I hope your Christmas was wonderful. Ours was great, mostly. My sister and her family visited which is always fun. We mostly hung out at the ranch and ate but we also explored the Stewart Indian School.
Honey Badger presents
Honey Badger got a lot of presents! Her Christmas Eve present (a German tradition) was a tailgate table. It was from Capricorn, one of the goats. Figures, goats love to eat! The table will be great for quick meals.
It was a little scary drilling holes into Honey Badger. Thank you, Steve, for installing it before you head south.
Communication on group trips has been an issue. My handhelds don’t work well inside a big metal box, also known as a Jeep. I had one radio but it wasn’t easy to use and had to be pre-programmed.
Hubby and I debated HAM vs GMRS for years. I should get my HAM license, but honestly, I don’t care about a license enough to study for the test. A lot of friends use GMRS so I went with that. The Midland 575 has all the controls on the microphone so we can mount it out of the way. We are still playing with options, including under the seat. (I always carry a Garmin InReach Plus for emergencies and communication.)
She also got two 3-gallon Rotopax. This means for long trips I can carry an additional 11 gallons of gas, or 16 gallons if I change out the water can.
Something for mom
Thank you, Mike, for the 4Patroits solar power cell. Charging devices has been an issue camping. As a type 1 diabetic with all the latest and greatest technology, it takes a lot to power me! Insulin pump, iPhone and Apple Watch, which communicate with my pump and Dexcom CGM. I usually sit tethered in the Jeep in the morning charging my pump and the phone dies quickly as it always communicates with my pump.
The Christmas Tea Ring incident
Due to the horrible K9 disease going around, we are keeping Edel isolated from other dogs. My sister’s dog stayed at my mom’s house while they visited us.
On Christmas Eve, my mom and nephews made cinnamon rolls and a tea ring (similar to the rolls but with nuts and fruit.) After dinner, my mom returned to her house and found the dog had eaten the entire tea ring! As it contained wheat and a pack and a half of yeast, the dough was happily rising in the heat and moisture of her stomach. The “dietary indiscretion” resulted in a visit to the emergency vet clinic in Reno. We found out yeast is dangerous in multiple ways, including swelling and rupturing the stomach and releasing alcohol vapors, which the dog re-absorbs.
Prime rib, yummy!
I was so proud of my prime rib that I had to show it off. Our family always sears it at a high heat and then slowly roast it. I had difficulty calculating roasting times based on the dual heat. I pulled this out a few minutes later than I would have liked; the darned temp jumped from medium rare to medium in a minute!
I found this recipe from Chef Billy Parisi and love the roasting guide. He even warned me about the jump in temperature at the end. I didn’t follow his recipe, which I’m sure is great. I did it the way our family learned from a butcher. Coat the roast in yellow mustard (in my version, I add garlic and herbs), then pack in rock salt. Easy peasy! The bones and leftovers, on the rare occasion there are any, make a great soup.
Stewart Indian School
My sister and I walked between Geno and Walley’s hot springs on Christmas day, but we wanted to get outside and explore. Her choice was the Stewart Indian School. Unfortunately, the visitor center was closed. Darn it that happens every time I visit. We spent several hours on the walking tour and listening to podcasts about the buildings.
The school was open from 1890 to 1980 and was attended by Washoe, Paiute, and Shoshone tribal children. Indian schools in the US have a mixed history, but I feel it is important to remember both the good and the bad. You can learn more at the Stewart Indian School Cultural Center and Museum.
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