A Day in Taos

Dale and I love Taos and Santa Fe, NM. We’ve been to Taos on many occasions and have dreamed of living there. Maybe in my next blog, I’ll write about our 1^st trip to Taos with our young boys.

This trip was going to be mostly about shopping. Our RV has many issues after many miles of travel. I planned to make new cushions, trim, and curtains but wanted Native American decor. I’d been in a couple of fabric stores on a street just off the square, a couple of years ago, so knew exactly what I wanted to buy. I couldn’t find this fabric easily anywhere else so was anxious to go to Taos and purchase some.

We have been out of chili powder, good chili powder, the kind from the little Hogan style kiosk on the main street, just off the square. I was also wanting to buy a ristra for our door and one with edible chili pods for the kitchen.

We also love the New Mexican food and have a list of restaurants that are our favorite haunts. I wanted to talk with some restaurants about making chili sauce as mine that I made from guess, has been a little thin.

We drove from the Grand Canyon to Santa Fe, with a quick stop at the Santa Fe School of Cooking. We wanted to buy a bean pot since the ones we bought a few years ago didn’t work out well. We’d seen the pots at the school when we were there for cooking lessons and wanted one. I also wanted to buy a chili roaster so this was a perfect opportunity to buy all these things.

We made it to the school and purchased all of the items on our list then drove up to Taos. It was dark so we were thinking of how great it would be to see the farolitos in Espanola. Alas, we did not see farolitos, they were not lining the bridge into the city or the sidewalks. Only a handful of buildings had farolitos. We were so disappointed, but things do change, alas.

We got to Taos where we had a room at the La Fonda, a historic hotel, right on the square. The square was also very disappointing as it was full of lights, lights that blinked to music, lights on every tree limb; lots of lights. Farolitos lined the low walls,

La Fonda decorated with Farolitos

Rio Grand near Taos: view to the south

Rio Grande- view to the north

Rio Grande near Santa Fe

but they were drowned out by the lights. To us it was garish. Progress?

We went to breakfast at a restaurant we’d eaten at many times but found that now they add flour to their chili sauce. We told them sorry, take your coffee back, and we walked out, but not before the waitress told us of a place, the Taos Diner, that had great gluten free dishes.

We went straight to the Taos Diner and it turns out all of their chili is gluten free, as are many selections. The staff at the Taos Diner then told me how they make their chili sauce, which is exactly the way I’ve made mine except that they make a roux with corn meal.

After stuffing ourselves, we went shopping, buying all of the Christmas presents needed, fabric, lots of chili products and New Mexico wine. We got lots of walking in as we kept having to walk back to our truck, parked at the hotel, and load it up with more stuff!

San Francisco de Asis Mission

Enchalada with Caribe Sauce

We’d wanted to try a new, recommended restaurant, one by the San Francisco de Asis, located in a very old building. Unfortunately, they add wheat to their chili’s so dinner was out of the question. We went back to Orlando’s, a place we’ve been several times, even taking grandkids on one trip. At Orlando’s the waitress told me how to make chili using pods only, Caribe. I’d tried this process before and it was a disaster, now I learned that I had not soaked the chili pods prior.

I really like the Caribe as it is a pure chili flavor, deep red in color, but I also like the complex flavor of the cooked chili sauce. I’m anxious to try each with my fresh ground powder and fresh ristra.

Now we are returning home. Work will be starting up and we must prepare for Christmas. Our break is over.

Celebration at the Grand Canyon

We made it to Grand Canyon after dark, we’d forgotten about the time change. But we got settled into our cabin, part of the Bright Angel Lodge, and then went to have dinner. The cabins are historic, very old but refurbished with modern plumbing.

I must explain that there is a rim walk that goes quite a way around the South Rim. I’m not sure exactly where it starts or stops but we have been on several sections. There are low walls on some of the edges and other places no wall at all.

Along the South Rim are 3 hotels; the El Tovar, then just west the Thunderbird and then just west of that is the Bright Angel. The El Tovar is probably the most famous. Only 2 hotels were open now; the El Tovar and the Bright Angel. These hotels are in very close proximity to each other, each connected by the rim walk and separated by large driveways. The walk from Bright Angel to the El Tovar is about 5 min. The walk in the area is paved and wide and can accommodate wheelchairs. Other portions of the rim walk are dirt.

