Thanksgiving Tidbits

 

My Grandma Neelly was notorious for cutting people's heads off. 

Don't get me wrong: She was the most mild-mannered, even-tempered lady. But give her a camera, and she'd chop off your head in a heartbeat.  Lisa said she must have been channeling Grandma Neelly when she took the photo of her Thanksgiving crowd. Randy was the victim in this case. (He should have moved into Lisa's chair. Oh well!)

All is forgiven. We were just thankful to be included in the Thanksgiving feast hosted in Clay Center. And it was a good laugh while we remembered. My brother was the chauffeur for my parents, and we joined the Bauer crew for a delicious traditional meal.

The next day, Randy and I had a different kind of Thanksgiving at Jill's. Daughter-in-law Susan and daughter Jill came up with the idea to do an appetizer competition for our little family's Thanksgiving. It was just as tasty. We were all supposed to add our offering to a Google Doc so we didn't end up with eight versions of the Cranberry Relish Dip over cream cheese. As it turned out, no one brought that. (I'm sure it will be on my Christmas menu.)

Most people complied with revealing their contributions, though Brent was adamant that his would remain a secret until the event. Jill developed a ballot, and everyone scored each appetizer with a 1 to 5, with 5 being the best. If someone refused to even take a taste of the appetizer, you had to give that dish a 3. (There was some controversy concerning that scoring decision among our participants).

And, drum roll please: My appetizer won. (A caveat ... None of these food photos is great. Most were taken after we'd already eaten and not taken very creatively. But maybe they are better than nothing.)

I brought homemade soft pretzel bites with a warm beer cheese dip.  (I also had a platter of fresh veggies you could dip, too.) 

My offering was one of several that came off our family's go-to recipe website, Sally's Baking Addiction. As Jill says, "Sally never lets you down." 

I've made a lot of yeast bread. In fact, I also took the yeast crescent rolls for our Thanksgiving celebration at Lisa's. But this was the first time I'd used a soda water bath. I'd always been kind of intimidated by the thought, but it turned out to be easy - though a little messy. 

Still, I'm already thinking about making them again for our family's Christmas "charcuterie" evening meal. (We'll have the traditional ham with trimmings for our noon meal and go the appetizer route for supper.)

Brooke's focaccia turkey sliders and Kinley's fruit kabobs.

Brooke also used Sally's arsenal of recipes, making homemade focaccia to make turkey sliders. We were all highly complimentary of her efforts. 

Remember Brent's huge mystery contribution? It was Candied Prosciutto Crackers. Yummy! 

Susan brought Sausage Stuffing Balls, also a contender. 

Eric used his love of Little Smokies and turned them into an appetizer version of pigs-in-a-blanket with a cranberry/mustard dipping sauce. There were only two left when I got around to taking a photo at the end, so they were popular, too.

Jill said she knew that her Harvest Salad probably wouldn't be the most popular. But it was a nice, fresh addition to our menu. And it was a winner among those of us who like a little green with our meals.  

It seemed that effort was rewarded among our voters. Kinley's fruit kabobs and Randy's shrimp cocktail platters received the lowest scores, though we enjoyed them, too. (Randy knew what he was bringing as soon as the appetizer theme was announced. And, bonus points: He shopped for his own contribution rather than just adding it to my grocery list for me to pick up.) 

We are thankful that son-in-law Eric has long arms so that we could all end up in a selfie. 

There was a bonus optional competition for desserts. (I didn't get photos of those, but they were just as delicious.) Brooke made a banana cream pie, and Eric made a coconut cream pie. Susan contributed a blueberry-pear galette, and Jill made an apple-cranberry bar, also from Sally's website. (She used the filling recipe from the Apple Cranberry Crumble Pie and the crust recipe from Salted Caramel Apple Bars. The caramel apple bars are a family favorite already.)

I brought the leftover pecan, coconut and pumpkin pies that I'd made for the Bauer Thanksgiving. We had plenty of sweet treats! (I use the same syrup for both the coconut and pecan pies.)  

I am not including the recipe for the Pretzel Bites - just giving you the link. Sally's Baking Addiction has great, detailed instructions, and you might as well get it straight from the source. She even has a video, if you're a visual learner. She had a cheese sauce linked, but I used a different one. 

I saw this recipe from a Hutchinson kitchen store, Apron Strings, and wanted to try it. It was a hit, too, and I'm sure I'll make it again.

