Carl’s Jr. (Santa Rosa, NM)

Where did it all go wrong? My family and I used to LOVE Carl’s Jr. When we moved from Southern California to the Northwest, we even wrote to corporate HQ to implore them to put a location in my hometown of Kennewick (which DOES have one, so I’ll pretend we were the reason it came to town).

Emoji review: ⭐🍔🍟, 💭,😧

Riff Raff Brewing Company (Pagosa Springs, CO)

On our last full day in Colorado (let’s not pretend that waking up at 6 a.m. to get on the road back to Texas counts as any time spent in the state), we finally ventured into downtown Pagosa Springs. That’s where we discovered the downtown sulphur scent from the hot springs and that you really wouldn’t want to hang out in certain spots (again, no threat of crime…just that smell).

Upwind of that area a bit was Riff Raff Brewing Company.

Emoji review: 🐑🍔, 🕘, 🕶👜 (pretend that’s a bowling ball bag)

DSP Pizzeria (Pagosa Springs, CO)

The surrounding area provided some pretty cool views. This one required a 100-yard walk to get to from the parking lot. My kind of hike!

When we went to the Cafe Colorado on our first night in Pagosa Springs, I grabbed their local visitors’ guide and rifled through it to check for other restaurants we might want to check out during our stay. One option, offering $2 margaritas in addition to pizzas…was out of business. The $2 margaritas may not have been the best idea.

DSP Pizzeria, however, was still around and my parents mentioned that it was the place they’d take us if we were looking for a pizza.

Emoji review: 🍕,🍽,🍻,🏔