Happy Halloween

Happy Halloween everyone...enjoy your adventures.

Finally....a camping and ATV trip

Gosh, Iv'e been waiting a long time to get out and ride my ATV and enjoy a camping trip with friends.  We were planning on Coral Pink Sand Dunes in Utah, but our ATV permits expired, and there has been a ton of rain in the last week and the cold front forcasted snow for that area.  We changed our plans and headed to Chief Mtn near Caliente, NV.  It was great, a bit on the cool side...but great.  We were the only ones at the trailhead campsite.  We didn't see but just a handful of people all day.  We rode our ATVs over to Delamar ghost town, over Apple White Pass, and more.  Cool crisp evenings were enjoyed around the campfire after great potluck dinners.  Chris, Timm and I were joined by Alan, Liz, Mark and Jan.  Thanks for a great weekend!

Wild at Heart

In August, Timm went to Cedar Mountain, Utah for the annual Wild at Heart mens' retreat from Canyon Ridge Church.  Normally, Timm leads one of the ATV groups for their day of adventure.  This year he took the smoker and taught a group of men the in's and out's of smoking.  This group also prepared the meals for the rest of the groups.  Rave reviews were had by all and it looks like he'll be back at the pit again next year.  The best part of it all...bringing men closer to God.

Bearizona

  If you haven't been to Bearizona you should really go.  It's awesome!  Jump off I-40 at Williams...you know...on the way to the Grand Canyon.  On the east end of town is Bearizona.  You'll get to drive through the habitats and see donkeys, big horn sheep, buffalo, white buffalo, wolves, and of course BEARS!  They also have a walk thru area that has seen much growth in just over a year's time.  All the little babies are there....soooo cute!  You won't want to miss this...wolf pups, bear cubs, raccoons, bobcats, and more.  Oh, there's a petting zoo area as well now.  Seriously, if you are traveling accross Northern Arizona on I-40, stop in Williams for a fun Route 66 experience and visit Bearizona.

A BBQ Contest and Vacation

After the Smoke on the River BBQ contest in Heber we stuck around several extra days to enjoy a short vacation.  The area was so green and beautiful.  The campground was at the base of Jordanelle Dam at the edge of the Provo River...not a lot of traffic since it was literally at the end of the road.   They went out of their way to make us feel welcome, we even enjoyed a campfire and pot luck dinner with them on two nights. 

Instead of dragging along the canopy for the BBQ and a tent, we put up solid walls on the canopy and used it for our tent after the contest.  Cassy enjoyed the air mattress and being able to slip out under the walls without any of our help.  Evenings brought leisurely walks around camp and along the river's edge.  As much as Cassy wanted to jump into the river, it was flowing to deep and fast for her to handle.  Instead we made sure she was able to swim on several occasions elsewhere, including Deer Valley and Silver Flat's Reservoir. 

We drove up the narrow valley past Sundance, the views were spectacular.  There is still much snow on the upper mountains.  In fact, the road was still impassible to get to Timpanogas Caves from that side of the mountain.  Instead, we had to access it from the American Fork Canyon side of the mountain.  Since dogs weren't allowed, we didn't go to the cave...not to mention the hike up the mountain.  We opted for a side trip up the just opened road to a high mountain reservoir (Silver Flats?).  It was a steep climb to a gorgeous valley that bordered the wilderness area.  Cassy saw the water and took off.  She wandered through the streams that entered the reservoir, played fetch, barked and had a great time...making a great time for us as well.   We left on Tuesday, visited a couple of craft stores in Salt Lake City, had lunch at Fuddruckers in Orem  (YUM),  stopped in Beaver to pick up wood and cheese...and ice cream, and spent the night in Cedar before coming home on Wednesday.  It was a great week in cooler, greener, more scenic country. 

Memorial Day

Wishing everyone a safe Memoral Day weekend. 

Give praise, respect, and support to all our military...they lay their lives on the line for us each and every day!

Dining hall making progress

The dining hall has made great progress in the last month.  Timm did all the taping of seams and screws with several coats and sanding.  Once that was done, one of Chris' coworkers came over and sprayed the texture.  We're glad he did it and it came out looking fabulous.  Paint was chosen and Timm was painting the dining hall that day.  He did a second coat on Sunday.  Once again, we under estimated the amount of paint needed for the project...it took 4 gallons.  There is just one little corner Timm left open for the family of birds.  They left the nest just a few days later.  Now, that part is patched and ready for texture and paint.  We've got the boards for trimming out the windows but won't likely get to them in May since it's filled with BBQ events every weekend.  By the way, you can check the schedule for all the events over at the Trailhound Smokers BBQ blog...just click on the link in the side bar.  The paint color looks great and compliments the siding.  It's looking great and we're really pleased with how it looking. 

Death Valley...part 2

Where were we...time has flown quickly.  Another stop for a day of adventure was Salt Creek and those expensive pup fish.  Believe it or not there is water in Death Valley...and yes, fish.  There is a cool, wood boardwalk that hovers over the salt flat and lets water flow underneath it.  You can see the pup fish in many places and other wildlife...yup, that's a rattlesnake.  He's hanging out at the edge of the boardwalk in the shade.

