Crow Peak Brewing Company – Spearfish, South Dakota

Posted on April 25, 2013 by alyssa

As you might have noticed, I base a lot of my travel plans around what breweries are in the area. But when you’re traveling through South Dakota, breweries are pretty few and far between.

On Day #5 of the infamous Mondakoming Workcation, my boyfriend and I stopped for a road trip break at the Crow Peak Brewing Company in Spearfish, South Dakota. We had previously stopped at a terrible “Mexican” restaurant next door, called Guadalajara.

*Note to self: never try ethnic foods in places that have no population for said ethnicity.

Outside of Crow Peak Brewing Company

After washing down our cold, fake cheese and wilted lettuce, Crow Peak did not disappoint. The brewery was housed in a new-construction over-sized log cabin and was quite pleasant inside as well. Apparently, the brewery got a major overhaul in 2009, expanding to include a large tap room, thirty-barrel brew system, and a can line.

Lean Horse Ale Bus

There was a bus outside, naming one of their flagship beers on the side. I’m not sure what the purpose of the bus is, aside from advertising, but I sure it’s used to transport drunk people around. This place isn’t exactly in the downtown area, so a little last-call transportation could do a town like this some serious good.

I respect Crow Peak’s eco-friendly approach to canning their beers as well. Cans are easier to transport (and sneak into festivals), the keep beer fresher longer, and they’re more recyclable than glass bottles.

Delicious Crow Peak Tap Room

But what about the beer, you ask? Here’s what they had on tap:

Cream Ale
Lean Horse
Bitter
Spear
11th Hour IPA
Black Ale
Brown
Porter

And yes, I tried all of them. We snagged two samplers, at $4.50 each and settled in on the upstairs porch to enjoy some sunshine and warm wind.

Me Enjoying Some Crow Beak Samples in the Sun

The Cream Ale didn’t exactly blow me away, but it did have a full bodied flavor. I wanted to like it more. The Lean Horse was pretty bland and I had absolutely nothing to write down in my notebook as a I drank it. I thought the Bitter would be bitter (naturally), but it wasn’t. It tasted similar to the Lean Horse, in blandness anyway. The Spear was Hoppy, yet drinkable. As much as I generally dislike IPAs, I could actually drink a pint of this one.

Sampler #1

Conversely, the 11th Hour IPA embodied exactly what an IPA should be. For my taste buds, a small sample was plenty. The Black Ale was somewhat hoppy but pleasantly drinkable after the 11th Hour.

*Sidebar: I like my IPAs like I like my men…dark.

The Brown Ale was totally standard and unremarkable, as they usually are. The Porter was so soft I proclaimed that I could lie my head down on it and take a nap. Perhaps I was just tired from the long drive, but it was very smooth from start to finish.

Thus far, Crow Peak is the one and only brewery I’ve been to in South Dakota. Have you been to any others? I’m all ears for suggestions to break up the drive back!

Visiting Mt. Rushmore…With Creatures

Posted on April 22, 2013 by alyssa

Our visit to Mt. Rushmore started off like pretty much like anyone else’s. We flashed our Annual National Park Pass at the ranger, parked the car, and trekked through the hallway of flags towards the giant heads carved into rock.

Following the path past the information office and the cafe, the Grand View Terrace was the first viewing spot.

Since we were visiting the monument in early April, the crowds were amazingly slim. It really peaceful visiting the popular tourist attraction without screaming kids and over-55 crowd tour buses blocking the view.

Plenty of tourists have visited Mt. Rushmore, so what makes my visit blog-worthy? Creatures. That’s what…creatures.

My boyfriend and I never travel just the two of us. Ask any of our weirded-out friends, and they’ll confirm. I’ve been an obsessive gnome collector for the past ten years. In response to my gnome obsession, he has developed an equally unhealthy obsession with monkeys.

Three gnomes and four monkeys accompanied us to South Dakota.

With that being said, gnomes made of ceramic and monkeys made of stuffing follow us wherever we go. It doesn’t matter if we’re coming to your birthday party at a bar or a month-long work-cation, creatures will be in tow. And you’d better find it amusing.