The Arizona Room, attached to the Bright Angle Lodge, had been recommended to us for dinner. The Zanterra Co is very conscious about food issues and the staff were aware of Celiac. There were many items on the menu gluten free as well as bread. This was evident quickly as we reviewed the menu with our waiter. We had a nice dinner, me a stuffed Native Squash that I’ll for sure try to replicate at home.

The weather was so cold, but we found that by layering up we were not cold at all. The only issue was icy spots on the walkways. The sky was clear with sparkling stars.

I woke up at about dawn to a beautiful blue sky and went out to shoot photos. There were no clouds and no apparent haze. It was cold and my fingers were the worst since I had to keep my fingertips free for the cameras. Few people were out so I had the canyon nearly to myself. I shot a bunch of photos with my big camera and several with my cell phone. It was so enjoyable to be out without many people, shooting photos where I liked.

We had an anniversary breakfast at the El Tovar, complete with a glass of champagne. We had a large filling breakfast so that it would last until an early dinner. The El Tovar has a huge fresh tree in the lobby that extends up to the 2nd floor. The dining room has farolitos around the room, on a shelf close to the ceiling. Wreaths hang on the walls. Everywhere there is a feeling of Christmas.

Feeling full, but not stuffed we decided to take the free Shuttle out to the Visitors Center. Even though it was not above freezing outside, we were toasty warm and able to just enjoy the drive thru the snow.

We walked from the Visitor’s Center to Mathers Point, rim walkways had been cleared and were free from ice. Mathers Point itself was full of people, especially from other countries. It seemed like a bus full of Asians had stopped there. Other years we’ve seen busloads

of people from Spain and other countries. But we went to the areas not so crowded so it wasn’t a problem.

We went out a little before sunset, as at sunset the canyon is actually mostly dark. Unfortunately, the sky was quite hazy so photos were not so nice.

We had a nice walk up to the El Tovar and got there just a little early as we hoped to enjoy the tree. We’d wanted a window seat, but the hostess recommended that we have the table in front of the fireplace as the canyon would be dark. We realized that she had a good suggestion. So there we had a table front and center of the large fireplace.

Arizona law prohibits ones from bringing their own wine in so we had to order from their menu. We had a wonderful ½ bottle of Champagne and ½ bottle of Zinfandel. Dinner was good, but dessert was amazing. We’d ordered a piece of Flourless Chocolate Cake, which the chef then decorated for our anniversary. So memorable. It was amazing with the 20-year old port.

We walked back to our room in the cold night air, full and happy after a wonderful day.

Holiday Planning Bah

Here it is Christmas time again and our anniversary. We’ve been busy helping kids out lately and as usual everything has been poorly planned.

We have started on a trip to the southwest where it is forecast to be only 7F low. We only just realized that we left our warmest down jackets in the closet to stay nice and warm, while we on the other hand, freeze. Guess we will practice some running moves. But on the plus side, there is no rain or snow storm about to hit.

As for Christmas, we started looking early in November for grandkids presents and bought for the 3 youngest boys. And here we are on Dec 15, driving to the southwest while the presents are safely stored in our closet. Looks like, once again, the gifts will not get to kids in time. Our poor grandkids and their parents must get so tired of us and our ways.

We are, except for the being cold part, looking forward to this trip. We haven’t been away since Sept when we cut a vacation short in order to help out kids for the month of Oct. And with the forecasts of a strong El Nino on the horizon, we will have fun while we can.

An Anniversary Trip

Without a word of blog, we are off on another short trip.

Tomorrow is our 43^rd wedding anniversary. Amazing. We’d planned a trip to include Taos, Hovenweep, Jemez and ending at the Grand Canyon today. Alas, when the weather was predicted to be frozen we decided to forgo that trip. The RV has too many issues and we’d likely be found as frozen mummies.

