Hiking in many parts of the Southwest involves being in bear country. While a lot of folks only think of the desert parts of the Southwest, there are actually quite a few active bear areas throughout the Southwest. In my home state of Arizona alone – much of the northern and eastern parts of the […]
Long Canyon Trail/Deadmans Pass Trail/Mescal Trail Loop – Sedona, Arizona
On one of our “adventure days” up north we wanted to get a peek at Long Canyon Trail in Sedona. However, Long Canyon is an out and back trail. We were looking to do a loop so you never see the same bit of trail twice. We ended up catching a tiny bit of Long […]
Quesadillas – Pie Iron Recipe
Quesadillas are a staple in our house. I’m not exaggerating when I say that we have them at least once a week. They’re a quick and easy dinner or lunch and they’re delicious. Strangely enough I’ve not made them while camping. I guess I didn’t really associate them with being a camping food. But after […]
Breathing Life Into Your Breakfast Leftovers: The Camping Burrito Recipe
Camping burritos are the camper’s version of the classic Tex-Mex burrito. They’re the holy grail of camping recipes, being easy to make, very transportable (you can make it ahead of time then just heat it in the campsite), and tastes heavenly. They’re usually pre-cooked at home, but you can also cook right at your campsite. […]
Little Horse Trail/Chapel Trail – Sedona, Arizona
I will admit that I only picked Little Horse Trail because it ended on something called Chicken Point. How cool of a name is that for an area? Lucky for me – you pretty much can’t go wrong when hiking in and around Sedona and these trails did not disappoint. You can see Chicken Point […]
Pizza Pocket – Pie Iron Recipe
As soon as my fourth grader got a taste of breakfast pies, it turned into her favorite breakfast. One day as she was sitting eating one, inspiration seemed to strike her and she turned to me and while pointing to the pie irons said: “could you make a pizza pocket in those?” And of course […]
Dutch Oven Pinto Beans Recipe
Pinto beans are best kept simple, so in this savory pinto beans recipe we’ll do just that. Some recipes, like what some people call “cowboy beans,” call for loads of sugar and other ingredients, when at its simplest, a good pinto beans recipe doesn’t need anything more than salt, pepper and some sort of fat […]
Homemade Hot Cocoa Mix Recipe
Drinking hot cocoa while camping is one of my oldest and fondest memories. I remember waking up in our tent and being SO DARN COLD. After struggling to get my clothes on while still in my sleeping bag, I would shiver my way out of the tent towards the fire. There was nothing quite like […]
Breakfast Pie – Pie Iron Recipe
To further my new relationship with my pie irons – I thought I’d try something for breakfast. I love scrambled eggs with cheese and toast in the morning so I thought it might make sense to simply make it into a pie of sorts in the pie iron. I was also craving chorizo so I […]
Tree Springs Trail – Sandia Mountains, New Mexico
Tree Springs Trail lies a little further than halfway up the eastern slope of the Sandia Mountains, just east of Albuquerque. This eastern slope is much more hospitable to hikers than the mostly sheer cliffs of the western side, but any hike here still involves a significant amount of altitude change. The rabbit’s warren of […]