Your Hometown Hiker

Dan River Drifters at Soul Infusion

2012-01-22T21:28:00.000-05:00

We had a fine weekend of live music to celebrate my birthday. On Friday night, we went to the groovy and quaint Soul Infusion Tea House in Sylva for a fun bluegrass show featuring some powerful picking by the Dan River Drifters. This was our first time seeing this group of young musicians and we thoroughly enjoyed it. Many thanks to bassist bad ass Adam Bigelow for inviting us out.
I'm really looking forward to seeing and hearing lots more from this band in the near future.

New Years Eve 2011

2012-01-01T19:39:00.000-05:00

We rang in the New Year this weekend at The Grey Eagle in Asheville with two of our favorite bands, Town Mountain and Acoustic Syndicate. It made for a fun time spent with good friends and great live music.

So we happily ended 2011 and started 2012 just how we prefer to live our lives by savoring the moments and smelling the flowers along the way. Here's hoping that the New Year brings health, happiness, and lots of good love and music to you and your families in 2012!


Black Betty and Hometown

Your Hometown Hiker's Live Band List 2011

2011-12-31T13:53:00.002-05:00

It's New Year's Eve and Black Betty and I are going to celebrate tonight at The Grey Eagle in Asheville (our favorite music venue) with Town Mountain and Acoustic Syndicate (two of our favorite groups).

The following is a list of many of the bands that we saw in 2011. We were fortunate indeed to see most of them numerous times. As I said last year, "There were so many incredible shows, so much inspiring music!"

Once again I would like to thank all the outstanding musicians who helped to make our year so incredibly fun and filled with great tunes.You know that we love you! I'm hoping for a repeat in 2012!


Hometown and Black Betty

Cooking With Quanta @ Soul Infusion Tea House

2011-12-13T01:56:00.001-05:00

Last Friday night, Black Betty and I caught our favorite local band at the Soul Infusion Tea House in Sylva.
It was a jammy night of original music and some pretty groovy covers by our friends in Cooking With Quanta. The fab four (Neil, Scott, Adam, and Greg) rocked the house. We boogied till we dropped!

We love Quanta and we love the Soul Infusion. What a great venue for this group, it really feels like a house party with all your best friends. It was another "mighty-fine" night of live music in western North Carolina.
You really should try to join us next time!

Town Mountain and The Freight Hoppers @ The Grey Eagle

2011-12-04T09:27:00.000-05:00

                                                         Two of the finest String Bands in the mountains came together on Friday night at The Grey Eagle in Asheville.

The Freight Hoppers are from Bryson City, NC and play Old Time and Traditional tunes from the 1920's and 1930's. David Bass (fiddle) and Frank Lee (banjo, guitar, vocals) have been together since the Freight Hoppers started their Great Smokey Mountain Railroad gig in 1993. After a hiatus of seven or eight years, the band regrouped in 2007 with Issac Deal (guitar,vocals) and Bradley Adams (bass). www.thefreighthoppers.com/

Town Mountain is, without a doubt, our favorite Asheville area bluegrass band. Black Betty and I try not to miss a local show with this smoking hot, bluegrass band. Their rawness and grit manages to get under your skin, and you become a convert after one Town Mountain show. Their rough around-the-edges sound fueled by Robert Greer's outstanding vocals and the band's skilled licks keep us coming back for more.

Town Mountain's strength and appeal lies in their ability to keep it real and gritty while refusing to allow their sound to become a polished out white-bread Nashville caricature of bluegrass music. This is working man's grass, it's the real deal! They feature outstanding original tunes penned by banjo player Jesse Langlais and mandolin player Phil Barker; they also do some great covers, including Bruce Springsteen and John Anderson. If you are extremely fortunate, you may even hear Robert Greer sing a heart-wrenching version of the Grateful Dead's Brokedown Palace. Their newest CD is Steady Operator. http://townmountain.net/blog/

No Knead Dutch Oven Bread

2011-11-27T08:12:00.000-05:00

I thought I would try my hand at some Dutch oven bread last week and have really been impressed at how easy it is to make.

Looking online I found the widely disseminated Jim Lahey recipe and followed it pretty close. There are numerous discussions and websites on the topic of this simple bread. It does make a perfect loaf with very little effort. I've been using a whole wheat variation by substituting one of the 3 cups of flour with whole wheat. This is great slicing bread and is as beautiful to look at as it is tasty to eat. I haven't tried cooking it outdoors with coals as my heat source yet but will get there I'm sure.

You will need to mix this dough the day before you bake it so it does take a little planning.
The recipe yields one 1 1/2 pound loaf.

Ingredients:
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup whole-wheat flour
1/4 teaspoon instant yeast
1 1/4 teaspoon salt
wheat bran for dusting

Equipment:
parchment paper
6 -8 quart cast iron, Pyrex, enamel, or ceramic covered pot.

1. Combine dry ingredients in a large bowl. Add 1 5/8 cup of warm water and stir until blended. Dough will be shaggy and sticky. Cover bowl with plastic wrap and let the dough rest for 12 to 18 hrs. at warm room temperature.

2. Dough is ready when its surface is dotted with bubbles. Lightly flour a work surface and place dough on it; sprinkle it with a little more flour and fold it over on itself once or twice. Cover loosely with plastic wrap and let rest about 15 minutes.

3. Using just enough flour to keep dough from sticking to work surface or to your fingers, gently and quickly shape dough into a ball. At this point I dust a sheet of parchment paper with wheat bran (you can use flour or cornmeal) and put the dough seam side down on it. Dust the top of the loaf with wheat bran and let it rise for 2 hrs. When it is ready, dough will be more than double in size and will not readily spring back when poked with a finger.

4.At least a half-hour before dough is ready, heat oven to 450 degrees. Put your covered dutch oven in the oven as it heats. When dough is ready, slice a slit or two across the top of it and carefully (using the parchment paper) place it into the hot pot. Cover it and bake for 30 minutes. Remove the lid and bake for about 15 minutes longer until the loaf is brown. Cool on a rack.

