The Grand Canyon- North Rim

I was going through old pictures from FOUR years ago and I realized I never posted pics of the North Rim of the Grand Canyon when we went on our Southwest trip.  We didn't go to the South Rim of the Grand Canyon; we loved the North Rim.  It's a lot less crowded, has awesome views, and nice cool weather even in the middle of the summer.  We went on some hikes and ate at the buffet in the dining room for lunch.  (It was good! I usually don't think National Park food is good at all.) Before eating, we sat out on the patio, overlooking the canyon, and were the only ones out there. The North Rim is great.  Here's the National Park's website to find out more info if you plan on going. Tons of pics below. Of course, these pics don't do justice to the grandeur you can see in person here.  It's amazing.

These are the outline of some ancient Native American dwellings- you are free to walk around and explore this area.

Highest point in the North Rim.

 **This post and photos are property of http://dishingwithdish.blogspot.com/ **

Goblin Valley & Arches National Park

Part of our US trip this summer that we really enjoyed was our visit to Goblin Valley State Park in Utah.  I visited here once when I was little and still remembered how fun it was.  Our kids loved it too- they said this was their favorite place we saw this summer while in the States.  It was hot, even though we arrived at 9am, but they had fun anyway.  I found shade for myself and the baby while they played and ran around.  Make sure you bring a lot of water if you visit here!

The kids were able to climb up and on some of the "goblins".  We didn't let them play hide and seek though, in fear of them getting lost in this very hot climate.  (PS:  The Killers filmed their vid for "Human" here!!  Vid at the bottom of this post.)

The day before Goblins, we went to Arches National Park, which is less than an hour away from Goblins.  Arches was beautiful, but so hot.  There is hardly any shade there, unless you're in the shadow of an arch.  We took a short hike to see two of them side by side (Windows Arches) and saw Delicate Arch from over a mile away, so it looked tiny.

Delicate Arch from a distance.

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Mesa Verde National Park

A few weeks ago, we visited beautiful Mesa Verde National Park in Colorado.  We LOVED this National Park.  Pictures do not do it justice- everyone visit here at least once in their lifetime.  The park is home to many, many ancient Anasazi ruins.  They are no longer called Anasazi though, just an FYI- now they are called Ancestral Pueblo People, and it is believed that some tribes that still exist today (Ute Tribe and some others) are descendants of these ancient people.  (I like the term Anasazi though!  I still use it; it's easier and more fun to say than Ancestral Pueblo People.)  

The two photos above are of the cliff dwelling called Cliff Palace.  We had to kind of hike down into this, and then use 3 or 4 8-foot ladders to get out.  If you have an infant or young toddler, you must wear them in a baby backpack, or they can't come down to these awesome places.  Luckily we don't go anywhere without our two carriers; Boba and Onya brands.  Here we are on one of the 8-foot ladders using the trusty Boba.  He loved the ride!

Although we were already pretty tired by early afternoon, we decided to hike down into another cliff dwelling, the Spruce Tree house (pic above).  This one is a free self-guided thing where the others are guided and you have to pay, also.  We loved this one, as well.  The kids and my husband climbed down into an ancient underground chamber, or Kiva (the round rooms shown in the first pics are kivas, missing their roofs. They were used for religious ceremonies and also living when it got cold outside.)

In the nearby town of Cortez, CO, we attended a free Native American Traditional dance.  It was very beautiful and interesting to watch.  The family that was dancing was from the Ute Native American Tribe.  

After the dance, there was a special talk by one of the last living Navajo Code Talkers.  Taken from the official website of the NCT, here is some info.  "Known as Navajo Code Talkers, they were young Navajo men who transmitted secret communications on the battlefields of WWII. At a time when America's best cryptographers were falling short, these modest sheepherders and farmers were able to fashion the most ingenious and successful code in military history."  My daughter and I enjoyed his talk and then got some photos with him.  (That's my sleeve in the pic-scandal!)

On our way home from Mesa Verde, we drove to a place called Newspaper Rock.  It's a large rock face with a huge number of ancient Native American Petroglyphs.  It was so awesome to see.  (Click on any pic to enlarge.)

 **This post and photos are property of http://dishingwithdish.blogspot.com/ **

Monument Valley

Exactly two weeks ago, we were in Monument Valley , enjoying the vast beauty this land has to offer.  In the same trip, we saw Goosenecks, Mesa Verde and other Anasazi sights, Arches National Park and Goblin Valley.  I used to live in Monument Valley as a child and enjoyed revisiting some of these sights.  We took a ton of pics; it was hard picking out ones to share here because there were so many.  Enjoy! 

The Mittens with Merrick Butte in the morning shadows.

Rock towers on the Monuments drive.

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Goosenecks State Park & Mexican Hat, Utah

We took a trip over to Monument Valley last week, but first, we stopped at Mexican Hat, Utah, where our hotel was, and took a little evening trip to 

Goosenecks State Park and then to Natural Bridges National Monument.    I'll post about Monument Valley later.  Above is Goosenecks.  It's a very short drive from Mexican Hat and it doesn't take long to see it at all; it's just a little drive and a lookout.

