Autumn On The North Rim

Yesterday I forgot to take my jacket with me when I went out to the entrance to go to work. I'll never forget again. As I drove in I could see the storm coming. It started raining, then it got cold, so I made a fire in the woodstove. A while later, the rain stopped and it warmed up, so it was too hot in the building. Oh, well. Live and learn.



After the storm, the sunset was gorgeous. I saw some deer cross the road, then come running back to cross again. I wondered if there was a coyote out there. There has been one hanging around in that area for a couple of months. The people coming through the gate have told me they have seen it, but I have not caught even one glimpse of it yet.



Today, we drove out to the Kaibab National Forest, down to Forest Road 610. The aspens are almost at peak color, the sun was shining, and the sky was full of big puffy clouds. It is amazing how big the sky is out here.



The road started out pretty smooth, but the last four or five miles were pretty rough. We passed an area where fire workers were cutting underbrush and stacking it. There were at least seven trucks out there. They do a great job of controlling the fuel wood so that if a fire were to be started by a lightening strike it would not spread far or burn too hot.


This last picture was taken from the beginning of the Nankoweap Trail. The drive out to the Nankoweap Trailhead was about 13 miles. We had planned to hike a little way down that trail, but it got steep really fast, and we know our limitations, so we turned back. We were a little disappointed because we wanted to go out there, but it is always best to be safe.

Gluten Free Donuts

My Fabdaughter, Becca, recently moved from Norfolk, Virginia to Parker, Colorado. She was a bit apprehensive about moving so far, and having to find all the places where a gluten intolerant person like herself (yeah, something else she inherited from her dear ol' Mom) could find the food products she needed.


A couple of days after she got there, she called me, so excited, because she found a gluten free cafe and bakery in her new neighborhood. She told me all about being able to go into this place fo breakfast and order french toast and BISCUITS! And, oh, how she raved about the cupcakes and donuts. And I was sooooo jealous!!!


Yesterday, I received a package in the mail from her. Inside, wrapped in bubble wrap, was a half dozen gluten free donuts. I was in gluten free heaven. Sorry, no pictures of them, I ate them up so fast. But if you are a gluten free person, and live near Denver, here is the link to Deby's Cafe' and Bakery. I don't know if she will ship her products, but if you know someone who lives nearby the place, maybe you could get them to mail them to you. You will NOT be dissapointed!

Pumpkin And Peppers

A while back, I was invited to a potluck dinner at the campground. Someone had brought a most interesting dish that was made with sweet potatoes, red peppers, and onions. I know it sounds weird, but it really was good. So, this weekend when we went to the grocery store, they had some of those little sugar pumpkins and the first thing I thought about was that sweet potato dish. I got one of the pumpkins and used it instead of sweet potato. Do I have to tell you it was YUM!



To make this, use a small sugar pumpkin. Cut it open and scrape out the seeds and stringy stuff. I cut mine into four pieces. Spray it with olive oil, put it on a baking sheet, and bake in the oven for one hour. Let it cool enough to handle it, then scoop out the pumpkin pulp and throw away the peel.

For my pumpkin and peppers, I put some olive oil in a skillet. Sautee some red pepper strips and onion. Add in two cups of the pumpkin and cook for a few minutes to blend the flavors. Add salt and pepper to taste. Very easy, very yum. I served it with baked ham and broccoli. I think it is my new favorite dish. I know I will never buy canned pumpkin again.

I used the rest of the pumpkin, about 5 cups, to make a pumpkin souffle.

5 cups cooked pumpkin, mashed
3 eggs
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 small can evaporated milk + 1 can of water
1 tsp Chinese 5 spice powder
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp vanilla

Mix all together well, and pour into a greased baking dish. Bake at 350 degrees for about an hour, or until a knife inserted into the center comes out clean. Serve with ice cream or whipped cream. MMMMMM.

Only 7 And A Half Years Later.....

In 2001, FabGrandpa was diagnosed with squamous cell carcinoma of the tongue. Cancer. The Big C. After we got over the shock of the diagnosis, we set about doing all the things involved in getting ready for treatment of it. Part of that was going to an oral surgeon to have all of his teeth removed in preparation for radiation to his mouth and throat.

The extractions were done in two sessions, first all of the top teeth, then a month or so later all of the bottom teeth were removed and the jawbones scraped. After the upper teeth were pulled, the lady in the oral surgeon’s office filed a claim with our insurance company (I still had health insurance then), and they paid the claim. Then the fun began.

