On Top of Old Smokey Part 3

Day 2: Saturday (part 2)

So I was starting to find the whole situation to be kind of humorous. I mean, we had made it our goal to be organized on this trip.  ... (clearly, organization was not turning out to be the theme of the weekend.) Phil, on the other hand, was still upset about the way we had to spend the previous night, and was all the more distressed by the fact that his instincts about Lazy J's had been proven correct. ( He had not been previously deceived by their web site as I had been.)
From all we could tell, we had one final option to pursue. Davidson River Campground in the Pisgah National Forest. We headed straight there, because really there was nothing else we could do, if we were still going to be responsible for 3 tykes later that night. I checked their website for open camping sites as we made our way there. Two sites, both 1st come 1st served...we drove a little faster.
As we turned onto the last street there was a sign, obviously advertising camping sites, that was covered in a giant orange, beware of construction tarp. We looked at each other, swallowed the uncertainty that was rising,  and turned into the parking lot. 11am Camping spot acquired! (not before we had to drive back into town, and find an ATM to be able to pay the deposit for our spot...true story)
Life, including vacation, is a lot less stressful when you know you have a place to lay your head for the night. (makes me wonder how Jesus managed to stay anxiety free durring His ministry, and He didn't even have a tent in His car to set up behind a tree if He had to.)
With the car unloaded and our two tents set up a decent distance from the fire ring, Phil and I breathed a sigh of relief and took off for a well deserved (we think) and much needed (we are certain of this) hike.
This hike is worth mentioning for three reasons 1) "Sliding Rock Falls" is not so named because it has anything to do with water, but rather because it poses a high risk of falling to ones death 2) it took us 2 hours to hike to the top (Phil was carrying one of our backpacking bags loaded down with camera equipment, food stuffs, and, because I assumed it would be a short hike and never dreamed that 1/2 way up the trail we would both be sweating like the 4th of July, a (one) half empty water bottle.)
3) this is what we saw when we (FINALLY) reached the top. (Bright unhindered sunlight was not the best for allowing us to capture the beautiful fall colors that stretched for miles.)

I understand that I am taking my sweet time to share this story, please bear with me, I have yet to be able to catch up on my sleep from this very trip, I am doing my best to stay awake to post. :)

On Top of Old Smokey Part 2

Day 2: Saturday (part 1)

Two sleepy campers awoke before the sunrise.
We wanted to get some good pictures of the sun coming up over the mountains, and we wanted to get away from the site that was never meant to be a camping site in the 1st place. The 1st place we wanted to see was the land fill. Yes... the landfill. Phil had heard from a guy at work that this particular landfill was quite a sight to see in terms of landscape. 6:30 am: once again, in the dark, we took the narrow mountain road toward our destination. It was less surprising than it was  disappointing that when we arrived at the land fill entrance, the gate was closed and  would not open again until 8:00 am... long after the sunrise.
Looking to our scribbled and non-descriptive maps, we headed south again toward Table Rock National Park in South Carolina (the state border was only 10 miles or so away.)   It was still dark when we arrived, and as the sky began to lighten we discovered that the only hiking trails around were ones that lead to other peoples campsites, and not beautiful scenery. Discouraged, we decided to try and make the most of the scenery we did have, and took some pictures at the shore of a small lake next to the parking lot.

this one was taken 10 minutes or so before the next, hence the difference in lighting,

After 30 minutes or so out in the cold morning air, we got back into our car and made our next goal to find a camping spot for the coming evening. We were not about to repeat the previous night. 

1) because it was pretty sucky 2) because we were meeting up with my oldest brothers family later that afternoon, to take the kids camping for the night, and it would have been extra sucky to not have a real place to camp.

We called all of the numbers on our Camping in the Mountains information sheet, and they were all busy or disconnected. The gas station lady wouldn't let me look at a map unless i bought it, but i didn't want to buy it unless i knew what it looked like...I didn't buy it. 

From our phone maps we found a few sites, one of which had a website that looked promising. 

