Friday, October 12, 2012

Go West Old Man – Headed Home – Nevada, MO - 2012

I just can’t drive a mobile house more than two consecutive days, so I planned a down day in Nevada, MO – where you say, why there?  First, a pronunciation lesson:  after saying it wrong, I was advised in Colorado that Arvada has a short middle a, like the state of Nevada, but Nevada, MO has a long middle a, which was hard to make myself say (nuh-VAY-duh). 

On the trip home, I wanted to avoid large cities and their rough roads that jar our teeth in the RV with 90 psi tire pressure plus see some of the country.  So I picked a route that looked like it would accomplish both, and then looked for campgrounds and there aren’t a lot of choices, but Nevada, Mo had a reasonably nice one in Osage Prairie RV Park.

Since we were in beef country and wanted to cook out for supper, we went to the local store and picked up a couple of steaks to grill at our fancy cooking setup.
We first cooked up a skillet full (wanted extra for breakfast) of potatoes, peppers, onions, and roasted chiles from Durango.

The grill-meisters throne.

The view from the throne.

The sous chef resting after completing her job – her guard looks around for possible threats or animals to chase.

Bev added S&P and Texas Rib Rangers Gourmet Steak Seasoning to the steaks – it’s what we had with us – and I grilled them on the Smoky Joe charcoal grill, which ran a lot better than when we were at 7000’.  It took me two meals in the high country before I realized why everything was taking so long to cook on the grill – the car ran at a higher RPM than normal as well.

I added some of the same seasoning to the veggies and both they and the meat were very good – this spice will go into the regular rotation for beef.  I forgot to get a shot before I'd cut off the filet and a piece of the strip for Bev - we saved most of the other strip.
The campground owner suggested we go to Daylight Donuts and More for breakfast, especially if we liked biscuits and gravy, which I do a lot.  Daylight Donuts is a worldwide company which runs as follows – “As a Daylight operator, you are a licensee, not a franchisee.  As such, you do not pay a franchise percentage or even an upfront licensing fee. You simply agree to use Daylight products and processes in exchange for the right to use the Daylight Donuts brand name and trademark.”  Then the local owner provides the “and More” part.

We got there too late for breakfast, except biscuits and gravy, so Bev had lunch special of a grilled roast beef sandwich and salad bar both of which were very good.  I decided to get a full order of biscuits and gravy so I’d have the next day’s breakfast as well.  The biscuits had to be at least 3” tall and scratch made, as would be expected from a donut shop.  This is my plate and the biscuits and sausage gravy were both very good.

The campground owner also suggested a restaurant for supper where they have a 24 oz. sirloin with the sides for two for only $20 and we had to give it a try - remember we were in beef country.  In the Diners, Drive-ins, and Dives classification system, from the outside, the place was more of a dump aspiring to be a dive - I wondered if I should be armed.

The sides weren't too good but the steak would have been had it not been overcooked - just another interesting trip experience while traveling the good ole USA. 

Have a great day and thanks for stopping by Almost Heaven South.

Larry

9/25 & 9/26/12 event dates




21 comments:

  1. Love the shots of the grill-meister throne and the sous chef in waiting. How nice that you can bring the guards along. That's what RVing is about.

    So true that here in the US too many places overcook steaks and burgers.
    Sam

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    1. Coco is nearly always on alert - sometimes too much so. The main reason we got the RV was so the pups could travel with us.

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  2. I enjoyed your BBQ set up. Anything is possible when RVing. It can be tricky finding a restaurant on the road. Even though it is recommended, it might not live up to your own standards....especially if you are a cook yourself. Love the guard dog..waiting for prairie dogs or other critters. Must be scary for the little ones. Susan

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    1. I'm more of a camper than an RVer so I like cooking outside and improvising as needed.

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  3. The fun of RVing is the freedom to cook your own meals when you want. Your steak looks much better than the one from the dive. Our guard dog saves us from chipmunks.

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    1. Our steak was definitely much better and eating outdoors made it even more so.

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  4. My Chris would go nuts over that plate of biscuits and gravy! It does look good :) And those steaks...I do love the Midwest!!! :)

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    1. It was as good as it looked and still so when reheated the next day for breakfast #2. I could eat biscuits and gravy nearly every day.

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  5. This has been an exciting trip...taking the back roads is so much fun. There is a book you might enjoy, it is Blue Highways by William Least Heat Moon. A great story about traveling America's back roads...the adventures and the people.

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  6. I have the same sort of pronunciation problem when we visit Dahlonega, Georgia. We traveled through beef country without getting any great steaks. That biscuits and gravy breakfast looks delicious, but I'm not sure it would only last for two meals.

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    1. when in N. GA earlier, I had someone tell me how to say Dalonega, then I said it about 50 times so I could remember it.

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  7. Larry, Definitely right in our wheelhouse... Our kind of trip experiences. Trying dives or dumps, listening to the locals for recommendations... Sometimes they're not so good and sometimes you have a great 'find'!! Those steaks that you grilled looked really nice too... Take Care, Big Daddy Dave

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    1. I thought of you guys several times as we took the locals suggestions.

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  8. That skillet of potatoes and peppers looks wonderful, I can almost smell it cooking. And a steak is always a welcome treat. Love that photo of Coco guarding the family. You never know when some ornery critter will try to knock over that glass of wine. ;) Biscuits and gravy = omg. I'm not sure I would have gone inside that restaurant...looks a little rough. You just don't see that many TV antennas these days.

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    1. I thought the potatoes were the best part and we still had some left for breakfast after we got home. The restaurant was better on the inside and actually had a couple of other customers, but we were there early.

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  9. Oh man, biscuits and gravy. My dream breakfast.

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  10. Hi, I had a friend named Nevada---and she pronounced it NaVAYda--like that town...

    Who in this lifetime needs a steak that large? Maybe it would be good for about 4 people.... ha... Glad you enjoyed it --along with the biscuits and gravy... Did you gain weight during the trip? I ended up losing 5 pounds due to all of the hiking I guess...
    Betsy

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    1. Surprisinly I only gained 2 pounds - I think the stress of driving a house kept it from being more.

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  11. Yeah, I thought your steak looked much better than the one the dump.....errrr hopeful dive cooked one did:)

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