Rogue Nation

Newport, Oregon is home to the Rogue Nation Brewery. We took a walk out on the fishing pier and just had to find out what Rogue Nation was. We'd never tasted it before so we were curious.

They offer tours, tastings and lunch with a fabulous view of the marina.

Newport Bayfront

We visited Newport 2 years ago, but cut the trip short because of my gallbladder surgery. Yipeeee to getting that done! I feel great now and can eat clam chowder without pain! I loved the marina and bayfront and wanted to see the fishing boats again. I was on a mission to find live Dungeness crab and we did.

We thought about borrowing crab traps from the TT park and getting a crabbing license, but when we found the fresh crab for $6 a pound we'd found dinner. We'd gone crabbing years ago when we were on the east coast and we'd gathered oysters, mussels and clams while staying on Quadra Island off Canada so not a big deal. But this was easier. We just had to walk on the pier to the boat for crab this time.
We boiled the big guy (2+ pounds) with a little sea salt and it was so yummy with some melted butter, rice and a salad. I'd say it was better than the snow crab we get at the Vegas casinos! We're going to take a trip to Garibaldi and get some more. Gotta have more crab.

Hot clam chowder at the beach

If you want a taste of good local food, ask the locals. They know where the good food is, not the tourist traps and fast food joints.

After talking with a couple locals, we had a unanimous recommendation to try the Chowder Bowl in historic Nye Beach. It is a lovely area with many motels and rental properties on the cliffs overlooking the expansive beach.

We had the fish tacos and the fish and chips. Our dishes came with a cup of yummy, creamy, butter-topped clam chowder, garlic bread, 3 large pieces of lightly fried cod, tasty chips, coleslaw and 3 large fish tacos! For less than $20. Eating out is not our usual routine, but it was really good.

Is it just me or do the Oregon beaches go on and on forever?

There were more people than I would expect for this time of year, but then we realized its the beginning of Spring Break in Oregon and families were taking advantage of good weather and enjoying every moment.

This is looking north from Nye Beach and Yaquina Lighthouse is in the distance. We climbed to the top of the lighthouse in 2008.

More Camp Style Living

Smoked trout, hot cheese dip, smoked oysters and mussels, jalapenos poppers wrapped in bacon, london broil in the dutch oven with potatoes, carrots, and mushrooms, bbq tri-tip, bbq chicken thighs, chilie relanos, bbq chick breast, brats, twice baked potatoes, fresh salads, rice of all flavors, breakfast burritos, apple crisp, peaches and cream, and smores. We have been eating well for the past few weeks and we've had a lot of fun.

Been Busy Having Fun

We've had friends visiting for the past few weeks and we've been busy having fun! They love to fish and enjoy the camping lifestyle.

Rick and Eric cooked most of the dinners outside on the grill or in the cast iron dutch oven.

One night they made fried chicken and it was yummy!

We've taken lots of photos of our follies and fishing.

I'm happy to say that I spend more time fishing than on the computer.

Just one more -- one more Vegas buffet

We went out this morning to the Fiesta Henderson casino for what will probably be our last Sunday champagne brunch and all-you-can-eat crab legs. A true bargain when we have a 2-for-1 coupon and the total cost is less than $10 for the both of us. We could have had almost any type of food at this morning's buffet, true of any good Vegas buffet, but we choose to stick with our original plan of only crab legs. They are such a mess, with crab juice dripping down our arms to our elbows. And having to crack all those shells to get to the tender white crab meat, but oh so worth it. Oh yeah, we did have a few shrimp, but they were shrimpy and we quickly abandoned the shrimp craving. We both tried some of the spicy, grilled fish and we both ended with some non-fat frozen chocolate yogurt for dessert. It's been our favorite brunch stopping spot for years as we travel through Vegas on our way to Montana.

More Vegas buffets

Saturday morning we moved the motorhome at 8 AM and this campsite is soooo much better. One of the best things about having a motorhome is the ability to move it where you want. It's unfortunate that we're so close to the sprinklers that are getting the motorhome wet and leaving hard water spots on it. The nicer view will mean exerting some elbow grease later. We spent some time Saturday organizing most of the drawers and cupboards and we now know where most everything is.

Of course we talked with the locals again about the better dining places, looking for more crab legs. The locals said to look through the newspaper each day for the 2-for-1 buffet specials. We get a newspaper delivered to the motorhome every morning as part of our Thousand Trails membership. There were 2-for-1 coupons in the paper for the Fiesta casino buffet that we planned to visit for Sunday brunch so we drove across town to Henderson. The total cost came to about $12. A good deal for all-you-can-eat crab.