The Asheville Fall Charity Jam

2011-11-20T20:38:00.000-05:00

Black Betty and I had the pleasure of attending the 1st Annual Asheville Fall Charity Jam in Arden on Saturday.

The Asheville Fall Charity Jam is dedicated to raising awareness about local heroes in our community.
This year the benefit was held for the family of Asheville Firefighter Captain Jeff Bowen who lost his life while fighting a massive building fire this summer. A few words from Stacy Bowen about her husband.

The line up included The Southern Lights, East Coast Dirt, Ras Alan, Chalwa, The Whitewater Bluegrass Band, Phuncle Sam, and Snake Oil Medicine Show.

The location was great, the crowd was friendly and intimate, and the line-up was stellar. We had a wonderful time, made several new friends, visited with old friends, and listened to some really talented local musicians.
I sincerely hope that lots of money was raised for this great cause. We can't wait to see how this event will continue to unfold in the future.

Here's a little video of Ras Alan and friends performing during the afternoon.

MagnoliaFest 2011 Report

2011-10-28T10:53:00.006-04:00

Black Betty and I packed up the little pop-up and cruised on down to the lovely Spirit of the Suwannee Music Park for the 15th Annual MagnoliaFest last week. We arrived in time to set up camp in the usual great spot, find a few Festivarian friends, and head down to the amphitheater stage in time to catch a few of the Thursday night acts.

Col. Bruce Hampton and the Pharoah Gummitt tore things up with their bluesy rock. We love this band featuring Nick Johnson on guitar, Kevin Scott on bass, and Duane Trucks on drums. Col. Bruce even channeled the late great Howlin' Wolf during a blistering cover of Smokestack Lightning.

Next we saw 7 Walkers featuring Papa Mali, Bill Kreutzmann, George Porter, Jr and Matt Hubbard. We had first seen them a year ago at Magfest and have been listening to their killer "swamp-a-delic" jammy bliss ever since. 7 Walkers thoroughly lit it up and warmed the cool night air and played for nearly three hours. They performed many of their own Robert Hunter penned songs and several Dead covers including Sugaree, Bird Song, He's Gone, I know you Rider and encored with New Speedway Boogie. What a way to start out MagFest! As an added bonus we got to meet and talk with Matt Hubbard who stood in the long coffee line with us before the show.

Papa Mail and Bill Kreutzmann of 7 Walkers

Friday, we enjoyed a leisurely morning around camp before heading over to the amphitheater to catch the Mobile Alabama rocker, Grayson Capps.

Friday night, we managed to catch the jamgrass allstars Railroad Earth who encored with a crowd pleaser, Bird in the House. The Travelin' McCourys and Keller Williams seemed to be a perfect match for each other playing some great tunes from both the McCoury's traditional roots and Keller's more contemporary side (Oh, yes, they played the Port-a-Potty song). Keller / McCoury set on Internet Archive
We also walked over to the new mega-stage at the meadow for the big Lucinda Williams show. It was actually the first time that we saw Lucinda. She has a great band but otherwise maybe more "super-star" status than I'm used to in my local live-music scene.

There was lots of other great bands playing on Friday including: Dread Clampitt, Steel Pulse, Galen Kipar Project, Sloppy Joe, The Corbitt Brothers, and moe.

Grayson Capps

Railroad Earth

Saturday afternoon, Mr Americana himself, Jim Lauderdale, entertained the crowd at the amphitheater with various guests joining him on stage including the Infamous Stringdusters. The Lee Boys featuring the incredible Roosevelt Collier on pedal steel got the meadow rocking. Victor Wooten jammed on bass and provided every one there with a rhythm lesson. By this time if you weren't off your seat and on your feet there was something bad wrong.

Jim Lauderdale joined by The Infamous Stringdusters

Lee Boys with Victor Wooten

The defining moment of the weekend revealed itself to me when Bela Fleck joined Cornmeal for an unbelievably sweet-jam-bliss-eighteen-minute-long Shady Grove. Man! Allie, Kris, and Bela absolutely transcended the physical realm on that one! Wavy Dave really brought it on too and holds his own against the banjo guru! I couldn't believe that I was in the right place at the right time and got to video the whole damn thing! Talk about good karma! I'll get to re-experience this moment for years to come!I still get goose bumps when I watch it.

Cornmeal

Donna the Buffalo played Saturday night on the meadow stage. It was strange to have them so far above and beyond the audience. It's really not the whole Donna vibe. They were absolutely great though. They even started on time if you can believe that. I think it may have something to do with Dave McCracken doing the sound check. And talk about McCracken, is there a better keyboard guy around? Jeb and Tara have really put themselves together a hard driving boogie-groove machine with this rhythm section. Jeb talked some about the state of the nation (as he should) and about the Occupy Wall Street movement. He sang about loving life and the life of the living in a song called All Aboard. Most of all it was just a great Donna show; all about feeling good, feeling the love, singing the words, and dancing! They encored with Hot Tamale Baby before they were booted off stage by the stage manager who was in a hurry to set up for moe.
Donna The Buffalo set on Internet Archive

Donna The Buffalo.
Saturday many other bands played including the New Orleans Suspects, Papa Grows Funk, The Mosier Brothers, Grandpa's Cough Medicine, and moe. Sunday schedule included Acoustic Ensemble, The Lee Boys, The Mosier Brothers, Jim Lauderdale, Cornmeal, and Donna the Buffalo.

moe

Magfest Vibes:

As always the camping was sweet. We had some pretty chilly overnight temps in the high 30's so it was good snuggling weather.
The best part of the festival is always reuniting with our festival friends. We were happy to be able to spend time with them. We missed the ones who were unable to make it.
The Meadow Stage now seems to be the main stage. This makes sense to some extent but it seems to be mighty damn big and far away. The sound is absolutely spectacular though.
I see the food vendors are back to taking cash instead of those stupid tickets. I bet they are glad about that.
We liked that the shows started later and the bigger shows at night were staggered so you didn't have to decide who you would see or miss.
We didn't seem to be able to see enough of our old Magfest favorites.
We were bummed that we couldn't stay for the Sunday shows. They are usually our favorite part of the festival especially the Donna and friends jams. We both had to work on Monday with a seven hour drive home.
Boogie Cat was in attendance but was off his boogie!
The apple crisp at Sweet Revenge Cafe is still the best!

