We drove to Cape Royal in the Grand Canyon North Rim National Park to watch the sunset. We walked the short trail to the panoramic viewpoint across the canyon. We were not sure if we'd have luck with a clear sunset or not, it had been raining on and off, and overall cloudy. But as we got to the viewpoint, the clouds started shifting a bit to our favor, and we had a magical sunset view. As we were walking back to the car, we turn around, and a beautiful rainbow over the arch called Angles Window. It was a blessed evening.
The Grand Canyon being one of the natural wonders of the world doesn't need me to attest to its beauty. The steep gorge that is 277 river miles long, up to 18 miles wide, and a mile deed can vouch for its uniqueness and magnificence. Seeing the Grand Canyon was pleasantly overwhelming. Standing in the middle of this marvelous landscape was thought inspiring and spiritually empowering. It was more than a visit, it was a magical experience.
We visited the North Rim part of the Grand Canyon National Park, since it is the closer to Southern Utah where we were. It amazes me that the two rims of this enormous canyon are ten miles apart, and yet it takes one an almost five-hour drive to get from the South to the North Rim and vice verse.
Since we only had one day to explore magical Bryce Canyon National Park, we chose a combination hike that loops around most of the amphitheater. It was a bit strenuous, but the views were well worth the effort.
The hike we did combined three of the best known trails in the park: Queens Garden, Navajo and Peekaboo loop for a total of 8.7 miles and more than 1500 feet elevation change. We started at Sunrise Point, did a figure eight clockwise ending where we started off. The weather was great, much cooler than Zion National Park, and many parts of the trail were shaded enough. We saw castles, windows, walls, queens, arches and other shaped rocks. We mused over naming some of them, but mostly were overwhelmed by the beauty of our surroundings. I couldn't decide if I was more mesmerized by the shapes, the colors or the fact that such marvel even exists in our country.
It was my turn this week to select the secret ingredient for the appetizer, and I chose mushrooms. I love mushrooms and cook them very often. I love them on pizzas, I saute them with green beans for side dishes, I bake them in casseroles, and I order them very often from appetizer menus when we eat out. I thought I'd challenge myself and make my own mushroom appetizer at home. I found a recipe from stuffed mushrooms in the Jan/Feb issue of Southern Lady and decided to try it. I am happy to report that we were not disappointed; the flavors complemented each others perfectly, creating delicious mushroom bites.
Parmesan and Herbs-Stuffed Mushrooms
16-18 large stuffer mushrooms,washed and dried.
2 to 3 tbsp. melted butter
3/4 cup grated Parmesan chees
1 8oz package of cream cheese, softened
1/4 cup sour cream
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 tbsp. minced fresh parsley
2 tbsp. minced fresh thyme
3 tbsp. fresh lemon juice
Preheat oven to 350F. Remove the stems from the mushrooms. Brush the mushrooms with melted butter and place on a baking sheet. Combine the remaining ingredients and blend well. Spoon or pipe into the mushrooms and bake for 20 to 25 minutes.
During our day in Bryce Canyon, we spent sometime at Rainbow Point, the most southern point in the park(and supposedly the best spot to watch and photograph sunsets at Bryce--alas it was cloudy the day we were there and we couldn't get a good shot, warrants another visit for sure.)
The views were spectacular, but what caught my eye was a story posted on one of the plaques at that view point.
"Before there were any Indians, the Legend People, To-when-an-ung-wa, lived in that place. There were many of them. They were of many kinds – birds, animals, lizards and such things, but they looked like people. They were not people. They had power to make themselves look that way. For some reason the Legend People in that place were bad; they did something that was not good, perhaps a fight, perhaps some stole something….the tale is not clear at this point. Because they were bad, Coyote turned them all into rocks. You can see them in that place now all turned into rocks; some standing in rows, some sitting down, some holding onto others. You can see their faces, with paint on them just as they were before they became rocks. The name of that place is Angka-ku-wass-a-wits (red painted faces). This is the story the people tell."
This was the legend of the Paiute Indians, who occupied the area around Bryce starting at 1200 A.D.I thought this was very interesting, and I believe that is why the pinnacles were called hoodoos, things that bring bad luck.
We left Zion National Park and took the beautiful scenic drive up U.S. 89 highway to Bryce Canyon National Park. It was about an hour and fifteen minute drive, passing one beautiful rock formation after another. Definitely not a boring drive. As we were getting closer to Bryce Canyon, we passed Red Canyon, a fantastic oasis of red rocks nestled in Dixie National Forest. As we entered Bryce Canyon National Park, I was a little worried that we just left the gorgeous Zion to see, well, not much at that point. Bill,having visited Bryce before, advised me to wait before passing any judgments.
We drove the park highway, and I still couldn't see much to be awed by. We parked in front of Sunrise Point, and walked from the car towards the view point, I think my jaw dropped as I got a glimpse of what laid ahead. Large spirals of colorful rocks forming castles, arches, windows,fins and mazes. Too bright, I was struck with awe, too unique, like something I've never seen before or realized that such formations existed. Yes, I saw photos of the park before, I heard it was magnificent, Bill told me I'd love it, but it wasn't until my own eyes transmitted the picture to my brain, that I actually felt the enormity of what I was looking at; Bryce Canyon with all its glory, magic, mystery and peace.