Why, you ask? Because it’s a hell of a lot more fun, that’s why.

Creatures provide us with someone else to talk to after being in the car with each other for fourteen hours. After missing showers while camping for a week, the last thing I want to have is my picture taken. However, gnomes and monkeys are always photogenic. While we aren’t responsible enough yet for dogs or kids, creatures provide the fun parts while skipping over the bad.

There is one, and only one, trail that goes around Mt. Rushmore, called the Presidents’ Trail. Clever.

It’s an incredibly easy walking trail that’s well less than a mile and that pretty much anyone can do. There’s park benches along the trail and different views of the heads around every turn.

I must say, I was surprised that there weren’t more informational plaques along the trail. There was one for each president, which offered “fun facts” like education level and major accomplishments..but only one each.

While sparse, the plaques were easy to read and not dreadfully stiff. The ADD crowd thanks you, Park District. There were a couple plaques about the construction of the monument towards the end of the trail.

On our way out, we satisfied our consumer tendencies and popped in the gift shop. Fortunately, it was the only sales location on the premises, so the monument was only moderately commercialized. The gift shop was huge and carried all the usual fare.

My boyfriend convinced me to start collecting patches from national parks, and to eventually sew a travel satchel to stitch them onto. I’m quite the novice when it comes to sewing, but I’d love to put my machine to good use for projects like this. I also picked up a souvenir charm for my ongoing travel collection necklace, a cheesy souvenir bandanna for upcoming bad hair days, and a shot glass for his growing (but dreadfully underused) collection.

At the end of the day, he got some amazing shots of the four heads, which are way better than any stock photography I’ve ever seen. We even went back to the monument after hours to snap some night shots.

Awesome, but under-publicized fact: You can get into Mt. Rushmore from about 5pm and 9pm for free. The ranger station closes at 5, but the gate is left open to drive through. The park lights up the monument at sunset, which was around 7:30pm when we were there.They shut all the lights off about an hour later and expect you to head ’em up, move ’em out by 9ish.

The Mt. Rushmore at night photography collection will be coming soon, however, my all-time favorite pictures are the ones with our creatures. Millions of people has pictures of Washington, Lincoln, Roosevelt, and Jefferson’s heads carved into the side of a mountain. However, no one in the world has pictures of Ginger, Sheldon, and Peso soaking up the view in various poses.

Working in Weird Places

Posted on April 17, 2013 by alyssa

I shutter to think about the number of days, hours, and years I’ve spent sitting at a desk and staring at a computer screen. While my current work situation enables me to work from pretty much wherever I please (Internet-depending, of course), my bank account still depends on my eyes to be fixed on the screen and my fingers to type. The difference, however, is that I’ve ditched the desk.

I hate desks. Sure, there’s plenty of ergonomic fancy designs that would probably remedy my persistently stiff neck, the idea of a desk reminds me of the conformity, rigidity, and structure I’m running away from.

Happy Holiday Campground Arcade Room, Rapid City, SD

While traveling through the Black Hills of South Dakota, we stayed at an awesome campground with a lame name: Happy Holiday RV Resort in Rapid City, South Dakota. During this phase of our westward journey, the weather was inconsistent, yet tolerable.

Some days reached 60-degrees and campground-wide Wi-Fi made outdoor picnic table working possible. On rainy and cooler days, the campground’s arcade park was our refuge. Although most of the power outlets were broken and the couches reeked of stale smoke, the arcade room was warm, quiet, and just random enough to be creative in.

Happy Holiday campsite with monkey assistant

Working in the outdoors has always been a dream of mine, even if it still is on a stupid computer. Even when temperatures dipped into the 20’s and the wind gusts got crazy, I found myself incredibly willing to make it work. Pull on some more layers, plop on a hat, and duck under a pavilion to keep your laptop from getting destroyed by the downpour.

Once our westward journey reached Montana, the weather took a drastic turn for the worse. When initially planning this trip, I wondered why everything around Yellowstone National Park was closed in April. After seventeen days of dealing with this weather, I guess I finally understand why.

Happy Holiday pavilion in the rain

On one particularly unbearable day, we ventured into Bozeman, Montana to check out the city. After spending only a short amount in Bozeman, I quickly added it to my “I could maybe possibly see myself living here for awhile someday” list.