Jen, Van, and boys with Black Betty.

Hittin' The Note. (because music matters)

Johnathon, Black Betty, and Bob.

Gnometown

Mark with his "off" switch.

Evan on mando.

Emmitt-Nershi Band at The Grey Eagle

2011-10-02T10:31:00.002-04:00

The jamgrass super-group, Emmitt-Nershi Band performed at The Grey Eagle in Asheville on Friday night. It was the first show of their current tour, and they couldn't have asked for a more appreciative and enthusiastic crowd to play for.

Black Betty and I, along with family and friends, staked out the Bill Nershi side of the stage and hung on for the duration. I managed to shoot a few decent videos and enjoyed the wildly exuberant crowd of young music aficionados who clearly inspired the band to give it their best.

The Bristol area band Folk Soul Revival opened and got the house rocking. Emmitt-Nershi played two sets of their original tunes and threw in several interesting covers including Don't It Make You Want To Dance? (Rusty Wier) and encored with Sweet Child Of Mine (Guns And Roses).

It was another over-the-top night of live music in southern Appalachia!

Emmitt Nershi Band Bio

Bristol Rhythm and Roots Reunion 2011

2011-09-23T19:28:00.000-04:00

After missing Bristol last year, Black Betty and I were happy to be able to attend again this year. Especially after hearing that Railroad Earth would be back.

We were joined by our friends Marie, Sam, Michael, and Melanie at the super sweet Sugar Hollow Campground. This is a beautiful 300 acre wooded campground owned by the City of Bristol Dept. of Parks and Recreation. It has lots of shade, flush toilets, showers, electricity, and sites not big enough for the RV crowd. Sites are $12.00 a night (reserve early summer by phone and check) and a shuttle bus runs the few miles to the music venues on State Street.

Gnometown at Sugar Hollow

Friday evening, we arrived in time to catch our first glance of the David Mayfield Parade at the Piedmont Stage. We were instantly hooked and stood transfixed throughout his performance. All I can say is check him out for yourself. You'll see what I mean.

Next, we caught the young Americana super-star, Justin Townes Earle followed by one of our favorites, Railroad Earth. As always, RRE jammed it out to the delight of the crowd. The mystery group billed as the "High Country Allstars" playing at midnight turned out to be the Infamous Stringdusters! How cool is that?

Railroad Earth

Saturday, we battled the insane State Street crowds to catch several great shows. We managed to see performances by 18 South, The Everybodyfields, Jim Lauderdale, Robert Randolph Band, and Folk Soul Revival.

The much anticipated reunion of the Everybodyfields had to be the highlight of the whole weekend for me. It was really good to see Sam and Jill back on stage together. I don't know that it will last, but the thousands of fans massed at the Piedmont stage singing the songs were evidence that I am not alone in my admiration for this group. We'll see.

The Everybodyfields

So this is the deal, Bristol:

Twenty two stages and over 150 bands? I say it's too much. We've gone to this festival several times over the years and it really has gotten too big, too fast.
There is not enough room on State Street to accommodate the crowds. At least, the Belle Chere Festival in Asheville manages to spread it out in the downtown area where there is room to disperse the crowds somewhat.
And 150 bands? Why? Too many of the groups are playing in horrible little venues with terrible sounds. I can remember several years ago The Everybodyfields trying to play upstairs at the State Line while a rock band was playing downstairs. Needless to say.....
Did I mention that they still smoke in the bars in Bristol?
This year we ended up leaving to eat dinner on Saturday. We could not even find a place that we could get into without an incredibly long wait with total chaos reigning. If you don't choose street food, you may have to get in your car and leave to find a place to sit down and eat. That's what we did.

We still love this festival. It holds a special place in my heart; this is the place that I was introduced to lots of incredibly fantastic bands for the first time. The magic moments and the killer memories still exist.
I understand that I'm not in charge of it and have no say in it. I'm sure that there are scores of people who would disagree with me about the organization of the festival.
Black Betty and I both said that we would have to re-evaluate how we participate in it in the future. Maybe we'll just go during the night and not try to do a daytime thing.
I'll let you know how it goes next year!

Music On The Mountaintop 2011

2011-09-02T19:36:00.002-04:00

Black Betty and I really enjoyed Music On The MountainTop once again this year. It was held at a new location at Grandfather Campgrounds In Foscoe, NC about 10 miles outside of Boone. The venue was very scenic, beautiful, and appropriate and may make a nice home for the future of this festival if they work a few little bugs out.

Once again the lineup was stellar. We got there early on Friday afternoon and set up camp near the Wautauga River. After a little afternoon soaking rain shower (it really knocked the dust down), we headed to the little and remote third stage to see two of our favorite North Carolina bands, The New Familiars and Town Mountain. Unfortunately the stage was experiencing problematic technical sound difficulties through The New Familiars set and they finally unplugged, came down into the audience, and played their last couple of songs to the delight of the crowd. You've got to love this band, this is exactly the kind of festival memories that really stay with you and keep you coming back!

