Winnemucca Lake

 On Thursday, we and our two youngest children took a two hour drive up to
Carson Pass (elevation 8,652 fee)

for a 5 mile round trip hike to
Winnemucca Lake (elevation 9,000 feet).

Soaking our feet in the icy-cold stream -
Oh, that is so refreshing!

A cool place to go when the temperatures in the valley are 104 degrees.

~ Brilliant mountain flowers ~

It was a lovely day.

Luscious Apple Cake

I made banana bread and had doubled the recipe.

And then, to my disappointment, 

I found that I had forgotten to add the melted butter.

So, there I was with two sticks of melted butter.

I decided to make luscious apple cake.

It uses the same amount of butter (as long as I doubled the recipe).

~~~♥~~~

This recipe from my sister notes -

This cake serves 25 hungry men or 35 slender women.

Luscious Apple Cake

2 cups flour

2 cups packed brown sugar

1/2 cup butter, room temperature

1 cup chopped walnuts

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 egg

1 cup sour cream

1 teaspoon vanilla

2  cups finely chopped tart apples 

Vanilla ice cream - optional

Preheat oven to 350°
Lightly grease a 9" x 13" baking pan.

Combine first 3 ingredients in a medium mixing bowl. Mix until crumbled. Stir in nuts. Press 2 cups of mixture into bottom of baking ban. (This step is what makes this cake so luscious.)

To remaining mixture, add cinnamon, baking soda, and salt. Blend well. Beat in egg, sour cream and vanilla. Gently stir in apples. Spoon batter evenly into baking pan. Bake until cake begins to pull away from sides of pan and knife inserted in center comes out clean, about 35-40 minutes. Let cool completely in pan. Cut into squares. Top win ice cream, if desired.  

~~~♥~~~

By the way: 

It turned out that the banana bread tasted delicious even without the butter. 

No one even noticed the missing ingredient.

A Day in the Mountains

Saturday was a free fishing day for Californians.

My husband and his "best man" planned a day on the lake.

 While the fellows went off on their manly quest...

 my daughter and I relaxed on the best man's upper deck.

 ~ View of property from the deck ~

~ View of home from back yard ~

The day ended with a picnic on the lower deck.

Now, that's a masterpiece. 

~ Deer on the property ~

These Feet Were Made for Walking

I love walking.

It is a perfect exercise, so easy to do.

 I walked 250.5 miles in June,

an average of 8.35 miles per day.

Most days I walked 8 miles, some days 5 miles.

My lowest two days were 2 miles and 3 miles.

The last 5 days of June I started walking 15 miles a day.

 ~Time for new shoes ~

My goal for July is to average 10 miles a day.

I watched the movie The Way, a few months ago, about several travelers 

who walk the Camino de Santiago through Spain and France.

The movie sparked a dream inside of me.

I probably will never walk through Europe, 

but I would like to maybe someday walk across the U.S.

My husband is not so big on the idea; however, one never really knows...

When I am out walking each day, 

through heat, thirst, and sweat,

I visualize that dream.

Saturday Morning Donuts at Gibson Ranch

Saturday mornings usually mean 

powdered sugar doughnuts and coffee with my daughter.

We decided to do something extra special

and get the fabulously scrumptious cinnamon rolls

at Marie's Donuts
and eat them here at Gibson Ranch.

 Although it may look as though we are sharing one doughnut,

we actually splurged on two. [That's mine :) ]

 This is Gibson Ranch.

Cabin Rentals

A place for horse lovers as well as picnickers.

 We used to take our children here often when they were little.

My sisters and I used to ride our bikes to Gibson Ranch

 when I was 18 years old.

It was a beautiful morning for

a walk down memory lane.

Father's Day Turkey on the Grill

I love that my darling husband enjoys cooking on the grill.

He has always wanted to grill a turkey, 

but I have always like it roasted in the oven because I wanted the gravy.

What do you know, 

He got his grilled turkey, and I still got my gravy. (I saved it for another meal.)

And boy oh boy did this grilled turkey taste delicious!

That darling man always cuts the whole turkey and cleans the carcass.

That is not an easy job.

~ Menu ~

Grilled turkey

baked beans

Artisan bread

Potato salad

Tossed salad

Fresh salsa

Pasta

Banana cream pie

~~~♥~~~

Griddle Cakes

~ Father's Day Breakfast ~

Recipe from:
~ Joy of Cooking ~

Ingredients:

Sift before measuring:

• 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

Resift with:

• 1 teaspoon salt
• 3 tablespoons sugar
• 1 3/4 teaspoons double-acting baking powder

Combine:

• 1 to 2 beaten whole eggs
• 3 tablespoons melted butter
• 1 to 1 1/4 cups milk

Mix the liquid ingredients quickly into the dry ingredients. 

Test griddle: let a few drops of cold water fall on griddle. If the water bounces and sputters, the griddle is ready. If the water just sits and boils, the griddle is not hot enough. If the water vanishes, the griddle is too hot.

Cook about 2-3 minutes before turning. When bubbles appear on surface, but before they break, lift the cakes to check brownness. Turn and cook until done.

Makes about fourteen 4-inch Cakes

~~~♥~~~

Happy Father's Day!