Sunday Surfing ~ The Peavine Trail, Prescott, AZ

Prescott has such a varied landscape, from acres of grazing land (where I saw my first herd of pronghorn antelope) to the monoliths of Granite Dells. This vid shows just a bit of the variation on a very easy hike with great views of Watson Lake. One of the few Rails to Trails projects, this six mile trail was actually cut by the Santa Fe Railway in 1893. Take a walk from your couch now and plan to visit it in person, soon.

When Good Things Go Bad...My Experience Yesterday At One Of My Favorite Outdoor Stores

I want to preface this by warning that this is a rant...a long one. I'm frustrated and need to vent. If you choose to read from here, know that this is a blog post of textbook proportions...and a eulogy to what I considered one of the great events of my outdoor world.

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REI, you had such a good thing going...why, oh why...

Sometimes an event lives great because it offers so much more than it intends. When it's a store putting it on for the sake of it's customers (and I'd like to think as a thank you for loyalty) it goes far beyond a vehicle for making a sale.

We have loved the Garage Sale that this location put on for so very long. We would get in line at 5am with the other die hards and laugh at the people waking up in their sleeping bags (while secretly wishing that we had the cojones to do the same since they were going to get the VERY best deals). A couple years running Krispy Kreme came across the street with boxes of donuts to cheer our early morning wait.

But it was the people that made it. We'd hang out in the early morning hours with other outdoor enthusiasts trading stories and secrets about local trails, lakes and camping sites.

...and then, with nervous excitement we'd charge into the parking lot like mad men, snatching up sleeping bags and hiking shoes for pennies on the dollar, thanking the REI gods that we, the chosen few, the members, would have such an opportunity to feed our equipment cravings at unheard of prices.

Flash forward to yesterday...I evidently missed the memo that the "new and improved" garage sale was happening in the store, up in the clinic room. Clutching my 20% off coupon we made our way through the crowded parking lot, J. with visions of using it for a new bike seat while I ready to fight him for a chance to restock my hiking sock drawer at 20% savings. We walked in to signs advertising the garage sale and  a very long line of people waiting to go up stairs for their finds of the year. J. got in line and I went to hunt for new feet cushions. Several minutes later, he found me to let me know that he had to get out of line to get tickets for the sale, but was assured that it was a 30 minute wait and he was going to  the bike department until our numbers were called.

I was dubious...the line looked like it was for an E-ticket ride at Disneyland and the people in it weren't looking any happier than if it was 98º with screaming kids at said park. Long story short...it was 2 full hours before we were called to that upstairs secret clubhouse. Once there, we were told we had a very generous 10 minutes to shop...we picked up a few things. set them down in frustration when neither of us could get to the clothes and walked out of the store empty handed.

REI management, this is an epic fail in my opinion. You turned a wonderful community event into a vehicle to hold your members hostage in hopes of their making full price purchases while waiting for a disappointing chance to make the killer buy that we dreamed yearly about...and worse yet, you didn't even make the sale that we intended...you didn't sell the $53 bike seat, you didn't sell the $17.95 socks but you did manage to piss off a couple of members who have been on your roster for 25 years.

Sometimes a sales event is more than the sum of the profits or in this case the decluttering of the returns bin. Sometimes it's a way to show your customers the loyalty they've shown you... we heard repeatedly that this was much easier on the employees and management than the old parking lot sale. This was much harder on us as consumers and so unsatisfying to wait two hours for a 10 minute opportunity. The parking lot sale was  one day of chaos for the employees a couple times a year...is that too much to ask from a store that we've been loyal too for half our lives?

Pinnacle Peak, A Scottsdale Favorite

I love this hike...can I just say that up front? Even though it is often heavily trafficked, I always feel like I have enough space to cruise along at my own pace, able to stop and enjoy the changing view.  I'm intrigued by the pinnacle, walls of granite that seem to change shape to me as the light changes, I could watch them forever.

