We spent more time yesterday messing around with various stuff for the SRGP. Jeff S. came over mid-morning to check out the Turco and related accessories. He had a great fishing trip with his two sons this past weekend. We swapped a few true stories and a few lies (as fishermen and campers are wont to do) and enjoyed a great visit. Thanks, Jeff, and please remind me to tell you the Steel Wool Story soon, OK?)
We worked out an arrangement with Parks & Recreation to miss the upcoming Monday meeting. The agenda is lackluster and the Director himself won't even be there. It's a Dog Days of Summer agenda. That means we will be heading up to Salmon River Country via the Pahsimeroi on Sunday so we can have four full days on the river. Hopefully, we will be able to average 20 miles a day during that time and cover a LOT of territory.
We continued shopping for the final pieces of our river gear puzzle and I think we pretty much have it figured out. The last missing piece is learning how to upload digital MP3 audio files from the recorder and embed them in a Google Map. That's this morning's project. (Well, it's 11 am and we got an MP3 file linked to a map post. Go to bit.ly/93Rz7m and click on the point entitled "Pahsimeroi River confluence" and you can test it out.
We touched base with Bryan--he and Da Boyz had a great trip on the Main Salmon--no problems to report.
We also talked with Wayne--he's "good to go" and is now up in Bryce Canyon Nat'l Park to give a geology lecture. Maggie sent along some great gardening stories. We think her backyard agricultural experiences will make a nice book by the time her green thumb goes back into winter hibernation this fall. Joshua got off the river and hiked out of the Grand Canyon up the Bright Angel Trail yesterday--he's returning to Cornville today--welcome home, Josh and Congratulations!
Naturally, I roamed the thrift stores yet again--this time looking for a specific small sized baking sheet to put under the six-hamburger grate. That's how I would up sprinting. Sprinting? I'm not kidding. A sprint for an old, short, fat guy means anything faster than a slow walk, actually. Here's how it unfolded. I wound up in the Bonneville Humane Society thrift store at 4:48 pm. I quickly realized it was "half-off day" and I decided to finally buy the two shish kabob thingies. I've been looking at them for a month but didn't want to pay $1.50 each for them. 75 cents? Sure, I'd pay that. Bonneville only accepts cash so I took them to the counter and said I would go to the bank and "be back soon." The woman who runs the place said wryly, "Well, you better hurry because we're closing in 11 minutes." Oops.
I looked out the front door and a Union Pacific locomotive was blocking the pedestrian access across the downtown rails. Somehow I decided that it would all work out and I headed toward the tracks. As if by magic the locomotive backed up just enough for me to dart in front of it and then the sprint was on. As I jogged toward the city's busiest street (Yellowstone), I could see a green light ticking down--there were 7 seconds left to sprint across the street and avoid traffic stretching in both directions. I made it with one second to spare--then I jogged two block to Wells Fargo and, luckily, no one was in there outdoor ATM. I grabbed a quick 20 dollars and then started the spring back. Somehow I caught a seam on Yellowstone and didn't have to break stride to cross again. Meanwhile, the train had once again just clears the only pedestrian crossing. As I ran toward the thrift store, they were beginning to close the parking lot gates and someone was standing by to lock the front door. I slipped in just under the wire and grabbed my purchases, paid and left as they locked up the place behind me. It's pretty amazing what a potential savings of a buck fifty will do to a veteran thrift store shopper!
Afterward taking a few deep breaths, I headed off to WINCO to pick up some veggies to grill in the new toys. Portbello mushrooms, green and red peppers, white and red onions--um...boy...here comes dinner.
I flash grilled up some turkey sausage in the electric George Foreman grill and then Susun assembled all the veggies and sausage pieces in the new little Kabob Cages. We put them in the Turco and hickory smoked them to al dente perfection. The pre-cooked sausage pieces picked up the right amount of smoked flavor and it made the perfect Happy Hour snacking hors devours. Meanwhile, we cut all the skin and fat off of 8 chicken thighs and then smoked them for about 90 minutes. Oh, man, they were so good! This Turco really rox--it really does.
So what's the Turco going to do next? Cornbread this morning. Our cornbreads so far this summer have been La-Z-Boy breads--the kind that come out of a premix package--the ones that have a lot of chemicals we can't pronounce much less spell. Well, not any more--this morning, we making "from scratch" cornbread. That's one thing that the Turco excels at--cornbread. Cornbread loves a HOT oven and, trust me, the Turco is HOT. It goes right up to 400 degrees in a wink of an eye.
Not much else on tap today--mow the lawn, begin the pre-rig process, all the normal routine.
Have a great day & Cheers! jp
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