We next went to the Main Stage area (Main Stage and Side Stage sat pretty much side by side) and caught Sol Driven Trail, Acoustic Syndicate, and Railroad Earth. This is when things started getting dicey, weather-wise. The sky grew increasingly dark and threatening through Sol Driven Train's set and by the time Acoustic Syndicate came on the rain was pouring down. Acoustic Syndicate sounded really GOOD! They started off appropriately with Water of Love as the crowd danced in the cool rain. Sadly, after just about five songs, nearby lightning forced the end of the set.

After the hazardous weather passed, Railroad Earth came out and performed their hot and jammy tunes. They were just really getting cranked up when the clock hit 11 pm and the sheriff rode up on a golf cart and signaled "cut-it off" and that was it. The boys came out to the edge of the stage and played one last tune unplugged, but that was it for the night. This place had a very strict and enforced noise ordinance! Eleven o'clock on Friday night in Foscoe is as wild as it gets!

Saturday, we hung out at the Main Stage area and checked out tons of good music; Yo Mama's Big Fat Booty Band, Do it to Julia, Greensky Bluegrass, Infamous Stringdusters, Sam Bush, and 7 Walkers.

Hurricane Irene was hitting the Atlantic coast on Saturday, and although we were in the far mountains of western North Carolina, we experienced high winds all day. The bands really toughed it out and took it all in stride. At one point during the Sam Bush show, they had folks holding amps in place to keep them from blowing over and they had to tape the drum set to the stage floor.

All the music was great and 7 Walkers with Papa Mali and Bill Kreutzmann finished the night out right. Talk about your swamp-a-delic rock and roll, they have got it down and do it up right! Besides performing various original Robert Hunter penned 7 Walker songs, they did a few Papa Mali covers and the Grateful Dead's Cosmic Charlie, I Know You Rider, and Wharf Rat. (I really loved their Wharf Rat!) As an added twist to 7 Walkers, they had Kirk Joseph (Dirty Dozen Brass Band) on sousaphone sitting in as bass. I'll bet that sousaphone was hard to hold up on stage in the 40 mph winds!

Of course, we were still in Foscoe so the music once again came to a screeching halt at 11 pm. Papa Mali stated that he'd love to stay and play for several more hours, but alas!

Black Betty, Aimee, Todd Sheaffer, and M Diddy

Black Betty at the Main Stage Area.

Right On:
The music, the lineup, the vibe, the camping, the price, the mountains.
Always a nice crowd. Plenty of clean port-a-johns.
You can bring your own cooler with your own beer and purchase a $10 wristband to drink.
Lots of Outdoor gear and Eco-oriented sponsors.
The best Appalachian-hippie-kids-eco-Mother Earth parade this side of Middle Earth.
This is a great little festival which donates part of their proceeds to a couple of meaningful causes, Appalachian Voices and The Mountain Alliance.
Read more info about this on their website MusicOnTheMountainTop

Near Misses:
I didn't see the need for a third stage. They actually had a really cool and educational Eco-Village set up there and this area was somewhat remote from the Main Stage Area. Several good bands played and much of the crowd never sauntered over there to enjoy them. It seemed to me that there was ample room in the big field for the Village and the extra bands could be dropped or added earlier in the day to the big stages.

There did not seem to be any clear Ingress and Egress into the large Main Stage Area. I don't know where you went in at, but I and hundreds of others had to walk through a campsite, squeeze past a tent, and walk through a narrow opening between vendors. It was very hazardous and haphazard.

The bands (especially the headliners) did not get enough playing time. The sets were way too short, both the fans and the bands seemed short-changed. Eleven pm is a ridiculously early ending time for outdoor live music. If it must be that way let the bands start earlier and jam longer. It really is about the music!

Boohoo, no Caroline Pond, Snake Oil Medicine Show, or Larry Keel this year!

Eco Village Area.

Greensky Bluegrass

Hometown Hiker and Mike Devol.

The Sons Of Ralph

2011-08-13T13:47:00.001-04:00

The Sons of Ralph are an Asheville institution and favorite of Black Betty's and mine. They are also the house band at Jack of the Wood. We happened to catch them there during Bele Chere weekend when they rocked down the house to the delight of the crowd.

At 83, Ralph Lewis is still going strong. Ralph jams with the boys on mandolin, guitar, and vocals. He usually plays the first set of the night and then heads home. You can tell that his sons really love him and the crowd absolutely adores him.
They play a lively blend of pure Appalachian Americana music ranging from Bluegrass to Country to Rock and Roll.
Ralph's sons Marty and Don make up the Sons of Ralph along with cousin Steve Moseley and "other brother" Ozzie Orengo Jr.
Read their bios and purchase their merchandise on their website: Sons Of Ralph
Better yet see them in person.

Hometown's Salsa

2011-08-12T13:45:00.003-04:00

Somehow I ended up growing cayenne peppers this summer. I didn't plan to, I actually thought I was planting jalapenos but when the peppers started coming in they were long and skinny. It didn't really take me too long to figure it out. Not only did I have cayennes but they were incredibly prolific with the bushes literally loaded down with peppers. So I figured I'd make salsa.
After some initial research and experimenting I think I nailed down a great tasting recipe which is pretty easy to make. I hot water-bath canned mine but it could also be refrigerated until serving.
I figured I'd better blog it, so I can remember how I did it next summer.

Ingredients:

1/3 box of Roma tomatoes (about 6 lbs)
14 big cayenne peppers, sliced with seeds (to make a medium-hot salsa)
3 onions, diced
1 bunch cilantro, chopped
several cloves of garlic, crushed
juice of 2 squeezed limes
1 1/2 tsp ground cumin
1 1/2 tbsp salt
1/4 cup vinegar

Directions:

Drop the tomatoes a few at a time into a large pot of boiling water. After a minute or so scoop them out and drop them in a pot of cold water. This will loosen the skin and set the color.
Drain, peel, and quarter. I then use a food processor to crush the tomatoes.
Place crushed tomatoes in a large pot on the stove and add remaining ingredients. Bring to a boil.
Spoon into clean, hot canning jars and process in hot water bath taking the proper precautions.