The Bozeman Public Library proved to be a great place to get some work done on a snowy Montana day. The Wi-Fi worked great, there was plenty of room to spread out, and the facility was nice and new.

Bozeman Public Library with a pink monkey

Libraries are always preferable to coffee shops and restaurants with Wi-Fi for working because they eliminate that nagging obligation/temptation to buy something. When you’re traveling on a budget for a month, every unnecessary latte adds up. However, the libraries in some tiny towns have totally inconvenient hours.

For example, the library in Gardiner, Montana is only open on Tuesdays from 10am-5pm and 6-8pm and then Thursdays from 6-8pm. How do you promote literacy with only two weekdays of book access?

Tumbleweed Cafe, The Only Place with Internet in Gardiner, MT

Regardless, sometimes you just have to suck it up and pay for a couple of food items to get work done. The Tumbleweed Bookstore and Cafe was essentially the only place in all of Gardiner that had free Wi-Fi. Fortunately, coffee and tea only cost $1 there and Montana has no sales tax. That’s a small price to pay to get some freelance paychecks to roll in.

I hate myself as I’m writing this, but McDonald’s also has really reliable free Wi-Fi. I couldn’t resist buying a grilled chicken wrap and M&M McFlurry while working in the Livingston, Montana McDonald’s for over six hours on yet another snowy day. The staff never hassled us to leave either because they had fallen in love with my stuffed pink monkey. Thanks, Ginger.

Before setting out on this road trip, we tried to do our research about places to find Wi-Fi on the road. However, the results are sketchy and daily itineraries change. For backup, we invested in a Verizon 4G Jetpack, although the fees get ridiculous if we exceed the data usage plan.

I feel the need to create an “Encyclopedia of Road Trip Wi-Fi” with a list of places recommended for working on the road. Laundromats often have Wi-Fi also, such as Gardiner Laundry next to Yellowstone Gifts & Sweets. If you’re on the road for awhile, you probably have laundry to do anyway. If you don’t, fake it and fuss with a machine every once in awhile.

Gardiner Laundry, Closest Washing Station to Yellowstone

If you’re simply on vacation, avoid the unplug your devices, enjoy nature, and avoid these Wi-Fi spots at all costs. However, if your ability to eat and find shelter depends upon the Internet, keep knocking things off your to-do list so you can extend the road trip as long as possible. That’s what I’m doing!

Encourage Colombia to Cleanly Expand Palm Oil Plantations

Posted on April 13, 2013 by alyssa

The South American country of Colombia is the world’s fastest growing and fifth largest producer of palm oil, which is used for cooking and bio-diesel fuel. At least twenty million hectares of Colombia’s land is ineffectively used for agriculture, and this could accommodate many new oil palm plantations. We need to encourage Colombia’s government to use sustainable farming methods so the environment is not harmed during production.

According to John Garcia-Ulloa’s assessment in Lowering environmental costs of oil-palm expansion in Colombia, “Instead of clearing natural forests, it may be able to convert degraded pastures into palm oil plantations, opening up access to the EU and other markets where consumers are demanding sustainably produced oil for cooking, cosmetics and “green energy.”

Palm oil cultivation is nothing new. It started in the 1970′s to supply the domestic food market and has long been tied to a history of illegal harvesting of coca for the drug trade. Thanks to tax breaks and an increase in demand for bio diesel fuel, the industry expanded in the 2000′s. Despite claims that palm producers have caused internal displacement of Colombian residents, the Center for International Forestry Research believes that palm oil plays less of a role in population displacement than originally thought.

And according to expert Garcia-Ulloa, “Colombia may have an advantage over the Indonesian case when it comes to lowering impacts from the expansion of oil-palm. A vast swathe of Colombia’s agricultural land – as much as 20 million hectares – comprises pastures used for ranching, which are “very inefficient due to the use of rudimental production systems. These areas could accommodate new plantations of oil palm, thus avoiding the expansion on other natural ecosystems such as forests or savannahs.”

Sign my petition to urge Colombia’s government to improve agricultural practices for palm oil production to enable the nation to both stabilize their economy and protect the environment.

