so...

they were creative and innovative.

The drawbacks of such a life too often manifests in unconstrained impulsiveness...

and in the long term...

so many had failed in life because of a lack of discipline

(although on the upper end...they had changed the world through their innovations.).

On the extreme of the other end...

the result was that of stagnation in life...

precisely because of their cautiousness.

Living life with strict and unnecessary guidelines to prevent any possible missteps...

is to eliminate risk at the cost of not taking the necessary risks to advance oneself...

and is driven by fear and/or a lack of personal fulfillment...

both of which increases anxiety...

and of which then stifles innovation.

Just as with anything in life...

there exists a balance between the best of both.

To get anything done in life...

there must be a prime motivator...

and as such...

it either manifests in something driving us forward from behind...

or pulling us forwards from the front.

This, of course...

implies a direction...

a goal.

Our dreams for a better future provide this.

In this...

there exists a similarity between the New Agers...

and that of pragmatic people...

with only the center of their focus being opposite.

And...

in both...

there lies an element of fear pushing them...

as well as an inner drive pulling them

(as with most all of us). 

In the New Agers...

their center of focus lies within...

and with pragmatic (and overly and/or falsely religious) people...

their center of focus lies without themselves.

(I must clarify something here.  I am not, nor have I ever been, religious.

However, so long as the person truly lives his or her religion...

all of it...and not just the advantageous parts...

and so long as it is not a predatory religion...

I not only admire their discipline in life...

I can see they have inner peace...

and so...

if it is good for them and for society as a whole...

it is a good thing. 

And so...I am happy for them.)

This doesn't necessarily make one better than the other.

I am of the mind that it is the actions of a person that ultimately matter in life...

not in how they think...

and of what their prime motivators in life drive them to do...

rather than in what they think they are.

Again...

a person's mind is his or her own.

A person defines him or herself through:

 Their actions in the face of duty

Their inactions in the face of temptation

Their reactions to those somehow at a disadvantage to them.

It doesn't matter what a person professes of their beliefs...

for what they ultimately do...

is the only true telling of what they had truly believed in the first place.

-----------------

Okay...

a little break.

Yesterday...

I had gone into Colorado Springs to conduct some business...

and I had then stopped in at Woodland Park to conduct further business...

and, of course...

to get something to eat (one of my carrots).

On the way back from Colorado Springs...

one of the views I love.

In the background...

is Pikes Peak.

In the foreground...

is the Manitou Springs Incline.

One of my goals for the future is to climb to the top of Manitou Incline.

The line up the near mountain is the Incline...

of which has some 2,770 steps set into the mountainside...

and of which culminates at the peak...

with wonderful views.

The average incline degree works out to some 45 degrees...

and so...

it is quite steep.

But...

it is a local legend...

and some people travel from other states to complete it.

That is not to say that it is especially difficult...given time.

It just takes the will to do it...

and so...

a minor dream or goal.

I had stopped in at a Woodland Park Veterinary to make an appointment for Bandi

for this upcoming Monday so Bandi may have updated vaccinations...

a check-up, and to have her nails trimmed.

Just outside this clinic...

is a fantastic food truck which serves some of the best Mexican food I have ever had.

The only drawback is there are no tables...

and you are subject to the elements.

However, I just ate in the car.

I still had this view to enjoy from the car.

Also...

just a short ways up the street...

is my favorite car wash.

The last time I had gotten my car washed there...

the temperature was 10 degrees F.

They have the car wash sealed as the car goes through...

to prevent the washing liquid from freezing as the car is washed and waxed.

Anyway...

their tacos are the best.

They are twice the size of normal street tacos...

and are jam packed with meat.

I had gotten Carne Asada (steak) tacos.

The reason I love street food...

is that they cannot rely upon service, ambiance, or comfort.

Their food HAS to be good in order for them to attract customers.

I had also tried their Carnitas Torta (shredded pork sandwich).

Their Carnitas Torta was also packed with meat...

and was very tender and juicy.

I had also gotten a Carne Asada burrito.

As with the others...

it was just so full of meat.

I had shared my meal with Bandi...

minus the onions...

of course.

---------------

Later that evening...

I stood on the loft deck to watch the sunset.

Again...

because of the unique positioning of my house high up on a mountain ridge...

I may view, both...

a distant horizonal sunset, and sunrise, from the comfort of my home.

Bandi loves being out on the third floor loft deck as well.

Viewing a beautiful sunrise or sunset is one of my carrots in life.

For me...

it is a time of reflection and serenity...

and it is not only free...

it is one of the great simple pleasures in life.

----------------

Now...

back to my thoughts on one of the universal carrots in life to us all.

Love

Love is not necessarily a romantic one.

I love music and other great simple pleasures in life.

My subconscious uses my great loves in life to motivate me...

as it does in almost all of us.

To live life filled with love...

is to live it being pulled towards something...

instead of being pushed by something.

It is...

by far...

a superior way to live.

It is to live life filled with hope and deep fulfillment...

rather than being pushed out of fear or anxiety.

Now...

just briefly...

on romantic love.

For me...

as far back as I can clearly remember...