After the lower teeth were pulled, the same lady filed a claim with an insurance company with whom we NEVER had coverage. As in, the WRONG insurance company. So, when I received the denial of benefits from them, I called up Ms. Nastypants at the oral surgeon’s billing office, and asked her to file again with the correct insurance company. She said, “We only FILE ONCE.” And I said “Well, you will need to file again in this case because you filed with the wrong insurance company.” She humpfed and puffed and finally agreed to file the claim again.

Soon, I received a denial of benefits from my health insurance, which stated that they did not provide us with DENTAL benefits. So, I called Ms. Nastypants again, and told her, again, that she would need to file the claim again, correctly. She was VERY NASTY to me, and was very adamant that she WOULD NOT file the claim again, as they ONLY FILE ONE TIME. So, I asked her if she could send me a form so I could file the claim myself. She said I would have to get a claim from my insurance company. What a BITCH!

Next, I called the insurance company, and requested the form so I could file the claim myself. The nice man at the insurance company told me they did not accept claims from the patient, that it had to be filed by the provider. Shit. He did tell me though, that he could see that they had paid the first claim, and told me the exact wording to tell Ms. Nastypants to use when she re-filed the claim so it would be paid, too. I thanked him for the information, and called Ms. Nastypants at the oral surgeon’s office AGAIN. And she told me again, that she WOULD NOT file the claim again.

For the next 12 months after that, I received a bill from this doctor’s office for $2406.36. Every month for 12 months, I wrote a note on the bill “I will be glad to pay this bill after you have filed a claim with my insurance company so I will know how much of it I am responsible for.” And mailed it back to the doctor’s office. At the end of those 12 months, I no longer received a bill from them.

In September of 2003, FabGrandpa and I were working in south Texas, 1600 miles from our hometown in Georgia. I received a frantic phone call from my stepdaughter saying that a deputy sheriff had knocked on her door and served her with papers for her Dad. The oral surgeon was suing us for the unpaid bill. My stepdaughter sent us the paperwork by next day mail.

The suit said:

Now comes the Plaintiff in the above styled action and states its complaint as follows:

1. The defendant, a resident of this county, is subject to the jurisdiction of this court and can be served at XXXXXXXX.
2. The Defendant is indebted to the Plaintiff n the amount of $2406.36 as principal and $419.50 as interest.
3. The principal and interest are past due and Defendant refuses to pay.

Wherefore, Plaintiff demands Judgment against the Defendant in the principal sum of $2406.36, interest of $429.50, and court costs of $93.00.

You are hereby summoned and required to file with the Clerk of said Court and serve upon the Plaintiff’s attorney, whose name and address is:

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

An Answer to this complaint which is herewith served upon you within 30 days after service of this Summons upon you…

And Answer I did. I wrote the following:

"To All Those Whom It May Concern:

In January of 2001, my husband, Jim was diagnosed with squamous cell carcinoma of the tongue. His radiation therapist advised him to have all of his teeth extracted before radiation treatments began. On January 23, 2001, Dr. XXXXX pulled of Jim’s lower teeth. The doctor’s office filed a claim with my medical insurance company, XXXXX Company, group # NNNNNNNNNN, claim # NNNNNNNNNN. XXXXX Company paid that claim. A copy of that explanation of benefits is attached.

On March 13, 2001, Jim went back to Dr. XXXXX to have the upper teeth extracted. The same doctor did this. The insurance claim was filed by the doctor’s office. However, they submitted it to the wrong insurance company, one with whom I have never had coverage of any kind. This time I received an explanation of benefits showing no payment was made, with a notation that said, “This patient has no coverage with us.” Copy attached.

I called the doctor’s office and asked the person in the billing office to resubmit the claim. She was rude, and told me that they only file once, and she would not file again. After much discussion, she agreed to file the claim again with the correct insurance company. After the claim was resubmitted, I received an explanation of benefits showing no payment was made, with a notation “Our records indicated the member’s health plan does not include benefits for dental care. I have attached a copy of this denial of benefits as well.

When I received the denial of benefits, I called the billing office again, and spoke to the same person again. She insisted again, that they ONLY FILE ONCE, and that she would NOT file the claim again. I asked her to send me a form so I could submit the claim myself. She told me I would have to get the form from my insurance carrier.