Beer Cheese Dip

From an Apron Strings email  

4 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 clove garlic, minced
4 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 cup whipping cream
1/2 cup lager beer
1-1/2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce
1/2 teaspoon mustard powder
1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1/4 teaspoon smoked paprika
1/4 teaspoon salt
4 oz sharp cheddar cheese, grated (1-1/2 cups)
1/2 cup Gruyère cheese, grated
2 tablespoons chives, finely minced (opt)

In a small saucepan over low heat, melt the butter. Once melted, add the minced garlic and cook for 2-3 minutes. Create a roux by gradually whisking in the flour until all is incorporated.

Reduce the heat to low and add the cream, beer, and Worcestershire sauce. Continue to stir. Whisk in the spices. Slowly add the cheeses and stir until melted and the sauce becomes smooth. Taste and add additional salt or spices, if desired. Garnish with chives, if desired. Enjoy immediately.

I doubled the recipe to take to Jill's.  

***

All the girls went on a Black Friday shopping expedition to help me fulfill the wishes for two sisters from our Stafford community's Angel Tree. As we were coming back, Kinley wanted to know if they could wrap them, too. What a huge help!  

 

Then, on Saturday, Randy and I froze along with other Wildcat fans at the K-State vs. Colorado football game. The stands were definitely not packed. 

It was brisk! We had all the weather covered - rain, sleet, snow and even a little sunshine - very little sunshine. 

We sat in my folks' seats. If we'd have been in our regular seats, we would have faced that north wind the entire time, so we lucked out ... sort of. It was still cold!

But we got a victory to end the regular season and qualify for a post-season bowl game.

Through the purple smoke! 

And I left my car seat warmer on the entire way home.   

 

Teed Off

 

I am perfectly happy when Randy is "teed off." I am not a golfer, but I do like golf courses. When we're on vacation and the weather is right, we usually include one or two stops at golf courses. Who can argue with pretty scenery and a quiet place to read a book?

We didn't make it out of Kansas on our October 13-20 trip to Colorado before stopping at the first golf course. (Yes, I am late posting this.)

 

 Randy has always wanted to golf at Buffalo Dunes south of Garden City. So he did. 

 

Buffalo Dunes - a 72-par golf course - opened in 1976. A course-wide renovation plan has been put into action by current Superintendent Clay Payne, set to be completed in 2026 to celebrate the course's 50th anniversary. 

And - bonus! - their wildflowers were in full bloom and just beautiful (at that time).

 

I didn't need my book for awhile.

This beautiful array of colorful wildflowers was on the Back 9. They attract butterflies ...

... And people who appreciate nature's beauty. 

The beautifully-manicured course seems an anomaly in Western Kansas. I'm sure it benefited from better-than-average rainfall this summer and fall. 

BRIDGES - Montrose, Colorado

 The other golf outing was midway through our vacation in Montrose, Colorado. 

The par-71 Bridges course is a Nicklaus-designed course that features a number of golf cart and walking bridges, as well as native plantings, natural arroyos, rock features and waterfalls winding through 400 acres in the heart of historic Montrose. 

 

The 360-degree views of the surrounding peaks make for a memorable and scenic round of golf. Multiple tees vary the length of the course from 5,380 to 7,207 yards. Randy says he plays the "old man" tees.

 

The website says: 

The Nicklaus design team has incorporated a degree of difficulty into the course, but has also made it an enjoyable layout for the average golfer. The Bridges offers a true western club lifestyle to its residents and the Montrose community. The championship golf course is the heart of The Bridges golf community, complemented by a luxurious 23,500 square foot clubhouse, with 11,000 square feet of patio off our award-winning Remington’s Restaurant. 

We can't speak for the restaurant, but the course was beautiful. 

The Bridges at Black Canyon is approximately 65 miles south of Grand Junction and 65 miles north of Telluride on Colorado’s western slope. The property is surrounded by many natural wonders – to the east is one of the Nation’s newest National Parks – The Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park. To the north is the Grand Mesa – the World’s largest flattop mountain. The views of the San Juan Mountain range from The Bridges at Black Canyon stretches the length of the southern horizon. The gently ascending Uncompahgre Plateau extends west of Montrose clear to the Utah border.

 

We would recommend both golf courses ... if you're into that kind of thing!

Wild Country: Our National Parks

 

Something will have gone out of us as a people if we ever let the remaining wilderness be destroyed. We simply need that wild country available to us, even if we never do more than drive to its edge and look in. For it can be a means of reassuring ourselves of our sanity as creatures, as part of the geography of hope. 

