Road Trip - 2nd Destination

Now that you've seen our 1st Destination,

which was the Beartooth Highway, it's

time to visit our 2nd one.

So strap on your seatbelt and ride

along with us.

 

We arrived at our next destination somewhere

around 8:30-9:00 a.m.

 

Welcome to

Yellowstone National Park

 

 

As soon as we entered the park,

directly to our right, were

3 mule deer.

 

 

 

This Buck really didn't want to be seen.  I tried

to get a good shot of him but he was being

a little camera shy.

 

We meander our way thru the park

for awhile until we arrived at

Yellowstone Lake.

 



 

We're starting to see some geysers!

 

 

 

The smell of sulphur was so strong.  It smelled

like rotten eggs.  But that didn't deter us from

the beauty of the lake.

 

We finally reached a spot where we could

pull over and get a picture with

the lake behind us.

 

 

You could actually hear the geysers coming

up out of the ground.  It was so cool to hear that.

You can tell that Hubby doesn't use the

camera much.  He got me with my

eyes closed.  Well, it was pretty sunny out and

it was hitting me in the face.  So I'll forgive him

this little blip.

 

 

 

There were geyser everywhere along the way.

 

 

 

We spotted a buffalo by the lake.

I was really hoping to see a bear.  Bummer.

 



 



Oh my Gosh!  Is that a bear I see by the lake?

 

 

Not only is it a bear, it's a Grizzly Bear!

 

He blessed us with his presence by walking

right up to our car!

 

Just look at him!

 

I was flipping out!  I was so excited and trying to

get a good shot of him.  I didn't want to miss

this opportunity.  Apparently not many

people get to see a grizzly in the wild!

 

I took this shot out the back window.

Just look at those claws!

You don't realize how massive they are

until you see one in person.

 

Isn't he beautiful!?

 

 

After watching him for a while we continued

on our way.

 

We crossed the Continental Divide 3 times while

in the park.

 

 

This is exciting!  Let's continue on.

 

The next stop along the way was

Lewis Falls.

 

 

It was so beautiful.  The water was crystal clear.

This picture was taken from the bridge.

 

 

 

There is a short trail that you can walk to get closer to

the falls.

 

 

 

Looking down from the top of the falls.

 

 

 

This was the view across the road from the falls.

 

 

We were on a tight timeframe so we only spent

about 4 hours in Yellowstone.  There is SO

MUCH more to see.  We'll save that for

another time.

 

As we were leaving the park this elk was walking

right toward us.  It just looked at us

and continued on it way.

 

That's it for today.

Make sure you get your rest,

there's lots more to come!

 

Until next time,

 

Veronica

 

 

 

 

 

The Sweet Taste of Fall

Now that Fall is officially upon us I've

been hankering to make some caramel corn.

 

I've never made it before but I figured

what the heck I'll give it a try.

 

I didn't want a recipe that took a lot of time or was complicated.

So I searched for the easiest recipe I could find that sounded like

it would be easy and yummy.

 

Well, I think I found it!

EASY & YUMMY!

 

And cleanup was a breeze!
*Use nonstick pans*

 

Just look at all that YUMMINESS!

 

Yes, that really is made by little ole me.

 

 

Doesn't it look delish?

Just look at all that beautiful buttery, caramel color!

 

I bet you're wondering how I made it, right?

 

I must WARN you first though.

 

THIS STUFF IS ADDICTIVE!

 

Once you make this you won't want to eat the

store bought stuff again.

 

So follow along with my step by step instructions and you

too can make this yummy caramel corn in a matter of minutes.

 

*The recipe will be posted at the end of this post.

 

First gather all of your ingredients and supplies needed.

(Oops, I forgot to include my jellyroll pans)

 

 

Line your jellyroll pans with waxpaper and set aside.

 

You will need to pop 7 quarts of popcorn.

  (I cheated and used microwave popcorn)

3 bags of Orville Redenbacher's Butter = 7 quarts

 

Place the popped popcorn in a large greased baking pan and add the peanuts, set aside.

(I used my nonstick roasting pan)

 

Combine the brown sugar, corn syrup, butter and salt in a

nonstick saucepan. 

 

 

Bring the mixture to a boil over medium heat,

stirring enough to blend.  Once the mixture begins to boil,

boil for 5 minutes, stirring constantly.

 

 

Remove from the heat, and stir in the baking soda and vanilla.

The mixture will look light and foamy.  Immediately pour

over the popcorn.

 

I think this picture turned out pretty good.  I was pouring the

mixture and taking a picture with my other hand at the same time.

I wouldn't recommend doing this though.

 

Stir to coat.

Don't worry about getting all of the popcorn coated at this time.

 

 

Grab your brown paper grocery bags and place half of the mixture

into each bag.

 

Microwave each bag on high for 30-40 seconds.

Remove the bag from the microwave and give it a good shake.

Repeat microwaving and shaking for a total of 4 times for each bag.

 

 

Spread the caramel corn onto your prepared jellyroll pans and let cool.