I hung up, and called my insurance carrier. The customer service person I spoke with told me that they did not accept claims from the patient, that all claims have to be submitted by the provider of services. I explained to him that I had talked to the accounts receivable person at my doctor’s office and that she had refused to resubmit the claim. I also explained to him that XXXXX Insurance Company had paid for the first set of extractions because it was medically necessary to have the teeth removed in preparation for radiation treatments. He advised me to call the doctor’s office back and ask them to resubmit the claim and add a statement saying that the work was done in preparation for cancer treatment. I called Dr. XXXX’s office back and talked to the girl in the office again. She still refused to resubmit the claim for me.

I understand that the bill is for services rendered, and that at some point I should pay for par of it because I did not have 100% coverage for the service provided. However, I feel that Dr. XXXXX and his office staff should be held partly responsible for the delay of their payment because their insurance person flatly refused to assist me in getting this claim filed correctly and paid.

I also feel that XXXXX Insurance Company should be held party responsible for their inaction and less than satisfactory customer service. If the first set of extractions was covered, then the second set of extractions should have been covered. If the representative I talked to at XXXXX Insurance Company could see that the first claim was paid, and agreed that the second one should have been paid, why did he not reopen the denied claim and pay it?

Sincerely,

FabGrandma"

I copied this letter and all the attachments, and mailed them by certified mail, return receipt requested. I sent one to the doctor, one to the lawyer handling the case, one to the judge in the case, one to the insurance company, and one to the insurance commissioner of the state of Georgia. In ALL of the letters I sent, I included my correct address in Texas. And we heard NOTHING from anyone. You would think that they would have sent us something telling us we had lost the case and owed the money.

So, it was a complete surprise to us when we received a letter from our employer’s debt management branch, advising us that they had received a garnishment order on FabGrandpa’s wages, dated July 2008. The gist of the letter was to tell us that they would be taking $267 every payday out his check, and there was nothing we could do to stop it. It was, after all, called Involuntary Debt Repayment. Shit. And the document said they were into us for $4646.34 now! Shit again! After I got over being pissed off, again, by Ms. Nastypants, I got out my calculator and refigured our budget so we could stay on track for our savings goal. And tried to not be angry at the world for the injustice of it all.

So, they took out the deduction for $267 for two pay periods. Then last pay period, there was no deduction. And I was confused, and worried, that they would take two out this time. But when we got FabGrandpa’s check today, it was for a lot more than normal. When I looked at the pay stub, it showed that they had REIMBURSED us for $267. I was really really confused now. What if they decided to take it all back next time?

Today I spent an hour or so on the phone, calling the payroll office, here, there, everywhere, until I got the right person on the line. It turns out that we DIDN’T lose the case, after all. They judge in the case DID order us to pay all that money, because my letters didn’t get there in time. But, the insurance commissioner in Georgia somehow got my insurance provider to pay that claim. And the doctor had his lawyer send a release of liability for the debt to our employer.

I was so happy I cried. What a big relief. And I hope Ms. Nastypants got fired.

Hiking The Cliff Springs Trail

If you ever get to the North Rim of the Grand Canyon, the Cliff Springs Trail is one you are definitely going to have to hike. FabGrandpa and I went on that trail today. The day was beautiful, with blue skies, a gentle breeze and the temperature around 65 degrees.

(The beginning of the trail)

The trail starts at the Angel’s Window overlook. It is a half mile to the springs, but you can go beyond that point if you want to. We went about a mile out, then turned around and came back. The views were breathtaking, absolutely beautiful.

(A huge boulder at the side of the trail)

The springs are more like a “drips”, as the water was dripping out of the cliffs onto the ground, making a small pool. Lots of plant life was taking advantage of the moisture there, so it looked cool and green. I can see why ancient Indians sought out this place in the summer as a respite from the boiling sun down in the canyon below.

(The cliffs, wow!)

The drive up the Cape Royal Road to the Angel’s Window Overlook is about 30 miles from the entrance to the park. There are four or five paved parking areas on the drive up so you can take advantage of the awesome view up there. At the end of the road is Cape Royal, where you can take a paved hiking trail out to the gorgeous viewpoints. You can see the Colorado River from this trail.

