Dead Horse Ranch State Park, Cottonwood, Arizona
Do not join those who drink too much wine, or gorge themselves on meat, for drunkards and gluttons become poor, and drowsiness clothes them in rags. ~ Proverbs 23:20-21
Today ended up being a grueling day!
We decided to take on Bear Mountain in Sedona once again, and try to make it to the summit this time, rather than stopping at the scenic overlook like we did previously.
The weather was not on our side.
We left home around 6:15am, and by 6:45 were at the trailhead.
The bees love them, but we could’t smell anything.
By 8am, it was already 70⁰ and we’d barely started. Since we’d done the trail before, we didn’t stop to take very many pictures. It took us two hours to get to our last stopping place, which surprisingly is the same amount of time it took the first time. We must be getting slower as we age.
Most of the ones we’ve seen are fuschia.
Today, Blaine battled some mild vertigo and I dealt with the extreme heat. Actually, Blaine had more difficulty in the beginning, and mine was on the way back down. I just kept getting hotter and hotter and refused to stop in the blazing sun to rest. There’s not much shade at mid-day around here.
But we had a marvelous hike, and we’re certainly glad we went all the way to the summit!
Close enough. . . : )
1,975’ elevation gain in just under 3 miles.
It sure was a welcome site!
We stopped last time because a younger couple told us the climb to the summit wasn’t worth it. But now that we’ve been, we suspect they were just trying to be helpful because they thought we were too old to go any further. 😊
The longer we dally, the hotter it’ll get!
We returned to the Jeep four hours later, wilted but glad we could complete it! And since it was only noon, we decided to take on one of our previous Jeep roads here in Sedona. Blaine decided on the Outlaw Trail. So we did that. And it was fun! And scenic! The views of these red and white rocks just never gets old! Stunning!
If you want to see more, you’ll have to go back and find it on another post. : )
Better hurry along, little one!
Since we arrived back home by mid-afternoon, I decided to try a new recipe, which didn’t turn out as expected, but we managed and it was good – – general tsos chicken wings and Nick Anthe’s kidney bean salad.
So here’s what happened. You make the sauce, put the wings in the crock pot, pour the sauce over and cook on high for 3 hours. The problem was that the chicken wasn’t getting done and all the sauce was lying on the bottom. So we took them out, placed them on a jelly roll pan, spooned the sauce over a couple of them and put them in the convection oven for a few minutes. The sauce was pretty spicy – remember, it’s general tsos – but good. I’m saving the sauce recipe, but that’s it.
As far as the bean salad, it’s an Akron area staple! Everyone loves Anthe’s kidney bean salad and somehow the Akron Beacon Journal managed to get permission to print the recipe years ago. Thanks, Blaine, for reading the paper from cover to cover!
GENERAL TSO’S WING SAUCE
1/4 c. low-sodium soy sauce
1/4 c. brown sugar
3 cloves garlic, minced
2 tsp. ground ginger
1 tsp. cayenne pepper
1 tsp. Freshly ground black pepper
kosher salt
1 tbsp. Cornstarch
Mix well, bring to a simmer. Serve with wings, or anything else you’d like to add some spicy sauce to.
HINT: Next time, I plan on using a little less ginger, cayenne and black pepper.
KIDNEY BEAN SALAD (Nick Anthe’s famous recipe)
3 cans (14 oz.) red kidney beans
¾ C. diced celery
¾ C. diced spanish onion
1 C. diced sweet pickles
½ t. salt
1 t. white pepper
¼ C. Helmann’s mayonnaise
¼ C. Miracle Whip
2 ½ T. sweet pickle juice
Rinse kidney beans thoroughly and drain very well. Mix with all other ingredients. Chill.
Serves 10
HINT: One can of beans is enough to serve 3 – 4, then cut the rest of the recipe into thirds. This kidney bean salad was an Anthe’s staple in Akron. People would go just for the salad! They agreed to put the recipe in the paper years ago, and even though I could never find tiny beans like they use, it still has the same flavor. Yumm!!