The Outdoor Princess

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Welcome to 2012! There’s a tradition in the EatStayPlay.com “Royal” Family of spending some time every January 1st to write down our goals for the coming year. This year, however, those plans were derailed by needing to prep for the arrival of all new carpet in my parents’ house.

But, just because it wasn’t a formal goal setting session, that doesn’t mean that I don’t have some goals and plans for 2012.

This year, I’m trying to minimize the goals like “52 weeks of 5 blog posts a week” and substitute it for goals like “meaningful blog posts, every week” to give myself some flexibility and recognize that real life happens while I’m NOT on the computer.

Of course, I do have some goals that are pretty specific. One such is to hunt down all the posts where I’ve promised I’d work on updates and changes and actually get them done! And yes, I realize that it might be for my own piece of mind rather than because it is just absolutely necessary that every single yurt in Montana be listed on the website.

One of the things I’ve got planned for 2012 is to see the culmination of a year’s hard work on my part for Arizona’s Centennial Project. After all, Arizona is the 48th state in the union so that means that in our lifetime there will only be THREE more state centennials. I find that exciting to be part of history.

I also have big plans to nurture my creativity in more eBooks and videos. I’ve got quite a few projects in the beginning phases that I just can’t wait to get to.

What about you:

Do you set goals for the coming year? What are they?

It’s that time of year again: Snow has come to Flagstaff, AZ. And that means that the updated 2011-2012 Flagstaff Snow Guide is now available.

As always, this is a 100% free publication. All you have to do is provide your email address so I can send you any updates that might occur over the course of the snow season.

Flagstaff is the MUST-VISIT Arizona winter destination for all things snow: sledding, skiing, snowboarding, and snow play. There are even places to cross country ski, snowshoe, and ride snowmobiles. In Arizona! (Crazy, I know!)

Your eGuide is a 32 page printable Adobe .pdf book. It is Mac and PC compatible and you can print it all, a selection of pages, or save it to your laptop computer to take with you.

Do you own a Flagstaff business? Would you like to promote it in the Snow Guide? Contact Kim at Info@EatStayPlay.com Pricing starts at just $50 for an ad that will be seen by THOUSANDS of Flagstaff winter visitors.

Download yours today!

Last month I had the privilege of visiting Horseshoe Bend Overlook near Page, Arizona.

This was a short hike from the parking area. But don’t let the word “short” confuse you with EASY. The hike starts out from a dirt parking lot and promptly climbs STRAIGHT UP A SANDY HILL.

And this Arizona Princess really doesn’t like getting sand in my shoes! But, thankfully, my guide for the day, Andy, warned me about the sand so I was prepared with my boots and sticker gaiters.

From the top of the hill, the vistas all around are simply breath-taking. So much so I didn’t actually TAKE any photos! But, from the top of the rise you can see Echo Peaks to the west, near the confluence of the Paria River with the Colorado. The dark line of the Vermilion Cliffs lies farther west, while Navajo Mountain stands behind, to the east.

It’s well worth a pause just to look around and enjoy. But we were in a hurry, so it was a quick stop to catch my breath and then a rapid plunge down the far side to the overlook itself.

Needless to say, the views of the Colorado River below are nothing short of stunning. The water was a lovely blue-green that just invited a lazy paddle. Of course, while it looked like it was RIGHT THERE, the water is actually nearly 1,100 feet below. Yikes! I’m not usually bothered by heights, but it did make me a bit queasy.

 

It wasn’t the best time of day for photos, but the views were just amazing. And we managed to hit the overlook in a lull between crowds of people. The hike is 1.5 miles round trip but it is up and over a pretty considerable hill. It was cool enough that I wore a sweatshirt TO the parking lot but toasty enough for me to leave it in the car.

I look forward to going back when I have more time to sit, enjoy, sketch, and get some better pictures!

After a few minutes enjoying the view, it was back in the car and back to Andy’s where he made Navajo Fry Bread. Yum!

International Geocaching Day

The first International Geocaching Day was celebrated on Saturday August 20, 2011. Geocaching.com says that this will be an annual affaire held on the third Saturday of August each year.

If you found a cache or attended an event on 8/20/11 you will get a special souvenir on your profile on geocaching.com. (Souvenirs will be awarded soon but as of today, nothing has appeared yet!)

Not only did I drag ESP Boss and The Queen Mother out for a “quick” cache on Saturday, I also celebrated my 100th find. I had been “saving” lucky number 100 for a special occasion…

Okay, not really. I tried to get to 100 two weeks ago when I was caching with Sandy but struck out.

