5/17/2014 This Summer is for the Birds!

(Damascus, VA)

For the birds, not going to the dogs, unless, of course, this weather doesn’t change and then I may have to rethink that.  We’re still getting rained on and its COLD and damp.  I am longing for the desert!  Don’t get me wrong, we are enjoying the green but enough already with the wet stuff.

Birds.  It seems they are everywhere.  Of course we are surrounded by thousands and thousands of trees, we are in a forest after all, so it only seems right that we see lots of birds.

Now don’t get the wrong idea, this is not turning into a bird watching site!  The only birds I can readily identify are few.  Probably only the ones that everyone knows.  The robin, the cardinal, the blue jay, certainly an eagle and of course the pigeon and seagull.  Oh, then there is my favorite of all, the turkey, featherless, browned nicely, savored through two meals and sandwiches.

I was at the campground office the other day and heard what I thought was a puppy whimpering.  Turns out I was way off base and it was actually a nest full of baby birds.  So you don’t think I’m crazy, everybody else here also heard the whimpering puppy.

I don’t know what kind of birds these are, I just know they are noisy.



 

DINNERTIME!


Bellies full,,,,nap time.



They are really crammed in this nest, there isn’t much room to move. II’m hoping one doesn’t fall out, or get pushed out.

While we not only have birds at at the office we have birds at home too.  Not this kind, hummingbirds!  We had seen them flying all around so when we went into town we had to buy some feeders.

Bob hung one from the tree right outside our dining room window.

He also hung one from our ladder attached to the back of the RV.



It didn’t take long until they found the feeders!

Can you count on seeing hummingbird pictures all summer?  Uh, yeah!

5/16/14 Wannadinger? or Biscuit on a Stick?

Wannadinger or biscuit on a stick?  That is the question.  I’ve heard of these delicious creations called both.  I have to agree with the one who coined the term Wannadinger that biscuit on a stick just doesn’t sound fun.

I’m going to show you how to make Wannadinger sticks and also give you ideas for fillings.

Materials Needed:

1” dowel, 48” long  ($3.57 @ Lowes)
1/2” dowel, 48” long  ($1.51 @ Lowes)  buy 8

(there is enough here for two sets)

 

Glue - I used Elmer’s Glue All   or wood glue

Mineral Oil – 4 bottles,  get this in Pharmacy dept. of grocery store or Walmart  ($1.29)

Tools needed:

Saw   I used a chop saw but a jig saw or circular saw will do too
drill and 1/2 inch drill bit
a smaller drill bit to start a pilot hole

(In a perfect world you will have access to a drill press, a vise, and a router)

Directions:

Cut the one inch dowel into (eight) six inch pieces



Mark a dot in one end of cut dowel marking the center.  Have a friend hold the dowel.  If you have a vise, all the better.  Using a small drill pit, make a pilot hole.






Using the 1/2 drill bit put the point in the pilot hole and drill down 2 inches.  Your friend has to have a good grip on this and make sure you drill straight down.

Into the hole that you’ve drilled squeeze a small amount of glue.

Insert the 1/2 inch dowel and twist.  Set aside to let glue dry.

Sand the edge of the dowel end so that the edges are rounded.  Use a sander or router if you have it to smooth the edges.  Otherwise, some coarse sand paper.

Now its time to soak the sticks.   In a bucket pour enough mineral oil to cover the dowel and a few inches up the stick.  This will prevent the sticks from burning when held over the coals.  Let them soak for two or three days.

WANNADINGERS  -  or Biscuit on a Stick

You’ll need for a party of 8:

2 cans of Grands Biscuits  (Do NOT get the butter flavor, they just don’t work as well.)

Place a biscuit on the rounded end of the stick and gently work it down the dowel.

It may help to roll it back and forth between your hands.

Be careful not to get any holes in the biscuit.

Be forewarned that the men in your group will get this silly grin on their face when they pull the biscuit down over the dowel.

Start a medium bag of charcoal in your fire pit or BBQ Grill if you have a party of eight.  Use more charcoal for more people.
 
Hold the Wannadinger stick over the gray charcoal but be careful not to get it too close.  Keep turning your stick so as not to burn the biscuit.



After 8 to 10 minutes your biscuit should be nicely browned.  To test for doneness take a paper towel and gently hold the biscuit.  If it slides off the stick easily its done.




Now its time to fill them!

