Camping, Princess Style

**Shelby** · January 13, 2020

When we were without power for 12 days after an ice storm, it was awful during the time, but in retrospect, I kinda had "fun" adapting and figuring out what I could cook etc. by candle light, using just the burners on our stove that I could light. I remember the first thing I cooked was a chicken chili. Thank goodness for wine and candles and flashlights.

It sure was cold in the mornings, though, lol.

lindag · January 13, 2020

13 minutes ago, Shelby said:

When we were without power for 12 days after an ice storm, it was awful during the time, but in retrospect, I kinda had "fun" adapting and figuring out what I could cook etc. by candle light, using just the burners on our stove that I could light. I remember the first thing I cooked was a chicken chili. Thank goodness for wine and candles and flashlights.

It sure was cold in the mornings, though, lol.

12 days is a v-e-r-y long time. If that happened here people would die.

**Shelby** · January 13, 2020

1 minute ago, lindag said:

12 days is a v-e-r-y long time. If that happened here people would die.

Oh man, I thought we wouldn't make it. We were the VERY last stop to get fixed by Westar Energy. I ran outside when they got here --could have kissed them all. A couple of guys got in a fist fight in our yard. I was told they were blowing off steam lol. The power came on around 10 pm. I was elated.

**Smithy** · January 13, 2020

Tonight's dinner was worthy of the freezer challenge topic. Chicken thighs, oven-dried tomatoes in oil, and chicken broth all came out of the freezer. If I'd thought of it I could have added ginger from the freezer; next time I will. Broccoli from the refrigerator, rice from the pantry and the decapitated leaves from a dying basil plant all went into the mix: pilaf made in one pot, the chicken and vegetables cooked in a skillet, and the lot served in bowls.

It's a good thing we liked it; there are plenty of leftovers. I think I could reproduce this dish, but I've said that before!

At this point we have 4 meals (each) of various leftovers. If the generator isn't back tomorrow, we'll have to be creative about reheating something without the microwave oven.

**Smithy** · January 13, 2020

Our generator is on its way back to us. I have time to take us back to Death Valley.

The day after Christmas, the weather turned beautiful. It was cool the whole time we stayed - too cool to want to sit outside in deck chairs, for instance - but not uncomfortably cold for tent campers. There were a few blustery days and nights when I was glad not to be trying to anchor down a tent or trying to sleep with all the noise! Still, the days were sunny and the nights clear.

I've been writing on a yearly basis about the facilities at Furnace Creek, in Death Valley, and the major renovations under way. The original "Furnace Creek Ranch" resort, built to be family-friendly and relatively low-cost, was built along western / wooden / ranch house lines and had a decidedly rustic feel to it. Three years ago the facilities were torn down to make way for the new, Mediterranean-style, Ranch at Death Valley. This year the old cabins had been torn down and construction had begun for their replacements. The restaurants and gift shop have been up and running for over a year. I wrote in fair detail and included pictures in this post last year, showing what I could of the before-and-after, so I won't repeat it.

The gift store / grocery store has gone considerably upscale from its humble predecessor. There is a broader selection of jewelry, basketry, clothes, books, children's toys and various doodads than there used to be, all intended to separate the tourists from their money and, one hopes, give happy memories along the way. I picked up some jewelry but for once couldn't find any cookbooks that I wanted to buy.

The grocery store was the astonishing part. There's a wide selection of beer, both local microbrews and more mainstream stuff. There's some wine. There's also coffee, tea, milk (dairy, soy, almond) and cheese. There are dried foods in packages. There are now full-blown microwaveable meals. There are deli meats in packages. There are prepared sandwiches to take with you, and hard-boiled eggs, and fruit, and salads. I went one day to check out their stock of fruit. I remembered seeing some sad bananas and the inescapable Red Delicious apples. Did they have anything else? They did.

I couldn't bring myself to touch the peppers (already going off) or the avocados (ditto, and from Mexico) but I was really after fruit to supplement our typical breakfast fruit salad. We hadn't bought enough before leaving the Yuma area, and it might not have lasted anyway. So...how much do you think a basket of berries cost? How much do you think I paid for a basket of blueberries and one of raspberries (8 oz. each)?

Prices weren't terribly surprising to me. This is an out-of-the-way place; there are transportation costs to be considered, and since it's an upscale resort you can expect prices to be inflated anyway. The irony, to me, is that this National Park (perhaps like all National Parks) stresses conservation and environmental protection. Take a look again at the stock, and how it's packaged.

While you're guessing at prices, here's another one: a gift box of Hunter's Reserve sausage (elk and pork, and venison and pork), spreadable cheeses, crackers and 2 mustards.

It was a beautiful box. I bought one and thought it a decent deal at 25% of its original price. It's pretty good stuff, too.

Got any guesses about how much they wanted for it in the first place?

Edited January 13, 2020 by Smithy
Rephrased question about berry prices, corrected misspelling (log)

suzilightning · January 13, 2020

I'm guessing the fruit was about 6.00 or 7.00 per

No idea about the gift box … originally 75.00?