We had no plans to eat at another buffet on Monday, but there was another 2-for-1 coupon in the paper for Boulder Station casino less than a mile from our campground. Since we hadn't eaten for 24 hours since the last buffet, we decided to have lunch at the Boulder Station. No crab or shrimp, but there were some mussels - for Rick - and the total cost was about $8. There was a global selection of food, but it's all starting to taste the same. We talked it over afterwards and agreed that tomorrow we'll have our oatmeal for breakfast, a light lunch, and then grill some turkey burgers. Just the thought of it sounds more tasty than facing another buffet, no matter how cheap it is.

Staying in Vegas

We're staying in Vegas for a while. Almost sounds like the commercial "what happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas". We've been through Vegas many times, usually just stopping off to eat, not gamble.

We arrived at the Thousand Trails park and knew from the reservation system that it would be full, or almost full. We're able to make reservations 120 days in advance so we had no doubt about getting a camping site, but figured we'd have to take whatever was available. The friendly staff greeted us and assigned our site. After filling up on propane we parked the motorhome tightly between our new neighbors. I do mean tightly! After getting set up we took a walk around the park and I made a mental note of the departure dates on the rigs. I found a couple nicer sites and told Rick we probably would move to a bigger, more open site when possible. This TT park is like the Palm Springs park in that the sites are tight and it's a place to park while you explore the area. We asked the TT guard if we could move to the site at the end of the row with the big shade tree and green grass on Saturday when they moved out. The row we were in was clastrophobic and I could practically reach out the window and shake hands with the neighbors.

We got the inside scoop on dining from the locals in the campground and decided to go out for a seafood buffet Friday night. There were lots to choose from, but we decided to go to the Main Street Station ($16) in the north part of the Strip. We walked around Fremont Street, but it was afternoon so there was no light show. We will go back to see it and some of the other casinos lit up at night. Soon after dinner opened at 4 PM we were having our fill of snow crab legs. And a little shrimp, but mostly the crab. The Deadliest Catch fleet will need to go back out and replenish the crab supply in Vegas.

Turkey still on my plate

Turkey enchiladas, turkey stroganoff, turkey soup, turkey fajitas, turkey sandwiches, turkey stir fry, and turkey/stuffing/mashed potatoes with gravy. Yep, we're into the leftover turkey season.

We usually cook more than one meal so we have leftovers for the next day (week, month). This habit started when we were working and we'd cook extra food on the weekend so that most of the work days, when we got home from the hour and a half drive, we could whip up a quick homemade meal.

Get creative. Use your taste-imagination. Anything you can do with cooked chicken, you can do with cooked turkey. Only better.

Here's a recipe for Southwestern Turkey Casserole

2 cups chopped cooked turkey
One 10 3/4 oz. can cream of chicken soup
1 cup of milk
One 4 oz. can chopped green chilies
1/4 cup sliced black olives
2 cups crushed corn chips
1 cup chopped onion
1 cup (4 oz.) shredded Monterey Jack cheese
1 cup (4 oz.) shredded Cheddar cheese

Heat oven to 375 degrees. In saucepan, combine turkey, soup, milk, chilies, and olives; heat slowly, stirring until bubbly. Sprinkle 1/3 of corn chips on bottom of 2- quart casserole dish; pour in 1/2 of turkey mixture, 1/2 cup onion and 1/2 cup of each cheese. Layer another 1/3 of corn chips, remaining turkey mixture, onion and cheeses; top with remaining corn chips. Bake at 375 degrees for 45 minutes. Makes 6 servings.

Let me know if you try it.

3 Thanksgivings

This year we were fortunate to celebrate Thanksgiving 3 times! Yep, with 3 turkeys. We had Rick's sister and brother-in-law visiting the week before the official date and were lucky to have them and Rick's parents over for a barbequed turkey. And all the traditional fixins! The only thing missing, according to Jim and me, was the old family secret green bean casserole with mushroom soup and fried onions. Even with the green beans missing, dinner was delicious.

Then on Tuesday before Thursday Thanksgiving we had just Rick's parents over for another traditional feast. But again the old family secret green bean casserole was missing. It was a delicious feast of (yet another) roasted turkey and all the trimmings.

The day before Thanksgiving we headed west to southern California where we both grew up and all my family still lives. My mom roasted a turkey along with all the traditional side dishes I grew up loving. On Thanksgiving day Rick and I celebrated with 25 of my immediate family members and we had a fabulous, familiar feast. We had yummy appetisers, deviled eggs to die for, home-made stuffing, home-made gravy, real mashed potatoes, fresh creamed corn, home-made buttermilk bisquits, sweet yams, fresh home-made cranberry relish (who knew it didn't grow in a can?), green beans cooked with bacon, fresh Chinese chicken salad, tender turkey, 3 different pies, AND a birthday cake. With so many in the family, everytime there's a family gathering there's a birthday cake. They were celebrating 5 November birthdays (I think?). I think I missed some Thanksgiving dish, but there were soooo many great dishes it's hard to remember it all!