Adjusting to Life on the Road – Mondakoming #1

Posted on April 7, 2013 by alyssa

Now that I’m finally unrestricted by the 9-5 standard, my boyfriend and I mapped out a rough itinerary to spend the next three weeks or so on a work-cation to Mondakoming (Montana-South Dakota-Wyoming). What exactly is a work-cation you ask? Good question. I’m one week in and just starting to figure it out.

A work-cation means finding free wi-fi whenever and wherever possible. Whether it’s at campgrounds, Dairy Queens, or on the recently-purchased 4G Verizon Jetpack, the Interweb is key for a freelance writer and a online business owner. We take turn driving, depending on who has the most work that needs to get done. I’m starting to accept and embrace being tangled in wires in the passenger seat. I feel hypocritical writing about experiencing nature while being tangled in technology, but I can’t afford to travel and not work. So tangled it is.

Adjusting to life on the road means being low maintenance. Fortunately, I’m the kind of girl that doesn’t mind missing a daily shower or sleeping in a 20-degree tent. Sure, I might bitch and complain a bit from time to time, but I have full confident that I can make it.

Adjusting means snacking on beans out of a can on the side of the highway in Wyoming. Adjusting means peeing on the side of a trail and keeping a lookout for oncoming traffic. Adjusting means sitting in parking lots until the Internet works. Adjusting means gourmet lunches of cold soup from pop tab cans at the top of a cliff in Billings, Montana. Adjusting is easier than I’d thought it would be, and I can’t imagine wanting to be back “home.”

I feel like my Jeep, Chief Surfs With Manatees, is the happiest he’s ever been since I bought him nearly one year ago (1st birthday party 4/21/13!). We bought a last-minute hitch rack with a rolla bag to haul our camping equipment, inflatable kayak, snowshoes, etc. He makes a hell of a lot more sense out here than in Chicago, and so do I.

Tomorrow marks the completion of Week #1 of Project Mondakoming. I finally feel that I’ve gotten into my groove and plan to make regular posts about the journey, as much as free WiFi allows. We’ve camped in South Dakota, seen Mt. Rushmore, hiked Black Hills National Forest, hiked Devil’s Tower, hung out in Billings, and done everything in between.

In addition to the daily notes I take, my boyfriend gave me a writing assignment to keep up with every day. I’m writing a 6-8 sentence paragraph everyday about the thing that sticks out to me the most each day. It might not be the most impressive or most significant, but when I think about the one thing that I want to carry with me…that’s my paragraph topic. He’s been taking a crapload of amazing professional photos everyday too, so I’m looking forward to utilizing those in my upcoming posts as well.

It feels great to finally do what I’m supposed to be doing where I’m supposed to be doing it.

To be continued…

Save Primates and Forest Plants – Stop Bushmeat Hunting

Posted on March 25, 2013 by alyssa

“Bushmeat hunting” is the hunting of meat from wild animals for human food, and it’s transforming the rain forests throughout Africa. When humans kill gorillas and other primates for food, they can no longer disperse fruit and nut seeds essential to the ecosystem. We must support the efforts of the Bushmeat Crisis Task Force to preserve both primates and forest plants.

Although hunting for bushmeat from endangered primates is illegal, they are frequently used for food in Africa. Protein-rich foods are scarce and there are few taboos about eating primates in African cultures. Newly-built roads allow hunters to sell primate carcasses to city markets, which yield good profits.

According to Sweedish ecologist, Ola Olsson, “The seedling communities of the forest floors are really different in a hunted forest compared to a well-protected forest. In the long run, that’s going to make the hunted forest look quite different from what they do today.” Olsson and his colleagues surveyed plants and animals in the Nigerian Rain Forest and found that the forests of over-hunted areas were lacking seedlings, such as bush mangoes, that rely on primates to spread their seeds.

Other animals, and even humans, depend upon these fruits for nutrition and economic sale. Another ecologist, Joanna Lambert, added that, “Without primates and other large-bodied mammals, forests are not regenerating in the way they’ve evolved to do over millions of years.”