New and improved plan is the one we have now. We should be at the Grand Canyon by dinner time. We will stay at the Bright Angel Lodge, a place we’ve been in when beginning our hike across the canyon years ago. We’d wanted to stay at the El Tovar, but the rooms didn’t look appealing, so we will go for breakfast and dinner there tomorrow.

After the Grand Canyon, we will head to Santa Fe, where we will make a stop at the Santa Fe School of Cooking. We won’t go for cooking lessons, this time, but rather supplies and Christmas presents.

From Santa Fe we will drive on to Taos. This should be towards evening so we will get to see the city and Espanola decorated with Farolitos. This is truly a wonderful sight to see and we are so happy that we can see this again.

In Taos, we plan to eat and eat some more! La Cava and Orlando's. OMG!!!! Also, we must buy some spices and fabrics for our RV. It is due for a major remodel.

I-40 on the California Side

The Arizona Border

This trip is only for Dale and I. We are basking in the aloneness!

I-40 on the Arizona Side

The Drive Down 395

Another long day of driving, we wanted to make it to Bishop in order to backpack on Tues. Alas, it was not to be. Best to just take the journey in stride.

On Monday, we had a tire blowout on the RV and put the spare on. Then later the spare blew before we could find another replacement tire. We’d stopped at a couple of tire stores but no one had a used tire for a spare.

Fortunately, the closest town with a tire store was only 25 min away so we were able to buy 2 new tires. We were on our way with a delay of a couple of hours.

We had another driving day on Tues. We’d decided to stop at the Patagonia store in Reno since we were so late.Then our friend John stopped by as he was in Reno to work. Fun!

It was Dale’s birthday and we thought that maybe we could get to a campsite where there was a nice view. Our son suggested that we camp at Convict Lake then just do some day hikes out of the campground.

As we were driving south, it became more and more smoky. My nose plugged up and it became hard to breath. It was getting dark so we stopped at the rest stop near Mammoth. We found a place to park on the outside space so we were able to extend the slide out. We still made a nice dinner of sausage simmered in gluten free beer.

As we drove past Convict Lake the following morning, the smoke was so thick, worse than ever. The smoke is from a huge fire in Kings Canyon and is being blown over the sierras into the valley where 395 runs north and south. The smoke is the worse from June Lake area down to the Mt. Whitney area. We stopped at the Inner agency, where the ranger told us that he wouldn’t hike in the smoke as it is in unhealthy stages. So much for backpacking. We consoled ourselves with macaroons and coffee from Schat's.

We decided to return home via Walker Pass that goes into the Lake Isabella area. We thought we’d stop at the Walker Pass Campground for lunch, this is where the Pacific Crest Trail crosses the area. This is the hiking trail that goes Mexico to Canada.

We stopped in the empty campground and set up for lunch in the RV. We’d finished lunch and were cleaning up when 2 young men walked up the hill with packs on. We came out of the RV and asked if they were hikers. Yes, they had been on the trail for the past 2 months, starting out in Oregon. They were going to hike to Mexico, the end of the trail. We discussed backpacking, people hiking the trail and shared water and our backpacking food with them.

The journey ended with a really great conversation, totally unexpected.

Working Our Way Down Vancouver Island

Our day started well, woke up early; we had to check out of the RV park, hop on a ferry and hopefully make it to Oregon by dinner. That all looked good until I Google mapped everything and looked up the ferry schedules. We’d already missed the early ferries and wouldn’t be making Oregon any time soon.

Campbell River is close to ½ way between Victoria, in the south, and Port Hardy in the north. There are 3 options for ferries from Campbell River: Nanaimo 1-1/2 hours away, Swartz Bay 2-1/2 hours away and Victoria 3 hours away and sails to Port Angeles.

Nanaimo has fewer ferries but by the time one drives to Swartz Bay there isn’t any real time savings. Unless one has missed the last one in Nanaimo, then there are later ones from Swartz and Victoria.

We wanted to walk to the view point of Elk Falls and then, because we’d miss the next ferry, then we’d have lunch at this little hole-in-the-wall restaurant. From lunch we’d drive down to Nanaimo and catch the 5:30 ferry to Vancouver.