I think I heard my brother Dan say he wished he could have brought the old family secret green bean casserole. Next year the casserole will surely be on the menu.

Trip to the Big Hole River

Although we're counting down our last days here, we took time out today for a fun trip to Melrose, Montana and the Big Hole River.

Well, actually, we made the trip for world famous hamburgers at the Melrose Bar & Cafe with Steve and Marilyn and not for fishing. We didn't take our fly rods!

It was a beautiful trip! We saw antelope and 2 different types of deer - white tail and mule deer. We were on the lookout for moose, but alas, no moose on this trip. Marilyn is determined to see a moose and she has a tight network of friends and accomplices who are also on the lookout and call her when there is a reported sighting.

The hamburgers were very good, as were the fresh real-potato fries. It was the delicious Montana beef - so tasty and totally opposite of fast food burger "meat". The company was fantastic also!

We visited the 2 fly shops in the immediate area before heading over to the river. The cottonwood trees line the river and the leaves have just started to show the bright yellow, gold, orange and red fall colors. The sound of the river flowing over the rocks was like Mother Nature's music. I can see us spending time next year on the Big Hole River, exploring this beautiful area.

Nanking Cherries

Throughout the campground there are Nanking cherry trees growing and they are loaded with beautiful, tiny, red cherries. The trees growing near the camping areas are small, bush-like trees, but they are so prolific and covered with fruit. The birds don't seem to want them this year and the owners said we could pick what we wanted. We tasted them and though they are not super sweet, they are good.

The campground owners, Brent & Linda, saw that we were enjoying the cherries and invitied us to their house (located at the campground) to pick some of the fruit from the trees in their front yard. There are a number of small trees, again loaded with fruit. We already had a large gallon plastic bag full and gathered another 2 gallons. We couldn't possibly eat all the fruit without getting a belly ache, so we boiled the fruit, strained out the seeds and skins, and bottled the concentrate.

There are claims that cherry juice will relieve pain from exercise. We've found that too much fly casting can cause arm soreness and it seems that the "pain" might be lessened by the juice. We froze some of the concentrated juice for later consumption. We could also make jelly or syrup. We add an equal part water and some sweetener and it is totally delicious! It's got to be healthy, too! Any suggestions on what to do with the fresh juice?

Yummy Grilled Trout!

This is for all of you who know we don't keep our trout from the river. Especially this river which has strict limits and besides, we practically get to know the fish by name.

Our neighbor in the 5th wheel trailer has a motorboat and goes out on the reservoir everyday. And catches lots of trout! And they know we fish the river (that flows out of the reservoir) and don't keep the fish. Sooooo, they were generous and brought us 5 big rainbow trout to eat! Rick filleted them and tonight Rick, the Grill Meister, is in his element! Nirvana! The Zone! Paradise!

He's grilling 3 different fillets 3 different ways. One fillet is with butter and lime juice. The second fillet is with Moho Griollo, a marinade we've used on chicken. And the third is with soy sauce, ginger, and garlic mustard. We'll wrap them in foil and put them on his shiny new stainless steel barbecue. He's also grilling a few pasilla (green) chiles and his famous jalapenos. I know it's going to be Yummy!

ps: I liked the soy sauce and ginger and Rick liked the Moho Griollo. It was a feast!

"Slow Cooker" Kind of Day

The weatherperson said it was supposed to rain today and it did. But not as much as we thought it would. It was a misty day, mostly dry, but no sunshine. Rick compared the weather here with where we will be fishing in 6 weeks, and it was about 15 degrees warmer there! I think he was trying to make a point about heading for Montana, but I'm not finished with the Oregon coast.

It rained enough so we were able to test the windshield wipers. No, we didn't drive, we just turned them on to test them. They work fine, but we don't plan to drive in the rain if we don't have to.

The cool (cold!) weather has prompted me to use the slow cooker to make piping-hot soups and chowders. I mentioned this to Rick's sister (in the SoCal area) and she said she was planning meals that are light and refreshing. Today I made clam chowder, couple days ago it was potato soup similar to my Mom's. And a french onion was real yummy. Rick enjoys cooking on the BBQ grill and I enjoy it when he does. But it's too cold today!

It's been a day for organizing photos on the laptop (I need to post some from our recent drive up the coast) and working a little on a crocheted blanket. Rick has been fiddling with computer stuff - GPS POIs, Streets & Trips, and final notes before our appointment with Guaranty RV, our motorhome dealer.

I'll finish off this post by letting you know the wind is picking up, the big puffy white clouds are ripping by, the electric heater is on, and the clam chowder is ready.