Sign my petition to support the efforts of the Bushmeat Crisis Task Force and stop bushmeat hunting in Africa. With their help, we can increase fines and law enforcement for hunting and selling these meats and improve local access to other types of protein-rich foods.

One Dark, Dry Night in San José

Posted on March 22, 2013 by alyssa

My boyfriend’s head didn’t explode and my Customs form wasn’t rejected. A wave of relief swept over me as I took the first steps out of the airport in San José, Costa Rica.

Sinus infections and flight chaos were the last things on my mind as I felt the 85-degree heat smack me in the face. I quickly thought and forgot about all those suckers back in negative 85-degree Chicago.

My boyfriend and I were determined to travel like locals and take city buses everywhere to save money and shame. Not unexpectedly, we were bombarded with cab offers the second we walked outside. I guess a white girl and an Indian guy with huge backpacks don’t exactly look like Costa Rican locals.

Utilizing broken Spanish language skills, we quickly found the correct bus stop and hopped on board. Apparently, buses are THE way to get around in San José. They felt clean and safe, and there was a ton of them going in all directions throughout the city. The best part was that a bus ride only cost about $1 USD!

I don’t think I’ll ever pack an oversize wheeled suitcase ever again. Making use of my previously under-used REI backpack was the best decision I could have made. The streets of San José were narrow and crowded. I bumped into enough locals as it was, so I can’t imaging navigating with a monstrosity on wheels.

We exchanged some dollars for colones and strolled the streets in search of cheap grub. There was lots of traffic (mostly scooters) and I nearly died on several occasions crossing the street without looking both ways.

Growing hungrier and crankier, we stopped at some nameless hole-in-the-wall for sandwiches. I nabbed a Costa Rican version of a ham & cheese sandwich and a beer. This was my first experience with Imperial. The light, standard-tasting beer is made in Costa Rica so while I’m a bit of a craft beer snob back home, I drink like the locals when I travel.

Two sandwiches and two beers, plus tip, cost us about 4500 colones….which comes out to about $9 USD. Not bad! The bad ’80’s pop ballad music blasting throughout the basement restaurant was a nice touch as well.

After lunch, we went on a hunt for a place to sleep. Advance research advised us that there were plenty of hostels in San José, so we weren’t overly concerned with booking one in advance during non-peak season.

We picked a hostel called Hotel Musoc and stayed in Room #34, which cost only 10,000 colones ($20 USD) for a private room with a double bed and bathroom. One additional bonus…a baby crib!

When we arrived at Hotel Musoc in the early afternoon, we were told that the electricity was out in the whole neighborhood. The hostel owner held a flashlight over his daughter’s head while she checked our passports and took our money.

The hostel may have been priced so cheaply because it was located directly over an incredibly busy bus terminal. Fortunately, the chaos died down about 9pm, just in time for slumber. That’s about the time that the electricity and running water started working again too.

From that one dark, dry night in San José, I clearly remember the hazy sky, looming clouds obscuring distant mountains, persistent honking of scooters, and constantly being approached by locals asking if we needed directions. With minimal advice, we survived the night and found our way to a 5am bus headed for the Arenal Volcano the next morning.

To be continued…

South Dakota’s Red Wall Canyon Cowboy Music Festival

Posted on March 20, 2013 by alyssa

Get a true taste of the western way of life as you camp and relax in the Black Hills of South Dakota. Bring your horse (if you happen to have one) to join group rides in the area and get back in time for the evening entertainment. The Red Wall Canyon Cowboy Music Festival kicks off on June 21^st and lasts through June 23^rd.

The entire event takes place at the scenic Allen Ranch in southwestern South Dakota. The cost of entertainment on Friday and Saturday nights is just $10, and there is free music Saturday afternoon on the Cowboy Stage. Musical entertainers from around the U.S. will travel to the festival to play, including headliners Brenn Hill, Almeda Bradshaw, The Ramblin’ Rangers, and Paul Larson. Critics claim that Hill is the bridge between traditional and new cowboy music because his music evolves with the times. Bradshaw is a poet, songwriter, and oil pastel impressionist painter who has been performing at cowboy gatherings around Montana since 1997. All music performances take place along the river and guests are encouraged to bring their own chairs.

