Bent's Old Fort 4th of July 2011

A press release from the National Park Service (see our WritingPlaces.com BoF image galleries here):

Celebrate the 4th with a Bang at Bent’s Old Fort

Bent’s Old Fort National Historic Site will commemorate our country’s birth
with a bang during an afternoon celebration on Monday, July 4. A cannon
firing at 12 noon will kick off the festivities.

“Bent’s Fort was known as a ‘cultural crossroads’ where U.S. citizens,
Native Americans and Hispanic peoples came together in business,” said
Chief of Interpretation Rick Wallner. “One visitor in the 1840s wrote of
hearing seven languages spoken within the fort walls.” To honor that
multicultural aspect, the fort’s 4th of July celebration will include
American, Native American and Hispanic traditions.

Besides cannon firings at 12 and 2 p.m., other scheduled events include the
Koshare Dancers interpreting Native American dances in the plaza at 1 p.m.;
a raffle at 2:15 of an 1846 flag that has flown over the fort ramparts; an
1840s frontier burial at 2:30; a debate on issues of the day in the dining
room at 3 p.m.; and a piñata break in the plaza at 3:45. A final cannon
firing at 4:20 will signify the end of the celebration.

All during the afternoon demonstrations will be ongoing throughout the fort
including cooking in the kitchen, games in the billiards room, and traders
in the trade room.

Regular fees of $3 for adults (13 and over), $2 for children (ages 6-12),
free for children 5 and under and all National Park pass holders will apply
during this event. Visitors are advised to be mindful of the heat this
time of year and bring sun protection and water.

Bent’s Old Fort National Historic Site is located 8 miles east of La Junta
or 13 miles west of Las Animas on Colorado Highway 194. The site is open
from 8 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. daily through the summer. For more information,
go to the park website at www.nps.gov/beol or call (719) 383-5010.

Florissant Fossil Beds National Monument

After we dropped off the red-headed stepchild at Golden Bell (where he did in fact pass his louse-check), we took a side-trip over to Florissant Fossil Beds National Monument. It falls under the National Park Service.

We were sitting there snuffling our Walmart deli roast beef sandwiches. Leece had also packed some grapes and Ranier cherries. I started pitching cherry pits and stems at a squirrel (see the gallery) when ... a ranger materialized next to us.

"Sir, I'm going to have to ask you to stop throwing refuse on the ground."

"Huh? Hey. They're cherry pits and stems. Natural vegetable waste," I protested. But not too vigorously.

"They aren't natural to the site, sir. You're going to have to cease and desist."

"But the squirrel ... he's gobbling 'em up. There's no litter ...". My protest sounded lame even to me.

"Don't feed the animals, sir. They can become dangerous when overly acclimated to humans.I'll have to ask you to step away from the cherry pits, sir. Please keep your hands where I can see them."

Nah. It wasn't like that but my imagination was running wild. The Florissant rangers were as we have experienced at every National Park Service site: friendly, professional, helpful, and quite well-informed.

We had a good time though we didn't have much time. We hiked over to Big Stump, the fossilized remnant of a redwood estimated to be at least 230 feet tall at the time the volcanic outbreak got it. This is not one of those 'dinosaur' parks. These fossils are from a period well after the dinosaurs shuffled off this mortal coil. The fossils are of plants and insects.

There are 14 miles of hiking trails here; it's well worth a visit. There's a slight fee but we had our America the Beautiful Old Farts' pass (you can get one out at Bent's Old Fort). Picnic areas are well-maintained and clean, as are the outhouses. There's a flush toilet and running water sinks in the visitors' center.

Florissant is 8400 feet above sea level. The air is thinner than you think. Drink lots of water, and take it easy, even if you do think you're in pretty good shape.

Hornbek Homestead is on the grounds of the national monument; it's an interesting side trip. There is a small parking lot near the homestead site, just off the highway.

We have a gallery up here:

Mike and Leece's image galleries

under the "Road Trip" heading.

Sweatin' it out ...

So while Leece was working on her sermon for tonight, I took a ride out through The Holy Land.

It's hot. 103. Africa hot. Well, maybe not that hot; the humidity's down to 5%. You can feel your bodily juices being sucked out like in a Grade B mummy flick.

I pedaled out to Road CC, then over to 24 and to CC.5, there by the Newdale Pheasant Pharm and the Newdale School (built 1914). From there, straight across to 22, stopping for a swill. The water, which had been ice cold leaving Swink, was warmer than blood now. Then, south to CO 10. Back to 23, and down to the intersection of 23 and BB, the corner where Tab Ramsay lives. Nice horses there in the pens right by the road.

Due east on BB to 24.5, and north on that back into Swink and the homestead, for a 10.5 mile toodle.

There were some military aircraft droning back and forth between well south of us, to north, on a northeast/southwest track. They were pretty far out and it was hard to tell, but the larger of the two may have been a C-130 variant. They seemed to be doing aerial refueling training.

The distinctive odor of growing corn permeated the air. Lots of birds; no shortage of red-winged blackbirds in the alfalfa and wheat fields.