Notes:

I didn't raise enough tomatoes to use this summer so I picked up a box at a local produce stand. I find it easier to work a third of the box at a time so I estimate it by filling the box lid with them.

Add or subtract the peppers for your taste. This will take some experimenting and guessing. My opinion is that the heat in this recipe is around medium range. Some folks might consider it mild or hot. I can say that the taste is really delicious and the heat does not seem to linger.
Jalapenos would also be perfect in it.

I like my salsa chunky, so I don't over work the tomatoes in the food processor. (Be quick on the button.)

It makes about 7 pints per batch. It's pretty in the jar.

Be sure you make plenty. My family is putting a hurtin' on this stuff!

Bele Chere 2011 with Railroad Earth

2011-08-08T08:30:00.002-04:00

Bele Chere picked a winner with Railroad Earth as headliner on Saturday night at the Coxe Avenue stage. Though they were hot off the heels of Floyd Fest the band still managed to have enough energy to get the huge crowd rocking downtown Asheville. They even managed to play a couple of my favorites, Smiling Like A Buddah and Head. Todd Shaffer further endeared the band to the Asheville crowd when he channeled Jerry Garcia for the uplifting spiritual, My Sisters and Brothers.
All in all it was another great Railroad Earth show. It seemed as though there were lots of folks seeing RRE for the first time in the crowd and discovering that they really were digging them. I imagine that there will be many more hobos jumping on the train next time they come to town.

Becky, Tim Carbone, Black Betty
Set List:
Walk Beside Me

Like a Buddha
420
The Jupiter and the 119
Long Walk Home
Lone Croft Farewell
Stillwater Getaway
Mourning Flies
Head
My Sisters and Brothers
E: Bringin' My Baby Back Home (with Jason Flournoy on banjo)

Holy Ghost Tent Revival at Bele Chere

2011-07-30T13:05:00.000-04:00

Black Betty and I hit Asheville for Friday night at a scaled-down Bele Chere with some hot, hot, hot, Holy Ghost Tent Revival. This rockin' roots band from Greensboro NC seems to get better each time we see them. Even with out a banjo (seems to have been short a D string) the band had the crowd whipped into an enthusiastic, dancing, sweating, frenzy. It was certainly a great start to Bele Chere 2011!

Smokies Hikes

2011-07-19T20:22:00.001-04:00

Hepatica

I spent 5 days camping with the family in Cades Cove last week and managed to get two good loop hikes in towards my goal of hiking all the trails in the GSMNP.

On 7/8, I rode my bicycle to the Anthony Creek Trail head at the top of the picnic area. I followed this pretty trail for 1.6 miles and then veered right at the junction of the Russell Field Trail. This trail follows the Left Prong of Anthony Creek (crossing it a few times on foot logs.) The trail passes some impressive old growth trees and climbs steadily to join the Appalachian Trail at the new Russell Field Shelter. I spotted several bear tracks in the mud on my hike up. I ate a quick lunch at the shelter while reading the shelter journal and then hiked north on my familiar old Appalachian Trail to the beautiful Spence Field. Here, I joined the Bote Mountain trail, and I drank my fill of ice cold water from a wonderful spring just a hundred yards or so below the ridge. This is an interesting old road, deeply ravined and rocky. The elevation dropped quickly in the 1.6 miles before I joined back with the Anthony Creek Trail to hike 3.6 miles back down to the Cades Cove Picnic area. About 1/2 mile from the trailhead, the skies opened up with a drenching rain and I ended my hike completely soaked.
Miles Hiked: 13.4

Russell Field Shelter

50 inch Northern Red Oak

On 7/11, I returned by bicycle to the Anthony Creek trailhead to do another loop hike. This time, I hiked Anthony Creek back to the Bote Mountain Trail and then turned left (downhill) on Bote Mountain. I followed it down to the little Lead Cove Trail which I followed down to its end at Laurel Creek road. I crossed the road and hiked 2/10 of a mile on Turkeypen Ridge to join up with the Crib Gap Trail. As I hiked this low-elevation, road-skirting, non-descript trail through the deep heat and humidity of the day, I told myself that I would never remember anything about this trail unless I happened to see a bear. About five minutes later, I made eye contact with a black bear who promptly exited the trail! I guess I will remember Crib Gap Trail after all. Crib Gap joins Anthony Creek to complete the loop.
Miles Hiked: 8.8

Bote Mountain Trail

Flat Creek and Spruce Mountain Trail

2011-06-28T19:31:00.001-04:00

Black Betty tagged along today for a little Smokies adventure which involved hiking two separate trails and working in a bicycle shuttle to boot.

To start with, we drove to the Heintooga picnic area and left our bikes at the trail head for the Flat Creek trail. Then we drove back down Heintooga Ridge Road to the southern trail head and hiked north on the beautiful and moderate Flat Creek Trail.

This trail was actually built in 1934 by the C.C.C. and still seems to receive regular maintenance. And if you can believe it, the lush grass which borders the trail for most of its 2.6 miles seemed to have been very recently weed whacked! We certainly enjoyed the beauty of the pristine creek and surroundings and the rather gentle grade of the trail in general. This would be a great one to take kids hiking on.

When we reached the picnic area, we hopped on our bikes and rode downhill 3 1/2 miles to the car.

Next, we drove the one-way Balsam Mountain Road about 6 miles to the Spruce Mountain Trail. Interestingly enough, we saw a turkey hen with about a dozen little chicks and then a ruffed grouse hen with several chicks while driving between the hikes.

Spruce mountain trail is a short and sweet 1 miler which runs up to the junction of the now closed Polls Gap Trail. It featured a pretty little stream crossing and several large beeches, yellow birches, and red spruce trees. I hiked the 2/10 mile to campsite #42 to check it out. Distant thunder and threatening skies prevented us from hanging out too long so we headed back down hill to the car.

