Menu Evolution

After dozens of weekend trips, our menu has evolved into the perfect fit for our family. We leave on Friday, after school and early hooky from work, catch dinner on the road, and stop at a local grocery store after setting up the Caboose.

We bring Friday's dessert from the market and groceries for the weekend. Saturday morning is breakfast burritos; lunch is local cuisine; and dinner is fajitas. Sunday breakfast is designed for easy cleanup: cereal and/or pastries, fruit and coffee. Sunday lunch is also zero-cleanup with cold cuts, cheese and fruit. Sunday dinner is back home.

We only cook two real meals during the trip, which gives us time to enjoy the relaxation of camping. The breakfast burritos use a pack of sausage links, half a pack of southern-style hash browns, eight eggs, shredded cheese and tortillas. Dinner is the other half of the potatoes cooked with a small can of salsa, and butcher's prepared fajitas. A can of ranch beans with a can of corn mixed in rounds out the meal.

Prado Views

Our friends from the Death Valley trip are camping this weekend at Prado Regional Park, just across the river from our house. Of course we had to stop by for a visit, and it proved to be worthwhile. The clear winter skies made for some great views, including this one across the lake at San Antonio Peak, where the snow level is still down to 4,000 feet.

Too Damn Cold

We canceled our beach front trip to Doheny this weekend. This arctic storm has washed all the pollutants from the streets into the surf and the water is unhealthy for the next week or so. Because it is an arctic storm, the snow level dropped below 3,000 feet to turn my sagebrush covered worksite into this snowy scene. Brrrr.