The photo above is of a road called Moki Dugway; tight switchbacks that go right up a cliffside near Mexican Hat and Valley of the Gods.  We drove up here to get to Natural Bridges.  I used to live in Monument Valley as a child; attended school in Mexican Hat, and I remember driving up Moki Dugway with my fam a few times.  We used to get Christmas trees up there.  On top of the cliff is actually a forest!  

The next two photos, below, were taken in Natural Bridges.  We did get pics of all three bridges, but I liked these pics of the park better; first, a dead tree, and the second one is a flower called Indian Paintbrush, or just Paintbrush, depending on which park you are in.

Pictured below is the famous rock formation that gives Mexican Hat its name.  The pic below that is of the San Juan river, which is right next to Mexican Hat.

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Summer 2013 So Far

We've been enjoying our vacation in the Southwestern US, but it is HOT here!!  We got here during an extreme heat wave and it's only now just "cooling off" to a high of 104-106 degrees F.  Even watching fireworks on the Fourth of July, it was 100 degrees at 10pm at night!!  Luckily, we can drive to a few awesome places to escape the heat.  We went to Bryce Canyon National Park last week, where the temps ranged from the high 70's to 56 degrees F!  I loved it.  I'll share pics of that below.  Above is our haul from the local farmer's market yesterday; peaches, basil, cherry tomatoes, sweet onions, artisan french bread, homemade blackberry/pomegranate jam, and Rainier cherries.

We celebrated the fourth of July by laying low in our AC'd rental condo.  We grilled burgers, had corn on the cob and watermelon, and then had brownies with star-shaped marshmallows, strawberries and blueberries.  We have to enjoy fresh corn and blueberries Stateside, as they are very hard to get in the middle of the ocean.  

Below are some pics of Bryce Canyon.  It was absolutely stunning with the formations in red rock, some against the green forest.  We went on a little hike to a cave and waterfall.  It started raining but we persevered, even though some of the kids complained.  

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Navajo Tacos (Fry Bread) with Anasazi Beans

As a child, I lived in Monument Valley for a few years, situated on the Utah/Arizona border.  This fry bread recipe comes from that region.  My mom made it for us from time to time growing up and I just loved it.  I tried making it myself, about 4-5 years ago, but it was before I had a blog and I never took any photos.  When my mom visited us a few months ago, she made them for us, and I just finally got around to making them myself, again, a few days ago, so I could take pics and finally put them up here. 

The dough is pretty easy to mix up.  My mom adds just a bit of shortening for some fat, although some recipes call for no fat.  It makes the dough more tender, though.  You roll them out to about 6 inches in diameter, and then fry them.  I tried to roll as thin as I could, because the dough puffs up a lot during the frying. 

We topped our Navajo Frybread with cooked Anasazi beans, available from Bob's Red Mill.  I got mine from Vitacost.com.  I just soaked them overnight and cooked them in the crockpot till tender.

My Dad is a very good photographer, and I want to share some photos he took of the Monument Valley area while we lived there.  I was only about 5 when we lived there, and I've always wanted to go back to visit- I have not been back since we moved away.  Top three pictures, below, are of the famous Monument Valley Mittens.  We could see some of these formations from the windows in our house!  The fourth (bottom) picture, is of an ancient Anasazi dwelling we visited while we lived in that area.  Recipe following all the pics.  :)

Navajo Tacos (Fry Bread) with Anasazi Beans

Frybread recipe from my Mom

I increase this recipe by 50% for my family

2 cups unbleached flour

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup instant dry milk powder

1 tablespoon baking powder

1 1/2 tablespoons shortening

2/3 to 3/4 cup water

Canola or Vegetable oil for frying

1.  Mix dry ingredients; cut in shortening as for pastry with pastry cutter. Add water gradually, mixing to form a firm ball. Divide into 8-12 balls; let rest, covered, for 10 minutes. Roll or pat each ball into a 6 inch circle, rolling the dough thin. Poke a hole in center with your finger. Heat 1 inch oil in Dutch oven* to 350- 400 degrees. Slip each circle into oil; fry each side about 1 minute or until puffed and golden. Drain on paper towels.  Top with beans or chili, cheese, sour cream, tomatos, lettuce, etc., to make Navajo tacos.  (Bean recipe below). 

*(I used a small (about 8 inch) skillet so I'd use less oil and just fried one at a time.  I also didn't use a thermometer for my oil). 

Simple Anasazi Beans

by What a Dish!

2 cups dry Anasazi beans, sorted through (to remove any pebbles, etc) and rinsed

water, to cover

1/2- 1 teaspoon garlic salt, to taste

1 tablespoon tomato paste

1-2 teaspoons chicken bouillon base, such as Better than Bouillon or Trader Joe's

1.  After the beans are clean, place them in a glass, plastic, or ceramic bowl and cover with 1 inch of cold water.  Let soak overnight.

2.  The next morning, drain and rinse the beans.  Place in a slow cooker and cover with fresh water.  Cook on High for about 4 hours.  If the beans are pretty tender, switch slow cooker to low and cook a few more hours, or until very tender.  Drain (reserving some bean water) and return to slow cooker.  Stir in the garlic salt, tomato paste, chicken bouillon base, and a few spoonfuls of reserved bean water.  Beans should turn creamy.  Taste for salt and add more if needed. 

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