**Smithy** · January 13, 2020

You're pretty close on the fruit. I think it was $5.00 or 5.50 per clamshell. We wouldn't have paid that at home, but it was Christmas.

suzilightning · January 14, 2020

6 hours ago, Smithy said:

You're pretty close on the fruit. I think it was $5.00 or 5.50 per clamshell. We wouldn't have paid that at home, but it was Christmas

As someone who grew up on an island I liken this place you are at to that. Unless you can hunt, fish or grow it locally it has to come in by truck. Beer, wine, bananas, blueberries …. raspberries?! You have to pay the trucking fees … and the ferry fees … You're an hour from a big town? Gotta pay to truck stuff in.

I noticed it when we did our Lincoln Highway trip out to the Nebraska / Iowa border before heading south for the prairie chickens in Woodward and Pawhuska.

If a town wasn't big enough for a Walmart they would have a Dollar General or Wallgreens. Came back from that trip and bought both. The food deserts aren't only in urban areas

gfweb · January 14, 2020

On 1/12/2020 at 7:29 PM, lindag said:

12 days is a v-e-r-y long time. If that happened here people would die.

We have several day power outages frequently. A couple a year. Nobody dies, but where we are no power means no pump which means no water. No heat and no AC. The stove works though.

Hurricane season and winter were a cause of dread.

We finally got a big ass generator. Worth every penny

**Smithy** · January 14, 2020

48 minutes ago, gfweb said:

We have several day power outages frequently. A couple a year. Nobody dies, but where we are no power means no pump which means no water. No heat and no AC. The stove works though.

Hurricane season and winter were a cause of dread.

We finally got a big ass generator. Worth every penny

We rarely have power failures that last more than a few hours, but they do happen. The last time we had a several-day outage it was in high summer. Fortunately, the Princessmobile's generator could be used to run the refrigerators and freezers in the house and garage. A generator is an excellent security blanket.

**Smithy** · January 14, 2020

2 hours ago, suzilightning said:

As someone who grew up on an island I liken this place you are at to that. Unless you can hunt, fish or grow it locally it has to come in by truck. Beer, wine, bananas, blueberries …. raspberries?! You have to pay the trucking fees … and the ferry fees … You're an hour from a big town? Gotta pay to truck stuff in.

I noticed it when we did our Lincoln Highway trip out to the Nebraska / Iowa border before heading south for the prairie chickens in Woodward and Pawhuska.

If a town wasn't big enough for a Walmart they would have a Dollar General or Wallgreens. Came back from that trip and bought both. The food deserts aren't only in urban areas

That's all a good perspective. I'm used to places that aren't quite so isolated.

You were a bit high on your guess about the gift box, so you're clearly more realistic about prices in isolation that I! I was shocked to see their original price of $48 plus tax for that box, but with the discount and tax I paid about $15 for it and thought that was an excellent deal. So far the crackers and elk sausage are great. We haven't tried the rest of it yet.

Kim Shook · January 15, 2020

On 1/12/2020 at 3:14 PM, kayb said:

I'm impressed by you self-wedding-caterers.

When I was running a small newspaper in Northwest Arkansas, one of our reporters got married. The news staff decided we would cater her wedding reception for her. We did some kind of grilled meat and fish (I don't remember what it was), baked beans, potato salad and slaw. I won the "make the potato salad" job. Fifty pounds of potatoes. My hand cramped for a week and a half.

We invited friends of the bride to each be a "table hostess" and provide dishes, flatware and decorations for the table, which was kinda cool. We had some really creative tables, including one on which the tablecloth was road maps and the china was souvenir state plates. The centerpiece featured a miniature Airstream trailer (it was big tourist country up there). We served dinner family style, with pass-around platters and bowls of food.

Lots of fun, and a quite memorable wedding reception.

Kay, are you sure you aren't Florence King? 😉

kayb · January 15, 2020

I could but wish.

**Smithy** · January 17, 2020

After Death Valley we moved to less-populated and less-restrictive land near the town of Amboy (pop. <10). We Got Our Kicks on Route 66 for a week or two, saw sights, stretched out, took down the Christmas decorations after Jan. 6.

For those of you who don't know, US Highway 66 (a.k.a. "Route 66") was the major route from Chicago to L.A. from the turn of the 20th century until the advent of Interstate 40, which bypassed it. Some towns have survived the bypassing; most haven't.

(Nobody's 'fessed up as to why or how these massive foo dogs arrived along the highway, out in the middle of nowhere. For more information about the mysterious Guardian Lions of Route 66, a.k.a foo dogs, see here and here.)

We ate from our freezer stock,

and enjoyed the leftovers (this from yet another ham brought from home and cooked for an earlier dinner).

I opened a bottle of salad dressing I'd purchased during my L.A. visit in December. It's nice: not too sweet, and a change from my usual vinaigrette.

