Wild-West Road-Trip: from Joshua Tree to Sequoia National Park
It was a long drive through some tight spots along California's state highway 65. We stopped at one point to stop for gas and make lunch in the RV. Jen suggested that we stop at a visitors' center. So, a couple turns later, we ended up on route to the visitors' center... at the Borax Boron Mine, "California's largest open-pit mine, which is also the largest borax mine in the world." Needless to say, we did not actually make it all the way to the mine. We found a rest-area just down the road and had a good healthy lunch.
The first thing we did when we got to the campsite was check out the river (iPhone pic above) that was flowing leisurely no more than twenty yards from our campsite. Addy and I went to survey the water and make sure it was not too cold and not too dirty. It ended up being perfect. Before long, the boys were also out there and everyone was having a good time. Here's another iPhone pic, below.
I like that the iPhone is waterproof enough to take into the river. The boys have a waterproof camera that we brought, but I forgot to bring it out with us. I've almost always got my phone, though. Anyway, after a little while, it was time to go in and get ready for dinner. After dinner, we opted for a campsite treat.
It only takes a few ingredients to take a regular kind of day and make it into something special, and I've been wanting to make these with the kids for weeks. A s'more is the quintessential camping food, in my opinion. I love to get just the right amount of char on the marshmallow before putting it on a graham-cracker with chocolate layers melting out of the sides.
Before we can get to that, though, we had to make a fire. Thankfully, our campsite had a great fire-pit and we brought some great fuel for the flames.
So, it's a little unnerving, but Addy is not really as afraid of the fire as I'd like her to be. She runs around the campsite constantly and I'm always looking out for her in some way. I was a little relieved when she figured out that there were chocolate pieces on the picnic table and turned her attention to that instead.
She and the boys did have a great time around the fire, though. They were all trying to predict which pieces of wood would burn faster or which ones would catch on fire next.
The scent of roasting marshmallows has to be one of my favorites. I really love how the charred edges glow until you blow them out. Then, I like to pull the crust off of the outside and eat that while the inside cools.
They melt the chocolate on contact and you can pull the skewer out pretty easily with some practice. If this doesn't make you want to go camping, I don't know what else you'd need. This is the stuff of legends!
Here are a few more pictures, of Jen and the kids having fun.
Anyway, that's it for today! I hope you enjoyed reading about the s'mores as much as we enjoyed making and eating them;) Tomorrow, we go into Sequoia National Park on a full-day bus tour. The RV is too big to have access to all of the great places in the park, so we booked one of these as a way to make sure we see everything.
Thanks for reading and for all your support! Take care!
- Wayne
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July 14th, 2017 Ginger :
I want to go on your next trip!
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