I am back from the panhandle of Nebraska. It was quite the trip! Thank goodness it was short. I had my fill of travel earlier this year and late last year, and I was glad that this trip not only went smoothly, it ended early too. I got some cool pictures of the Nebraska area around Scottsbluff, and some even better ones of Denver and the Rocky Mountains (thanks, Ryan!)

While I was in 'Husker territory, I had my first ever Runza! It wasn't half bad, though a steady diet of them would keep me in the bathroom or allow me to make enough noise to found my own brass section for some needy orchestra. Whoo!

There was another place, best described as an 'upscale hole-in-the-wall' called the Emporium that I would highly recommend if you ever find yourself in the panhandle of Nebraska on the way to either Denver or Cheyenne, WY. This food rocked! And it's well-priced too! I had what they called 'Amber Chicken', a prosciutto-wrapped solidly-peppered chicken breast with a rice-and-mushroom side and steamed vegetables. We also had this smoked salmon appetizer with whipped wasabi, mmmm, it was good. And they serve Goose Island beer! From the outside, it looks like some older couple's house that's been heavily landscaped, but inside, it's a converted house, old wood floors and walls, nice ambiance, really a classy place in the middle of nowhere. This was dinner on Thursday night.

Friday afternoon, I had a pulled pork sandwich at another little place that reminded me of my grandparents' place in Wisconsin for some reason. Or maybe it was the effect that Scottsbluff was having on my memories.

In Denver, to catch my flight, I ate at the Macaroni Grill just outside of Aurora. Had some bowtie pasta, spicy red sauce, parmesan-encrusted chicken, mushrooms, roasted garlic (which I'm still paying for) and artichokes. Yum! But filling. OOH man, was it filling. Eating a bunch of those garlic pieces, I was afraid I was going to sweat garlic for a day or so. We'll see! But the brass section got some extra instruments and performed all night long. Thank goodness it was a private performance.