Category Archives: Blog

Not a bad night

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I had the afternoon off for an appointment. After all that was taken care of I collapsed into a coma for almost two hours, woke up, procured a couple things from the store and came home to make some dinner.

This year, like last year, I am trying to emphasize vegetables in my diet. No, I’m not vegetarian (I still want to eat meat). I’ve learned I actually like vegetarian food and more oft than not you don’t need meat. Regardless, last week I decided I wanted to try a couple recipes with kale. Unfortunately, I forgot actually add the kale to said recipe and subsequently had a container of the green leafy stuff that I didn’t want to waste. So I added it to my veggie lasagna and tonight I made some awesome soup with it.

Kale and Veggie Soup

Ingredients:

1 Tbs butter
3-4 cloves of garlic (really)
2 sweet potatoes
a few fingerling potatoes
some cauliflower
3 cups veggie broth
thyme
salt and pepper
onion powder
red pepper flakes

Cook the butter and garlic for a few minutes. According to my “template” recipe, don’t brown the garlic. Add the broth and potatoes and cook for awhile. When the potatoes start to get soft, but not all the way cooked add the cauliflower. Add some of the spices to your liking. I would probably use onion in the step with the garlic next time, but this worked too.

Finally when all that is cooked, add the kale and let that cook for a bit so it wilts. Presto!

The Bell and the Bluff

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I’m sitting around at house one night when I get word of a proper woodland adventure:

[We're planning a] trip to Bell on Friday Night. Hike in, drink a few select beverages,wake for sunrise, the hike out and go to CB and bike/hike and meet on the bluff for Sunset then camp there.
Could be a good time to enjoy the last shot at fall.

And with that, things were set in motion. I hadn’t done an overnight in so long I questioned whether all my gear still existed, let alone what I should even bring with me.

The SunAs I got ready, I came to the conclusion I didn’t really want to carry a half-full backpacking pack for essentially two overnight trips. Fitting everything into my largest day pack was turning out to be bit of a push. In fact, at first I couldn’t get it. Then I started to reduce the list: I don’t need a stove to make hot water. I don’t need this, I don’t need that. Soon I had jury rigged my day pack into a light overnighter. Essentially this was:

  • My Big Agnes solo backpacking tent
  • Sleeping bag, attached the outside
  • Sleeping pad, attached to the top
  • Stuff sack with some extra clothes
  • Extra coat
  • Stuff sack with food, beverages
  • Hydration
  • Lights
  • Camera

We met up at the north Bell Wilderness trailhead in the dark, passed some hunters on our a way to the top. Most of the hike up we hiked only with the moonlight to show the way. It was an amazing experience. The bald at the top was clear, stars and the moon shining above us. On top of the mountain, it was a busy night with a few other groups scattered about, but we found a great spot.

The Mountain

The next morning was a bit different. I woke in my tent at some point to faded grey light that I assumed at first was just the pre-dawn. After sleeping a bit more, I finally peeked out to find that the sky was overcast and the sun was above the horizon. The wind had not relented during the night and we hundled in the rocks making coffee and eating breakfast. It was a slow morning of getting ready, having arrived at camp close to midnight and staying up well past that.

When we hiked out we passed a few more people going topside. Leg one of this journey was done. Sitting at the cars having a spot of lunch we watched as car after truck drove by with hunters heading to nearby areas. Originally the plan was drive to the boat launch at Enough and hike from there to “the bluff”. The plan shifted around (a few times) and we ended up driving to the top. Once there, we found a crew of HAM radio operators supporting the Ozark Trail 100 trail run which was going on that day.

I had heard of the tales of the Bluff. Mystical tales of one of the best views in Missouri. As of yet, I had not made a pilgrimage there. Council Bluff Lake carries esteem in its own right with mountain bikers. It is where we hold one of our most anticipated mountain bike races and the trail has a bit of everything from a riding standpoint. The bluff overlooks the lake and nearly the entire region. You can see the lights from the mines in the distance, the valleys where other trails like the Middlefork or Trace Creek sections of the OT travel, and view almost the entire lake. It is one of Missouri’s magical places.

We watched the sunset from the top of the bluff, but the wind drove us into the tree line for camping. So we found a place near the “gash” that runs down the hill side. That night we watched the fire and spent another marvelous night in the woods. It was also the 1st time I slept in a hammock, which was actually pretty comfortable. In my sleeping bag I stayed warm and toasty, swaying in the wind all night.

The sunset

For more pictures, please visit my set on Flickr!

Vacation 2011: Kentucky

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Woodford Reserve Distillery Vacation this year took me from St. Louis through Lexington, Kentucky on our way to the Asheville, North Carolina area. First, though, we had a bit of an unexpected adventure planned for us.

As we rolled out of St. Louis, the MODOT electronic billboards informed us that the I-64 bridge was closed in Louisville, 260 miles away. We made it to town and started to meetup with the detour, after fighting through a bit of traffic. As we merged on the interstate to cross the river, the car gave a bit of a rough drive and I realized we had a puncture. We pulled over on the side of the interstate, pulled everything out of the trunk so I could put on the spare. Meanwhile, we looked up a tire shop, finding one just across the river. We drove into Louisville at about 45 miles per hour on a spare and headed to the tire shop, unpacked the trunk (again), and waited for a new tire to be put on. Then we repacked the trunk (and each time we did so the trunk was better packed than the previous time!).

After that little adventure, we went to a fabulous little joint called Toast on Market for a bit of brunch: toast and eggs and bread pudding pancakes!

Woodford Reserve DistilleryBack in one piece and fed, we rolled on toward Lexington. Our original plan was to make it to the Woodford Reserve Distillery by their last tour, but we assumed at this point our detour in Louisville meant we wouldn’t make it in time. It turned out we missed the tour by a matter of twenty minutes. We still got samples (yes!), hit the store for a bottle of this fine bourbon and went on to our hotel.

That night we went to another great place called Saul Good for pizza, salad, and a most amazing banana foster desert served atop a Belgian waffle!