The secret ingredient for week nine is olives and it was selected by Jerry. As soon I saw Jerry's selection, I knew exactly what I was going to make; fried olives. I first had fried olives in a small restaurant in Mestre, outside of Venice.Called ascolane, the fried olives are stuffed with meats and cheese. I believe that I've dreamed about them since then. I found a great recipe for Italian fried olives by Giada De Laurentiis on the Food Network Website, and decided to try it.
In my initial attempt, I bought these nice big pitted green olives from the olive bar in the gorecery store, stuffed them according to recipe and tried to coat them with bread crumbs to no avail. Then I realized that perhaps the olives are too oily since they've been sitting in oil, tried to wipe the oil off, cover it with flour, nope, still no luck. Well, needless to say I had a little kitchen tantrum and walked away. Later that evening, we ate the olives stuffed with cheese and not fried and they were great.
I decided it to give Giada's recipe another run. I bought pitted green olives in a can this time, they are not as big or pretty, but at least they are not oily. I patted the olives dry, stuffed them, patted them dry again, let them dredge in flour, dipped them in the beaten egg, coated them with bread crumbs and then let them sit to dry for almost an hour. When I fried them, they held well!
I was very thrilled that they worked this time. And although the taste was not the one stored in my memory from Mestre, they tasted pretty good, especially for small olives. My mission now is to try to find large pitted olives that are not soaked in oil or pit large olives myself. (Not sure the latter would happen soon though.)
Ingredients
1-ounce Gorgonzola cheese, at room temperature
1/4 cup ricotta cheese, at room temperature
1 1/2 teaspoons dried thyme
1 1/2 teaspoons lemon zest
20 pitted green olives, rinsed and dried thoroughly
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1 egg, lightly beaten
1/2 cup plain bread crumbs
Vegetable oil, for frying
We set our last day in Springdale to visit Kolob Canyons in Zion National Park. Unfortunately, that was the day the weather gods decided to treat us with thunderstorms. And even though the weather guy told us that the evening before, we decided to take the drive anyway and test our luck. We weren't lucky enough to turn the rain away, but we were lucky to get to see remote Zion; a part of Zion National Park just for the two of us. That was worth it.
Kolob Canyons is located just off I-15 and is about an hour drive from the main part of Zion National Park. The Kolob Canyons section of the park is not as frequently visited but its beauty is no way inferior. It has stunning scenery, bright red cliffs and serene surroundings. I learned that "Kolob" in Mormon scripture refers to the "star or residence closest to heaven'.
Angles' Landing(in the photo above) is a rock formation that is at summit elevation in Zion National Park. The trail to Angles' Landing is a strenuous 2.5-mile trail with an elevation change of over 1,480 feet. The first 1.9 miles of the hike take you over the spectacular west rim of Zion passing Refrigerator Canyon and zigzagging with Walter's Wriggles. But Angles' Landing fame comes from the last half a mile of the trail; the narrow, steep drop-off part of the trail that has chains added to help you pull yourself up the rocks and navigate the sheer cliffs. It is not for the faint of heart!
To get to the trail head, we disembarked at the Grotto shuttle stop. From there, we crossed the bridge and started the ascent up the west rim trail. The trail becomes steep very quickly, and there isn't much shade, so an early start is recommended. The views of the river and canyon below is breathtaking, and the colors of the canyon walls are amazingly comforting, and very inviting.
It was Deborah's turn this week to choose the ingredient for Sunday Small Bites, and she chose pumpkin.Honestly, I am not a pumpkin kind of girl, and I can count on one hand the times I've had pumpkin in my life, and it is normally in a pie. So, I decided to challenge myself and make something different. Searching the internet, I came across a recipe for pumpkin bisque on Cooking With Pumpkin website.and decided to give it a go.Below is my adapted recipe:
Pumpkin Bisque
Olive oil
1 medium white onion (diced)
1 garlic clove diced
2 cups pumpkin puree
4 cups chicken stock
Bay leaf
Pinch of sugar
1/2 tsp. of curry powder
Pinch of nutmeg
2 cups half-and-half
Salt and pepper
Toasted shredded coconut
These colorful wooden buoys tied to the sides of this lobster restaurant in Bar Harbor, Maine are cute, but they are only a decorative display.In a more practical sense, distinctive buoys are tied to lobster traps by lobstermen to recognize their catch.
Imagine yourself walking upstream in a river, under the shadows of soaring canyon walls, with hanging gardens, sandstone grottos, natural springs and waterfalls surrounding you. Imagine wading water while walking, the river is your trail,and the canyon walls are the boundaries.At some point, the river water is at your waist level, and it is cold, but you are unable to move ahead, mesmerized by the allure of the canyon as you gaze up, your eyes are greeted by blue skies, and your brain is asking you to move, the cold is spreading through your body, but you are just gazing helplessly. This was my experience hiking Zion Narrows.
The Narrows is the spectacular gorge carved by the Virgin river in Zion canyon. It is 16 miles long, up t0 2000 feet deep and at times only 20-30 feet. It is the most unique hike I've ever done, and among the most gorgeous, tiring and fun trails I've been on.
It was my turn this week to select the secret ingredient for the appetizer, and I chose mushrooms. I love mushrooms and cook them very often. I love them on pizzas, I saute them with green beans for side dishes, I bake them in casseroles, and I order them very often from appetizer menus when we eat out. I thought I'd challenge myself and make my own mushroom appetizer at home. I found a recipe from stuffed mushrooms in the Jan/Feb issue of Southern Lady and decided to try it. I am happy to report that we were not disappointed; the flavors complemented each others perfectly, creating delicious mushroom bites.
