August 18-31, 2013 - Bike Trip, Misc.

Seems as if we've been busy but we sure didn't take many photos. We had a lot of road time for various things.  We also had company for most of the time the blog covers.  (We had another friend from Nevada stay for awhile.)

Susan has another book up on Amazon.  The title is:  Food Storage: Preserving Fruits, Nuts, and Seeds and you can get more info at: http://amzn.to/188gatl

There are a lot of books about food preserving but what sets this book (and the first volume, Preserving Meat, Dairy, and Eggs) apart is that each food and all the methods for preserving that particular food are described in their own chapters. The active table of contents allows you to click on a food or subject and go right to it.

In Part I, it begins with fruits and works it's way through each fruit in alphabetical order, then on to nuts and seeds. All methods that work well with each food are explained along with directions for the preparation and processing of that food. There is also information about what doesn't work and why.

In Part II, there is an explanation of the preserving methods, how to do them, and what you'll need: Canning, dehydrating, freezing, salting, brining, sugaring, smoking, pickling, and fermenting, as well as some not-as-often heard of ones as ash, oil, and honey for preservation.

The authors live on opposite ends of the country (north and south) and bring some of their own regional flavor to the book, making it interesting as well as informative.

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We had one trip to Missoula and on the way back spotted a couple of forest fires burning on a mountainside.  The area is pretty remote so we didn't know how seriously they would be taken.

On laundry day, Scott decided to try his hand at washing clothes.  He's at the rinse tub and used an old milk crate to get some elevation gain.

He's not big enough to use the wringer so he'd push the clothes over the top of the wringer and pull them out the opposite side.

 

Our highlight of the last two weeks was a bike trip from East Glacier to West Glacier.  We had Scott all excited about going on the train and then the morning arrived when we were scheduled to go.  It was 4:30 am and Susan got Scott up from his crib.  He wrapped his arms around her and whimpered a little.  She said "Don't you want to go on a train ride?"  He burrowed in deeper and said "no train ...want bed!"  Anyway, by the time we got to the train station he was excited about going.

 

We were glad it was a short ride.  Scott alternated looking out the window with gymnastics.  Susan supported the table with her knee.

He went through the gap and to the floor ... about a dozen times!

West Glacier, Montana.  We put the bikes back together (we had to partly disassemble and box them up for their train ride), loaded up our gear and hit the road.

The first leg involved climbing up to the pass.  Obviously it was mostly uphill but we were also fighting a severe headwind.  It was so bad we even had to peddle the downhill stretches just to keep moving.  The cross winds tried to blow us off the road.

We went about 20 miles the first day which wasn't bad for the wind, uphill and the late start.  We stopped for supper at a restaurant where we had chili burgers.  The food was very good and all prepared from scratch.  The waitress gave Scott a color book and some crayons to pass the time.

They also had some rooms to rent so we rented a motel room for the night instead of trying to find a place to camp in the wind.  The next morning we had chicken fried steak before hitting the road.

Ready to roll!  We'll keep this place in mind next time we pass through.  The food was excellent!

One of our photos stops on the highway.

Another photo stop at the goat lick bridge.  The train is crossing the trestle on the other side of the river.

Another rest stop along the river.  I did some repairs on the bikes at this stop.  The fork bearings were loose so I tightened them up.  I also got bit by a yellow-jacket (not stung!)

Another hill to climb!

An overlook above the Flathead River.

Susan taking photos from a different angle.

 

We made it on in to West Glacier where we had lunch while waiting for our ride home (in a vehicle this time).  Now fall is almost here so it's time to get serious about certain seasonal things that need to get finished up.