The heat was a serious beat-down. I've been guzzling ice water since returning.

Felt good, though. Real good. Um hmm. Ooorah.

Ted's Lemon Pie

So on the last trip to eastern North Carolina, we were treated to several versions of this lemon pie while we were in Davis. All of them were excellent, especially the one where the chef included some pulp from the lemons in the pie filling.

This one is "Ted's Lemon Pie," from the "Ladies of the Church" cookbook, a compilation of fine cooking from the ladies of Davis First Baptist Church, published by Morris Press. The recipe was submitted to the book by one Becky Smith:

• 2 cans sweetened condensed milk (we used Carnation rather than Eagle, it was a buck cheaper a can and worked just as well)
• 1 can 100% lemon juice (we wondered what '1 can' was; we finally ended up using 1 cup)
• 3 egg yolks
• 1 sleeve Ritz crackers, crumbled
• 1/2 stick butter, melted

The meringue requires 2 eggwhites, 2 tablespoons sugar, and 1 teaspoon of real vanilla extract.

The process: To make the crust, mix the crumbled crackers and the butter. Press into a pie dish (we used a 9-incher). Stand whole crackers around the edge.

Now, combine the condensed milk, lemon juice, and egg yolks, and stir until well blended. Pour this onto the crushed cracker crust. Hang on to the standing crackers as they tend to get away during the pouring and flowing.

Beat the egg whites until fluffy. Add the sugar and vanilla and continue beating until peaks form. Spread over the top of the pie.

Bake at 400 degrees 8-10 minutes or until lightly brown.

This is really good. As you can see, it's another heart-stopper, what with that condensed milk and butter. Sweetened condensed milk runs 1300 - 1800 calories per can depending on brand, and butter ... well, it's butter, what else can we say. And the egg yolks, of course.

But it's really good. Restraint is a must, unless you have a fatalistic view about cardiac health.

It's really good.

Burrell's Shady Wildflower Mix

We were out doing some grilling this morning. While the goods were cooking, I did some weeding in Leece's wildflower garden. It's coming along nicely, with some of the plants beginning to bloom.

We use Burrell's Shady Wildflower mix. It's ten bux for a quarter-pound package of seeds. That covers a lot of ground.

Burrell's also offers dryland and other wildflower mixes. You can find them listed on page 76 of their catalog.

Burrell's is our favorite seed supplier. Their website is here:

Burrell Seeds

and you can download their catalog in PDF format here.

Jalepeno Popper Burgers

Here's another Taste of Home recipe that we tried this evening:

Jalepeno Popper Burgers

This one took 2nd place in the Taste of Home "Blaze of Glory" grilling contest. It's a heart-stopper worthy of Guy Fiero's meatily choleric snuffling on "Diners, Drive-ins, and Dives." You know where he puts away ten or fifteen thousand calories per visit to said eateries, causing cardiologists across the country to either cringe in horror, or send him a business card in anticipation of some serious medical business.

We couldn't keep the grill lit with the wind howling out of the north as it is this evening. WeatherUnderground says the wind is puffing at 6 mph, but it has our cottonwoods bent over like Kevin Bacon getting whacked in Animal House.

So we broiled them.

These are some seriously tasty works of culinary art. We served them on whole wheat ciabbata rolls. We didn't put the pepper jack cheese or the guacamole on top, in the interests of healthy dining. I did consider some extra sharp cheddar, since the real reason, in my case, is that I just don't like pepper jack. But Leece the Conscience won out ...

We had them with some red potatoes fried in the bacon drippings. The potatoes were especially good, since they were left over from a Low Country Boil (Frogmore stew) we did up last week. We can thank Louie for that, since he introduced Leece to this culinary wonder on our recent trip Down East.

This is definitely a do-again.

Fusion Burgers and Camel Dung

We tried a Taste of Home recipe this afternoon. "Fusion Burgers." They are a light turkey-based burger served with crispy veggies over a piece of nan bread.

Nan bread is found throughout southern Asia and into the Indian subcontinent. Here is an article about it.

It's traditionally baked on a tandoor (Afghanistan, similar in some respects to the horno, which you can see out at Bent's Old Fort.

In many parts of the world, camel dung can be used as fuel for a tandoor and for baking nan. In his novel "Caravans," James Michener describes this.

Leece mixed the turkey patty ingredients, and I grilled 'em. The patties are quite soft and mushy compared to ground beef, and even plain ground turkey without the added items. This made grilling them a challenge, but with some care they turned out well. Next time we'll use some foil on the heat. Indirect heat works pretty good, too.

Goat cheese is a bit too 'muttonish' for my taste. I would have preferred feta cheese. But that's a small point. The finished product was delicious and is a definite do-again.

Leece substituted broccoli slaw for cabbage, as America's Favorite Place to Shop was out of cabbage slaw. Perhaps the truck was held up at the border with the 'hecho in Mexico' cabbage variety. In any case, we think broccoli is a better choice.

It was a gas grill, BTW, and we skipped the camel dung, though Leece was thinking about some horse poop from one of our neighbors ...