Racking and Caning

That's the next step for my first beer.  Although the recipe says we can skip this step and go straight to bottling, we're going to rack this beer with a cane and put it in secondary.  Sounds like torture.

We actually could have done this step on Sunday, so we keep to the weekends for brewing - which I prefer.  But this past weekend was Labor Day, the last long weekend - and the last campout - of the season.  So Greg assured me we could wait a few days before bottling (and brewing the next beer).

On Wednesday, when Greg, James, and I headed up to the camp ground, the forecast was rain, with more rain, and a cold front moving in over the weekend.  Dubious camping conditions, to be sure.  But we were taking tarps and awnings and a truck FULL of wood, so we figured we'd make it through.  And instead of the rain we had sunshine, clear skies (cold nights), and a beautiful weekend.

I intended to take more pictures, knowing that I've started blogging again - and even if my blog may center around my beer-making activities, this counts (since it delayed my next beer).  Instead, you get the best two scenery shots, and a warning picture of what can happen at the end of the life of an air mattress.

There has been some internal hemorrhaging in our air mattress.  And every now and then you could hear a new pop - something else in there let go.  Originally the only external sign of damage was that a couple of the divots bumped up instead of bowing down like they're supposed to.  We've continued to use the mattress over the summer, each trip another pop or two.  Until this time.  The last night on the mattress, as Greg was going to bed, it sounded like several soft gunshots (or some very loud, hard farts), and the night was very uncomfortable.  In the morning, after giving thanks for several years of good camping use, we snapped pictures of the deformity, deflated the mattress, and sent it off to the dump.  There's another one in the shed, but I don't know if it holds air.  I'll have to test it before camping next summer so I know whether or not we need to get a new one...

We got home early evening on Monday and spent the rest of the time unpacking, showering, cleaning, and getting ready to go back to the real world.  Tuesday was supposed to be the next step in the beer dance, as well as beginning a new flavor.  Problem is, I haven't picked the next recipe I want to try.  To be precise, I've picked some recipes that I want to try, but they won't be done in time for our Halloween party, and I really want at least one more brew ready for tasting by then.

We decided to transfer the first beer into a secondary.  Greg says it won't hurt anything, it'll just make the beer a little clearer and there will be less sediment when we go to the bottling stage.  Because I'd like to have two batches ready for Halloween, we've opted to make this recipe a second time, but not put it through the second transfer.  This will let me see the difference in clarity and taste (if any).  We'll also be brewing a fruit beer - as soon as I pick the recipe - but it won't be ready for consumption by the end of October.

 

We're doing all our brewing activities on the deck or in the kitchen right now.  At some point, we'll have things set up so we can work out of the garage, hopefully over the winter so we don't get frostbite.  So Greg lugged the beer upstairs so we could make the transfer.  It's messy because of the yeast-y overflow.

To make the transfer (rack the beer), we use a cane with a flexible hose attached.  The cane is just a long, hard plastic tube that is held in the beer, the hose goes to the soon-to-be-filled carboy.  The most difficult part (aside from making sure everything is sanitized) is creating the siphon.  We filled the cane and tube with sanitized water, making sure there was no air in the line (harder than it sounds, for someone who's only siphoned gas one time years and years ago and ended up with a mouthful of nastiness).  Once this is done, Greg inserted the cane in the beer, down to just above the sediment layer, and the end of the flex-tube into a bowl (so we could drain the water without putting it in the new carboy).  After the water was flushed out, the tube went into the new carboy and the beer started flowing.  In all, it took longer to sanitize before and after the process than it did to transfer the beer.  Now it'll sit for a while in the secondary - while we figure out if we've got enough bottles, get more if needed, and get them sanitized - before we head to the bottling stage.  Now it's time to decide the next recipe and start the process over again...

Squirrel Creek, Finis

Ah, the last bit.  Sad to see a fun weekend come to an end, but at this point I'm definitely looking forward to a shower...

We made it back to camp, only to find that Squirrel Creek wasn't near as rainy as Valdez - which is a good omen for a BIG fire!  It helps that we've got a lot of wood left, and the goal is to burn the box before we go too.

It was a weekend filled with friends and visiting; games and geocaching; fun and relaxing.  How can you beat that?!?  We even had some tunes and dancing...

 

The last day, we took our time packing up - mostly because it was nice to not be in a rush, but also because we had to finish burning the box.  The journey home was peppered with stops - for geochaching, of course.

 

All in all, a beautiful weekend (even with the rainy bits), spent with family and friends.  I can't think of a better way to spend my time...

