Here you will find an archived weblog of my food, travel, and creative pursuits which I kept from 2010-2016. Please note both that the travel information contained here may outdated and that these logs were created on a prior version of this website and may not yet be optimized for the current version. If you’re looking for specific content, use the search field below! <3
On our first road trip through British Columbia and Alberta, we ambitiously decided to drive the full nine hours from Seattle to just outside of Mt. Robson Provincial Park in one day. It was a long haul, but upon arriving at our first campsite - it was easy to remember why we decided to road trip through the Canadian Rockies (just look at that view!).
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It's an exciting day! I've collaborated with Bob's Red Mill to share a recipe for my new favorite camping breakfast. These Oatmeal Cinnamon Pancakes were inspired by one of the easiest and most common camping breakfasts; instant oatmeal. Take it from me, treating yourself to pancakes on a morning after sleeping on the ground feels increadibly good - and certainly more fufilling than a bowl of instant oatmeal.
On Monday, I shared details about camping at Tunnel Mountain Village - not let me show you why you'll want to make a trip to Banff National Park.
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Thanks to Bob's Red Mill for supporting this post through providing me the flour to make this tasty recipe along with three other tasty recipes as part of a series of gluten free camping friendly recipes.
On a typical camping trip, my husband and I don’t sit around and hang out at camp all day. We may have a leisurely breakfast – but you won’t catch us sticking around our campsite. Before long we’ll head off on our chosen adventure of the day, so we’ll take our lunch with us on the trail or the road.
For lunch we’re most often eating sandwiches made of homemade gluten free bread (which doesn’t require toasting for maximum taste) and a quick spread. Rather than packing this bread full of starch – I opted to tip the scale towards whole grain flours and seeds to provide a heartier nutritional punch to fuel our long hikes. Our choice of spreads varies between a nut/seed butter and jelly combination or a quick salmon and chive spread for which I’ve included the quick and simple recipe below.
Camping at Tunnel Mountain Village I (there is a separate area called Tunnel Mountain II) was my first experience as an adult staying in a Parks Canada campground and I have to say, Canada - I'm impressed. Our site, assigned to us upon arrival, was clean and very well kept. Even though the privacy wasn't all that great (it's a big campground), the neighbors were all friendly and considerate and the sites large enough that you won't feel crowded. The best part about Parks Canada campgrounds, including this one, is the clean bathrooms with hot water and showers! If you didn't get a sense for this in last week's Camp Here post, hot showers are my holy grail at campsites.
Earlier this week, I gave you the details about camping on the beach at Spencer Spit State Park on Lopez Island. Now let me show you around the spit.
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Gear is not something that I chat a lot about here because I like to focus more on the experience of travel rather than the stuff. In real life though - my husband and I have accumulated a pretty good amount of it for a couple living with limited income to spend on such things. Since the thought of accumulating all the appropriate gear for a camping trip can feel overwhelming, I thought I'd make an exception and share some of our most reliable pieces, great gear posts from others, and where we buy our gear.
Just FYI, there are no affiliate links in this post and everything I recommend is simply because of my own personal experience (with the exception my "gear crush" at the end). I should also note, that with the gear recommendations - much of the gear we have has stood up so well over the course of time that it's no longer available, in which case I don't have a good way to share it with you.
I recently rediscovered a recipe torn out of Sunset Magazine; Single Girl Melty Chocolate Peanut Butter Cake and I've found it to be a great cure to a night home alone. It's small, comes together quick, and I always have all the ingredients in my kitchen. The only problem is that I'm not a big chocolate person, in the end I always prefer a fruit based dessert instead.
This month's Gluten Free Ratio gave me the perfect opportunity to try and create a similar small and quick treat, as a cobbler instead of a chocolate cake. Again, this recipe is all made of things I always tend to have around the kitchen. You could use different berries if you prefer - I'm stuck with blueberries and cherries (yes, not actually a berry) since I can't have most others. That doesn't bother me in the least since they also happen to be my favorites. While I could easily see myself enjoying this entire cobbler myself, it's also been the perfect size to share with my husband.
For the cobbler topping, my ratio ended up being 7 parts flour, 7 parts milk, 2 parts butter, and 1 part sugar.
I've never camped anywhere quite like the beach sites at Spencer Spit State Park on Lopez Island, Washington. Of course the scenery was beautiful, but something about camping amidst the San Juan Islands and watching the ferries passing by made it a truly special place to spend a weekend. When I consider that it took us about an hour and a half of driving and an hour long picturesque ferryride to get to the park from Seattle - it almost makes me giddy and ready to hop in the car to go back.
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