Let’s Head West Again – RV Trip Days 4-6

After our rest day in Platte City, MO (I can only drive two days in a row without getting tired and ornery) we headed further north and a little west to Salem, SD on day four.  It was another 375 mile drive mostly north on I-29 from Platte City, MO to Sioux Falls, SD then about 35 miles west on I-90 to our campground near Salem, SD.  I-29 in MO was okay but IA had some new concrete sections and some really bad sections, especially just north of Council Bluffs.  As always the SD roads were good.

We spent the night at Camp America Campground and after setting up realized we had been there before (in 2013), but I did not remember it when I was planning this trip – likely because we were having some new coach issues the last time.  It is a nice little place and obviously set up for overnight travelers as it is in the middle of nowhere.

Let’s Head West Again – RV Trip Days 1- 3

After a 10 day delay due to a tow car issue, we finally got all loaded up and began our Western trip.  The house sitter is all settled in to look after things and we think we have everything we need for a successful trip.

We were planning to make a leisurely 15 day drive through WI, MN, & ND to arrive at our primary location in the South Dakota Black Hills but with reservations already made there and plans to meet up with another couple, we had to take the more direct route and make the trip in 5 days (four driving and one rest).

For our first day, we drove 375 miles from home to Cape Girardeau, IL where we stayed at Cape Camping & RV Park located a little northwest of downtown and near I-55.  

RV Trip to Dale Hollow Lake

As I’ve traveled back and forth on I-40, I’ve noticed the signs for Dale Hollow Lake many times, but other than it was north, I knew nothing about it.  So when our FMCA chapter, planned a rally for the Corp Of Engineers campground just below the dam, I knew we had to go if we could fit into the campground.  After a little research about the sites, we quickly made our reservations.

Dale Hollow is an impoundment of the Obey River (of which I had never heard) and is shared between TN & KY.  The dam is located in Clay County, TN very near the county seat of Celina and the river below the dam is only 7 miles long before it dumps into the Cumberland River.  The lake is north and a little east of Cookeville, TN.

The dam was completed by the Army Corp of Engineers in 1943 for power and flood control at a cost of $28 million - I can't imagine what it would be today since we have military planes that cost about a billion for one plane.

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A Great Place To Watch The Eclipse

Our friend Russ spends the summers living on his 43’ cruiser that he keeps docked at a nearby marina and when he invited us to join him and his daughter to view the eclipse from the middle of the lake, we jumped at the chance.

Here we are boarding Miss Fit and departing the marina.

The 2017 Eclipse

Wow, what an event this is becoming.  People are driving long distances and filling up hotels and campgrounds to be in the “Totality Zone" - perhaps the most travel ever for a 2+ minute event. Twenty six towns and areas in East Tennessee are using it as a reason to have a public event and individuals are using it as a good excuse for a party – like we do the Super Bowl.

For this eclipse, we have the fortune of being about 15 miles off the center line and are well within the 70 mile wide totality path, so all we need now is clear weather, but it will get dark either way.  Our plan is to invite a few friends over and hang-out on either our neighbors dock or take a boat out in the middle of the lake, likely with some pre and post eclipse eats and a few adult beverages on hand.  I need to do some online research for the appropriate food and drink pairings for an eclipse.J

We are at the black spot right of the I-75 shield between Knoxville and Chattanooga.

Fortunately, we are now educated enough to not worry about this being the end of the world or a reason to sacrifice a virgin to please the angry gods, so we can just hope for clear skies, relax, and enjoy this unique event.  And if the skies are cloudy, we can all still enjoy our party-in-the-dark.

Photos can be enlarged by clicking on them.

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

Larry

8/18/17 Post Date

Lasagna-Like Baked Fusilli

Bev had purchased a 6 lb box of mixed pasta (she loves Sam’s Club) for us to use while our kids were here in July and we used none of it and with some ricotta cheese that needed to be used, we decided to make a lasagna-like dish using fusilli pasta. 

Slow Cooker Asian Short Ribs

I’ve been freezer diving again and discovered a package of boneless short ribs needing to be cooked.  Since I was looking for easy and low mess, I went in search of slow cooker recipes and discovered just what I was looking for: easy, ingredients we had on hand, and tasty sounding.  We rarely cook Asian and I’m not sure why, as we always enjoy it when we do.

The recipe we used was from Damn Delicious and I followed the one below with one exception.

Ingredients:

1/2 cup reduced sodium soy sauce

1/2 cup beef broth

1/4 cup brown sugar, packed

3 cloves garlic, minced

1 tablespoon freshly grated ginger

1 teaspoon sesame oil

1 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes, optional

5 pound bone-in beef short ribs, cut crosswise into 2″ pieces (I used 2# of boneless)

2 tablespoons cornstarch

2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley leaves

1 teaspoon sesame seeds

Directions:

1. In a large bowl, whisk together soy sauce, beef broth, brown sugar, garlic, ginger, sesame oil and red pepper flakes, if using.

2. Place short ribs into a 6-qt slow cooker. Stir in soy sauce mixture until well combined.

3. Cover and cook on low heat for 7-8 hours or high heat for 3-4 hours (4-5 is better for the meat we had).*

4. In a small bowl, whisk together cornstarch and 1/4 cup water. Stir in mixture into the slow cooker. Cover and cook on high heat for an additional 30 minutes, or until the sauce has thickened.

5. Serve immediately, garnished with parsley and sesame seeds, if desired.

*To test for doneness, pull on a bone as it should slide out freely

I used only two pounds of meat as that is what I had and it made three good servings, but there was enough sauce for another pound of meat and 4-5 servings.

We all thought it was good but not blow-you-away and I thought it was very good for the effort I had to put into it.

Photos can be enlarged by clicking on them.

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

Larry

8/04/17 Meal Date