Mesas and Buttes and Hoodoos, Oh My!

So a brief note about my vacations this summer for those of you who might have absolutely nothing else to do other than surf meaningless blog rants.

A whirlwind tour of the canyon country was made by Myself and daughter Lauren in early July. Taking two weeks off from her work and busy schedule Lauren made her second visit to Idaho. Her first was when she assisted in the mammoth move from Virginia back over two years ago. After picking her up at the airport (Dad, that cowboy hat looks ridiculous!), we spent two days adjusting to altitude here at Streagle Ranch (4800 ft.). After that it was off to our first stop, Canyonlands National Park. A favorite of Karren's and mine from our 2007 world tour, we made the trip in about 6 hours to Moab, Utah in the hopes of finding an empty campsite at the park (there are only 12). I could only chuckle as we headed for the dry desert when Lauren kept taking pictures of various canyons, mountains and rock formations - what she would soon see would blow away anything she had encountered yet.

What luck! With only four or five sites taken we had the luxury of choice! I especially appreciated the upgraded sites a la the pole shelters added since my previous visit. Having a way to get out of the sun is an essential tool to surviving the high desert in the summer. I love to visit these places that are higher than 7000 feet during the hot months because they keep high temperatures moderate (80's to low 90's). Even the slight drop into the valleys and desert floor results in temps averaging 100 or better. Sleep is much more comfy when in the 50's or 60's as well.

Canyonlands continues to remain my favorite Nat'l Park. If you want to know why I just have to say, "Go there and find out!" The views are superior to virtually anywhere else in the lower 48. Here is a shot of Lauren and me at Mesa Arch, a rather picturesque photo op. It's nice having other tourists around for those times when you want to capture the whole group:

Hard to tell but those mts. in the background still have some snow! We ended our tour of the Moab area after a couple of days that included Arches N.P. and Zack's Pizza (and Laundry) by setting our sights on Mesa Verde, a four hour jaunt into southwest Colorado. We arrived and had absolutely no problems getting a site at the campground. It has over 450 sites and was less than half full.

Mesa Verde is a wonderful place. Lots of history, ruins, terrifying mountain roads, and a relaxed pace that most parks don't come close to matching. We toured all four available (ticketed) ruins over a two day period and managed to avoid the bear that happened to be cruising the campground during mealtimes. We did see him, but he was on the mountain road doing his business - I really mean doing his business (obscure scatological reference).

I have more pics of us in the ruins but here is one that I took of some guy hamming it up in Cliff Palace:

I think those early Americans must have had an issue with completion? Anyway, it is a spectacular place that we spent two days visiting. Here is Lauren pointing out yet another hidden ruin to her rather clueless father:

That's quite a happy expression for a woman that has had one shower in the past week! Water is at a premium in canyon country, but MV has the best shower complex of any N.P. I have visited. Be sure to take advantage of it - we did!

From MV to Grand Canyon is another four hour trip across 3 states, so we left early. Along the way we encountered the highest temps of the trip at Navajo bridge (101 deg.) but immediately began climbing up to the high mesa for the North Rim. Temps there were 30 degrees cooler by the time we found our campsite! A quick camp set-up and we were off to the canyon rim for our visit.

Having seen GC before my comments were, "It's a big ditch with bright colors." You can see most of the North Rim in about two hours. Lauren actually had a similar reaction and we were finished ogling over the views before dinner. Here is an obligatory GC pic:

A beautiful place for sure, but we were off to other places, namely Bryce Canyon. Bryce is another good place to be when the summer heat is upon you, as it is up there at 9000 feet. That's cool weather altitude! We were able to find a campsite there as well although the place was PACKED! Once off onto the trails down in the canyons the crowd thins out and things get more private. I had a heck of a time hauling my large posterior out of said canyons and we ended up staying two nights there, taking one day just to relax in camp. Ruby's Inn certainly makes it more civilized with their lunch buffet and store. I attempted a cobbler from scratch and we stuffed ourselves - at that point I believe anything sweet would have hit the spot.