Gregory Bald Hike

2011-06-24T11:26:00.026-04:00

I hiked up to Gregory Bald in the Great Smoky Mountain National Park yesterday via the Gregory Ridge Trail. I drove through a persistent rain the entire way to the trail head on Forge Creek Road in Cades Cove, but the rain let up just as I was starting my hike.

The trail provided a pretty and pleasant hike. It ambled gently for the first two miles along Forge Creek eventually crossing it three times on foot logs. The walk through beautiful stands of in-bloom rosebay rhododendrons, old-growth hemlocks, and tuliptrees was magnificent to say the least.

The climb really starts at campsite 12, where you begin the 2400' climb (over 3 miles) up Gregory Ridge to Rich Gap. Although this works out to about 800' gain each mile, the climb really didn't seem too bad to me on this particular day. I guess I must have remembered to eat my Wheaties for breakfast. The thrill of the hike came about 1/2 mile below Rich Gap when I encountered a LARGE BLACK BEAR heading downhill on the same trail that I was heading uphill on. The bear behaved exactly like I wanted it to and promptly exited the trail with a loud crashing lope through the woods as soon as it saw me.

At Rich Gap, I joined the Gregory Bald trail for a short and easy 6/10 mile hike to the Bald. At this point, the mountain was enshrouded in heavy cloud with very limited visibility which was a bit of a disappointment. It made it difficult to fully appreciate this 10 acre open grassy bald situated on the Tennessee / North Carolina border for what it really is. The famous Gregory Bald display of azaleas were a bit beyond their prime but the colors were still brilliant and beautiful. In spite of the heavy fog and mist, I was able to spot azaleas blooming in oranges, reds, pinks, yellows, whites, creams, and various combinations The fragrance in the air was magnificent. I must say I don't remember ever encountering anything like it in all my years of hiking.

I think that I will have to return later this summer to enjoy some of the many blueberries scattered about the bald. Maybe I'll luck out and get a view next time.

Overall, I will have to rate this 11 mile round trip as a must do!

As an Appalachian Trail through hiker, I feel that I must also mention that the Appalachian Trail originially crossed Gregory Bald on its route through the Smokies. The relocation to the current route took place in 1948.

1940 Great Smoky Mountain map showing the Appalachian Trail crossing Gregory Bald.

Copper Bald Azaleas

2011-06-14T14:56:00.002-04:00

I hiked up to Cold Springs Shelter on the Appalachian Trail this morning with a trash bag and rake to clean up the camping areas and put a new pipe in the spring. Afterward, I ambled on up to the top of Copper Bald and shot a few pics of the Copper Bald Azaleas hiding among all the blooming Mountain Laurel and Flame Azaleas.

Rhododendron arborescens, the Sweet Azalea, has white to blush pink flowers with red stamens, and a very strong fragrance similar to heliotrope. It blooms in late spring to early summer and individual flowers measure 1.5 to 2 inches across.
First described by John Bartram in 1814, this species has a wide distribution in the eastern United States, but can usually be found growing near streams or moist areas. It is sometimes known as the "Smooth Azalea" because the stems are very smooth and do not have hairs similar to the other azaleas.

I am not certain if the pink azalea is also R. arborescens or another naturalized hybrid. I'll have to look a little closer next time.

The AT does tunnel through the laurels towards the top of Copper Bald.

There's a pretty decent and flat campsite right behind this sign. I'll have to bring the grandsons here to camp in a few years.

Winding Stair to Fontana Hike

2011-06-11T12:08:00.000-04:00

I joined my brother Matt and AT buddy Floyd for a hike from Winding Stair Gap near Franklin to Fontana Dam last week. It's a beautiful and rugged 56 mile stretch of the Nantahalas and one of my favorite sections to hike.

Highlights (besides getting to spend time with Matt and Floyd) were: camping on the Wesser Bald tower with its spectacular sunsets and sunrises and unspoiled views, rolling into the Nantahala Outdoor Center for lunch, showers, and then packing pizza out for supper on the trail, walking among lots of old growth giants, seeing thousands of beautiful flame azaleas and mountain laurel in bloom, and listening to Floyd yelp as he stepped on a timber rattler!

Did I mention we had beautiful weather? Thanks once again to Connie and Andrew Sampson who provided us with yard camping, meals, and shuttle at Stecoah Gap!

Grand Canyon Trip

2011-04-26T14:37:00.000-04:00

Where do you look for this hope that you know is there
And out there somewhere
And your feet can only walk down two kinds of roads
Your eyes can only look through two kinds of windows
Your nose can only smell two kinds of hallways
You can touch and twist
And turn two kinds of doorknobs
You can either go to the church of your choice
Or you can go to Brooklyn State Hospital
You'll find God in the church of your choice
You'll find Woody Guthrie in Brooklyn State Hospital

And though it's only my opinion
I may be right or wrong
You'll find them both
In the Grand Canyon
At sundown

Last Thoughts On Woody Guthrie ~ Bob Dylan

Suwannee Springfest 2011 Report

2011-04-02T10:22:00.005-04:00

Black Betty and I returned to our favorite harbinger of spring the Suwannee Springfest near Live Oak, Florida, last weekend. The weather provided a perfect stage for four days of music, fun, and camping with several thousand of our best friends. We arrived on Thursday afternoon and were joined in Gnometown by our daughter Becky, and friends, Marie, Nate, and Phil.


Gnometown

After setting up camp and reuniting with fellow Festivarians we headed down to the stages and caught kick ass performances by Larry Keel and Natural Bridge, Holy Ghost Tent Revival, Scythian, and Greensky Bluegrass. As a special treat Larry Keel joined Greensky to rip it up on the jammy King Of The Hill.
We couldn't hang for the midnight show by The Motet, but we happily boogied in our sleep to their tunes.