Smooth trails take you up about 1300 feet to beautiful views of Scottsdale and beyond. The Sierra Club has rated this a moderate hike but I do feel that the mountain itself has enough little nooks and crannies to stop and sit or lean against that it's doable for most people, taken slow enough.  Whether meandering like I like to do or jogging to the summit the wide, groomed trail takes you through beautiful plants and vistas along it's 1.75 miles. It's a one way trail for hikers (meaning you double back) that summits at 2889' and there are multiple areas for experienced rock climbers, too. This is a very popular hike so be prepared for both hikers and joggers to share the trail with you. Also be aware that dogs and bikes are not allowed here. 




Parking is ample and water, restrooms and shade are provided at the base. I love hanging out after I get done and just watching the birds and other small animals from the shade of the ramada. The hours change according to the season, but basically run sunrise to sunset. Detailed info can be found here.

Me and The Peak.

Those Campfire Recipes - Poor Man's Pad Thai

I love easy and I love recipes that you can add to and still keep to the spirit of the dish. Poor Man's Pad Thai is one of those. The original backpacking recipe is simply a package of Top Ramen (the oriental broth flavor) and a big spoonful of peanut butter. This in itself is surprisingly filling but for those that need more you can certainly add.

Traditionally Pad Thai is a street food and varies according to what is available. According to Wikipedia, "Pad Thai or Phat Thai (Thai: ผัดไทย [pʰàt tʰāj], "fried Thai style") is a dish of stir-fried rice noodles with eggs, fish sauce (Thai: น้ำปลา), tamarind juice, red chilli pepper, plus any combination of bean sprouts, shrimp, chicken, or tofu, garnished with crushed peanuts, coriander and lime, the juice of which can be added along with Thai condiments. It is usually served with spring onions and pieces of raw banana flower." Adding elements like this keep it traditional and with a little enginuity be a fun and offbeat campground treat.

Here is what we have tried.
Canned Bean Sprouts
Canned Shrimp
Canned chicken
Chives

The only thing we didn't like was the canned shrimp...good while very hot and fresh but as the dish cooled it got extremely fishy. My favorite is at it's simplest, though. Crunchy peanut butter and garnished with chives...delicious!

My favorite version, just chunky peanut butter and chives.                                                          ©Marcia Mauskopf 2011

Cast Iron At The Campsite? You Bet!

So, J. and I constantly argue...I mean, discuss, how much I can possibly carry to the campsite and not blow a tire on the truck. For years I have tried to minimize as much as possible and that included my kitchen box until last May, when I rolled some hot olive oil around a backpacking pan and right out onto my hand. It was then I started thinking about nice heavy cast iron pans.

Aluminum nested pots are great on the trail but they have their drawbacks and one big one for me is that you have to really control your temps to keep from burning the pot and not everything is easily cooked in these lightweight pots. From pioneers to cowboys on chuckwagons to weekend car campers, cast iron has been the choice tool in the outdoor kitchen.

Once seasoned, cast iron spreads the heat evenly, can be nearly non-stick and is easy to clean. Other than the weight, cast iron has a welcome place in any campsite. Seasoning is easy to do and instructions are available at What's Cooking America.

A favorite piece for many is the dutch oven. You can make most anything in one, from swiss steak to pizza to cherry cobbler. You can learn all about them at Dutch Oven Cooking.

Got a favorite camp recipe? Share it with me and I'll test it here. Great submissions will get blog-kissed with a credit back to you ;-)

I got these to skillets at a garage sale for a song.                                                                           ©Marcia Mauskopf  2011

Diamond Point - Take A Walk And Pick Up A Rock Or Two.

We went on a little adventure on Saturday and found ourselves at Diamond Point, a beautiful place for disbursement camping. You can find Diamond Point by driving on Control Road (64). Go right at the entrance to the Diamond Point Recreational Residences. At the end of the road you can park and walk out to the point.

There is a sign on the road FR 65 going in that gives information on digging for double pointed quartz crystals. The day we drove by there must have been 20 people emptying their cars of shovels and carts to try their luck at finding these pieces resembling New York's famous Herksimer Diamonds.

Diamond Point Trailhead                                                      ©Marcia Mauskopf 2011

Glamping - Is it for you?

How do you feel about this style of camping? I grew up near this campground so when it opened I checked it out. It does look exactly like the pics. Would you do it? Is it over the top? What do you think? Glamping, Santa Barbara Style