The falls are a little bit of a walk away, mostly downhill, which means uphill on the way back. The path is paved so accessible to everyone. There are several paths off of the one to view the falls, but I’m not sure if they are paved. The falls are small next to some we’ve seen but a nice walk. We took the dog but she did not like the grated stairs down to the metal suspension bridge leading to a lookout. Other dogs were not having a good time either.

Lunch- Dave’s is right on the dock where the fishing boats come in, with about 4 little tables inside and a small counter and outside a deck. There was a line the entire time we were there, not a long one but nevertheless, someone always arriving. Everything on the menu can be made gluten-free which means I could order fish and chips. Oh, they were such a treat. Next time, I want to order the oyster sandwich!

From lunch we stopped and bought some Canadian Whiskey for Dale and a couple of small items. Then we drove down to Nanaimo. The leaves are turning on the island and in the storm light looked so beautiful.

By the time we got to Nanaimo, an hour before sailing, we saw that it was 100% sold out. After calculating times to drive to the next ferry, we decided to get in line for the 8:45 sailing. We filled our time, me with doing old word games and Dale walking Twinks and napping.

All part of the journey.

Visiting Quadra Island

After breakfast and then a goodbye to Henry and Chrisanna, we had day of driving, along with a 1-1/2 hour ferry ride over to Victoria Island. We had a reservation at an RV park not far from the ferry to Quadra Island.

The realtor from Enderby had put us in touch with Heidi, a realtor on the island. Heidi had sent several links to houses for sale and we’d chosen 9. 9 in one day is a lot.

We hopped on the 9:30 ferry to Quadra where Heidi would meet us. It was raining and windy but the island had a beauty to it. We were glad to visit in a storm, rather than a clean bright day, so we would not be jaded by striking beauty.

We saw several houses that would work but needed more space. Then Heidi took us to one that “needed lots of work”, a bank-owned and vacant for quite some time. We toured the old B&B: tile flooring in good condition, no leaks in the main house, good bedrooms and bathroom, several acres, a building for guests, huge unfinished shed and easy walk to the beach. With lots of elbow grease,

I found it to be an amazing deal.

We stopped at the farmers market and saw that it would be perfect for kids to sell farm products. Plus the chefs on the island are known for buying locally grown product, another plus.

After grabbing a lunch to go, we ran back to the car which Heidi had parked in the ferry line. The line was moving, but there was space on the ferry for her to drive on.

We had several homes on Vancouver Island to see. One I must have clicked on by accident as it was a tract home and not one we’d be interested in at all. Another, 2 single-wide mobile homes put together to form an L shape. It was quite an interesting place.

The last home we drove up to, and like the last house in Enderby, the photo didn’t match the house. I wasn’t feeling the love. We started to leave but then just decided why not see it. As it turns out, this house has lots of potential too, lots of bedrooms, land and the price is great.

We went back to our RV with lots of ideas.

The New Journey

And so the journey begins; wondering if a move to Canada is in our future.

At home, I’d spent time looking online at properties for sale. Our problem is this: we don’t know where we really would like to settle, will kids and their families join us. I also had lots of questions about immigration.

While on the road in the US I sent some requests to various realtors for places we thought might work. As the answers came in we found that there were far more properties to see than we had time for. Also, distances were becoming an issue.

We settled for an area south-east of Kamloops for the 1^st group of houses to look at. Kelli, our realtor, found several houses for us to look at online and then to select for an inspection. I selected 4 of the homes to see.

We drove the 4-1/2 hours to the Kamloops area and met Kelli. She’d done a great job in selecting properties that might work for us. And really, she went way out of her way to spend time with people who don’t even know exactly what they are looking for.

The 1^st house had lots of issues: water damage on the ceilings, holes in doors, insulation torn off of the wall in an unfinished room, fencing falling apart. We quickly left, someone else can work on this one.

2^nd property has lots of possibilities. The house is small for everyone, but there is a huge workshop, small workshop, places for animals, a gazebo that overlooks the valley and river below.

3^rd property also has lots of possibilities and a really great patch of farmland.

