Jaine and I stayed at the Dolores Mountain Inn that evening just down the road from the Dolores Brewery (see my previous blog 'One Touch of Nature Makes the Whole World Kin). The place was very nice as far has motels go. Very clean room, microwave and fridge, nice beds. One thing it didn't have was a coffee machine. I went to the main office to ask if there was a coffee machine and the lady at the desk said, "Lars makes the best coffee in Colorado and he serves it every morning to his guests. With him around, you don't need a coffee maker."
Within moments Lars comes barreling out of his office exclaiming "Who wants to try my coffee?!" and that's how I met Lars Bjorkqvist, the owner of the Dolores Mountain Inn.
Lars is a man larger than life. He is in his mid-sixties and a true native of Sweden, but is very proud to be an American and has lived in the United States most of his life. "I am from Sweden", he says with a strong Swedish accent, "but I am a true American at heart. I came to this country as a young man because I felt confined in Sweden...that I was falling into the trap of having the government take care of all of my needs. I wanted to be responsible for my actions, to be an individual instead of a cog in a machine. Therefore I settled in the United States, a land of great opportunity where a person can be anyone he or she wants to be."
Lars used to race motocross for Bultaco when he was a young man. Bultaco used to make pretty good motorcycles and were a great bike to ride on the motocross circuit in the 60's and 70's. Lars told me "One time I was in a race and I kept chasing this guy around the course for the entire race. When the race was over, I went over to talk to the guy I was chasing. When he took his helmet off I thought for a second 'Wow, this guy is a pretty old guy' and then came to the realization that it was Steve McQueen, the famous actor." Lars said, "At first I was all ga ga, but within a minute I realized that Ii was talking to Steve McQueen the man instead of Steve McQueen the actor and we had a lot of fun just talking about motocross. It was a really great experience and he was a genuinely nice guy."
Personally, I could say the same my experience with Lars. He's a really nice guy that is a lot of fun to visit and share stories.
I could also say that he has a lot of Viking blood in him because of his sense of adventure and his desire for freedom.
And that he makes one heck of a cup of coffee.
Lars and John pointing to "Da Man"
After a great cup of coffee and a short breakfast, I headed out to Telluride which was about 70 miles away. The ride was rainy and I got pretty wet and cold, but persevered for 30 miles until I got to Rico, CO, an even smaller town than Dolores. I stopped in at the Mountain Top Fuel station run by Gary Turner. Gary runs a really super clean and classy rest stop. It's a gas station, but also a convenience store, liquor store and restaurant all in one. It's decor is like a log cabin and is very homey. I had to use their restroom and thought since I used the facilities, I figured the least I could do was buy something from the store. I bought a cup of coffee to get warm (hard to beat Lars' coffee but it was pretty good) a bag of Spinach Artichoke Kettle Chips (ever even seen a bag of Spinach Artichoke Kettle Chips before? Me either.) and...the best glazed donuts I have ever ate in my life. Gary told me these were homemade donuts in town by a lady who knows how to bake at altitude. Rico is at 8500 feet and apparently the rules of baking and making dough rise change as . I don't know what is the deal except that these donuts were the lightest, sweetest, melt in your mouth donuts I've ever eaten in my life. Period. I paid for the donuts and chips and gave an extra 5 bucks to Gary thanking him for the use of the 'facilities'.
Gary and I got to talking and found out he was a computer programmer just like me. He programmed for years before buying the Mountain Top and now really enjoys the relaxed lifestyle running a beautiful rest stop in the mountains.
When I was about to leave I realized I couldn't carry the chips I bought and told Gary "Could you hold on to these chips for me? If my wife comes by to pick them up, that would be great, but if she doesn't then you can keep them and sell them to someone else. If she does come by could you also give her a donut? I bet she'd really like one."
Gary assured me he would and we parted as great friends.
Two programmers sharing a few life experiences
Boy, did Gary help me out! About 2 hours later Jaine caught up with me, jumped out of the car, gave me a big kiss and said "That was the most awesome donut I've ever eaten! Thank you so much!".
Yup, there was a lot of good karma going around that beautiful day deep in the heart of the mountains of the Rockies. Anytime a guy gives your wife a donut and you wind up with the kiss is a good day and a good deal.
Thank you, Gary!