A Day of Rest

Good morning, my friends. Are you all rested up for another day of riding? We gave you the day off yesterday, and so we're hoping you used it wisely. Wanna know what we did at this end? Well, I hope so because I'm just about to tell you. Ready or not.

It might have been the first time this trip that we didn't leave the RV all day. Mike sat outside and read for most of the day. I sat inside making progress on the second "Kittens" block. There's a lot of stitching in these. It's mostly cross stitch and stem stitch. With so many curves in the design, I'm strategizing about the direction of my stitching. I'll be happy to finish up the body of the cat so I can add some different colors.

While I was stitching, I had a Dutch Apple Pie for Two baking in the oven. I brought along ingredients for two desserts this trip, and this is the first one. We had that with a scoop of vanilla ice cream last night.

Oh yes, and what would a day of rest be without a little shopping? My friend Chris helpfully pointed out I could get all the colors of those polka dots I admired at the quilt shop at this Etsy link. There's a half-yard bundle there in all the colors. I didn't even have to pick one! Thanks for enabling my fabric addiction, Chris.

There are some beautiful horses corralled in a pasture next to the RV park. In the afternoon, they wander over by the fence just outside. They're out there just now as I'm writing this.

Sadie kept a weather eye on them. They're the biggest woofies she's ever seen, and they make a weird noise when they bark.

Smitty thought it would be a good idea to get out and take a look. First, though, he checked the hubs on our flatbed trailer. He wants to make sure nothing comes loose in our travels.

He thought he might take another dust bath, but this gravel is not to his liking. Too pokey.

Then, he had a little nibble of this Mew-tah grass. Delicious.

And then, he headed back to the RV. His walk lasted approximately five minutes. We're worried about those giant woofies next door, and so we didn't want to push our luck.

Sadie kept an eye out from her catio. Please ignore the cat snot on the window.

For dinner last night, we tried something new, and this was really delicious. It was also super simple.

The meat is first "marinated," although there's almost no moisture in the "marinade." It's really more of a rub. Nevertheless, I mixed it up in a zip-lock bag, and then added the meat, squishing it around until I had it well coated. The rest of the salad was super easy. I used a spring mix of lettuces. Also, four radishes and one scallion, all sliced thin. Then I added a chunked up avocado and a dressing made mostly from lime juice, garlic, and olive oil. The red onions were grilled along with the meat, then cut into bite-sized pieces and added to the rest. It was all very tasty, and surprisingly easy. Mike is doing a good job with his new Blackstone grill. We especially liked the grilled onions. There were more than we needed for the salad, and so we'll add them to hamburgers at some point in the future.

The recipe was published in the New York Times back in 2018, and so I'll give it to you here if you'd like to give it a try.

My notes about the recipe: The "ancho chile powder" threw me a little. I have "chipotle chile powder" with me, and I used that. The rub was just a little on the spicy side. I looked up both ancho chiles and chipotle chiles. As it turns out, ancho chiles are mild, while chipotles are hot. Well. What do I know? So anyway, just use regular chile powder, and you'll be happy. 

It's our last day in Monticello. Mike has worked out a trail for us to ride today, and that will probably take most of the day. We're hoping to get out into some of that beautiful landscape we saw a few days ago. We'll be moving on tomorrow. I'll be very surprised if I have internet access at Goosenecks State Park, where we're going. It's a primitive park, noted for a spectacular viewpoint. We stayed there once before many years ago...almost 20 years ago, at this point. We'll be there just one night before driving on through Monument Valley, and on to Kanab where we'll be doing more sight-seeing. 

We're on the back half of our trip now, and after today, we'll be heading in the direction of home, even if there are a number of things remaining on the itinerary. Stick around, and I'll show you some more beautiful landscapes.