I had always been "in love" with a particular girl at the time...

usually at school.

I had never not had one girl in my heart...

sometimes for years at a time...

and always from afar...

of course.

I remember being in love with a girl in first grade.

All the girls throughout school had always seemed so mature.

They were ladies in my mind...

(of course, I had also "fallen in love" with grown women

I had just seen for brief moments or with a female teacher...etc.)...

but...

I also knew I was a child...

and that I couldn't act upon my desires...

besides being far too shy to do so anyway.

However...

to have such a motivator in life is not only wonderful...

it promotes wanting to become better so as to be desirable 

to a possible mate later in life.

To have the deep heart wringing experience of just wanting 

to get a glimpse of the object of desire...

simply made me happy deep inside.

And so...

had set the seeds of future in my mind...

of wanting to become a man worthy of such a lady in my later years.

Anyway...

a combination of the most desirable traits I had seen in females 

all of my life had culminated in a "perfect" female...

my dream woman...

of which had kept driving me to become a better man.

Again...

I was always "in love" with a woman...

at every point in my life...

whether in reality...

or merely through a manifestation of my mind.

However...

it had always been a prime motivator in my life.

My point is that I have always been pulled by love in life.

Fear has never been much of a factor in my life.

Now...

pulling out from the realm of the romantic...

love is something which gently wrings the heart...

and of which focuses on something outside of yourself...

while reflecting upon the inner self.

It is a manifestation of the subconscious precisely

because it reverberates within the soul (subconscious).

Our goal in life is to connect with our "soul"...

to know what truly makes us deeply and serenely happy...

and to then use our intellect to engineer our lives to eventually achieve it.

This is where the Hippies and New Agers had gotten it correct.

Now...

as where so many had simply attempted to shortcut life...

had simply thought that merely living in their dreams

through drugs and an unsustainable lifestyle was the goal...

they had ultimately failed themselves by not being practical enough to know 

that the dream is only the starting point to living a fully realized and soulful life.

This takes a realizable plan...

and the disciplined lifestyle necessary to make it a reality.

And so...

it is the balance between dreams...

and the stoicism to make it an eventual realized reality...

that is our ultimate goal.

But...

were I to err towards one way of life to another...

to live without a constant love of life...

a soulless existence filled with anxiety or fear...

or even worse...

the mind numbing hell of an unfeeling stagnation in the absence of love...

in search of alleviation of pain, anxiety, and fear...

I would opt for living life in love with it.

However...

we have the option to have the best of both worlds.

To think otherwise is a false dichotomy.

And...

neither is it a compromise.

To get the best of both worlds...

you need not sacrifice one for the other to any degree.

Always be in love with life...

and think of the future and map it out.

In this manner...

you will always be running towards life...

and will be living life in deep serenity.

This is the best of all worlds...

that and by defeating death through your words and deeds...

which will then guide others to a better life...

and so...

by living and loving through the projected future as well.

------

I plan to express and illustrate more of these thoughts

in a series of novels of which I still have in the planning stages.

And...

yes...

one of my great passions and loves in life...

is writing...

and so...

why at age 65...

I am still excited about the future...

and why I still feel so alive...

and in love with life.

Sauerkraut - A Super Food

 

Song:  Nights In White Satin (Duet cover)

Artists:  Mario Frangoulis and Justin Hayward

This is one of my favorite renditions of this beautiful song.

I was playing this all the way to Walmart and back...

and I was singing all the parts as well  :)

---------------

I had forgotten to pick up Sauerkraut from Walmart the last time I was there...

so...

I went today to get plenty more.

Only live bacillus...

non heat treated and only naturally fermented sauerkraut 

is super beneficial for gut health.

I had only recently found this at Walmart.

I ate a full bag over a few weeks time...

and I had found the effects to be stunningly good.

It greatly promotes bowel health and regularity.

Scientific research has been showing more and more...

the great necessity for gut flora health as a progenitor to overall health.

In Reno, Nevada...

I had been having problems with inflammation...

as manifested primarily in arthritis in my knees and hands...

but also in other areas.

Since I had moved to Colorado...

I have been paying much more attention to gut health.

Before...

my knees had hurt too much to walk very far...

but my knees now no longer hurt at all...

and my hands are far less arthritic.

The biggest factor for my gut health has been this sauerkraut

(You will only find it in the refrigerated section of supermarkets).

However, I also regularly eat bean stew, Natto, and Kimchi...

although I now prefer eating sauerkraut over Kimchi with most dishes.

Anyway...

this is the brand I buy at Walmart.

It is not only naturally tart...

it has plenty of natural fiber.

I would have bought more...

but I bought all they had.

Don't worry...

the shelf life in the refrigerator for these packages is good until September of 2025.

I usually eat about 2 bags (2 lbs each bag) a month...

which works out to be...

one pound a week.

And so...

I have enough to last me for almost six more months.

---------------

Although I am health conscious...

I sometimes just get these mad cravings for certain foods every once in a while.

Since my main shopping area is in Woodland Park...

which is half an hour away from my home...

I always treat myself to some restaurant food to help motivate me to drive into town.

