The part of the trip I looked forward to the most was visiting Pie Town, NM. This tiny town (blink and you'll miss it), boasts a post office, chiropractor, and two pie shops (you won't find a gas station or fast food joint in Pie Town). We visited the "Pie-O-Neer" diner and pie shop.
Kathy, the owner and pie maker (pictured above) was busy baking when we arrived, although she made the time often to come out and check with customers on how they liked their pie. The menu was simple, with an offering of sandwiches, quesadillas, and soup -- and everything we ordered was delicious! Of course, the best thing was the pies. When we got there, it was busy and one of the workers/musicians suggested that we reserve a slice of the pie we would like, as they went fast. At the time, there was a selection of Blueberry Cream, Apple, Sweet Potato, Strawberry/Rhubarb, and Blueberry (still bubbling from the oven). As we were eating, new pies would periodically arrive, such as Peach/Raspberry, Peach/Almond, and a New Mexico favorite -- Apple pie with green chili and pinon nuts.
For an entree, we had a couple of Kathy's Kraving (a grilled cheese sandwich with tomatoes and green chilies), a BLT, and a spinach quesadilla. All of them were very good, but the Kathy's Kraving sandwich was especially delicious. We then started on the pie. The Blueberry Cream was good, with fresh blueberries on top. The Sweet Potato pie was creamy and delicious -- and we were informed that it was made with molasses instead of sugar. We also had Strawberry/Rhubarb, which was very tart. Kathy informed us that we should have it ala mode, as the sweet ice cream complimented the tartness well. As we were waiting for the Peach/Raspberry to cool enough to slice (and planned to have that pie ala mode), we set the rest of the Strawberry/Rhubarb to the side to wait for that ice cream. When the Peach/Raspberry slice arrived, the four of us set upon it like we hadn't eaten for days. It was quite possibly the best pie I had ever eaten. When we finished (within moments), I flagged down the waitress to ask for another slice. We waited anxiously to see if there was any left, as another table had just reserved several slices of the pie. Luckily for us, one was left and we again ate the entire piece within just a few moments.
We had a great time talking to Kathy, listening to the musicians that were playing, and eating some great food in a charming atmosphere. We spent nearly two hours there and, when it was time to go, we were practically waddling on the way to the car as we were so stuffed.
The drive continued, across the Arizona border and past the tiny town of Alpine. We then turned off the winding, mountain road onto a gravel forest road on our way to the Sprucedale Guest Ranch, where Mysti and Nick would be spending the week. The gravel road seemed to go on forever (actually 9 miles) and then we had to navigate a mile of rough dirt road, complete with large potholes. Cherron was not very happy, as she loves her little car and it was not built for four-wheeling. However, we finally made it and I have to admit, the scenery was lovely.