These biscuit treats can be filled for breakfast, lunch, dinner and dessert.

BREAKFAST FILLINGS:

Scrambled eggs & browned sausage & shredded cheese
Scrambled eggs & crumbled bacon & shredded cheese

LUNCH FILLINGS:

Taco fixin’s, just layer everything in there.

DINNER FILLINGS:

Sloppy Joe topped with shredded cheese

Chili topped with shredded cheese

Beef stew

DESSERT:

Make up vanilla instant pudding and chocolate instant pudding
cut up fresh berries,,,,(straw, blue, black, rasp)
pineapple chunks  (drained)
canned apple pie filling
canned cherry pie filling
canned whipped cream or Cool Whip  (optional)

Layer pudding with fresh fruit or pie filling until it reaches the top.  Iced tea spoons make this very easy.

Top with the canned whipped cream or Cool Whip

You can check out these blog posts to see more pictures of Wannadiingers being baked by charcoal, made and eaten.  You may have to scroll down the posts a bit as the Wannadinger parties usually happened after another or the at the end of an event.

http://quinnsawesomejourney.blogspot.com/2014/03/328-33114-end-of-season-party.html

http://quinnsawesomejourney.blogspot.com/2014/03/31314-everyone-wants-wannadinger.html

EVERYBODY LOVES A WANNADINGER!

5/12-5/15/14 Getting Ready for Trail Days

(Damascus, VA)

The talk these days is all about this coming weekend.  We’re having a Kids Fishing Derby here at our lake this weekend and the town of Damascus has big goings on too.

But is hasn’t been all work and no play.  Wednesday evening five women got together and played Mexican Train.  Our park manager, Edie, our Assistant Park Manager, Melissa, camp host Myra, her visiting friend Judy and myself gathered on Edie’s deck and played the evening away.  A good time was had by all and its something we’ll do again and again as the summer goes on.  Plus other activities of course.

The first batch of Wannadinger sticks are done soaking and second batch is in the mineral oil filled pitcher as I type.  All I need now is biscuits!

We have several sections here in the campground.  We have group tenting areas for when church groups or Scouts or a very large family get together come to camp.  There’s an area for RV’s that are self contained as there is no electric, water or sewer.  We also have two loops for tenting and some RV’s.  Chipmunk Loop and Beaver Flats.  We live in Beaver Flats and our loop isn’t open yet, not until this coming weekend.  Chipmunk Loop has been open since April and those campsites are able to be reserved via the 800 # or the website.  Beaver Flats is a first come first serve loop.

For this coming weekend Chipmunk Circle is already booked solid and we’re pretty sure Beaver Flats will also be a sellout.

Big doings going on, that’s for sure.  Beartree is holding a Kid’s Fishing Derby on Saturday.  The lake will be stocked on Friday for this event.  Trout, small mouth bass and catfish will be dangling from the hooks this weekend.

Damascus, a town that is residence to about 800 year round, will swell to 20,000 for a long weekend.  This small town is hosting Trail Days.  The events proper name is the  2014 Appalachian Trail Days.  This is the 28th annual celebration of those who have traversed the Appalachian Trail, in part or in total.  For those you not familiar with this Trail, it runs from Georgia to Maine and thousands upon thousands walk or bike part or all of it every year.  Make no mistake, I am not one of those people.  The closest I’ve come to it so far is to read the roadside sign and pointed and said, “Oh look, there’s the Appalachian Trail.  I am giving serious thought to taking a short stroll, 20 feet or so, just so I can say I’ve walked part of the Appalachian Trail.

Back to Trail Days.  This is the largest organized backpacking event, celebrating the Appalachian Trail and its heritage with good food, new friendships and the renewal of ones made in the past and many activities.  Many events are geared towards the family such as outdoor musical concerts, slide show presentations, movies, hiking seminars and special presentations.

Free showers will be available for those backpacking in off the trail.  Haircuts will also be available as well as doctors and veterinarians for those who are hiking with their four legged friends.  The firehouse will host pancake breakfasts and spiritual needs will be met by the local churches.  An Internet Café will be set up for the hikers as well as a charging station for cell phones and other electronic equipment.

Repairs to hiking/backpacking equipment will be made free of charge by the vendors who will be attending the event and should a hiker need something sewn then that need will also be addressed.