4^th property looked so great on paper, well online in this case. The realtor thought it might be perfect too: a 2 story log house with unfinished basement plus 28 acres. It was vacant so it seemed we could move in quickly. Well, photos can be deceiving! The house had apparent leaks everywhere and someone had squirted foam insulation in between every log and wherever there was a space. We found water stains on ceilings and in the A-frame ceiling paneling was coming off. Furniture, musical instruments, food, wine and clothes were in every room and there was a smell of cigarettes. Vinyl flooring had been removed in some of the rooms, some vinyl was completely lifting. Then we went down to the basement to find what had been a “grow op”. No pot was left, but anything one would need to grow was there. Someone else can work on this one. To boot, the acreage was on steep hills and packed with trees.

We will be off to Vancouver Island to look some more.

New Friends, Old Friends

We’d stopped at the last rest stop in Washington to spend the night thinking that it would be much easier to cross the border into Canada in the morning. There were several reasons, mostly because we didn’t want to arrive late at our friend’s house in Canada. As it turned out it was a good call.

We were going to Dale’s college roommate’s house, Henry and his wife Chrisanna. I’d met Henry once many years ago but didn’t get to know him at all. Dale lost track of Henry and then thru the wonderful searches in Facebook, reconnected. They had a guy’s weekend in Palm Springs a year or so ago and then Henry and I became friends on Facebook as well.

We were in Vancouver only last month and I tried to connect with Henry, but as it turned out he’d had medical issues and didn’t get my message. He and his wife wanted for us to return and stay with them, so when the opportunity came up for us to return to Canada, we connected.

I was a little apprehensive about staying with people I didn’t really know but knew that it was important to Dale. I also have learned over the years that it is important to be open to new opportunities and new friendships.

We had the most amazing day with Henry and his wife. We set outside and talked like old friends. Then Henry made his specialty dinner for us and Chrisanna set the table with their finest tableware. We brought in some really good wines from our RV and we shared a wonderful meal: Greek salad, fresh corn on the cob, rice and broiled steelhead trout.

Henry told Dale that skiing a run together was on his bucket list. I think that it is something we will need to do sooner than later. And since we will need to look at additional properties it is surely something we can combine. Besides we needed an excuse to come up and ski.

Making Our Way To the Border

Ever onward. So we had to be in Seattle for lunch, maybe a late lunch, but lunch nevertheless.

Dale’s cousin suggested that we meet in the parking lot of a mall, a mall that is likely the most deserted mall in Seattle, as per Marty. We would then pile in their car and go to lunch.

We found the mall and there were few cars in the mall parking lot so we parked, Dale went to walk Twinkle, and I went into the RV to change. While changing, I heard a knock on the door. I finished changing then ran outside to find an old grumpy guy ready to put a notice on our truck.

The old grumpy guy told me that we could not park in their parking lot, not even for a couple of hours. He then handed me a 1^st violation notice and told me that if we stayed in their parking lot he would have us towed. What is really funny is that he came out of some Christian store. Just shows how he is no better than anyone else.

Norman and Marty came along and we had to tell them that the incredibly slow mall was too busy for us to park at. We decided to just drive our truck and RV to our lunch destination.

We went to Redhook brewery for lunch. We’ve been there before, beer is so great, if only I could drink it. Alas, I had wine, but a sip of the dark Porter that Dale ordered.

By the time we left it was late afternoon. Then it was time for a run for the border.

Sonoma to Oregon City

We spent a small portion of Sunday in Sonoma; another wine pick-up party with great food and great wines. Sitting outside, drinking wine, eating fun foods and listening to music is a really great way to spend a Sunday!

And since we were going to the Sonoma square, it was a perfect time to visit the store that sells vintage style clothes. We were in the store when I was working in the area and found fun 1920’s clothes. So now it was a good time to find a dress for our Downton Abbey dinner. And I did find a wonderful dress, something Cora would wear!

From Sonoma, it was on to Oregon to visit kids. We didn’t arrive until Monday afternoon and grandkids were jumping up and down. It is fun to have someone so excited to see us. Unfortunately, that won’t last.