There will be lots of opportunities to ride and camp with horses during the musical event. The Seven Sisters Range and Fall River trails offer great riding paths for both beginner and experienced riders. There are camping and RV hookups at Allen Ranch and tent camping is welcome as well. Food and craft vendors will set up shop during the daytime on Friday and Saturday, and a buffalo wings contest (and public tasting) will be held on Saturday at 3:30. Everyone is welcome to join the cowboy church service and breakfast meal at Allen Ranch on Sunday morning.

The Rapid City Airport is less than an hour from Hot Springs, where the festival is located. The town of Hot Springs has plenty of other options for things to do as well during your visit. Make sure to check out the town’s unique shops, wild horse habitats, and soothing natural spas as well.

Comment: I’m actually heading to South Dakota in April, but perhaps a summer visit could be in order as well. Cowboys are really hot, and how often can you really find this many of them in one place?
Note: A version of this article will soon be published on a popular car rental website. Bragging rights link to follow.
Photo credit: Twice 25 via WikiMedia, Navin75 via Flickr

Demand Federal Funding to Stop Wildlife Smuggling

Posted on March 19, 2013 by alyssa

It is the job of the U.S. Department of Fish and Wildlife to stop smugglers from illegally transporting animals across international borders. However, the budget-cutting sequester has eliminated hiring initiatives and training programs for border inspectors in the department. We must demand adequate funding from the federal government to train agents and protect our endangered species.

Top law enforcement officer Edward Grace says he’s seen women smuggling monkeys under the guise of pregnancy, men with burlap sacks full of pythons shoved down their pants, and children with pockets full of endangered sea turtles. “Every hour, every day, there’s a wildlife product being smuggled into the United States,” Grace said in a Washington Post interview.

Budget cuts have forced the U.S. Department of Fish and Wildlife to cancel training for twenty-four new border protection agents, and 14 vacancies for wildlife inspectors at major ports of entry will not be filled. Despite the growing number of endangered and threatened species, the Department has not been allowed to expand since 1978. Since that time, animal poaching has become much more prevalent and the list of protected species has grown exponentially.

Unfortunately, the United States is a popular stop on the illegal trade market. Smugglers often get by with false labeling and secret luggage compartments. “We can’t quantify how much is getting by us,” Officer Grace said. “But do we know stuff is getting by us? Yes. The hiring freeze will result in fewer investigations, making it easier for wildlife-smuggling rings to operate in the U.S.”

Sign my petition to urge the President Obama and Congress to provide adequate federal funding to stop wildlife smugglers from illegally transporting endangered species.

Praise International Committee for Protecting African Manatees

Posted on March 12, 2013 by alyssa

Even though the African manatee is the most endangered of all manatee species, they continue to fall prey to poaching along the Atlantic Coast of Africa. Their estimated population is under 10,000 worldwide, and experts suspect that there will be at least a 30% reduction in population during the next sixty years. The mammals’ habitat is being threatened because of dam construction and hunting for their meat and oil. CITES should be commended for its efforts to save these manatees from extinction.

Last fall, the nations of Benin, Senegal, and Sierra Leone submitted a joint proposal to ban the trade of African manatees and all of their products. This proposal is up for consideration at the 16th meeting of the Conference of the Parties, which is taking place in Bangkok, Thailand from March 3-14, 2013.

CITES is an international agreement between the governments of many nations working to ensure that international trade in wild animals and plants does not threaten their survival. Since it’s formation in the 1960′s, CITIES has protected over 30,000 species, including everything from live specimens to dried herbs to fur coats. There are 177 countries represented in CITES.

The Humane Society’s Mark Simmonds stated in a March 7, 2013 press release, ‘Trade is a growing threat to this species, which is also facing a range of other growing human pressures, including habitat loss resulting from climate change. A ban on international trade is an important part of protecting this species and ensuring its long-term survival.”

Sign my petition to praise CITES parties for their interim decision to protect the African Manatees and to encourage them to uphold the decision for the remainder of the meetings.

Photo credit: Thomas Bucher via Fotopedia

Alyssa v. Nature

Where the nature outside collides with the nature inside