I’ve learned that American Chestnut trees were once abundant along the Appalachian Trail but that isn’t the case anymore.  Due to being destroyed by a blight fungus, a great effort is being made to report the whereabouts of surviving trees.  Hikers will be trained on how to do the reporting and and importance of doing so. Reporting surviving trees will contribute to understanding the status of remnants of a species that once played a key role throughout the Appalachian forests before being devastated.

There is going to be one hiker who will give a slide show that I would be interested in seeing.  Warren Doyle has hiked the Appalachian Trail, not once, not twice, but SIXTEEN times.  I got tired just typing that!  I bet he has some amazing photographs and some very interesting stories.

Among many other events geared to the hikers and the casual walkers of the AT (ahem, that’s what us locals call it) there will be a parade for all to enjoy.  Who doesn’t love a parade?

So as you can see its going to be a busy, busy weekend, in town and here at the campground.  I can only hope the weather improves greatly.  It started raining at 2 o’clock this morning and has only stopped for short periods of time since.  The rain can STOP anytime now!  We’re sick of it!

 

5/12/2014 An ALL Day Shopping Trip

(Damascus & Abingdon, VA)

Our plan was to go into town to get a few things done and pick up a few things we needed,,,,and wanted.

First stop was the Post Office in Damascus.   Now you know you’re in a small town when the post office closes for lunch.

We were both waaayyyy overdue for haircuts and I desperately needed to get my nails done.  I had been nursing a split nail for a week and a half.  Male readers, don’t sit there and roll your eyes!  This is serious business here.

I had an address for a nail salon in Abingdon and on the way we passed a barber shop that was open.  The plan was to drop me off to get my nails done and Bob would drive back the 3 miles or so to get his haircut and then come back to get me.  When we arrived we noticed that there was a barber shop that had both an open and closed sign displayed so he would check that out and that there was a hair salon next to the nail place.  This was going to be one chore that would be dealt with quickly.  Or so it seemed.  

I found that it would be at least an hour wait and then figuring 40 - 45 minutes for a manicure, well, I just couldn’t ask Bob to sit that long in the truck and wait for me.  I went next door to see about getting a haircut but that was also a no go.  The lady explained that Monday was her special day and that she was leaving in the next five minutes.  I never did find out what was so special about her day. 

As I walked out of the shop I heard our truck.  Bob was at that stoplight waiting for it to turn green.  I yelled his name as loud as I could so he could hear me over the traffic.  He looked around and saw me waving frantically to wait.  So much for my nails and hair.

It seemed the closed sign was the correct one so we headed back to the open barbershop a few miles back.  Bob went in and I used the time for a nice chat with my mom on the phone.  Until the battery on the cell phone went dead.

Next stop was CVS to pick up a prescription and that went without a hitch.

K-Mart was next and I went in armed with my list of thirteen things.  Bob was going to sit in the truck but he was soon looking for me in the aisles.  Uh-oh, he found out that cell phone battery that went dead was in his cell phone!  He was a mission to find a car cell phone charger.  I finished up my shopping and went I got in the truck Bob pointed out that there was an OPEN hair salon in the shopping plaza.  I jumped right on that!

I got a great hair cut by a very personable young lady and since I’ll be getting at least two or three more haircuts while we’re here I got her card.  When I was done I went back to the truck and Bob asked if I noticed what was just two doors down.  I hadn’t.  A nail salon!  I’m on a roll now!  They could take me right away which made me a happy camper.  At least it started out that way.  I sat next to a very nice lady named Tammy and we struck up a conversation while our old nail polish was being removed.  Turns out she and husband are campers and have camped at Beartree a lot in years past.  I just meet the nicest people wherever we go.

Two hours and three nails tech later I was finally out of there.  I will go back to this shop one more time and I will NOT have the nail tech that did the majority of the work this time.  I could have spit nickels by the I walked out of there.  This is not going to be a good YELP review I hope to tell you.  Bob was also not a happy camper having to wait two hours for me either.

Final stop, Lowe’s.  After the day we put in this was definitely an in and out trip.  List in hand we moved quickly through the aisles getting what we came for and not taking the top to browse, which for our wallet is a good thing!

Dinner was Mickey D’s since it was now going on 7:30 pm and I sure didn’t want to go home and start cooking.

We got a lot done today, got everything we went for and yet it was the day from the hell in many respects.

We were glad to get home and kick back!

Back to work tomorrow!

5/7–5/11/14 Dominoes and Other Things

(Damascus, VA)

Well, another week on the mountain down and put away.

