A cooking experience.

FOR COOKS ONLY!

Well! I don't know if I should laugh, cry, or congratulate myself. I had planned to go camping, but it rained, and I planned to cook over the open fire with the groceries I bought. In order to use up the groceries I decided to try the cook-out, in. I love my cast iron and I have a big two handled skillet. Yes, I bought olive oil. I put on the skillet and put in a little oil to get ready.

I had purchased 2 brat patties for the grease in the cooking of the breakfast stir-fry. I had to turn on the fan because it got a little smelly. I put in the patties and then decided I need to chop them into smaller pieces. That wasn't real easy. Oh, yes I also had a spatter screen since it was beginning to make a mess on the stove. Well, what ingredients do I have? Asparagus, hash browns, red onion, sharp cheddar sprinkles, eggs and a green pepper. What do I put in next, I asked. Hash browns seemed logical since they need to cook longer. The bag was frozen and how do I just use some of them? I banged it on the counter and when I opened it they went all over the counter, sink, floor, and stove. Some made it into the skillet. More oil and this time some butter and pepper. Stir, Stir, Stir! Smoke, Splatter! The skillet was filling up unexpectedly for all I planned. I got out the red onion and sliced and chopped. Meanwhile the asparagus was soaking in the sink to clean and chop. Slice, slice, chop, chop! It was feeling great as I put in more ingredients and saw it taking shape. At this point the counter, stove and floor had onion, hash browns, oil, and splatter all over. I put in some pepper since I had some of that.

The skillet was already full and I hadn't done anything with the green pepper and I had forgotten about the cheese. Stir, stir, turn up the fan, open the window! I am a neat-nut for those of you who don't know and I was fit to be tied at this point. Also the brat was well done by now and the hash browns were sticking to the bottom of the skillet. At this point I felt too tired to eat but continued. OK! It's time for the eggs. I got them out and wondered where I was going to cook them. I dished out part of the skillet and thought I could do them in there. I knew they would run over to and under the remaining fixins. So I got out a big bowl and emptied the rest of the stir-fry and by that time the skillet was smoking more and very hot, temperature management! I need more hands. I grabbed the skillet and yes, no hot pad, it was hot, remember, cast Iron? Time for a quick couple eggs in the skillet and they were done before they hit the skillet, it seemed. I rolled them around and of course broke the yoke, scrambled.

Fixins had cooled but the eggs were hot. Lots to do it seems. Turn off the heat, move the pan, put some things in frig, wipe a few things down and finally eat. WOW! It was GREAT! A little too much brat, no green pepper, no cheese, but good. I don't know how you cooks do it. My hat is off, well now it is, to you. It took a lot to clean up. I have to brag about my cast iron skillet because it cleaned up perfectly with warm water and a wipe. I seasoned it before and with a wipe of olive oil it is ready to go again.

The kitchen survived and the floor is now mopped as well. Thanks for hanging in there if you did. I guarantee that reading this was less time then cleaning up.

Great old cars from Europe.

In an overlook of the Black Canyon of the Gunnison I ran across this group of travelers. They were all together looking at the sites in CO. They were speaking French and having fun.

Oh Yes! The Black Canyon of the Gunnison looks like this.

Lots of fun places to see in CO. Fall colors were great this year. Maybe I need to go out and see the snow, too.

Maroon Bells

Located south of Aspen, Colorado is a beautiful place in the mountains. I visited this place a couple weeks ago and got to see the Fall colors as they unfolded. 

There just aren't any words to describe this place. 

You must go here some day.

Great Sand Dunes National Park

The Great Sand Dunes National Park in Colorado is one of my favorite places to hang out. I spent 5 nights there and experienced rain, sun, hail, lightning, wind, mosquito, deer, great tourists, and relaxation. 

Sunny day in Colorado.

The clouds added a special effect to the dunes.

The river does not run all the time but due to a large amount of snow last winter the river has continued to flow late into the summer.

In order to get to the dunes you have to walk across the river, or just stop and play in the river. The kids really enjoy it. This was 4th of July, I stayed in my camp.

Not a bad campsite for getting the last one in the park.

The deer were pretty friendly as I took down my tent.

Later I moved to this campsite and still had a great view. 

Variety is the spice of life!

You can ride horses into the sand dunes.

Deer were everywhere.

They enjoyed the shade as much as I do.

The river is amazing and I took hikes along it.

Early morning is a good time to walk the river.

6:00AM

Me and my shadow.

Even the parking lot was empty.

Sunset and the last sun on the mountains. This picture is from my campsite.

This one also.

And this!

A friend I met at the campground, Ryan.

Every day was another great view.

Hail stones the size of peas.

People playing in the river was like people going to the beach. Many people climbed the dunes, no thanks.

I had a great time, stop in sometime.

The Alpine Loop near Lake City, CO.

My trip to Colorado was fantastic and I was able to travel the Alpine Loop over two very high passes, Engineer and Cinnamon Pass. After the Forth of July the trail is very busy with 4-wheelers and Jeeps. I have wanted to travel the loop for years and finally hired a private guide to show me around. Here we go!

 The trip starts out on a nice easy road but don't be fooled.

The sights are fantastic. Can you see the tent in this picture?

How about now?

This is an old mining town high in the mountains. We had lunch there.

Houses in the old town, a ghost town now.

Another old house.

What do you think of this view?

In this picture you can see where avalanches have come down the mountain. The trees were wiped out. 

Lots of waterfalls and creeks.

Waterfall I walked down to.

You can see how the size of the stream changes from Spring to Summer due to snow melt. It is pretty slow in this picture but you can see how high it has been. 

Cinnamon Pass and no trees. I was above tree line where no trees can survive. It was a quiet day with very little traffic. 

12,640' above sea level. Cool!

What a great experience. I didn't get any altitude sickness due to having been in Colorado for several days before climbing to this altitude. 

Engineer Pass was the other pass we drove over at 12,800'. Lots of snow there. 

Lots!

There were a few others up there. 

Lots!! 

I came up that road.

Notice the dead trees in the foreground that are dead from beetle kill. The brown ones are standing dead and a fire hazard. 

So many great pictures up there and I will go back, maybe this Fall for the colors. 

I had a great time and love Lake City, Colorado. Look it up on the map and see how deep in the mountains it is. Put it on your list of places to go and you won't be disappointed. Happy Trails!