(Looking up. The cliffs hung over life a roof in places)

I’m going back up there in two weeks, because the Aspens are just starting to change to their blazing gold color, and I want to get some pictures of them at their peak. Of course, I’ll be putting some pictures up here for you to see.

(Looking across the canyon to the other side)

In other news, Becca and Ken have moved into their new apartment in Denver. She has already found a job, just two miles from home at the Williams Sonoma. She worked for them in Norfolk for years, so it was just a matter of interviewing with the manager there. Today they went sightseeing in their new hometown. I can hardly wait to make use of their guest room!

(Taking a rest on a stump)

The FabGrandson Owen had his first birthday on Friday. Judging from the pictures his mother sent me, he loved his birthday cake! And his Dad, Seth, told me he is feeling better than he has ever felt in his life since having his surgery for sleep apnea. His exact words “I feel high just from breathing”.

(Cliff Spring. Indians came here as early as 1100 A.D.)

Emily has gone back to school to get her master’s degree in education. She has her hands full with her teaching job, her own school homework, and her son, The FabGrandson Spencer. He is in first grade and doing pretty good this year.

(Another view across the canyon)

And my stepdaughter, Becky just got back from Mexico on a business trip, a two-day training class. Lucky dog!

(Click on this picture to see the tiny little people up ahead of us, to get an idea of the size of these cliffs)

(In some places, the cliffs where so low you had to crouch down to walk on the trail.)


(A gnarled tree on the edge of the canyon at Walhalla Overlook)


(A bee on a dried thistle flower.)

Finally Applied For My Passport

(my official passport photo, ick)

FabGrandpa and I have been talking about getting our passports for a couple of years, but never got around to doing it until today. We went down to Kanab, Utah to the county clerks office to get the applications. With applications in hand, we walked over to Linda Lou's Coffee Shop to get a cup of coffee and fill them out. Since it was such a beautiful day, we decided to sit outside. While we were sitting there, our neighbors George and Nancy walked up, so they joined us at our little table.


We have not had much opportunity to just sit down and talk with them before today. While we were talking, we discovered that they live in San Diego, (when they are not volunteering at the Grand Canyon) and that George taught school in National City. Why that surprised us is because FabGrandpa grew up in Imperial Beach and went to Mar Vista High School, not far from where George taught school.


When we finished filling out the applications, which were actually pretty simple, we walked back over to the county clerks office. The information needed to fill out the form included the names, dates of birth, and place of birth of our parents; the name, address and telephone number of an emergency contact; and our own names, dates of birth and places of birth. We also had to supply certified copies of our birth certificates, a picture ID, and two 2 inch by 2 inch pictures of each of us.


The clerk went over the application to make sure it had been filled out completely, then attached the pictures and birth certificates to the applications. We gave her two checks, one made out to the county and one made out to the Department of State. The total amount per passport card is $45. We should receive our new passport cards in the mail in about two months. Yay! now we can go to Mexico this winter.

We also went to Kanab T-Shirts and got a T-shirt for my son, Seth.

(Seth with his baby boy, Owen)

Seth had surgery for sleep apnea last Friday, and has not been feeling good. He loves the movie Napoleon Dynamite, so we got him a "Vote For Pedro" T-shirt. That should cheer him up! When I talked to him tonight, he told me that he is feeling a little better, and that he can already tell the difference. He can breathe a lot better and is getting rested from his sleep. He had this condition for a very long time, if not his whole life, so we are glad the surgery is working for him.

It's Getting To Be That Time Again...

The weather is feeling chill all day, the leaves on the aspens are beginning to turn, and I am cleaning out drawers and closets. That means one thing--that Fall is right around the corner, and FabGrandpa and I will be rolling soon. In just over a month we will be going down the road again.

We won't be going to Georgia this winter, as originally planned. Our next home will be just a short way down the road, to Phoenix, from about mid-October until Christmas. We will be helping our friends, Charlie and Lynn, sell pumpkins and Christmas trees. While we are looking a little bit forward to the new gig, we are mostly looking forward to spending some time with them.

We met Charlie and Lynn when we worked in Virginia two years ago, and feel like we have known them for a lifetime. Last year when we worked in Gettysburg, they did too, at a different place. Whenever we had the same days off, we tried to get together and do things with them.

After the Christmas season is over, we are all going to Brenda, Arizona, to a campground there for three months, maybe longer, and just take a vacation. We have been working either for pay or as volunteers without a break for 8 years. I think it's about time we had a little fun.