There hasn’t been a whole lot going on as far as campers are concerned because our loop isn’t open yet.  Right now all campers are going to Chipmunk Circle.  In a way this is a good thing because Bob has a chance to get each and every campsite up to snuff.  For those of you who know Bob it will be no surprise when I tell you he has gone above and beyond and not only dressed  all the sites but the space between each site also.  Roadside there is a grassy section and he raked all the leaves away and now the buttercups are blooming and some other little purple flowers are there too.

Speaking of blooming, the magnolia trees are blooming.  The magnolia flower is one of my favorites.  The trees line the road coming up from the main gate and they are growing on the banks which rise up several feet so I can’t get a good shot of one of the flowers.

We give each of our campers a sheet of paper to fill out when their stay is over.  It tells us how we’re doing and of any concerns the camper may have.  I had to chuckle at one this week.  I collected the papers at the beginning of my shift and usually there are just circles around the answer they want to pick but this one had writing.  I laughed out loud at what this tent camper had to say.  This camper complained that the ground was too hard.  Excuse me????  The ground is too hard?  You are in a sleeping bag with an air mattress if you are lucky and the ground is too hard?  Seriously?  Oh I bet we’ll get some real knee slapper comments this summer.  You can be sure I’ll share them with you.

I’ve taught the girls how to play Mexican Train!  At first it was just me and Myra and if you have ever played Mexican Train you know its very hard if not darn near impossible to play with two players.  So how did we manage to get a game in?  We each played two players.  It was confusing at first but once we got the rhythm of playing two boards, and learning to keeping them straight, we made out fine.  I’m glad to be playing again.

We are overrun with hummingbirds!  We are getting feeders the next time we go to town.  I’m going to try to find some hand held feeders to see if they’ll come close enough to feed.

It’s been kind of a rainy week.  I’m thinking that all the east coast residents are thinking to themselves, “Geez, all that snow all winter and now all this rain.”  I hope this isn’t a preview of this summer.

Did I tell you we have well water here?  We are lovin’ it!  After that extremely hard water in Arizona this is wonderful.  I have to keep reminding myself to use only half the shampoo and half the dish washing liquid while here.  A little goes a long way here.

Bob is also lovin’ it!  He washed our 5th wheel and when it dried there was not one spot.  Not even on the windows.

See those bushes behind him?  They are chock full of buds that will open next month.

I was finally able to find several bottles of mineral oil.  I needed them so I could soak my Wannadinger Sticks.  It will take me a week to get them all properly soaked because I only have a 2 quart pitcher to work with.

We’re all looking forward to our first Wannadinger party.

We are planning a dinner out next week with all the camp hosts and managers that are here.  There is supposed to be a really good BBQ place in town.  Bone Fire Smokehouse its called.   We’re looking forward to it.  It will also give us a chance to get to know our co-camp hosts in the other loops better.

There are some big events coming up in the next few weeks so hopefully it will give me something to write about.

 

5/4-5/6/2014 Our Weekend Off

(Damascus, VA)

Actually, this starts with our last day of work last week.  No particular reason, nothing happened that day out of the ordinary, it just keeps my dates in order.

Sunday we went to town.  I wish I could say it was good trip.  It wasn’t.  We didn’t get half of what we went for and we got into an argument over something really, really stupid.  Of course I can say that now, but believe me, it was monumental then!    Hey, that’s life.  Happens to all of us at one time or another.  Oh, and just so you know, he’s still wrong!

While we were in town I did manage to pick up some computer games.  I’m getting really bored with TV and I’m suffering through some serious mouse withdrawal.  So I got a Mah Jongg game which I’m enjoying, a Mystery Case Files game where I have to figure out whodunit.  I’m stuck already and I haven’t gotten through the contents of the first drawer where my first clues are.  I did find out that I can get online to get clues from forum members.  The third game I got is a find the hidden object game.  These will do but I’d much rather be crushin’ candy!

Monday was an absolutely beautiful day.  Warm and sunny, perfect for taking pictures.  Since I had to go down to the office anyway I grabbed the camera and headed to the lake.

Here’s the area where the bathrooms are and to tell you the truth I don’t know what this area is all for.




This is the lake.  I so wish I had come down earlier in the day.  There was no one here and I would have had the whole beach to myself.


 
The beach is quite nice.

 
There is a pier for the fisherman.