Anyway, not only did I get my 100th find on a very neat day in geocaching history but it was also the first ever micro placed by local caching couple jeananjoe that the EatStayPlay.com “Royal” Family successfully found.

Very cool!

I know every caching area as “THAT ONE” cache hider who is so mean, ruthless, and nigh impossible to find their caches. Well, the micros of jeananjoe are my cache-placing nemesis.

And we found it!

 

Readers Weigh In:

• Did you participate in International Geocaching Day? What did you do/find?

Remember how a couple of weeks ago I mentioned that Utah was missing state parks and that Sandy was researching them? Well, when I sat down this weekend to ADD them to the EatStayPlay.com database, I found a whole bunch of OTHER attractions that were done but not loaded.

Oh no!

So, over the next week or so, be on the lookout for the following:

Cabins & Yurts in Montana (79)
Rentable lookout towers in Montana (13)
Charles M. Russell National Wildlife Refuge & related attractions (21)
Texas State Historic Parks (80)
Grand Teton National Park in Wyoming (8)
Utah State Parks (137)

So, I thought I had 137 attractions to add and ended up with 338!

Guess I have my work cut out for me! But keep checking back to see these new attractions.

INGREDIENTS

• 1 can chili
• 1 can pinto beans
• 1 lb ground hamburger
• Rice (minute rice is nice for camping)
• 1 bag Fritos®
• Shredded cheese

Brown hamburger and drain off fat. Season to taste. Set aside in a covered dish to stay warm. Cook rice. Heat the chili in a small sauce pan. In a second sauce pan, heat the beans.

(Yes, if you like it, you can substitute chili with beans!)

Pour Fritos® into a zippered bag and crush.

In a soup bowl, layer the rice, beans, chili, and meat. Top with the crushed Fritos® and shredded cheese.

This recipe is included in the eBook “Camp Cooking from the EatStayPlay.com Newsletter” Get your copy today!

Drop-Shot Rigs

A drop-shot rig is a hook tied directly to the line (from four inches to four-foot above the sinker) with a sinker also tied to the line, below the hook.

To create a Drop-Shot Rig:

Pass a look of monofilament line through the eye of the hook. The tail of the line (the part that is not attached to the reel) is where you will put your weight.

Tie a Palomar knot to secure the hook and leave the tag end (the tail of the line that is not attached to the reel) about four or five feet long. Now take the tag end and go back through the hook eye from the point side toward the back. When you hang the weight, the hook will be at a 90-degree angle to the line with the hook point up.

Last is the weight and how far up the line the hook should be. Here’s where you’ll have to decide based on how high above the hump or sunken island the fish are holding. You’ll just have to experiment to see what the fish want, but 18″ to 24″ is a good place to start.

Polite Camping

I really like camping out in the sticks — dispersed, dry camping where I have to haul in all my own stuff (including water), use my porta-potty, and haul out all my trash. But, on holiday weekends, all the traffic from ATVs and trucks can make me nutsy, so I head to a campground. There’s nothing worse than camping in a developed campground than inconsiderate neighbors!

1. Respect other’s rights.

Don’t walk through another camper’s site — walk around it. Most public campgrounds in have paths between sites to the bathrooms, trash, etc. Use these paths and enjoy the stroll!

2. Be noise aware.

I have no problem with shouting children having fun during the day — I love to see families out camping! However, noise like radios, generators, yelling for no reason, and fighting is really rude. You should also obey the campground’s quiet hours. Voices, radios and other noises carry further than you might think on a quiet evening. (A good rule is to tone down the noise as the sun sets.) Most of the time, when you’re camping you get up with the sun, which means getting up early. Respect the wishes of those rare people who want to sleep in and keep morning noise to a minimum as well.

A few summers ago, my folks went camping in Arizona’s White Mountains. For the last three days of their trip, a HUGE RV pulled in beside them and ran the generator non-stop! My folks ended up leaving a day early because of the noise and smell.

If you’re going camping, CAMP! Get out of the RV and enjoy nature. If you’re going to use your generator (we’ve got one, so you know I approve of them) be sure to be considerate of others.

3. Pack out what you pack in.

You should leave your campsite cleaner than you found it. If the campground has campground hosts, they are responsible to keep the campground tidy — NOT to clean up after wild parties! Many campgrounds have trash service that you should use, making sure to close the lids tightly to keep animals out. Recycle when possible — many campgrounds have recycling programs.

