Category: Thoughts on a Subject

Burnt Offerings – When Things Don’t Go as Planned

So often, we post only our successes – beautiful pictures of perfectly cooked foods. But let’s face it, we’ve all experienced our bombs – mistakes in the kitchen that render food hardly worthy of eating much less blogging about. I think it would be good to see those flops every now and then, as a reminder that everyone makes mistakes. It’s a humbling admission. Yeah, you should have seen my 7-layer Leaning Tower of Cake with a cherry on top!

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Fathers and Daughters – A Tribute to My Dad

When I was a little girl, my Dad would sometimes just show up at school. The bell to dismiss class would ring, and there he’d be, standing out on the sidewalk waiting for me. The family wagon was packed with sandwiches; cold drinks and a couple of fishing poles. We’d stop along the river to get some worms (in the sleepy little town of Freeport). At the edge of town stood an iron bridge all painted green. Up, over the railroad tracks and across the river we went, turning due west, toward the coast. To this day, whenever Hubby and I have an occasion to cross that bridge, my heart skips a beat.

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Heading Home from the Wilds of Wyoming – Day 8

We have reached the end of the road. Our time in the wilds of Wyoming is over, and this is the day we head home. The car is loaded with our carry-on bags and personal items (two lap tops and a camera backpack). We’ve made several passes through the various rooms, making sure that precious cords, batteries, chargers and other things have not been forgotten. Leave behind a pair of socks and it’s no big deal. Misplace the digital camera charger and it’s a real pain in the behind. It’s time to say good-bye to Joel and Krystal. It’s time to say good-bye to our temporary home at Rand Creek Ranch. By the end of the day, it will be time to say good-bye to Wyoming.

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One Last Drive Through Yellowstone – Day 7

As the first rays of light enter our cabin, I am seated at the dining room table, sipping my second cup of coffee. The coyotes had been howling last night, spooking the horses and pack mule in the corral. They moved about uneasily, their voices raised in frightened protest.

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Traveling Along a Giant Loop – Day 6

Yellowstone Map (2)Today we are going to make a giant loop – skirting along Lamar Valley, then up to Roosevelt Lodge for breakfast before back-tracking to Tower Falls, and around the top to Mammoth Hot Springs. From there, we’ll make our way south to Norris Geyser Basin via Sheepeaters Cliff and Roaring Mountain. This last stretch of road is going to be slow-going.

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Our Holiday Vacation to the Wilds of Wyoming – Day 5

Day 5 and it’s back into the park. As usual, traveling into the park from the East Gate and you are met with a minor morning traffic jam. Every day of our visit, the same bison bull seems to want to take a stroll down the highway. He causes quite the scene. This day is particularly cold, and the difference in air temperatures and the steam has created its own fog bank, especially around the lake. As we make our way to the Midway Geyser Basin, we keep an eye out for wildlife. We were lucky enough to spot an eagle perched in a dead pine tree. We watched the bird for a few minutes, until he flew away.

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Our Holiday Vacation to the Wilds of Wyoming – Day 4

Our fourth day in the park was spent concentrating on the various thermal features of the Upper, Lower and Mid Basins of the park. Naturally, no visit to Yellowstone would be complete without a few hours at Old Faithful. There is the famous geyser to explore, and the awesome Inn that is unlike any other resort in the park.

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William Henry Jackson’s view of Yellowstone

William Henry Jackson is best known for his early photographs of the American West, including photos of Yellowstone that helped to win Congressional support to create the first National Park in America.

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Our Holiday Vacation to the Wilds of Wyoming – Day 3

Chief Joseph Scenic Highway 1Day Three of our return to Yellowstone meant setting the alarm for 4 in the morning, with plans of hitting the road by 5. Why so early? We had a long drive ahead of us. Head into the park through the east gate, north at Fishing Bridge, up through Hayden Valley toward Canyon Village. From there, it was straight north to Tower Roosevelt, forgoing the views in the predawn hours. Then east from the Tower into Lamar Valley.

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Our Holiday Vacation to the Wilds of Wyoming – Day 2

Our second day of vacation was actually the first day in the park. We headed out from Rand Creek Ranch early in the morning with the plan to spend the entire day exploring the park and hitting all the “major” attractions. We wanted to get an overview of the entire geothermal areas, with return trips later in the week to those features of greatest interest.

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Our Holiday Vacation to the Wilds of Wyoming – Day 1

When Hubby and I still newly married, one of our first trips together was a road trip to Montana via Yellowstone Park. The reason behind such a strange route to the Indian Battlefields of Montana (our real destination) was so that I could visit with my cousin. 1st trip to yellowstoneShe and her fishing-guide husband lived just outside West Yellowstone, Montana. Although that first trip was “passing through” on our way to the Little Big Horn, Yellowstone and its surrounding area captured our hearts. While most of Yellowstone is in Wyoming, the park spans almost 3,500 miles, extending into parts of Montana and Idaho, making it one of the largest National parks in the US.

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Those Wild and Crazy Bears – The Golden Days in Yellowstone

We recently spent a week roaming through Yellowstone Park, the first National Park in America. It was great to spend all that time in the park. You can bet we took lots of pictures that I’ll be sharing with you soon.

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Mashed Potato Success

For those of you on Facebook, then you know how FB will show you something you’ve posted from the past and ask you if you want to share it again. Most of those I’ve seen shared by family are photos and cute stories from their past postings. Nearly all my “memories” are recipes and cooking tips – some long before my blogging days. (The biggest reason I started blogging in the first place was because my personal Face Book account was so full of recipes and tips. Everyone I knew was asking for me). This is one of those past posts that  popped up, and I thought I’d pass it along . . . good advise.

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What’s For Dinner?

I don’t know if I’ve talked about this with you before – I keep my on-line recipe collection (four thousand and counting) on Yumprint. I like it because allows me to keep my recipes organized and easy to find. I can plan out my family’s meals for the week (or longer), then drag everything into the grocery list and I’m done.

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Do You Have a Plan?

From the time I was a little girl, I loved spending time with Dad in the kitchen, learning from the master. When my sisters and I were old enough to fully participate in the meal preparation, Dad held a weekly menu planning meeting. Each of us picked a night and planned the family dinner – main course, sides, whatever else. Mom and Dad took the remaining four nights.

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