Pic: To be fair, the motto comes from “the influx of immigrants from all over the world who came to work in the coal mines that supplied the fuel to power the steam engines of the Union Pacific Railroad.”[1] Rock Springs, WY
The drive up CO-125 was prettier than expected, paralleling the Colorado River until the mountains fell away and left prairie: large, flat, grass-filled nothing. It was an interesting feel, but it only validated my decision to venture no further east of the Divide than Denver.
I was comfortable in my understanding of how the Continental Divide works until I somehow crossed it three times. The first seemed legit, heading north through an obvious mountain pass. Then, while driving due west on I-80, I crossed it twice more. Huh?[2]
One of my failings as a human is my weakness for fast food. It was with probably too much delight that I noticed both a TacoTime and a Sonic within walking distance of my room at the Super 8.
My go-to TacoTime order is two Crispy Burritos — the chain’s signature deep-fried tortilla tubes — one filled with ground beef and the other with refried beans. I am careful to enunciate my order since “meat” and “bean” sound alike, especially when shouted from the cash register back to the fry cook (TacoTime Crispy Burritos are fried up on the spot![3]) Different stores have different methods for disambiguation. A common one is to call the bean burrito “pinto”. The TacoTime I went to as a kid called Crispy Meats “#1” and Crispy Beans “#2”. But my years of TacoTiming did not prepare me for this exchange:
Me: Can I get a Crispy Meat…
Cashier: [over shoulder to fry cook] Meat!
Me: …and a Crispy Pinto Bean.
Cashier: [over shoulder to fry cook] Waldo!
Fascinated, I asked the cashier about this terminology. Is (or was) Waldo someone who worked here? She only shrugged: “That’s what we call ’em.”
For dessert I headed to Sonic, where I felt a little uncomfortable ordering a “Waffleberry Brownie Master Blast” from the unseen but surely underage girl on the other side of the intercom. It was delicious, but I would only order it again if I didn’t have to say it out loud. I should not have to wonder if my dessert has an urbandictionary entry.
[2] I only now remembered to ask Google, “why are there two continental divides in Wyoming?” Apparently the Rockies split and form the Great Divide Basin from which water does not drain. You can see the curiosity on this map of major hydrological divides[4].
[3] TacoTime, give me free stuff!
[4] Why yes, I am really fun at parties. Now, who here likes a good story about a bridge?
Danger Beyond This Point 