But it was fun to visit, even though it was very short, with Clayton and Jen, drink a little wine and eat a nice dinner. 

Old Friends, Good Wine

One plus of a road trip is being able to stop when and where we want, see friends, make a detour, eat in a restaurant or in the RV, turn around and go back home.

Once I knew that I had to go to San Francisco for some claim work it made sense to come on up to the Petaluma area. There was a wine pickup party at Armida, a winery which we belong to and I wanted a couple of cases of Poison anyway for the road trip.

Some of the pickup parties can be quite fun, with wine associated games while wine tasting. This one had music and food. Unfortunately, little of the food was gluten free so I could only eat the meat. Then bees swarmed the chicken so that we were dancing, not to the music, but to moving from the bees. But it gave us a chance to try some other wines than we normally buy and have a little food in the vineyard.

From the vineyard we stopped at REI, likely the last visit to the store, to pick up last minute items for the upcoming backpacking trips.

We have friends in Santa Rosa who we only see when we are passing thru and we arranged to meet for dinner. Jerry and Karen are people we’ve known for years. I met Karen at an AAUW meeting when our farm was going down and they’d been in similar circumstances. Then their daughter and one of our son’s got together and were together for several years. They’ve come to parties of ours and we have been to their place. So when Jerry and Karen moved to Santa Rosa we maintained our friendship, she says that she stalks my Facebook site.

We met for dinner at a wine bar and shared little plates and drank wine. We discussed our upcoming adventure, a move to Canada, and their moving adventures, our kids, and more travels.

Now off to Sonoma and then Oregon.

A Little Work Then Lots of Playtime

We made San Francisco, the weather was cold next to what we’d come from; 100+ in Bakersfield to high 60’s in S.F.

I made my claim meeting and laid out what would be paid for.

From the claim, we went straight to Golden Gate Park. Our goal was to have a good fast walk, getting the heart rate up, preparing for the upcoming backpacking trip, and just a good workout.

Well, Twinkle likes to smell everything along the path, so that took some time. Then I like to take photos and had the big Canon along, so that took some time. Poor Dale, always waiting!

We’d forgotten how great the park is. We found some trails up hills; we walked fast so we could get the heart rate up. Trails between ferns and flowers, trails between trees. What a wonderful park this is and we only explored a small portion.

We brought Twinkle back to the RV then went to dinner at the Russian Family Restaurant down in Redwood City. I’d found it on-line with good reviews. We drove down and found it in the center of the older section, an area revamped, full of restaurants, life and music. We found a table outdoors and ordered a bunch of Russian food: Borsch, beet salad, pickled herring. OMG, now we are ready to go off to Russia to eat.

So now there are hurricanes in both the Pacific and the Atlantic and I’m on vacation. How, pray tell, do I go on any kind of vacation when I could be called out at any time? So here is what I do: Packed; the work box, clipboard, flashlights, business casual pants, Crawford logo shirts, business shirts and shoes suitable for storm. If, in fact, a hurricane hits, I will buy a suitcase, pack, and buy an airplane ticket and leave. Dale will drive home, pack up the rest of the stuff and then either drive to where I’m at or fly (think Hawaii).

We are always ready to point the truck somewhere else, always have a contingency plan, or can make one up on the spot. The sign of a catastrophe adjuster who loves to travel!!!

And It Starts With a Bang

And so we are off once again. And before we even get to our 1^st destination we get a call from our granddaughter, from our house. She has found Dale’s wallet, complete with cash and his driver’s license, on the kitchen counter. Dale is driving, it’s his turn, so he tries to find his wallet and sure enough, it isn’t in his pocket or the door.

Fortunately, we came up with a plan so that she will overnight the wallet to our youngest son, where we will be on Monday. Crisis averted. Although, like Jen said, hopefully, Dale can pass for over 21 at the wine tasting pickup parties!

I also forgot both of the Canadian phones so, since we have the wallet being mailed to Oregon, the phones can be mailed as well. Now I don’t need to buy yet another phone in Canada.