Lazy J Campground. Excited and relieved we got there in no time at all. And no time at all is how long it took for us to turn around and pray that something better would be available. ( I have sense read more reviews that support my initial approval of the place from what I read on their site, but from what we saw I find them hard to believe.) The "campground" was accessible down a steep gravel driveway and across a perilous looking one lane bridge.  Close to the scenic river for sure, but the grounds themselves were far from enchanting. Scattered here and there were what looked like abandoned cars; there were a couple trailer homes and a cluster of RV's off in the distance. JUUUUST  a little too sketchy for our comfort.  

7 hours till the kids were to arrive, and we didn't have a clue as to where or how this wild goose chase (as my mom would say) would end.

On top of Old Smokey, Part 1

Seeing as though I will not be doing any laundry, or dishes, this afternoon, due to no running water. I will begin the story of our latest adventure.
 This past Friday afternoon Phil and I ventured to Eastern North Carolina, and set course to see as much of the Pisgah, and Nantahala National forests as reasonably possible in 2 1/2 days.

The following  is a day by day account of what occurred.
NC Mountain Camping trip Day 1: Friday

I had to work in the morning, so as soon as I got home we packed up the RAV and hit the road. It was about 3:15pm when we left Raleigh, so by the time we had reached any worthwhile scenery it had long sense been dark. Ashville by 7:15, we were making good time, and looking forward to a cozy campfire to end the long day. Phil had printed off two maps of the National Parks in the area, and had highlighted the places to camp and the attractions we wanted to visit, we found our favorite campsite on the map and followed its trail into the twisty, turny, pitch black forest.
8:45pm, we arrived at the gate to the park where we wished to camp. We hadn't made reservations for a site because most of the sites were 1st come 1st serve, and there are dozens of them in the area. Unfortunately, because we didn't make reservations, we had no idea that the gate to the park would be closed promptly at 8:00pm. We were 45 minutes late. SOL...as it were.
After taking a few wrong turns, due to a combination of mountain signage, poor lighting, and two unhappy campers, we came across a gas station and went in to ask about our lodging options.  The options we were given were as follows:
1) you can drive your car up to the park gate, drop off your camping gear, drive your car back to the gas station park it here overnight, and walk your gear into the park. (this option did not sound good to me as I had been suffering from a terrible stomach ache for the majority of our drive. * Ladies, there are certain times of the month during which, Camping is not advised.)
2) you can drive back down this twisty, turny, pitch black forest road,  turn onto this other, more narrow, road and take that to a different entrance to the park where you can find a campsite.
Naturally we went with option #2.
20 minutes later we found the 2nd entrance into the park. This entrance however, was in reality a small parking lot with a Port-O-Potty, a street lamp, and a hiking trail that may or may not have led to the actual campsites that were still at least 20 minutes South of that location.  At this point we were both tired of driving, but the thought of having to set up camp next to the port-o-potty gave us the inspiration we needed to keep following the map toward those little tepees that had been so full of promise just a few hours earlier.
As our luck would have it, our "yellow-brick" mountain road emptied out into a private gravel drive about 10 minutes later. Our only feasible option was the parking lot. This... was not what we had in mind.  On the up side, there was a nice babbling brook close by to lull us to sleep, as we lay, under the stars, behind a tree, next to a Port-O-Potty, with no campfire.
* I've go to give the Port-O-Potty some credit here, it was kind of nice not to have to squat in the woods.


Part 2 Coming soon

A perfect fall meal

Psalm 104:14
He makes grass to grow for the cattle, and plants for man to cultivate- bringing forth food from the earth: wine that gladdens the heart of man, oil to make his face shine, and bread that sustains his heart.


