Our Koffee Trail: Strange Brew Coffee

Date: June 21, 2025

Location: Strange Brew Coffee (Tupelo, MS)

Rating: ❤️ (Love)

We were going to go to a coffeeshop across the street from where we stayed last night, but it didn't open until 7am and we managed to be ready to leave around 6:40am. Instead we ended up going to Strange Brew Coffee because it opens at 6am. I think we ended up at the more interesting place in the end, though.

They had an overwhelming regular menu of speciality drinks that I sadly did not even notice the special of the week - the Elvis Presley (chocolate, peanut butter, banana) - until after we ordered. (Update: We went back later and got it as we still had some time to kill before the Elvis Presley Birthplace opened)

Mom got the Iced Tipsy Blondie. Dad got a Mudslide and also a regular cup of coffee. I got a S'more's Latte.

On the hot drinks, they include a chocolate covered coffee bean.

See full list of Our Koffee Trail stops here and Our Koffee Trail Google Maps list here.

Our Koffee Trail: Rustic Roast

Date: June 19, 2025

Location: Rustic Roast (Conway, SC)

Rating: ❤️ (Love)

Despite even packing up the car last night, yet again, we got on the road closer to 6am than 5am as planned. At least that meant coffeeshops were open as when we went through Conway. Instead of going to our usual C3 Coffee Co., we decided to try out Rustic Roast.

Mom got The Beach Day (Salted Caramel Cold Brew w/ Banana Cold Foam). Dad got their house roast drip coffee. I got the Orange Shakerato (Vanilla Ice Cream, Espresso, Orange).

Rustic Roast is now our new favorite for Conway.

See full list of Our Koffee Trail stops here and Our Koffee Trail Google Maps list here.

Mini Golf Adventures: Golf N' Stuff Tucson - Course 2

Date of Visit: May 30, 2025

Location: Golf N' Stuff, Tucson, AZ

Course: Course 2

We have played the courses at Golf N' Stuff before back when I was a kid (even with Mik when he used a walker and was more adventurous). I chose Course 2 over Course 1 simply because there was a pirate bird statue that direction. We enjoyed the course and while we ended up over par, we also had quite a few hole-in-ones (4 for me, 2 for Dad).

Course 2

Hole 1

Hole 2

Hole 3

Hole 4

Hole 5

Hole 6

Hole 7

Hole 8

Hole 9

Hole 10

Hole 11

Hole 12

Hole 13

Hole 14

Hole 15

Hole 16

Hole 17

Hole 18

Final Scores

• Kjersti - 55 (won via tiebreaker of having more hole-in-ones)
• Dad - 55

See full list of our Mini Golf Adventures here.

Ranger Dan: 87.3 Saguaro National Park - Rincon Mountain District

Date Of Visit: May 29, 2025

As we arrived in Tucson, we decided to visit the Rincon Mountain district of Saguaro National Park as we did not want to end up at the hotel too early to get a room. We ended up visiting the Visitor Center and driving the loop. There is an accessible trail that we might have done if we had not discovered Mik's wheelchair had two flat tires when we got there because Dad had decided to go off roading for some photos at the last stop at a rest area and the wheels got filled with burrs (by the way, wheelchair repair places are useless if you want a fix in less than a month, but thankfully it only took two bike shops next door to each other to find the right size tubes and get his wheels fixed and we got a patch kit that Dad had to use a few days later due to a missed burr on one tire).

 

Previous Visits to this Unit:

• 87.1 Tucson Mountain District
• 87.2 Saguaro National Park - Rincon Mountain District

See full list of Ranger Dan's National Parks Visited here.

Out Koffee Trail: Fire Grounds Coffee Station 1

Date: June 6, 2025

Location: Fire Grounds Coffee Station 1, Canton, TX

Rating: ❤️ (Love)

We got a late start staying on south side of Dallas this morning due to needing an oil change. We almost skipped doing a coffee shop and Dad even considered just going to HeBrews in Louisiana for lunch, but since we did get a late start we would likely hit that too late in the afternoon for even a late lunch. I ended up finding Fire Grounds Coffee Station 1 located near the I-20.

I got Smoke Showing (espresso, white chocolate, toasted marshmallow) and Mik got the same iced. Mom got an Iced Vanilla Latte.

Dad got Dark Roast Coffee.

See full list of Our Koffee Trail stops here and Our Koffee Trail Google Maps list here.

Our Koffee Trail: The Coffee Box - Downtown El Paso

Date: June 5, 2025

Location: The Coffee Box - Downtown, El Paso, TX

Rating: ❤️ (Love)

We stopped at The Coffee Box as we got on the road in El Paso this morning. The Coffee Box is in a repurposed shipping container in the corner of a parking lot in downtown conveniently only a few blocks off I-10.

The menu had a lot of variety, so it took us awhile to decide what to order. Mik actually texted me when we were almost done saying he hated the coffeeshop because it was taking so long, but really it was mostly us trying to decide what to order and they were pretty quick, especially considering there was a steady steam of people walking up to order and there was only two people working.

I got s Horchata Oat Mil Latte and Mik got a Cocorchata (Coconut Horchata).

Dad got a Taro Oat Milk Latte and Mom got a Mochasino (mocha with ice cream).

See full list of Our Koffee Trail stops here and Our Koffee Trail Google Maps list here.

Our Koffee Trail: Lemon Grove Coffee

Date: June 4, 2025

Location: Lemon Grove Coffee, Lemon Grove, CA

Rating: ❤️ (Love)

As we hit the road to head back east this morning, we took a slight detour to Lemon Grove as it was a non-Starbucks coffeeshop open at 6am.

Dad and I got lattes from their Spring Drinks menu. Dad got the Beltane Fire Latte (rose, honey, cinnamon, cayenne). I got the Wildflower Bloom Latte (lavender, rose, elderflower, honey). Mom got one of their specialty lattes, an Iced Hawaiian Creme Brulee Latte (caramel, white chocolate, macadamia nut).

Mik was already asleep, so we just got him banana bread. Dad also got a slice of zucchini bread.

See full list of Our Koffee Trail stops here and Our Koffee Trail Google Maps list here.