Escalante 2008 and Capitol Reef

Our bags are packed and I can't believe we got all that stuff into the vehicle. 2 tables, tent canopy and all gear, 4- 5-gallon storage bottles, 6 unframed prints, 3 original paintings, 4 large framed prints, tree stump displays, rugs, 8 panels of shelving grid, laptop, camera, food, books, clothes, shoes, pillows, 4 bags of jewelry....etc.We had an outside booth this year. That meant no electricity, but I think it worked well for us. It was nice being out in the light (however hot). We did brave some wind and rain sprinkles. I did more business than last year with less traffic. 95% of my sales were to out of state. We had people from France, Germany, Australia, England and all over the U.S. I changed my display to simplify it with only one and a half tables instead of three and had a "bargain" table of items less than $20. I think I sold more than almost every other vendor. I have a product that is different than most and I do the little cards with cool names and healing properties. People seem to really like that.

We saw this bug and wondered what it was. I said it might be some kind of a scorpion, but was told no. No one we talked to seemed to know what it was. Now Ahenobarbus has identified it as a Wind Scorpion.

Enjoyed some fantastic color on Boulder Mountain...

We were able to visit Capitol Reef on the way home.

We made it to Hickman Bridge!

Another Mollie's what??????

We had many beautiful clouds...

Quite the impressive cottonwood near Fruita...

It was a FUN trip! Met lots of interesting people, made a few art contacts. Met many artists, enjoyed the plein air competition. I sold enough jewelry to pay for the entire trip, motel, gas, food, booth AND our new canopy tent. We went to some very interesting lectures; one by Jerry Roundy on the history of the Escalante area and one by Craig Childs, well known author from Colorado. He has written 11 books. See the link. Secret Knowledge of Water

Finding Elderberries

Beautiful ride....the leaves are already changing. Near the top of North Ogden Pass... As many of you know, I make elderberry jelly from wild gathered berries. This year we scouted many of the past locations. The North Fork and Coldwater Canyon berries suffered from winterkill. The snow Basin berries were few and far between. The numerous North Ogden Canyon berries had been decimated two years ago by the power company. I had given up on this project for this year. I decided to take Shrek for a ride and chose the Pioneer Trail up the bottom of the Divide and up to the top of the pass. The saddlebags were still tied to Shrek's saddle with plastic bags and clippers. I nearly took them off, but had the impression to leave them on, "just in case." What a surprise! The berry bushes had made a comeback--thousands of berries! After trooping through burdock and hound's tongue burs, I got enough to come home and make about 14 half pint jars.

In Search of Jalapeno Jelly

Who would have ever thought? I had no desire to plant jalapenos, but somehow they appeared in my garden. What to do with them? My neighbor raved on and on about jalapeno jelly and how it was great with Ritz crackers and cream cheese. Hmmmm. I did an internet search for recipes. Got some ideas for ingredients and spent much of the day creating. It actually turned out very good! I made a grocery run to get some whole grain wheat crackers, and made the yummiest little tid bits. If you look very carefully in the photo above, you can see some pale champagne colored jelly on the cream cheese. I was pleasantly surprised and had a difficult time stopping at just eight of them. If you happen to stop by the ranch, please ask for a sample. You may even be able to sneak off with a tiny jar. I think this might be a limited edition jelly.

Craters of the Moon National Monument

The Rift possesses the highest positive magnetic polarity on Earth.
As the magma rose
silica crystals aligned.
You are standing on a magnet
rooted twenty miles deep in electromagnetic reality.
If you're not in tune now, you'll never be.
(Poster in the visitor's center)

A very interesting place. I would have liked to spend longer than just 1 1/2 hours there. There were some great hikes and lava tube caves to explore. Perhaps another time if we're up this way. It's about 70 minutes from Idaho Falls.