Terroir Travel

Hundreds of movies and tv shows were filmed in and around Kanab. The Lone Ranger, tons of westerns. The Parry Lodge was the epicenter, where all the stars stayed.

Next day, I headed east down 89a. 

The beginning of the Grand Canyon.   

View from Navajo bridge- those dots are rafters.

Vermillion cliffs from a distance. That crack there is the northern tip of the Canyon.  

Beautiful. I left Vegas (no need for pics of that dump) and wanted to check put the UT/AZ border areas.  The most direct route between St. George and Kanab.      

A little hike through a canyon.    

When I was a kid, my father and his wife would take trips with her kids, and leave his kids (my brother and me) behind. At the time, having to stay with Dad’s surgical nurse was a punishment- the step brothers were shepherded to Europe, and I was dumped in the guest room of his employee.

After I got over my teen angst about that, I realized that I had received an unintended gift. A mom, something I didn’t have, had never even knew what that meant. A person that told me repeatedly that “I can do no wrong”, when I had previously believed that was all I could do.

Here’s one of my favorite pictures of Judy from back when her husband Norm were stationed in Germany in the ’60s. I love her impish expression. She looks like Annette Funicello, doesn’t she?

Judy gave me another gift- the gift of cooking.  I remember being in her kitchen on Christmas or Thanksgiving, one of those holidays reserved for the stepchildren, so I was on my own. While we were idly chatting in the kitchen (always in the kitchen), Judy had an idea.  So she got some carrots out, then peeled, chopped and boiled them. Next they were drained, pureed, mixed with a few ingredients and put in a ramekin and into the oven, and a carrot souffle was in the works to accompany the rack of lamb that was roasting.

I never knew *people* could cook like this.  I was a huge fan (and still am) of Stouffer’s Spinach Souffle.  It never occurred to me that a person in a home kitchen could create such a marvel.

Judy and I shared recipes and techniques for years.  I’ve always been a “seat of my pants” kind of cook, using recipes as a jumping off place, and Judy had the mind of a baker.  She trusted recipes and proportions. She knew that someone had labored over it, and she respected that.  She was a nurse, after all- you don’t wing it in surgery, you do what’s right and tested. Her recipe box of tried and trues has many cards in my writing, and it makes me so proud.

But more than that, she was a wonderful person.  Loving and generous, taking a confused teenager under her wing and showing me kindness, affection and respect. Having an adult that cared about me changed my life. She trusted me, which was so foreign to me at the time, and it took me a long time to realize that she meant it. There wasn’t a false bone in her body.

Don’t get me wrong, she wasn’t a saint. She taught me about “bless your heart”.  She had a bawdy sense of humor, especially when it came to her Beaver fur coat. She’d sidle up to you and ask if you’d like to touch her beaver, innocent as you please. It was hilarious. We had an ongoing cat theme, after I hid post-its with cat drawings all over her office.  That went on for years.  Every card we sent to each other had a cat on it. That’s not always easy, depending on the occasion.  Halloween- easy.  Thanksgiving, less so.

She passed on March 4th, 2015. I will miss her always, but also always be grateful that she “adopted” me.

Here’s a pic from when she came to visit me in Colorado in about 1995.  Yep, that’s her beaver.

And one more that’s a favorite of mine, taken long before I knew her as Nurse Judy.

I will never forget the gifts she gave me, all intangible, and worth more than any object.  She taught me to cook, but she loved me and was always there for me.  And it meant, still means, the world.

The first thing that impressed me- the abundance of beautiful produce 

 burgundy potatoes!

I wasn’t sure how to explain it all back then, I was so exhilarated, angry, happy, deeply sad, and unsure if I could join education, activism, hope and joy into a single post.

Last December, I had an experience that changed my outlook. It’s the kind of thing that happens when you do something you hadn’t planned, and it turns out to be so much more than you could have imagined. When people ask, and they always do, “what was your favorite thing/place?” This experience stands so far above everything else, it’s not even in the category.

Going to the Elephant Nature Park was Brent’s idea. Sure, elephants are cool, okay, and I do love the critters in general. It was more that I wanted to spend on any one thing, but he arranged everything, and I was up for whatever he wanted to do, and he felt strongly about this. My expectations were low, because there are plenty of bullshit tourist traps everywhere.