Then the all important question arises; It's been a week and a half of constant traveling. Are you ready to go to Zion or do you want to head back to Idaho? The consensus was taken and to Idaho we went. I will remember the shower I took when we arrived for a long while. Thus ended the visit of Lauren for this epoch. I will miss her greatly and look forward to the next time I get to spend some quality time together. You can't replace it and you don't like saying good bye either. (sniff...)

In the next installment you'll hear of the epic journey attempted by Karren and Tim on their very rare opportunity for a real vacation. What is work anyway but a bridge between hours of enjoyment?

Another World or Desperately Soaking Idaho

Have I been transported to another planet? This August here in Southeast Idaho has been a weird episode of frequent and powerful thunderstorms, totally unheard of in the high desert. For semi-arid this place is soaked! I haven't watered the garden in weeks and it could actually use a few days of dry weather to avoid any rot problems.

GAAACK!

A Year Later in an Idaho Garden

Yes, the blog took a leave of absence. That's what happens when life gets in the way of pleasure. Suffice it to say that a lot has happened since October of 2013 and we need to get on with the postings of random Idaho musings.

This one concerns our garden. Karren and I decided we were not happy with a small plot anymore so we tripled the size. Our neighbor Hal came over and tilled the square with his tractor (what a gift!) and we commenced to plant our crop. All was going well at first but we learned our shortcomings quickly. In a nutshell - WATER! Crops need lots of water to flourish and we had to divert much of our well use to the garden. Nothing was left for the lawns or trees.

Here is the state of the plot right before we left for vacation at the middle of July. We had watered enough to keep things alive but not enough to generate consistent growth. This is also after the great weed genocide. The weeds had struck our last nerve so we took the plunge and invested (that's what married couples call it when they buy something they both covet) in a rear-tine tiller. Notice the footprints in that dark Idaho alluvial goodness. Tilled soil is the bomb! Gringing weeds is soooo gratifying.

Next is the garden after we got back from vacation. Our friends the Mylers watered for us and showed us what can happen if things get the moisture they need:

That's progress! The zucchini could now hide a family of Cambodians with no problem:

That's my corn in the back, still struggling with enough water. But behold, a cloud arises in the background! For the last several weeks it has rained almost daily. Cool, drenching, sometimes all night rains. Gardens like that stuff. The corn got blown over, but I learned another lesson. Leave it alone! It will right itself and come back even stronger.

This has brought us to the next phase of the food cycle: Storage! We began canning some pickles of one kind or another and have now graduated into the full-blown pressure canner storage kitchen. Here is Karren trying her hand at Pickled beets for the first time:

After working with those red balls it looks like we killed somebody in the sink! Here's a rundown of what we've been canning so far:

Pickled Beets
Green Beans
Bread and Butter Cuc Pickles
B&B Zucchini Pickles (strangely tasty)
Dilly Beans
Sweet Pickles
Cherry Jam
Cherry Preserves
Cherry Pie Filling (the cherries were from the Dean's tree in Poky)

The above Dilled green beans were done using fresh dill from Hal's garden. He's a great guy and recommended the dilly beans. Check out the dill seed heads! A clove a garlic too.

The pickles below are my favorite - Bread and butter pickles. We are averaging about four to six cuc's a day out of the garden, so the pickles are just getting started. We are going to eat so many pickles this winter we will die of vinegar poisoning! Death, where is thy sting?

I can't resist a parting shot of me in my work clothes, outstanding in my field. Notice the height of the corn now. This is Silver Queen and boy is it going to be good!

We have also got:

Cilantro
Pumpkins
Summer Squash
Butter Beans (kind of a bust this year and last - must be an Idaho thing)
Peas (the deer's favorite)
Carrots
Turnips the size of volleyballs - we eat the greens
Swiss Chard
Cantelope
Green Peppers
Jalapenos
Several different tomato varieties
Raspberries (previous owner's patch)
Strawberries
Radishes
Spinach
Golden Bantam Corn

So, what's in your garden? We are already making plans to go bigger again next year. I want to plant tomatillos for salsa, and more peas to distract the deer.

Check back soon for another installment: The Streagle's go to the driest place on the planet at the moment - California! Smoked out and stoked by the Sierras.

Ciao!