Mark Schimick and Larry Keel

Friday the tough decisions had to be made. Who do we see? Worse yet, who do we miss? It's always a dilemma, I just try to limit the losses. So Friday we were fortunate enough to catch Trampled by Turtles. They were actually standing on stage and not sitting down (as we'd seen them before). As always they picked hard, fast, and precise. We also caught the unique Sacred Grass sound of the Travelin' McCourys with The Lee Boys. Now that's my kind of Praise Music, bluegrass meets sacred steel!


Ampitheater Stage

The Gnometown gang was especially excited about the late shows on Friday night. As everyone who knows us understands, we are BIG Greensky Bluegrass and Emmitt Nershi fans. Although we have seen Greensky Bluegrass numerous times, this was their first time playing Springfest. I knew the Friday night Meadow Stage show, which followed Cornmeal would be spectacular. They surely did not disappoint. Greensky ripped it up to a loving and enthusiastic crowd in the midnight hour. The highlight performance of the weekend had to be when Allie, Kris, and JP of Cornmeal joined Greensky on stage to perform the Grateful Dead's China Cat Sunflower/I know You Rider. What a show, what a show!

As soon as the Greensky show ended, we hauled it over to the Emmitt/Nershi Colorado Jam featuring Michael Kang and just about everyone else. There were too many fine musicians joining them on stage to mention them all. Suffice to say the tunes were awesome and Bill Nershi and Drew Emmitt know how to host a super jam!


Black Betty, Becky, Hometown, Marie with Greensky Bluegrass.

The big show for us on Saturday night had to be The Avett Brothers. Four years ago when they played Springfest we were among the few who had seen them before. We ran around telling people not to miss their performance, and I remember them tearing it up on the Meadow stage in front of a small crowd of about 100 people. Of course, now they return to their little festival roots in the big bus as conquering rock stars, hot off their Grammy performance with none other than Bob Dylan! Big time, big time! Their show was hot and inspired. I thought the sound was really terrible for the first half of the set. It was like they were trying to crank them up too loud and it resulted in a constant buzzing for at least six songs. After a LONG time they finally got the sound worked out. They played lots of old favorites, the crowd loved them. Oh yeah, did I mention that they have a drum set now?


A crew of happy Festivarians!

Sunday is always our favorite day of music at Springfest. We can't always stay but this year we could. The highlight of Sunday is always the Donna the Buffalo and friends jam. Once again it was spectacular. Donna was joined by Randy Judy, Galen Kipar, Verlon Thompson, Acoustic Syndicate (Big Daddy sang Rainbow Rollercoaster and the band tossed out Lassie Pops), Rushad Eggleston, Ralph Roddenbery, and, of course, Jim Lauderdale. Wow, each performance was spectacular to say the least. We spent hours smiling and dancing and once again you just can't beat a Donna the Buffalo show.

Bands we managed to see over the weekend: Acoustic Syndicate, Cornmeal, Danny Barnes, David Grisman, Donna The Buffalo, Dread Clampitt, Emmitt-Nershi Band, Greensky Bluegrass, Holy Ghost Tent Revival, Jim Lauderdale, Larry Keel, Ralph Roddenbery, Scythian, Sol Driven Train, Steep Canyon Rangers, The Avett Brothers, The Lee Boys, The Mosier Brothers, The Travelin' McCourys, Trampled By Turtles, and Verlon Thompson.

Jim Lauderdale

We were a little worried about the future of Springfest last year. I think between the poor economy and a huge 2010 Wannee Festival, the 2010 Springfest took a hit. They did manage to come back bigger and better this year, with the addition of a campground stage. Hopefully, Suwanne Springfest will be around for years to come!

Black Betty and Becky on the beach.

Suwannee Sweets: Reuniting with old friends, making new friends, Boogie Cat, Sweet Revenge's apple crisp, as always great vibes, killer line-up, the best primitive camping at any festival, my new solar shower, riding bicycles, the river, Jim Lauderdale's corny jokes, Larry Keel's guitar, Allie Kral's fiddle, and Dave McCracken's keys.

Bummers: Not a Peter Rowan in sight, nor did we see any configuration of The Duhks or Turtle Duhks at the Spirit of the Suwannee all weekend!

Town Mountain at The Grey Eagle

2011-03-20T13:40:00.001-04:00

Our 28th wedding anniversary, the "super moon", and Town Mountain's CD release party at The Grey Eagle all came together this weekend to create a spectacular time of fun and music. Talk about planets aligning? We couldn't have asked for a better anniversary present than a night at our favorite music venue listening to one of our favorite grass bands. The CD is great, check it out, it's called Steady Operator. It's released nationwide on May 12 if you weren't lucky enough to grab one at the Grey Eagle last night.

Here's a nice write up on Town Mountain and the new CD. The Laurel of Asheville

Dutch Oven Apple Brown Betty

2011-03-13T14:32:00.000-04:00

Here's a quick and easy dessert that is delicious to eat. The dry ingredients can be mixed together and placed in a ziplock bag ahead of time if you want to fix this one while camping. To make things easier you can even prepare the apples before leaving home and put them in ziplocks in the cooler.

I used the recipe from Texas Treasury of Dutch Oven Cooking .

Grandma 20's Apple Brown Betty

Mix together: 6 cups tart apples, peeled, cored, and sliced. (I used Granny Smiths)
                     1/2 cup sugar.

Spread evenly over bottom of Dutch Oven.

Top with: 1 cup brown sugar
                1 cup oats
                3/4 cup flour
                1/2 cup softened butter
    1 cup pecans (I used halves)
              2 tsp cinnamon
                1 tsp nutmeg

Bake in 10" or 12" dutch oven using 8 briquets on the bottom and 14 briquets on the top for 20 or 30 minutes.
It's done when apples are tender and topping is brown. Serve with ice cream or whipped cream.

