Eight Days on the Trail

Eight days have gone quickly and sometimes seem like forever as well!

Crossing the upper USA States with our little RV trailer in tow

has been amazing so far!

Michigan to Indiana

Downtown Shipshewana - brief stop over

Illinois to Iowa

Old barns, barn quilts, wind turbines, and acres and acres of freshly planted corn fields.

Reconnecting with dear friends, Trese and Dale, on their beautiful Iowa farm.

We were sent on our way with bundles of fresh picked asparagus, a huge bag of homemade granola
that will last us the whole trip,
fresh baked cookies and chocolate treats - wow!
Not to mention gifts and warm memories of our visit!

From here we headed straight to the Badlands of South Dakota

What an amazing place ......

We camped conestoga wagon style with the roaming buffalo and colonies of prairie dogs!

And the mountain goats were nearby.

We heard the coyotes howling during the night - eek!

Wall Drug

You can't miss this place - there are billboards everywhere shouting it's many amenities...

We had to stop and check it out in Wall, SD

Had to see if Alice had a good hand!
The farmer didn't think she had a full deck.

Spectacular Mount Rushmore - a must see. 75th year since completion

A very interesting quote at Mount Rushmore, by Theodore Roosevelt 104 yeas ago!

South Dakota to Wyoming

Wyoming to Montana

Lewis & Clark State Park Caverns - simply astounding!

From the caverns to Butte, MT was such a "butteful" drive.

The city of Butte, however, not so much .... a mining town with casinos at every corner.

"Butte" but we enjoyed a delicious lunch there at Fred's Mesquite Grill.

The hills seemed like velvet on our way to Missoula, MT

We have had long driving days, sometimes arriving late to a campsite

We camped at Riverside State Park in Spokane, WA

right beside the fast flowing Spokane River that featured a suspension bridge.

(Missed getting any pictures of this place).

Today, we landed mid afternoon at a clean and pleasant campsite

(free WiFi, laundry, level paved sites, pleasant owners)

and are enjoying a relaxing evening

near Republic, WA 

Till next time ......... looking forward to a long weekend in B.C. and meeting some famous Mennonite Girls in Chilliwack!!!! 

Best Mother's Day!

They came on Mother's Day unannounced ...

Grandpa farmer knew but Grammie was surprised.

This sweet face awaited us at a nearby Brunch buffet.

We had 4 days of cuddles

Grandpa was in heaven holding this little angel!

There were story times

Reading with Grandpa

There were giggles and squeals in our home 

Who could ask for a more wonderful Mother's Day!?

Her mommy and daddy did some serious hunting and negotiating while here

and we are getting so excited for future possibilities!!!!

Till next time ........ hope your Weekend was wonderful!

Happy Cinco de Mayo

It's Cinco de Mayo and I feel like I'm finally getting out of my

Winter and Long Spring funk!

The weather has become Spring and

I've been tackling the flower beds:

One done - 6 to go!!!

There's a plump chicken in the crockpot for an effortless dinner tonight.

This chicken came from a local farm - free range.

I usually don't bother preparing the liver but this one looked so healthy.

 I just couldn't discard it like I usually do - that is since we don't have any Cairns around the house anymore.

(oh how they loved the chicken liver!).

I decided to cook the liver and make a little pate to enjoy later this evening,

 after a sauna to sooth those sore muscles.

Have you ever made a liver pate? I hadn't, so I followed a recipe online by Martha Stewart

and it turned out quite lovely!

The taste is quite spicy but nice and I'm so glad I could use that liver.

Here is the recipe I followed:

1/4 onion - chopped

1 carrot - grated

Seasoned with cayenne pepper, salt and pepper, thyme (just a sprinkle of each).

Saute the onion and carrot in butter and olive oil (added a bit of water as it fried down) just until the vegetables are tender/soft. Remove from pan.

Add a bit more butter and oil to the pan and add the liver. Salt and Pepper to taste. Fry this till cooked through (about 7 minutes).

Now just put it all into a chopper or food processor and process till fairly smooth.

Pat into a small bowl, splash with some Olive Oil and chill.

Pretty simple really!

Till next time ....... Happy Cinco de Mayo to you and yours!

Off I go to the garden .......

Ramped up Scalloped Potatoes

Even tho' Spring is Springing

it rarely feels like it these days ...

the weather is still damp, dull and cool.

However, on my way home yesterday from a wee "rampage"

to town I caught a glimpse of this shy newborn.

So sweet!

The farmer and I also made a little jaunt to a woodlot

just down the road and brought home a few shovels full of ramps!

Ramps - also known as wild leeks, or bush onions

are a true sign that Spring is here!

They always remind me of my Dad who loved to eat them raw.
Those closest to him always knew he had!

These pungent, strong and earthy tasting treats are used in many different ways.

They are said to be very healthy - if only they didn't have such a strong odour!

Ramps taste wonderful paired with potatoes and since scalloped potatoes is on the menu for dinner I decided to chop a few into the potato casserole.

Taste Note - the ramps added a nice mild and earthy flavour to the potatoes. I would do this again!

Tonight I roasted some in the oven - recommended by my friends Gary and Anita. This was another very tasty way to enjoy Spring Ramps.

Till next time - are ramps/wild leeks something you and your family enjoy?