Squirrel Creek, Part II

One of the reasons I enjoy camping at Squirrel Creek is that we usually take one day and go road-trippin' to Valdez.  We stop along the way to see Worthington Glacier and get pictures at the waterfalls.  And I have the extra special added bonus of getting to see Sara for a little while.  Yay!

The glacier has receded significantly over the last few years.  Used to be that you could walk 5 minutes off the paved trail and be standing next to blue ice taller than you.  Now it's a bit of a hike before you get close - but it's still visible (unlike Portage Glacier, where you have to take one of the little cruises to get within binocular distance).

Nita and I opted to wait at the car for the hikers, and to pass the time she fed the birds.  Seagulls.  A whole herd of them.  Not sure what seagulls are doing hanging out at a glacier, but it was fun to watch.  I admit to ducking a couple times, and covering my head.  Didn't want to get pooped on when it's going to be a while before I could get cleaned up...  (Well, really didn't want to get pooped on at all, but especially not if I have to wear it for another hour or two.)  I overheard some tourists talking about how it feels just like home, because Utah's state bird is the sea gull.  I wanted to rush over and see if they knew any of my family that's from there, but I refrained...  =)

Valdez is absolutely beautiful - even in the rain.  We've been lucky some years to have sunshine, and then the vista is stunning!  But I wouldn't live there in the winter.  I've heard they can get 10 - 20 feet of snow - so much that people have to tunnel out of their houses to get anyplace.  No thanks!

 

Sara's work is in the lower right corner of the 2nd picture

We visited, did some sight-seeing, and got to eat dinner with Sara.  Through it all, there was a fine mist - not really rain, but grey clouds and enough dampness to eventually bead up on our clothes.  When it was finally time to say goodbye, the heavens opened up and there was torrential rain.  Methinks that might've been the elements expressing my emotions...  =)  Anyhow.  I intended to get our picture with a nice background (like a scenic mountain or somesuch), but settled for the parking lot with the burger joint where we had dinner.

Heading back to camp the weather got milder and milder, until it was cloudy with no rain at all.  Which is perfect weather to have a fire and roast marshmallows.  And that's the way we ended our road-trippin' day.  I've got a few more photos to share, so it looks like there'll be one more post about this utterly fantastic weekend.  Yay!!

Squirrel Creek, Park I

I've been looking forward to the 4th of July weekend for ages!  A long weekend (I took Friday off too), and we're going camping.  Yay!  Working a full day, then loading up for camping generally means a late start.  But who cares? since I don't have to work on Friday anyway.  Sweet!!  We loaded up an old friend for the last trip...

Years ago, Greg made a box to fit his ladder rack so we could bring extra wood and have BIG fires.  This is the last campout for the box.  Fitting then, that the first and last trips are both to Squirrel Creek.  Between packing, mounting the box, and loading the gear, we didn't leave until almost 10pm.  Kinda late, especially for this trip, but what the hell?  We can always sleep in once the tents are up...

We arrived on location at 3am, had the tents up by 4am, then sat around the fire until 7am.  It's been absolutely forever since I've been up for more than 24 hours.  Must be a sign of getting old - I used to be able to stay up late and get up early for days on end without it seeming to impact me.  Now, a solid 8 hours is good (I like 10 better), but I can survive on 5 or 6 for a day or two.  No more than that without going totally nutso, having a psychotic breakdown, and collapsing into a sleep coma for three days of recovery.  Twenty-some years ago, 40 seemed ancient - as if those old fogies are ready to push up daisies, just put 'em in a wheelchair and get some diapers right now - but now that I'm almost there, I don't feel that much different from when I was 25 or so (except I need more sleep)...  Anyhow.  I digress.

 

The next couple days are filled with fun, fires, and friends.  Such a wonderful weekend!!  We even satisfied another "tradition".  At a previous campout - in the same camp ground, at the same site, even - we found that squirrels can (and will) eat through the plastic to get at the licorice in the 5# Costco tub.  This year, we found that they'll eat through the Gladware bin to get to the fruits and nuts.

I have several more pictures that I want to share - I'll try not to be too boring - so I'll add them to the next post.  Besides, that includes the next adventure: heading to Valdez to see Sara.  Campfire, fresh air, falling asleep to the sound of running water...  Can't think of a better way to spend the weekend.

First Campout of the Season

I didn't realize how much I'd been looking forward to this campout until Greg couldn't find spots for us.  The campground we originally wanted to stay at is closed for the season - beetle killed trees that they're cleaning up, or something like that.  So he headed north instead, looking for our weekend homestead.  Two campgrounds later, and he called me to let me know that nothing's open... Maybe we can camp in the back yard?  No way.  If we're not camping, I'm not going to drag out all our gear just to set it up in the backyard.  So he headed south, and eventually found us spots at Bertha Creek Campground.