My Thoughts On Sarah Palin and The Republican Ticket

I have heard from several of my relatives and friends who think that Sarah Palin is the best choice the republicans could have made for the vice presidential candidate. I have also read and heard a lot of the news media's comments about her daughter, Bristol, being pregnant at 17 and how "tragic" that is, and how Bristol's life is over. What?

First of all, life is NOT over for her. It will be a different life, a harder life, one that includes diapers instead of dances, but certainly not OVER. She and the boyfriend have made a CHOICE to raise the baby together. (If indeed it was her choice and not her mother's, who is pro life and not pro choice.) OK, so Mom, the vice presidential candidate used the word "decision" and not the word "choice", but they mean the SAME THING!!! Also, I am of the opinion that poor little Bristol will still have a comfy life, what with a well to do family and all, I don't think she will actually be the one taking care of baby. She will either have a nanny or her Mom and Dad will be doing the actual child care.



Second, and a very important item to me, is how can she say that this is a choice her daughter made, and that the news media should respect her privacy, and then campaign against choice for the rest of the women in this country? She said "We ask the media to respect our daughter and Levi's privacy as has always been the tradition of children of candidates." Yet, she brought them to the convention, paraded them around for the public and news media to see, even had Levi in a photo op with McCain. Don't want them in the spotlight? Don't put them there yourself. She refers to Bristol and Levi as children, but let them make a very important adult decision.


While I personally would have never chosen abortion, (and I did get pregnant at 17 before I was married, so I know for sure I wouldn't choose abortion,) there are millions of women who deserve the chance to make their own decisions. If Palin wants the people of this country to leave her daughter out of the spotlight, to accept that her daughter has the right to make this choice, then Palin needs to understand that EVERY woman has the right to make the choice of whether or not to have a child or an abortion. EVERY woman has the right to decide what to do when faced with an unwanted or unplanned pregnancy. And Palin's position on the pro life side of that particular issue is what makes her daughter's "decision" important. The very fact that she was allowed to make a choice, whether it was for keeping the baby or not, is what keeps the spotlight on Bristol.

Not every woman has well off parents who can help them. Not every woman has a man who will stand beside through it all. Not every woman is capable of taking care of five or six or seven children. But, every woman should have the chance to make the decision of what to do for herself, without interference from government. The same as Bristol Palin.

Creamed Corn with Red Peppers

We drove down to Kanab again Monday afternoon. FabGrandpa needed some soup and some fruit bars, and I needed some veggies for this week, so off we went. It had been raining, storming, thundering and lightening for a couple of days, but on Monday the weather was clearing up, and the sky was beautiful. So was the desert:


We had lunch at Escobar's, a little Mexican place off the main drag, then headed over to the Foodtown. I found a Boston Butt pork roast on sale for $1.79 per pound, some fresh sweet corn, a red bell pepper, and some yellow squash. We brought our treasures home, where I got out the butcher knife and sliced off a few pieces of the roast. I breaded them with rice flour and fried them like pork chops. Boy were they ever good!

The next day, I poked holes in the rest of the roast and stuffed them with garlic, and put it in the crock pot while I was at work. I think it was the most excellent roast, ever! So, tonight, we had leftover roast with fried squash and creamed corn with red peppers.

The first time I made creamed corn with red peppers was when the refrigerator quit working last month. I had the last bits of those sweet Italian red peppers that I bought in Maryland last fall, and some corn, that I did not want to lose. I cooked them up together and it turned out to be very good.

Here is the recipe:

3 ears fresh sweet corn
1 red bell pepper
1/2 stick butter or margarine
salt and pepper to taste
1/3 cup milk

Shuck the corn and scrape the kernels off the cob. Wash and chop the red bell pepper. Melt the butter in a medium saucepan, then add the peppers and saute for a few minutes. Add the corn, milk, salt and pepper. Turn the heat down to low. Cook, stirring often, until the corn is done.

I took a picture of it, but it did not turn out very good, and made it look very unappetizing, so you won't see it here. Sorry. But, you will not be disappointed if you try this. Yum! Oh, and the best part: It's gluten free!