We stopped at the Harmony Borax Works.  It's hard to believe that anyone could work, let alone live out here...such harsh conditions, and hard work for those pioneering folk.  

We also stopped at Furnace Creek for a picnic lunch, some ice cream from the General Store, and walked through the outdoor museum.  That is one big wheel...Timm is 6'3'' to put in perspective.  Do you notice the elevation sign in the background behind the wagon...178 feet below sea level.  We also took a drive throught Artist's Palette.  Such unusual colors, I see where it got it's name.  By that time, I was not hiking down intot he wash and back up the other side to get close...dang knees.  Lots of very tight curves in there as well and we followed the wash down the alluvial fan to the valley floor again.  Our last stop was at Donte's View, it overlooks Bad Water.  It's 282 feet below seal level down there, and over 5000 ft at Donte's View. 

What a full day we had.  It was so good to get out and explore.  I really enjoyed and I know Timm and Cassy did as well.  A great birthday present for everyone to enjoy. 

Dining hall improvements

For Christmas, the boys gave Dad gift cards to work on the dining hall.  A couple of weekends ago, Chris and some of his co-workers hung sheetrock inside the hall.  It was a nice surprise to come home to after our Death Valley trip.  Timm's been taping joints and screws during the week and it sounds like it will be textured and painted next weekend.  Anyone wanna come help?  We'll feed ya some great BBQ.  ;0)

Death Valley...part one

For Crystal's birthday we did a day trip to Death Valley National Park.  Our original plan was to make a run through Titus Canyon (it's a 4 wheel drive route) but the road was closed with the rains and snow last week.  So we moved onto plan B and enjoyed the desert with all the other visitors.  Our first stop was Stove Pipe Wells, that's where we found out why Titus Canyon was closed.

Not far from there is the Mosaic Canyon hike.  It's quite popular apparently.  It doesn't look like much at first...but...it's a really neat hike up a narrow section with a congomeration of rocks and stone.  I can see how this place got it's name, Mosaic...the layering and mixes of types of rock are just amazing.

The forces of nature have been busy here, there is no doubt.  The power of water filled with rocks and debris that rushes through here must be incredible to witness.   Having never seen that myself, I am able to see the results of such power.  The trail works into a 'narrows' section, the stone has been polished smooth by wind and water. 

At one point many years ago, someone put in a "ladder" into the stone.  I'm thinking that the opening to the right was not there at the time and a person had to climb up the rock to get further up the canyon.

Cassy, of course, had a great time exploring.  She runs ahead, comes back to see where we are, and runs ahead again.  She puts on a lot more miles than we do.  She is a happy girl when she gets out, for sure.

In part two, we'll continue the adventures on our day trip to Death Valley.

Rock Springs AZ Competition

Trailhound Smokers decided to compete in the Rock Springs BBQ competition at the last minute...well 4 days.  That's last minute for us around here, our events are normally more planned out than that.  However, IMBBQA.com offered up half the entry fee to the first team to respond and we took advantage of it. 

This time around Cassy, our mascot and my dad came with us.  It was really nice to spend some quality time with Dad...and he enjoys BBQ and intrigued by the whole competition thing.  After a couple of stops, we were the last team to arrive.  We set up next to our friends with R&R BBQ, got meat inspected, hit the cook's meeting, and got our site set up.  Timm was itching to get things going. 

Plans called for the pits to fire up at 3am with meat going on shortly after for the long cooks of brisket and pork.  Although the weather was pleasant, the night was chilly.  We can't wait till it warms up a bit more for contests...it will make night shifts and make-shift sleeping much more comfortable.  The newly insulated firebox on the pit worked really well as was much more efficient, using less wood than before.  

This was the first sanctioned contest for the Barbeque Championship Series, although Mike and his crew are experts at hosting BBQ events.  They did a fabulous job...as always.  This contest also featured a Tailgate Contest to see who's booth had the best food, theme, and spirit.  Congrats to McFrankenboo for winning 1st place in the Tailgate portion of the contest!  Erin is a spunky, spirited and enthusiastic person...of course, Shamus helps too. 

Our goal was to place mid-pack in the list of 27 teams.  We were shocked and astounded when we received 3 calls...4th in chicken, 5th in pork, and 7th in ribs.  We were even more excited and shocked when we place 3rd overall!  WOW!  Who da thunk it?!  Holy cow, that's a big trophy.  There was even prize money to boot.  Big thanks to R&R BBQ for their guidance and friendship.  With their help, they really need to take credit for the pork entry.

Thanks goes out to my Dad for selling taster's choice.  He really seemed to enjoy chatting with folks and several people came back for 2nd and 3rds.  Fortunately, we recovered out meat costs with this which was a goal of ours. 

There are folks we'd like to thank and give credit.  Mike and the AZBBQ team for another great event.  Rock Springs Cafe for hosting the event.  Intermountain BBQ Association (IMBBQA) for offering up 50% of entry fees.  R&R BBQ (Rod and Roger) for their friendship, mentoring, and guidance.  My dad for coming with us, selling taster's choice, and for being an all around great guy.  My cousin, Karen and her family in Chino Valley for letting us crash at their place on Saturday night.