Some blessings are undeniable. I believe that a good meal is definitely one of those blessings.
I love being able to eat out, to taste foods i have never heard of , to stretch the culinary imaginations of my family and friends.  I have had the privilege to taste some of the worlds finest foods, and work with some of the freshest and best ingredients known to man. Still nothing is more exciting to me than being able to share my experiences with my family, I love being able to make a good meal at home.  To be completely honest this has not happened on a regular basis... ever. Phil and I don't eat poorly, i've come to grips with the fact that people just find meals that work for them, especially when life gets busy. Once in a while though, I get the itch, the undeniable desire to create something different (from our day to day). Aside from the recent strudel, there hasn't been much of a stretch of my culinary mind at home; though i do intend upon doing so little by little.
 Tonight's dinner was one of those  meals that just had to have a little something extra. There was nothing entirely special, or technical about it, but it was delicious, and in case anyone is searching for a perfect fall meal I am sharing this one with you.

Pan Fried Pork Chops with Apple Chutney, Asparagus and Wild Mushroom Risotto, Roasted Winter Squash, and a whole wheat roll 

(why yes that is a tiny plate for such a hardy meal... the picture was an after thought and i didn't feel like having to wash another large plate. Lazy, yes. Do I regret it, no not really.)
 First of all I did not make this all in one night. Lets just get that straight.
The Risotto is actually leftovers from the other night, but it was a perfect compliment to the pork. Personally, I think risotto is the perfect compliment to anything. This was Phil's 1st experience with it, and i am pleased to say that he really enjoyed it.


The Risotto is Alton Browns recipe. (we <3 AB)
recipe here


The Squash
was simply peeled like a potato (you will need a good sharp veggie peeler for this one),
seeds and yuck removed,
chopped into generous bite-sized pieces,
tossed in oil,
sprinkled with salt and pepper
spead out onto a cookie sheet and bake in 350 F oven for about 20 min (till softened)


The Chutney
recipe here
I made it without the orange peel.
the end result was a bit to vinegary for me so i stirred in about
1tsp honey


The Chops
for 4 chops, i mixed:
1/4 tsp ground corriander
1/4tsp ground cloves
1/8 tsp celery salt
1/4 tsp ground mustard
salt and pepper
sprinkled this mix on both sides of the raw chops
 browned them on both sides in a pan with some veggie oil
finished them in the oven 350 F for about 10 minutes
(they turn from pink to a whitish gray color and their juices run clear when fully cooked)

So there you have it. A perfect fall meal.  It happened to be 85 F here in Raleigh today, but its fall in my heart.

Eat Happy!

Streudel

This is the little life journey of an apple strudel that  I made for Phil to take to school and share with his lab group. Rumor has it that they liked it o.k. I would like to apologize for the haphazardness of the structure of this blog, but then again I don't really feel all that bad because it took me at least 2 hours just to get the pictures in the right order. Enjoy!





 

Step 1 Lots of apples!







Apples... like this one.





So this is a few steps later,... apples are cooked and cooled, dough was made 4 hours before hand and now I am beginning to stretch it out.



Stretching the dough is a process...



a very tedious process

...



...

but the end result is pretty neat. that small chunk of dough covers the whole table!

the stretched dough must then be buttered, liberally

apple filling close up.

then the apples are placed      

Some graham cracker crumbs to absorb some of the apple juice as the streudel bakes.

all ready to roll up.

the careful rolling begins, its harder than it looks to not rip a hole in the dough.

the rest of the rolling process is fairly easy. You thought the table cloth was there just to for looks didn't you.

half way rolled

all the way rolled! Ready for the pan.



before

after



hungry? you should be that just took 5 1/2 hours!

Stuff

 Shorts and a sweatshirt weather, my absolute favorite!

 Football is on, Phil is pretending to do homework while he watches, perhaps the other way around... perhaps. He seems to be able to multi- task in that way. I always had to have music playing while i did my homework but I could never focus if the Tv was on too. Im pretty sure he could finish this assignment hes doing and still give me a play by play of what happened during the game.

This week at work we are entertaining General managers and Executive Chefs from the best country clubs around the nation. My boss is pretty stressed about us doing a good job. Hopefully I can work well under pressure two days in a row. Sounds easy, but when everyone around you is freaking out, its kind of hard to keep your own composure.

What does the thermostat have to drop to in order for Chili to be an acceptable dinner decision?