So the plan, as we know it to be, is to reach San Francisco soon. We will stay at a parking lot RV park in Candlestick Park. This is not a great RV park, but we’ve stayed there before and it serves the purpose. We will move to the KOA on Saturday when a site opens up.

Tomorrow I have some claim work to attend to then we will play in the city.

Saturday and Sunday are wine tasting and pickup parties, then we will work our way to Canada. This time to ask questions about immigration and start looking for property. This is just the 1^st step. We will see where it leads, but yet another adventure and possible option.

Never know what we will be into tomorrow!

Future Travels

In the middle of our last trip we started planning 2 additional trips. Plans have been discussed off and on, but now the trip for next week must be decided upon.

We’d originally planned to leave and be away until the weather turned cooler. Now we must be back home on Sept 8 and additionally, I have a claim in S.F. that must be dealt with. Oh, the many twisty paths called life!

Trip 1:

1.      About Aug 19^th, Dale and I will leave for a couple of weeks, but unfortunately we must be back for Sept 8 for an appt.

 On this trip we will go to the coast and visit a California mission where I’ll shoot photos. We were at this mission years ago and now is a perfect time to go back.

From the mission, we will now add a stop in San Francisco to deal with a claim that needs attention. But, we also now have an excuse to play in the city.

After S.F., we will go up to the wine country for a couple of “wine pick-up” parties over the weekend. Hopefully, I can convince Armida to let me have a case of Poison at their sale price. We love Poison and are glad to pick it up when we can.

We’d planned to go from the wine country over to the east side of the Sierra’s where we would go on a 3-day backpack. Well, this will likely have a small delay as we now may need to go on a quick trip to Vancouver.

If we need to go to Vancouver then we will come back down to the east side of the Sierras and pick up the backpack trips that we’d planned. We will plan to meet Justin and his sons on Sept 4 to go on another 3-day backpack trip.  

Trip 2:

2.      After Sept 8 we will leave again for an undetermined amount of time. This time we will drive on “the loneliest road in America” and take the road to Great Basin. From Great Basin, we will drive to the North Rim of the Grand Canyon. After the Grand Canyon, we will go to Hovenweep then to Taos. On this trip, we will carry all of the work equipment so that we can go to work instead of continuing our vacation if need be.

Trip 3:

3.      We are also starting to plan our summer of 2016, however, we have new possibilities so we might not be able to live abroad. Don’t worry, those of you who were tentatively making plans to join us. If we need to change our plans it will be somewhere you want to travel to.

Family Gathering, Part 2

On Friday a.m. we woke up to see our sister-in-law Jan. We haven’t seen her since our Downton dinner and were glad to catch up with her. Other relatives arrived on Friday afternoon and those we hadn’t seen for several years. This included Carolyn and her husband.

Carolyn, Dale’s older sister is just 2 years older than he is. She reminds us so much of their mother.

Carolyn makes pies, always has. She also carries on the family tradition of making Vernika (dumpling filled with a ricotta type cheese, gravy, sausage and zwiebach (a double dinner roll).

On Friday afternoon,

Carolyn and Laurie started making pies, lots of pies: peach, pecan, custard, lemon meringue, and apple. All pies were using fresh ingredients, not canned fillings. Unfortunately, I can’t eat the gluten but the pies smelled really good!

Carolyn agreed to make a meal for Saturday night of these food items. She made the vernika early then sent them frozen for use at the reunion. On Sat afternoon she showed several family members how to finish the vernika and make the zwiebach.

While Carolyn worked on remaining pies and the vernika and sausage several of us went on a hike. Dale and I’d wanted to show the sibs the road up to the ridge. We did make it to the top, just won’t admit to the top of which ridge. We worked up an appetite for all of the rich food to come.

Sunday morning had Nate and cousins making pancakes and waffles using the wheat that Nate grows. They also made eggs using the eggs from Elias’ chickens.

After breakfast family members started leaving and so we said our goodbyes for another few years. It isn’t clearly set who will take up the mantel for the next reunion, but this one was good.

For me, I couldn’t eat much because of the gluten issue. And because we have a gluten-free kitchen at home, and we try to stay with a vegetarian diet, these foods were a real treat for Dale.