Anyway...

as my main pizza place is only open for a few days a week during winter...

one of my alternates is this pizzeria in Woodland Park...

AJ's.

This pizza is also very good...

and their sauce is particularly delicious.

(Note:  I usually eat very healthfully...

and so...

I can afford to splurge on marginally healthful foods once in a while).

This was my view of Pikes Peak as I ate my pizza

(I took three slices home...

and then shared some with Bandi as I ate the rest).

I live on the other side of Pikes Peak...

and I can see the top of it from home.

On my way home...

another deer crossed the road...

this time...in front of the car ahead of me.

-----------------

Music and the prospect of good food...

these are what make my drive into town so worth it.

I will drive with the rear window down for Bandi...

as I sing to my favorite songs.

And...

so long as it isn't too far below freezing...

I will open all of the windows and just enjoy the crisp air on my face.

The many carrots in life are so important in getting things done.

Yes...

some things we don't have to like...

but still need to be done...

but with the appropriate carrots...

we can make the necessary...

far more enjoyable...

so much so that we look forward to doing them.

Self motivation is an art.

With life being so short...

why force ourselves to do what must be done?

I say to find a way to make everything enjoyable

(win-win scenario).

In this way...

everything in life becomes enjoyable.

Why waste our precious time?

Know what you love...

and do it.

Having a light heart in life...

is what we owe ourselves.

There will be plenty of trials in it...

but so long as you have those precious 

and beautiful things in life that no one can take from you...

you will have the knowledge that your spirit is invincible...

and so...

by living life well...

even the knowledge of death only makes our lives that more precious...

and so...

the lives of those we hold dear...

just as precious.

And so...

without fear...

we are free to love openly...

and to cherish delicious food...

feeling every note and beat of great pieces of music...

belting out your favorite songs as if no one were around

(in my case...I only do so when no one is around...

except with Bandi in the car as I drive :)...

loving the sensations of crisp air upon your face...

and fully embracing beautiful sunrises and sunsets.

----------

You simply must try unpasteurized...

naturally fermented sauerkraut.

I had...

at first...

thought I would have to force myself to eat it just for my health's sake.

However...

by eating it as part of my main meal...

it has the tartness of Umeboshi...

and so...

to me...it is a pickle to accompany my food.

I actually like the taste of it with my meals...

and with the added great benefits I have noticed after having eaten it...

I look forward to eating it with almost every meal.

I had found things to love about it...

and so...

I will be eating it often...

most probably for the rest of my life.

Yes...

the benefits are that profound.

--------------

Top 5 health benefits of sauerkraut

1. Source of beneficial nutrients

Sauerkraut is a good source of fibre as well as vitamins and minerals and being a fermented food it promotes the growth of beneficial probiotics which are important for digestive health. The nutritional value of food, like cabbage, can be enriched by fermentation and it makes the food easier for us to digest. This is because sauerkraut contains enzymes that help the body break down food into smaller, and more easily digestible molecules which in turn helps us absorb more of its nutrients.

Sauerkraut is, however, a source of salt – this is because a saline environment promotes the growth of beneficial Lactobaccili whilst inhibiting the types of bacteria which would lead to spoilage and deterioration.

2. May support the immune system

Most of our immune system is located in our gut, so it may come as no surprise that the gut-supporting properties of sauerkraut may also be of benefit. The good bacteria or probiotics, from sauerkraut, help to keep the lining of your digestive system healthy. A strong gut lining stops any unwanted substances or toxins from ‘leaking’ into your body and thereby causing an immune response. These same bacteria may also support your natural antibodies and reduce your risk of infections.

As well as being a source of probiotics, sauerkraut also provides vitamin C and iron, nutrients known to support a stronger immune response.

3. May support heart health

There are a number of factors supporting sauerkraut’s heart healthy properties. Firstly, being fibre-rich and a source of beneficial probiotic bacteria makes sauerkraut useful for balancing cholesterol levels. Cabbage is a good source of potassium, that and the probiotic content may promote lower blood pressure. Sauerkraut is also a source of vitamin K2 which helps prevent calcium deposits from accumulating in arteries, a possible cause of atherosclerosis.

4. May improve mood and behaviour

Our understanding of the gut and how it impacts our mood and behaviour is fast evolving and it would appear that fermented foods, like sauerkraut, may play an important part. Certain strains of probiotic bacteria, including Lactobacillis helveticus and Bifidobacteria, longum, commonly found in fermented foods, may improve symptoms of anxiety and depression. They do this by promoting a healthier balance in the gut and through their production of compounds called short chain fatty acidswhich help to reduce inflammation and promote a healthier gut environment.

Fermented food may also support mood and behaviour by promoting the gut’s uptake of mood-balancing micronutrients, like magnesium and zinc.

5. May reduce the risk of cancer

Rich in compounds like sulforaphane, cabbage is a valuable vegetable to add to your diet. That’s because these beneficial compounds, appear to prevent oxidative damage and possibly act in protective way against cancer including colorectal cancer. In a similar fashion, fermented cabbage and its juices appears to play an effective role.

Gotten from the following blog:

https://www.bbcgoodfood.com/health/nutrition/health-benefits-sauerkraut