Fun Monday-Where I Blog

Janet from "The Planet of Janet", one of my bloggy friends, wrote about her blog space today for Fun Monday, which is hosted by a different person each week. This week, Gattina of "Writer Cramps" is the host. I have never participated in Fun Monday before but thought this was a good time to start. So, here it is folks, the place where I blog:

Here it is, my space at the dinette table. Since I live in a travel trailer, there is no separate room for an office. The kitchen/living area/office/TV room is all in one space. But, it is quite comfy, and the coffee is always just a step away.



Here, you see FabGrandpa's office space, which, by the way, is right next to mine. He doesn't blog, he doesn't e-mail, he doesn't pay bills by computer. No. All he does is read the news, check the weather, and play Halo. Loudly. Until I tell him I can't take it anymore and please put on your damn headphones!!!!!


Here is a view of my blog space from the outside. This is my home, fulltime, and I have to tell ya, I love it. We have lived in this one for a year and a half now. It is bigger than the first one by two feet. We lived in the first one for 6 years.


Here is a picture of where we are right now. I took this picture yesterday. We had thunderstorms most of the weekend, with loud, crashing thunder, that seemed to roll all around the canyon before it stopped. Even on a cloudy, stormy day, the canyon is awesome.


And, just because I love this picture, I am sharing it with you. This is at the picnic area on the side of the road, right across from the entrance to the employee residential area. Yeah, some people just see weeds, but I see beautiful wildflowers. What do you see?

Counting Cactus, or The Day I Was An Environmental Consultant

(Here I am with Robert Frye)

Have your ever volunteered to do something totally off the wall, just for the experience? I had the opportunity to do just that on Sunday. Ok, I was not exactly a volunteer because I got paid to do it. But I did volunteer for the job. I was hired as an Environmental Consultant for one day. And what a day it was!

I got up really early on my day off to drive the 43 miles down to Jacob Lake, where I met Robert J. Frye, a retired professor from the University of Arizona; Sarah, who is a biologist from Bryce Canyon, and Courtney, one of my co-workers. Robert has been tracking this rare cactus for several years. After the introductions were out of the way, Robert he told us a little bit about what we would actually be doing.

(This is a different species of cactus, a little bigger and rounder than the pediocactus)

We drove about half way down the Kaibab Plateau on Hwy 89A towards Page, then parked on the side of the road and walked a short distance through the woods to the first plot.

A plot is an area that is 10 meters in diameter, where pediocactus have been found in the past. If you are wondering at this point just exactly what a pediocactus is, click here for more information. This particular pediocactus only grows on the Colorado Plateau in Arizona, Colorado, New Mexico, and Utah.

(That's Courtney placing flags in the last section of the plot)

So, here is what we did. When we first arrived at the plot, we had to look for a metal rod sticking out of the ground, which marked the center of the plot. Next, we looked for another metal rod, which marked the north side of the plot. Then, we laid out measuring tapes in an “X”, with one going north and south, and the other one going east and west, measuring 5 meters in each direction from the center of the plot. Then the real fun began.

We crawled around on our hands and knees, looking for either the cute little cacti or a tag or a nail to indicate where a cacti used to be. At every location where something was found, we placed a little flag, somewhat like those used to mark utilities before digging.

After all the flags were in place and we were fairly certain there were no more to be found, we started collecting data. One person sat in a folding chair with a notebook and pen, while the other three people crawled from one flag to the next, calling out the angle of the location from the center of the circle, the distance from the center, the nail or tag number. If there was only a tag or nail, it was simply “nail found”. But, if one of the cacti was there, we used calipers to measure the size of it. These are little bitty cacti.

(This is a pic of two tiny pediocactus with a flag marking their location)

The measurements were in millimeters. We did find a few, but, sadly, the numbers are declining.

(Out in the desert near Vermillion Cliffs. Isn't it just beautiful?)

After we finished collecting all the data, we picked up all the little flags and the tape measures, and drove to the next plot site.

(This is a different kind of cactus. It was huge and looked dangerous.)

The second place we went was out in the desert. It was fun to go in the four wheel drive vehicle out across the desert to find the plot.

(Notice that you see no road in this picture.)

I even had to crawl under a barbed wire fence, twice. (Sorry, no picture to prove that interesting fact.) I had a lot of fun, and learned a little bit about how scientific data is collected. And, if I get the chance to work on another study, I’ll be out there in the desert—you can count on it.

Sizzlin Summer Vacations

If you want to find out where some of my bloggy friends around the internet went on vacation this summer, go on over the We Are THAT Family. There you can read about where Kristin and her family went, but scroll down to the bottom of her post there, too, to see where everyone else went. There are some interesting looking vacations going on over there!