Break up any large pieces.

 



 

 

When your done, just throw the bags in the trash!

Easy, Breezy, right?

 

 

So grab your caramel corn and a good movie

and enjoy this deliciously, buttery caramel corn.

 

 

 

CARAMEL CORN

 

7 quarts popped Popcorn (3 bags Orville Redenbacher's Microwave Butter Popcorn)

2 cups Spanish Peanuts, or nuts of your choice (optional)

2 cups Golden Brown Sugar

1/2 cup Light Corn Syrup

1 teaspoon Salt

1/2 cup Butter

1/2 teaspoon Baking Soda

1 teaspoon Vanilla Extract

 

 Line your jellyroll pans with waxpaper and set aside.  Pop your popcorn and place in your greased baking pan and set aside.

 

Combine the brown sugar, corn syrup, butter and salt in a nonstick saucepan.  Bring the mixture to a boil over medium heat, stirring enough to blend.  Once the mixture begins to boil, boil for 5 minutes, stirring constantly.

 

Remove from the heat, and stir in the baking soda and vanilla. The mixture will look light and foamy.  Immediately pour over the popcorn.  Stir to coat. Don't worry about getting all of the popcorn coated at this time. Grab your brown paper grocery bags and place half of the mixture into each bag.

 Microwave each bag on high for 30-40 seconds. Remove the bag from the microwave and give it a good shake.  Repeat microwaving and shaking for a total of 4 times for each bag. Spread the caramel corn onto your prepared jellyroll pans and let cool. Break up any large pieces.

 

Happy Snacking!

 

Veronica

 



Road Trip - 3,200 miles

*I just noticed that this post didn't post.
Here is the 1st leg of our trip.

WARNING: This post is picture heavy!

 

Hubby and I were scheduled to attend another Investing Seminar in



Utah.

 

We decided to take a week of vacation and drive out and

do some sightseeing.

 

Let me just say this was one jammed packed vacation and

we enjoyed every minute of it!

We couldn't have had more beautiful weather.
Beautiful sunny days and the temps were 75-83 every day.  Perfect
for sightseeing.

 

*Since I took so many pictures I am going to break this down

into 4 different posts.

 

We left home on Monday morning around 6:30 a.m. and drove all the

way to Rapid City, South Dakota before stopping for the night.

 

I snapped a picture of the Mighty Missississippi as we

drove by it.  I couldn't get a picture from the bridge as they had the
whole bridge under construction with high walls along the whole thing!
So this was the best shot I could get.

 

 

and one of the Missouri River.  This was taken from the rest stop.

 

 

Tuesday morning was another early rising day.

We headed out early to drive the Beartooth Highway.

 

This is just a little clip of information that I got from

the Friends of the Beartooth All-American Road website:

 

Heralded as one of the most scenic drives in the United States, the Beartooth Highway, a National Scenic Byways All-American Road, features breathtaking views of the Absaroka and Beartooth Mountains, and open high alpine plateaus dotted with countless glacial lakes, forested valleys, waterfalls and wildlife.
The Beartooth All-American Road passes through what is known today as the Beartooth Corridor. Surrounded by the Custer, Gallatin, and Shoshone National Forests, traveling parallel to the Absaroka-Beartooth Wilderness, and abutting Yellowstone National Park, the Highway sits in a million-plus acre wilderness. Visitors have the rare opportunity to experience and explore pristine, untouched alpine and montane landscapes, lush forests, and alpine tundra in the space of a few miles. It is one of the highest and most rugged areas in the lower 48 states, with 20 peaks reaching over 12,000 feet in elevation. In the surrounding mountains, glaciers are found on the north flank of nearly every mountain peak over 11,500 feet high. The Road itself is the highest elevation highway in Wyoming (10,947 feet) and Montana (10,350 feet), and is the highest elevation highway in the Northern Rockies.

 

This is the speed limit once you hit Wyoming.
(click on the picture to get a bigger view)

That's just CRAZY!

We usually drove around 72 and people were zooming

past us.

 

 

 

We are just starting to see the Rocky Mountains.

Do you see the snow on them?

 

Here are a couple of closer pictures of the Rockies.

 

 

Check out the name of the 1st road on the road sign.

I didn't even notice it until I was cropping my pictures.

 

 



 

The Beartooth Highway is a 68 mile drive which

winds it's way through southwest Montana and

northwest Wyoming.

 

The Beartooth Highway will not disappoint!

It truly was one of the most beautiful drives we have taken!

 

This is just going into the Beartooth Highway.

 

 

Each corner you turned you got another beautiful view.

 

 

 



 



 



 

 

A lot of the Ranches along the Beartooth Highway are

free range ranches.  It's a good thing they have

signs up stating this fact.  We came around

a really sharp curve and this is what we saw.

That was one BIG bull!

He sure took his good old time getting across the road!

 

 



 

 

I hope you enjoyed a few of my pictures from the

Beartooth Highway.

 

Stay tuned for the next leg of our journey.

 

Happy Traveling,

 

Veronica