That has been going over any number of green salads that look more or less like this:

By the time we left, the grocery list had grown beyond any hope of keeping it organized as we went through the next store, so I rewrote it with some organization. How many of you have to rewrite the shopping list? I bet I'm not alone.

JoNorvelleWalker · January 17, 2020

Who makes shopping lists?

heidih · January 17, 2020

35 minutes ago, JoNorvelleWalker said:

Who makes shopping lists?

'A general outline but distraction occurs

**Shelby** · January 17, 2020

1 hour ago, Smithy said:

took down the Christmas decorations after Jan. 6

Oh I am so jealous. Mine are still up. I haven't had the strength yet. Plus with Scout, I don't know how I'll get it done lol. She's into EVERYTHING. But one look at that face and you can't even work up a hint of irritation lol.

1 hour ago, Smithy said:

Guardian Lions

Those are cool . Can't wait to read the links you provided

1 hour ago, Smithy said:

How many of you have to rewrite the shopping list

Oh I rewrite many times. Like more than three usually. If it's just Ronnie going I have to be veerrrrrry specific.

suzilightning · January 17, 2020

1 hour ago, Smithy said:

After Death Valley we moved to less-populated and less-restrictive land near the town of Amboy (pop. <10). We Got Our Kicks on Route 66 for a week or two, saw sights, stretched out, took down the Christmas decorations after Jan. 6.

For those of you who don't know, US Highway 66 (a.k.a. "Route 66") was the major route from Chicago to L.A. from the turn of the 20th century until the advent of Interstate 40, which bypassed it. Some towns have survived the bypassing; most haven't.

(Nobody's 'fessed up as to why or how these massive foo dogs arrived along the highway, out in the middle of nowhere. For more information about the mysterious Guardian Lions of Route 66, a.k.a foo dogs, see here and here.)

Thank you so much for this!! I want to finish the rest of The Lincoln Highway and really want to trace Route 66. Will add it to my folder.

Edited January 17, 2020 by suzilightning (log)

robirdstx · January 17, 2020

2 hours ago, JoNorvelleWalker said:

Who makes shopping lists?

We do! https://www.ourgroceries.com/overview

JoNorvelleWalker · January 17, 2020

12 minutes ago, robirdstx said:

We do! https://www.ourgroceries.com/overview

I'd still need a printer, which I don't have.

robirdstx · January 18, 2020

1 minute ago, JoNorvelleWalker said:

I'd still need a printer, which I don't have.

We view the lists on our iPhones when we shop.

JoNorvelleWalker · January 18, 2020

1 hour ago, robirdstx said:

We view the lists on our iPhones when we shop.

The cord on my phone is not long enough.

Porthos · January 18, 2020

1 hour ago, robirdstx said:

We view the lists on our iPhones when we shop.

I copy and paste into an email and view that in the store.

I make a list as things come to mind or when my Sweetie asks for something**. Most of the time just before shopping I edit the file for the path I take through the store. Sometimes life doesn't give me enough time.

** If she asks while we're not at home I have her send me an email with the item as the subject line. Works well.

**Smithy** · January 18, 2020

The Guardian Lions / Foo Dogs aren't the only interesting sights in the Mojave Desert. The drive from Amboy to the Salton Sea passes the Amboy Crater (an extinct volcano),

several valleys and mountain ranges, and architecture of the sort one finds in the desert where folks do their own thing.

We reached Twentynine Palms and the Stater Bros grocery store. I'd shop there regularly if I could, but it's strictly a Southern California chain and we usually aren't near one. I've shown pictures of it in the past - especially its meat counter. This time around, my phone's battery died in the parking lot. You'll have to settle for an old discussion of it, here, if you want to see pictures.

The shopping list went into action. For once we didn't spend a fortune at the meat counter, thanks to the holiday excesses that hadn't come to pass. That isn't to say we ignored that counter altogether! They carry that wonderful New York Style Calabrese Sausage, which I've seen nowhere else although it's a California product.

They also had pork steaks that my darling insisted we had to have for dinner that night. His favorite meat, with his favorite breading. It's dead easy, provided the breading mixture is ready to hand.

We set up camp at the Salton Sea uncomfortably late in the afternoon, due to delays in Twentynine Palms. We breaded those pork steaks,

admired the view,

cooked those steaks and ate. There are no dinner pictures. Thanks to the delays, I was much too tired and cranky to appreciate dinner until it was almost over. Then I was grateful for easy but delicious food.

Edited January 18, 2020 by Smithy
Corrected information about the Amboy Crater (log)

kayb · January 18, 2020

15 hours ago, Porthos said:

I copy and paste into an email and view that in the store.

I make a list as things come to mind or when my Sweetie asks for something**. Most of the time just before shopping I edit the file for the path I take through the store. Sometimes life doesn't give me enough time.

** If she asks while we're not at home I have her send me an email with the item as the subject line. Works well.

I highly recommend the Out of Milk app. It's free and it lives on the home screen of my Android.

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