Western Legends Days In Kanab

I had four hours of "comp" time, so I decided to combine it with four hours of annual leave, and go to Kanab last Saturday morning. My neighbor, Sue, and I headed out early.

I had read in the newspaper a month or so ago that they have a farmer’s market in town every Saturday morning, and that there was a lady there who bakes gluten free breads, cakes, and cookies. I have really been wanting to check it out.

But, when we got to town, we discovered that Western Legend Roundup was going on, and because of the festival they did not have the farmer’s market.

The Western Legends Roundup a big festival where they celebrate the history of the town and some of the old western stars who made movies in the area way back when, where in town for the celebration. The only one I saw was Clint Walker, but he looked old. I mean really old, and nothing at all like the picture of him from his movie making days. I didn’t even take his picture because I was so disappointed.

There was a vendor row, where Sue and I ran into our neighbor, John, who works with the Grand Canyon Association at the Visitor Center book store. He had some things from the book store on display there.

At noon, there was a parade, with the old cowboy stars riding in horse drawn wagons. There were several beautiful halflinger horse teams with beautiful wagons.

One wagon was drawn by a two ox team. Those animals were awesome! It was the first time I had ever seen oxen in real life. Each one had a young boy riding it bareback.

The best thing I saw in the parade were little girls from the Kaibab Paiute Reservation dancing down the street in their native costumes. They were so cute!

This wagon had the entire class of 1958 from Kanab High School riding in it!

After the parade, we walked across the street to the food vendors. I had a corn on the cob on a stick, with butter and salt, and a peach iced tea. A little pricey at $6.00 for the two of them, but boy was that cold iced tea good!

Yeah, that was worth the trip!

Monday Stuff

MMMM, Peppers, Onions, and Celery for the roast.

This morning I got up and checked the thermometer we have in the freezer section of our refrigerator. Not the new one, but the one that has been on the blink. The freezer part had been getting down to around 40 degrees, so we had some things in there while we tried to use it all up, you know, meats, frozen veggies, and some frozen fruits. So, this morning, the temp on the thermometer was 59!!!

I took everything out, and had to throw a little bit away, but there were several things that I could save IF I cooked it today. So, I put some chicken thighs and some pork country style ribs in the oven and baked them. I just put some meat tenderizer and some seasoned salt on them. After they were cooked, I packaged them up in meal size portions and put them in the little freezer compartment of the new fridge.

I had a small beef roast in there, too. I had been saving it for a special meal, because I don't cook beef very often. FabGrandpa's doctor back in Georgia told me not to let him eat very much beef. So, most of the time, he only gets beef if we eat out, which is not very often. But last time we went to Page, this roast was on sale for a good price. I used about a 1/4 of it to make beef stew last week and put the rest of in the freezer.

Starting down the grade into Hurricane, Utah

So, today, I sprinkled the rest of it with tenderizer and seasoned salt, then seared it in a skillet with olive oil and then put it in the crock pot. I cut up some celery, onions, and a red bell pepper and sauteed those for a few minutes in the skillet, then dumped them in on top of the roast in the crock pot. I left it on high for about an hour while I got dressed, cleaned up the kitchen, and made up the bed. We decided to run down to Hurricane, Utah (about 100 miles away) to pick up a part we had ordered at the RV place there, so I turned the crock pot down on "warm" while we were gone.

Sunset when we were coming back home this evening.

When I got home, that roast was just right! MMMMMMMM.

Cabbage and Smoked Sausage

I was tired today so I wanted something I could cook really fast for dinner. I cut up some cabbage and some potatoes, and threw them together in a skillet with some butter, salt, pepper and water. I simmered them until they were tender, then added some smoked sausage, cut up into bite sized pieces. It was really good, and ready in about 30 minutes.

Now I have to tell you about something that made me laugh today. When I was walking around the campground this morning doing the rounds, I passed by a site where there was a tent camper. No one was up yet. I could hear someone inside the tent snoring so loudly that I could almost see the sided of the tent moving in and out. I walked a few sites on down the road, and again, there was a tent camper, with no one up and about yet. As I was walking by, I heard a very loud faarrrrtttt! and then a guy said, "Boy did that ever feel good!" I have laughed about that all day!