4. Keep your pets under control.

If you camp with your dog (or cat!), keep Fido contained and clean up after him, just like you do in a city park. Before tying him to a tree, make sure it’s permitted. (I prefer collapsible pens.) If your dog likes to bark, like Lily does, then make sure you keep it under control. Lily barks when somebody walks by and then stops — if she continues, I put her in the trailer.

5. Don’t cut living trees for firewood.

In Arizona, most of the time, any downed (dead) wood is good to use, but not necessarily the dead wood on a living tree. California has completely different rules so know the campground’s rule on finding your own wood or buying it.

6. Clean up after yourself.

Campground facilities exist for the benefit of all campers. Help keep them clean!

7. Be water respectful.

Do not clean fish or wash dishes in lakes or streams. Waste water (grey or black) should not be dumped in a lake, stream, or on the ground. If the campground offers potable water (drinking water from a faucet), know the rules of what you can and can’t do at the spigot. Most of the time, this means no washing ANYTHING at the spigot, including hands.

8. Know and respect the campground’s rules, even if you don’t understand the reasons for them.

The rules have been established to protect and respect the rights of campers, the campground, and the environment.

Readers Weigh In

 

• If you know of any campground etiquette issues I’ve missed or that particularly make you mad, post it in the comments.

In preparation for my big upcoming geocaching event in September, I’ve been going through all my drawers looking for good swag as “seed swag” for the caches I’ll be placing. But, I’d pretty much already done that when I started caching and have placed or traded most of it.

Last weekend I was doing some shopping and decided to look into just BUYING swag. Of course, the toy department at my local Walmart had a ton of selection: for a ton of money! And the toys at the dollar store, while priced better, were just too cheap and boring looking.

Then, I hit upon it: Goodwill!

Now, I don’t know if every Goodwill store offers toys. Of the two here in Prescott, I think only one does. But it was still worth the trip!

There were about twenty bins attached to a back wall, each filled with a selection of plastic toys. And the sign above the bins:

10 for $1.49
4 for $0.99

ESP Boss & I spent about thirty minutes carefully going through each and every bin. The next result: 7 bags of toys (70 items) for $10.43. It turned out to be a lot less than anywhere else. Plus, I really liked it that I wasn’t driving all over to hit yard sales, the money goes for a good cause, and all the items were in good condition. (They’ll get a bath, though since some were a bit dirty or sticky!)

And, if I had gone in on Saturday (it was Friday) it was a 50% off Saturday. Our Goodwill stores offer specials that every-other Saturday are 50% off everything in the store.

We picked up a large selection of plastic snakes, toys from a variety of fast-food kid’s menus, “army” men that are PIRATES, and a lot of exciting random toys including a bendy Oreo figurine, M&M characters, dinosaurs, and bugs.

So the next time you need seed swag for a cache, think about stocking up at your local Goodwill or other re-sale store.

At these prices, I think that it’s a good idea for ALL cachers to carry a bag of trade with them when they’re caching. Too often the “adult” cachers forget that just because they don’t trade doesn’t mean that they shouldn’t make sure that the caches they visit aren’t full of great trade items.

After all, geocaching is a family activity and kids always enjoy trading for swag. As geocachers we take care to remove any trash, food, or inappropriate items from the cache, but how often do we ensure that the cache is filled with fun trade items?

I know that even after my event, I’ll carry a bag or two of Goodwill goodies to replenish and refresh any caches I visit!

Readers Weigh In:

• Do you trade for swag?
• What toys or kid-friendly items do you leave?
• Do you make it a point to refresh any caches that are in need of swag?

Not only am I “The Outdoor Princess” I’m also the head cook & chief bottle washer at EatStayPlay.com. EatStayPlay.com offers information about outdoor recreation for 14 western states. We cover everything from camping to National Forests, State Parks to National Monuments.

EatStayPlay.com isn’t the only place you can find me! I have a Twitter feed: @EatStayPlay or you can look me up on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/EatStayPlaycom

But, I think my pride and joy is when you can find me on YouTube. So far, I have “starred” in five videos:

• Testing the Coleman Max, Perfect Flow, and Fold and Go Camp Stoves
• How To Tie A Cinch Knot
• Wind Test for Coleman Max, Perfect Flow, & Fold ‘N Go
• Sure-Fire Trout-Catching Setup
• Extreme Geocaching

This weekend, I’ll be camping with ESP Boss & The Queen Mother. The plan is to do some filming for a camp cooking video. Of all the Fun Food Friday recipes, do you have one that you’d like to see on film?