We were getting closer to the end of our trip — closer than I dared think about too much. I was rejuvenated from the cares of everyday life and cherishing the mother-daughter time with 12-year-old Julia.
The last, and perhaps the best part, of the trip was on the horizon, just past the mountains ahead of us.
The trailer was packed with camping gear, we were heading back to remote mountains ranges.
Mandy suggested Julia and I sit up front where we can get a better view of the scenery. I simply could not fathom all my eyes were seeing. Every way you turned there was that pure beauty of what our great God had made. The little town of Crede grabbed my attention, nestled up against the mountain it holds an authentic beauty. The fire station is carved into the mountain. Touring it made it feel as if we were stepping back in the 1800s, only it was really used today. Since there was not enough flat land to build a fire station, a tunnel was carved from the mountain, and all the needed equipment and tools kept inside. Not only does it stay cool in the summer, no heat is needed during the winter!
Heading farther back, winding through the mountains I breathed deeply from the fresh air blowing into my open window. This was happening to me … mountain ranges on all sides, the Rio Grand river down the cliff to the left and directly to the right, towering mountains. What, oh what a God we serve! Again I breathed deeply, this was the clear Colorado mountain air Mandy so fondly spoke of.
Our four or five hour drive ended at a camp where we unloaded our tents, bedding, food, and chairs. It was obvious that Mandy and her brother Eli had camped many times before, everything was practical and orderly, and guess what else — on this trip I was not in charge! Ah, it felt so good to have someone else take the lead. After everything was set up I reclined on a camp chair and enjoyed a good nap and wrote in my journal — something that I rarely took the time for the last weeks. I just relaxed, breathed deep, then did it all over again and again, feasting on the reality that there are no current demands waiting on me. There was no phone service back in, I trusted the children would all be okay.
Later Julia and I gathered sticks to build a fire for supper, since there was not an ample supply readily available we used Eli’s hatchet and worked up a good appetite. Oh my, we weren’t experienced, but we did have fun.
Mandy and Leanna had a yummy supper planned of sandwiches, peppers stuffed with cream cheese and wrapped in bacon, hash browns, granola bars, and fresh fruit. As I sat down with my plate loaded with steaming food, fresh from the campfire, I thought of my children. “They already all had their supper,” I breathed. (They were two hours ahead of us.)
There were no dishes to wash, only food to be put away so as not to attract bears overnight. We kept adding more sticks to the fire and chatted away under the blanket of brilliant stars. Though Mandy is not actually related to us, it felt like it, especially since she is an aunt to two of my second cousins from our church.
At an altitude of 10,000 feet, the stars looked more brilliant and more numerous than at home. Mandy spied a falling star leaving an usually bright blaze. The last pepper poppers were eaten long after dark. If there were a thing like freezing and reliving those moments after dark around the fire, I’m guessing they could be sold for a good price. There is just nothing quite like it.
It felt good getting into the sleeping bags as the chilly mountain air made its way into the tent. Imagine this, the next morning when I got up Mandy had started a fire in the wood stove in our tent and warmed it to a cozy warmth. I had never seen the like — a tent made for a stove to safely be used. Though I didn’t feel too thrilled to think of leaving camp that day, I was intrigued when I got up and discovered Eli’s wok. I never imagined an old iron disk to be turned into a frying pan, but that was the story. He had welded the center hole shut then grinded it for a smooth surface. Homemade wooden boxes were made to store the plates along with gloves and other needed items to prepare the scramble over a fryer. According to Mandy, he’s a pro at using this work the old-fashioned way and frying up Rocky Mountain Scramble.
And for next week we’ll be wrapping up with the story of our trip back East that left us blinking all the way home.
Rocky Mountain Scramble
1/2 pound bacon
1 pound sausage
1 onion, chopped
2 peppers, sliced
4 potatoes, sliced
8 eggs
8 ounces shredded cheese of your choice
Fry meats until almost done, add veggies of your choice. Fry and stir until tender, sprinkle with salt, black pepper, and your choice of seasonings. When done push out to the sides of wok or whatever pan you are using. The bacon drippings may stay in the center. Pour eggs into the center “pond.” Continue to stir, and fry eggs until done. Next sprinkle with shredded cheese on egg pond in center of the veggie ring. Delicious! We ate it with toast, it could also be spooned into tortilla wraps.
Gloria Yoder is an Amish house-wife in rural Illinois. She is the third writer of The Amish Cook column since its inception in 1991. Yoder can be reached by writing: The Amish Cook, P.O. Box 157, Middletown, Ohio 45042.