 

Initially I wanted to be a bit closer to town, since I was staying the night then driving back in to Anchorage so I could work on Friday.  (I didn't take Friday off, and I was worried - what with the long weekend and the nice weather - that we wouldn't be able to find a site, even on Thursday night...  seems like other people maybe had the same idea.)  Looks like the mother of necessity breeds willingness to camp farther afield (isn't that how the saying goes?).  So we ended up at Bertha Creek.  It's south of Anchorage, but significantly higher elevation.  There was still snow, and the leaves hadn't opened from buds yet.

 

But it was a site to put up tents and get a fire going - yay!  I didn't even mind having to get up super-early so I could drive home to take a shower and get in to work at a decent time.  I don't know how people commute for and hour or more one way.  That's so much time that I could use for so many other things: sleeping, reading, blogging, relaxing at home, sleeping...

 

It was such a lovely weekend!  I love sitting around the campfire, relaxing and visiting with friends and family.  I even tried a new flavor combination: peanut butter, strawberry jam, and bacon.  Bacon really does make everything taste better!

I'm looking forward to this summer and the other camping trips we have planned.  *Fingers crossed* that the weather this summer is better than last year - less rain, more sun, and plenty of big fires!!

King Mountain Campout

For my second (and final) campout of the season, I went to King Mountain with Todd and Anita.  It's been such a rainy summer that I was really glad the weather seemed like it was going to behave for the weekend.  Friday was absolutely gorgeous.  In fact, I meant to go to work... even got to the parking lot... where I decided that there wasn't really that much work for me to do, and it wasn't critical for me to stay.  So I called my folks and let them know that I wouldn't be in (apparently sun-itis can strike randomly and hard, especially when your summer has been drenched in rain and you think you're developing webbed feet).  Then I took a lovely drive out to the campground.

There's just something wonderfully relaxing about being outside, sitting around a fire, visiting, and watching the stars come out at night.  It's so peaceful.  Even though I'm not in my big, fancy, memory-foam, spring-loaded bed, (and there might be bears), I sleep really well when I'm camping.  Unless my nose or toes get cold, of course.  (It also seems that I need less sleep - I generally get fewer hours of sleep per night, but wake up earlier and more refreshed than I would at home.  Must be the crisp, clean air...)

Anyhow.  We picked King Mountain again this fall so we could go to the fair.  What?  The fair, you say?  Haven't you already been there?  Yup.  Going twice this year!  I'm for sure going to repeat on the cheese curds, pickles, and pretzel.  Everything else depends on whatever strikes my fancy...

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We interrupt this post about camping to bring you an update on my 2nd trip to the fair...

More face-painting, more eating, more fun.  The pregnant cow was gone (off to give birth?) and an even bigger pumpkin was on display (1101 lbs. - a new state record - instead of 902).  Also more rain.

But we had some ponchos and of course the vendors are going to be prepared for our typical fair weather.  Gloves, knit caps, full-size umbrellas, ball caps,and elasticized umbrella caps... there were any number of ways to keep from being drenched.  (Not so much luck staying dry, but damp was fine.)

 

 

And apparently I'm not the sharpest knife in the drawer.  Did I learn my lesson from last week about bringing dry socks and shoes?  Nope.  Feet so wet I was sloshing and the soles were itchy by the time we were done with our fair excursion.  Maybe I'll figure it out in time for the fair next year...

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We now return you to your regularly scheduled camp trip to King Mountain....

It's amazing how well a warm fire works for drying out the dampness of a rainy day spent at the fair.  Of course, it helps to get clean, dry socks so after your feet are de-pruned you can slip into some nice, fire-warmed socks and dry shoes.  A little relaxing, more chatting, and some game-play makes for a really enjoyable evening.

We were originally planning to head home on Sunday, to have Monday free to unpack and get ready for the work week.  Plans changed when I found out Greg was coming home from his hike excursion early, and they'd be passing right by the camp ground.  (That's some authentic frontier gibberish)  The group stopped in to visit for a bit, dumped my husband and his gear, then headed out.  And our small group decided that  it was worth one more night of camping before we headed back to reality. (You don't see that everyday)

Turns out, the best weather of the whole weekend (aside from the fabulous Friday drive) was on Monday.  I'm grateful we opted to stay the extra day.  Between the good weather, marvelous companionship, and relaxing atmosphere, that did more to get me ready for the coming week than any amount of housework and clean laundry could have done.  (Can't talk! Drinkin'...)

Now it's time to clean the gear and pack it away for the winter.  (Nope.)  Maybe next year's weather will allow for more than two campouts.  Although, if we only get two, may they be as enjoyable and lovely as this one.  (Hell, yeah! Got a wiener dog.)