Instead, I met an amazing person. Her name is Lek Chailert, and she’s both the softest (hearted), and the most determined human I’ve ever been lucky enough to meet, and see what her grit and love have created. Here she is:

She has taken on local tribes, loggers that use and abuse elephants, tourist riding camps (that abuse elephants). Here’s what riding does to an elephants spine. Jaronee was a riding elephant for years- you can still see the mark of the seat on her broken back.

Lek and her husband Derrick went to Bangkok during the floods and personally rescued hundreds of dogs and cats and built sanctuaries for them at the park. She lobbies tirelessly for ellies, and teaches people that you don’t have to abuse them to encourage tourism. Her park is the example, elephants free to make their own friends, family groups, and are free to be loners if they want. This girl below isn’t social, so she hangs out with her mahout during the day- it’s probably lonely for him too.

And then there are girls like Medo. This beauty had her leg broken in a logging camp, so they decided to use her for forced breeding. The male was in full-on musth, and broke her back. When she had no economic value, Lek was able to rescue her, and she’s an absolute sweetheart. I don’t think I was the only person that completely fell in love with her.

She has two friends that she wanders the park with, but it seemed to me that they stay close to the “platform”, which is an elephant proof lodge where the people, and the food, are found.

And there are others, there is Mae Perm and her blind (blinded on purpose so she wouldn’t react to street and car lights) friend Jokia. Here’s Mae Perm giving Brent a trunk hug in appreciation for a nice face scratch, the dapper gent alongside is our guide Sakchai, also known as Sunshine.

And then, there are the babies. Babies that will never be subjected to the “crush”, also known as Phajaan, which is meant to literally crush the animals sprit through torture and deprivation, google it if you want, but it’s awful. What’s worse, it’s unnecessary. Elephants are much like dogs- smart and eager to please.

Here’s (I think) Faa Mai sneaking up on Katie, gentle as you please

We met Katie and her mum Jennifer at ENP. They are Scots that live in France and were traveling and home-schooling (dad and 2 brothers were on a different thai adventure for these days). We later all got together again in Budapest, but that’s another story. We were all shocked to discover that “stomping about like elephants” is a misnomer- they are silent when they walk, due to very soft feet.

And I can’t close without a picture of the charmer himself, little Navaan. This little rascal is so interested in people, and has an entourage of his own. Older elephants become “nannies” to the young ones, so it’s common to see a baby with three or four caretakers, including the mom. Navaan’s mom had a very serious land mine injury that the vets at ENP treated. It’s fascinating to see how these family groups form. Here’s Navaan and Katie

I didn’t get a picture of this, but every afternoon when the vans leave to take the people back to Chiang Mai, Navaan is there at the gate waving goodbye with his little trunk- he does this on his own, but his nannies are close behind.

When you travel, please choose supporting kindness over torture. The experience we had taught us so much about elephant tourism, and Lek showed us how you can change an industry with dedication, determinism and love.

Here’s a parting shot of the girls coming down to the river for their bath, they know it’s time, and the people are waiting, not to ride, but to engage.

Learn more at http://www.saveelephant.org

Navaan will thank you.

One of my favorite cheeses, Humboldt Fog, was created by one of my favorite cheese people, Mary Keehn. We managed to make it to the unveiling of the new creamery, and Bob McCall was kind enough to take us to visit the herd.

Beautiful country, this.
A visit to wine country in the Dundee Hills

Then, the Pacific! The last time I saw the Pacific it was from the other side.

I have always preferred crab to lobster, and a couple of years ago on a trip to San Fran for the Winter Fancy Food show, we decided to try Dungeness crab wherever we could. I was pretty underwhelmed- lots of work for little reward. But, I got a hankering to try again, so when we got to Newport, OR, I was ready. This critter below changed my mind about the Dungeness. Meaty, delicious, briny, crabby!

We continued down the coast, and turned inward at Waldport, heading into the Siuslaw National Forest. We wound around the valley looking for forest service roads, and found one, crossed the river and headed into the hills, finding this spot at the end of an offshoot road, with soft grass to set the tent on. There were berries everywhere, and quite a lot of bear scat, which worried me a little, but we saw no bears. What we did see was a marvelous sunset.

That may have been my best night of sleep in that tent. We woke rested and hungry, eventually very hungry as it was quite a drive to the nearest diner, Deb’s Cafe in Alsea. Slightly surly service, but very good food. She warmed up to us after a bit, when we complimented her excellent marion berry jam.

Happy Campers

So much great food, so many flavors, restaurants, ice cream, food cart pods.