Wallace Stegner, The Sound of Mountain Water

The quote above was on a sign at the last overlook we visited at the Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park. 

HOPE ... it's something that we could all use in today's world. We are increasingly bombarded with disagreement - whether it's on the Senate floor ... or in our local communities ... or on the inevitable Facebook, Instagram or X scroll.

Even before the government shutdown, it's been a tough year for the Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park. The South Rim Fire started on July 10, 2025, due to dry lightning in the canyon leading to the park's closure and visitor evacuations. While the fire was significantly contained as of mid-August, the South Rim and East Portal campgrounds and parts of the South Rim road remained closed to allow for recovery and ensure visitor safety from hazards like flash flooding and falling trees. It burned 4,000 acres. 

The South Rim Visitors Center reopened on August 18.

But, after the government shutdown in early October, the doors were again locked at the visitors centers and there was this sign:

During this lapse in appropriations, national parks will remain as accessible as possible. We are doing our best to take care of your parks at this time, but some amenities and services may not be available.  

Thankfully, the National Park Department didn't barricade the roads or the overlooks. So we were able to see another of our nation's parks during our Colorado trip.

Still, the evidence of the wildfires was apparent - even at our very first stop. 

 

It's a little hard to tell from the photo, but if you look closely, you might see a little green peeking through the charred earth as the earth begins to rebound and recover. It reminded me of pasture fires here in Kansas. The old growth is burned off so that new green grass sprouts. 

So, HOPE ... even in less-than-ideal conditions. The craggy rock formations were also a reminder of harsh conditions. 

 

Black Canyon of the Gunnison lies on the eastern edge of the Colorado Plateau,  a region spanning Arizona, Colorado, New Mexico, and Utah. 

 

It's a region well known for its natural features, plateaus, buttes, deep canyons and colorful rock layers. It is also adjacent to the Southern Rocky Mountains.

 

Black Canyon is the result of multiple episodes of uplift and erosion and the carving power of the Gunnison River. The canyon displays a wide variety of rock types - including igneous, metamorphic, and sedimentary. 

 

Black Canyon exposes nearly two billion year old Precambrian "basement rocks." Deposition, uplift and erosion are the key factors that created the canyon seen today. Black Canyon's greatest depth is 2,722 feet. The narrowest width is 40 feet at the river. 

We were amused by this sign at a trailhead. 

We weren't tempted to try it anyway, but note the last line:

Remember: Hiking down is optional; hiking back up is mandatory.  

Another of the overlook markers talked about being "perched on the edge of the untrammeled." 

We were glad not to do any extensive "trammeling." It looked pretty treacherous to us.

 

We are perched on the edge of the untrammeled - a place where human impact is limited. The Black Canyon of the Gunnison Wilderness is just below you. Small towns, limited industry and open skies have left the total view untouched. The works of our own hands are few. Here Earth is alive. Yet we can still harm lands without and outside designated Wilderness. Most of this view is unprotected. Still, we can be part of his living world. Wilderness is preserved as much in our hearts as on the land itself. 

We saw "wilderness" of a different kind at another national park - the Great Sand Dunes National Park. We were very surprised to find the Visitors Center and campgrounds open there, with park rangers available. We're not sure why those rangers were at work during the government shutdown, but we were thankful for their presence. We appreciated the opportunity to see the visitors center there, along with an an informative film about the dunes. 

Great Sand Dunes National Park and Preserve protects the tallest dunes in North America. 

 

 

 The park contains ecosystems ranging from mountains to grasslands to wetlands to forest to tundra. 

During a wetter time thousands of years ago, ancient lakes covered much of the valley floor. Streams carried eroded sediments from the San Juan Mountains and the Sangre de Cristo Mountains into these lakes. Over time, a thick layer of sand was deposited at the bottom of these lakes.

 

Through natural climate change, the lakes have largely diminished, leaving a vast sheet of sand on the valley floor. Predominate winds from the southwest funnel sand into a low curve of the Sangre de Cristo Mountains. Storm winds push sand back, forming the tall dune field.  

The Great Sand Dunes National Preserve covers approximately 44,661 acres. 

Advice from Great Sand Dunes:

Be ready for adventure.

Cherish wild spaces.

Embrace winds of change.

Spend time outdoors.

Keep a sense of wonder.

Don't get carried away.

Stay loose.  

 

Postcard from the visitors' center