As you can see from the pictures above there are still lots of trees that have yet to get their leaves.


Walking paths.

 

Just had to take this one.

 
The picnic pavilion.




More trails to walk.

I am looking forward to spending some time on that beach!

Monday evening Edie, the park manager, Myra, a co-camp host, and I went to Laurel Bloomery, TN to pay bingo at the local VFW club.  This isn’t far from where we are at all, five miles maybe.

Bob and I stopped at this VFW yesterday when we were out only to find that this club is more church and bingo hall then a club for Veteran’s of Foreign Wars.  The bar was voted OUT over a decade ago.
 
Well, let me tell you right now, I am spoiled by Quail Run bingo prices!  You could have knocked me over with a feather when the man said, “That will be a 2 pack (of six cards each) for $20.00.”  I hadn’t even gotten the specials yet!  Each card for the special games were $2.00 each or three for five.

I did end up winning $14.00 and Edie won $120.00.  If the man sitting next to me had only bought 4 cards for the last game instead of 6 I would have won the jackpot of $750.00.  But.  He bought six and therefore he won it.  There was a TV showing what number was coming up and when he saw I-27 he started shaking.  It was the number he needed to win the jackpot!  I asked him if he was okay and pointed to the TV set and his empty space and I realized what was going on.  Then I started shaking!

It was a good time had by all and we were glad for a night out.

5/3/2014 Our First Week in Review

(Damascus, “out in the boonies” VA)

We’ve got one week, here on the mountain, under our belts now.  We are ….um…adjusting.  You don’t realize how much you come to depend on your phone signal always being there and hearing that sound that signifies a text message came in.  Of course when we get to town both of our phones go crazy with voicemail and text message notifications.  A welcome sound for sure.

Adjusting to life with out the Internet has been especially hard.  Bob says it doesn’t bother him but I know differently.  He hasn’t connected to the Internet since we’ve been here.  He often says that he would like to look something up online.  I on the other hand have.  Every. Day.  I need my Candy Crush fix.  I have to read my email.  I must engage in PM’s.  I simply cannot do without a Facebook session.  What if I missed something important in the forums I read?

I enjoy going to town.  Seven miles to people and traffic and stores and yes, a cell phone signal.  Fourteen miles to the big town.  I’m talkin’ Walmart here people!  And Target and K-Mart and Lowes and Home Depot.  I have never ever enjoyed home improvement stores as much as I do now and I'm usually a big fan of them anyway.  I’m practically orgasmic at the sight of the Golden Arches.

I have to admit the ride into town and back isn’t bad either.  Here’s our scenery for the good part of the way.


 
For my dear friend LaVon, I found you a dead tree girlfriend!  Actually, Bob spotted it first and said, “Look a LaVon tree!”   Hmmmm,,,,is that a good thing that we see a dead tree and automatically think of you?

I love my job here.  Its very quiet, not many people are coming through so I can spend my time on the computer, you know, catching up.  Playing games, emailing and crushin’ candy to my hearts content.

Bob has been busy with his job.  He’s been making sure the campsites are ready for the campers that won’t even arrive until the end of the month.

We’ve been to visit his sister Cathy and have started planning a family reunion to take place this summer.  On the way to Cathy’s we found the local VFW club.  Monday night the ladies on staff here will be going there to play bingo.  We’re all excited about a night out!

We’ve had one day that reached 80°, three that reached the 70’s and the rest we’ve been in the low 60’s.  Not Arizona weather by a long shot.

We have some new readers that I’d like to welcome.  Colleen Phipps and  William Massey, welcome to the journey.  I hope you enjoy the ride.

Do YOU come here often to read?  If so, please add yourself to the Frequent Reader’s in the right hand column.  Let me know you’re out there.

On the way to work today we saw this. 


This deer was just walking down the street and it wasn’t until we were just in front of it did it decide to walk up in the woods.  It wasn’t running, just nonchalantly taking its leave of the roadway.

Note to Bob B:  We have the same thing you do from Verizon and it does not catch a signal up on the mountain.  The trees are way too dense.  We're hoping we can still get a satellite signal for TV when the leaves on the trees get bigger.  I'm tellin' ya, we are in the boonies!  No one has ever gotten a cell phone signal on the mountain.  No matter what they have.  Lots of people have bought boosters and truckers antennas and this and that and it just do any good.  This is definitely a cell phone free area.