Dutch Oven Chicken Fajitas

2011-03-03T20:08:00.000-05:00

I've been thinking about throwing this one together for a few weeks and finally got it in the pot tonight. It's a tasty and easy to cook meal which will feed the hungry family. I used a 12" camp dutch oven.

Ingredients:
2 lbs. chicken breasts cut into 1" pieces
2 tbs. olive oil
1 pkg fajita seasoning
1 red bell pepper, sliced and seeds removed
1 yellow bell pepper, sliced with seeds removed
2 onions sliced
4 small zucchinis, sliced
3 tomatillas, diced
1 lb. mushrooms, sliced
1 bunch cilantro, chopped

Preparation:
Start by firing up about 36 charcoal briquettes in the chimney starter.
When they are hot place a solid layer of briquettes underneath the dutch oven, heating the olive oil.
When oil is hot, lightly brown all sides of the chicken pieces.
Add 1/4 cup hot water and the fajita seasoning.
Add the veggies.
Put the lid on the oven.
Arrange briquettes so that about 12 are below the oven and the remaining 24 are on the top of the lid.
Cook for about 45 minutes.

Serving:
Eat them wrapped in tortillas or serve them over rice.
Some folks like sour cream and grated cheese with them.
We served them with salsa verde. Picante would be good.

The Verdict:
Pretty, colorful, and very good flavor. All the ingredients were perfectly cooked and tender. Black Betty and the kids liked them. I thought they were a little too wet. Next time I will omit the water.

Ramsey Cascades Trail - Big Trees and Waterfalls

2011-02-28T10:02:00.002-05:00

We hiked to Ramsey Cascades in the Greenbriar section of the GSMNP yesterday. The trail is 4.0 miles long resulting in an even 8 mile round trip. We had rain showers on and off for the entire day but fortunately it was seasonably warm for the end of February with temps in the 60's.

The first 1-1/2 miles of the trail follows a gentle climb and smooth foot path along side the Middle Prong of the Little Pigeon River. The remaining 2-1/2 miles of trail climbs along the Ramsey Prong. Here is where the slippery roots and rocks join with a more aggressive elevation gain making the hike a little more challenging.
Several old growth giants line the trail, including some massive tulip poplars and eastern hemlocks. The trail is in good shape with lots of stone steps and a couple of long creek crossing foot bridges. It's evident that a lot of work has been done on this trail over the years.

At the top of the trail is the beautiful Ramsey Cascades. It is a 90 foot cascading waterfall and according to the little brown guidebook, Hiking Trails Of The Smokies Ramsey Cascades is the highest waterfall in the park accessible by trail. It really is a spectacular sight and I'm sure that it gets crowded in the summer. There is a huge flat rock in front of the falls positioned perfectly for viewing. We didn't eat lunch there because of the cool spray and wind coming off the falls but I'll bet in sunnier weather that would be the spot.

This trail gains around 2200' in 4 miles. Black Betty rated it difficult. I would give it 2-3 Snickers bars using Nimblewill Nomad's rating system. The rain did make the roots slippery and Black Betty fell on the way down spraining her knee. She was able to walk out so lucky for her I didn't have to tote her like a sack of potatoes.

Dutch Oven Braised 7 Hour Leg of Lamb

2011-02-26T20:18:00.000-05:00

We received a call this week from our friends at Slagle Farms informing us our spring lambs were ready, so I ran down to take a look at the freezer and discovered that we still had one leg of lamb left from last spring. I decided to take the plunge and try a 7 hour wine braise on this one. I can tell you that I now understand what all the fuss is about. This is absolutely the best leg of lamb I've ever tasted. I did end up cheating a little, and although I used my good old 12 inch Lodge cast iron camp dutch oven, I cooked it in the oven instead of outside with coals. This was due to several things (other irons in the fire) I had going on, and I didn't want to have to spend the day babysitting the dutch oven.

Ingredients:
bone in leg of lamb (4-5 lbs)
sea salt, black pepper, dried basil, 10 cloves garlic
olive oil
4 large onions sliced 1/2 inch thick
1 lb. bag of little carrots
6 potatoes peeled and cut into 1-2 " chunks
2 cans low sodium chicken broth
2 - 3 cups white wine (I used a Chardonnay)

Preparation:
Preheat oven to 300F degrees.
Stud the lamb with 10 or 12 fat garlic spikes.
Brush it with the olive oil and then rub in the salt, pepper, and dried basil. I would have used additional herbs but this was all I had in the kitchen.
Heat a few tbs. olive oil in the bottom of the dutch oven and brown the lamb.
Remove lamb from dutch oven and pour in wine. Heat to boiling and reduce. Meanwhile add remaining garlic crushed to wine. Add additional basil.
Add the sliced onions and carrots into the wine mixture.
Set browned lamb gently on top of onions and carrots in dutch oven.
Surround lamb with potatoes.
Carefully pour in chicken broth around the edges and continue to heat to simmer.
Add additional spices and herbs if wanted.
Place lid on dutch oven.
Bake at 300F degrees for 7 hours.
(After about 4 hours, I did carefully turn the meat over one time)

To serve:
This is a one dish complete meal. The meat is so tenderly braised that it does actually fall off the bone. I separated the meat from the bone and served it and the vegetables with the deliciously aromatic and flavorful juices.

The bottom line is that this lamb is tender, moist, and wonderfully delicious. As an added bonus, my house smelled heavenly all day while it cooked, and it was an incredibly easy one dish clean up.

Kimsey Creek Hike

2011-02-14T16:44:00.001-05:00

Spring-like temps today put me and Cricket out in the woods on one of my favorite local hikes, the Kimsey Creek trail. Kimsey Creek is in the Standing Indian Basin and follows an old logging rail bed used by the Ritter Logging Co. in the 1920's. It is a blue blazed trail, which runs mostly along the beautiful Kimsey Creek from the campground to Deep Gap. The terrain is primarily a gentle climb over a sometimes wet and muddy rock path. The serenade of the crystal clear water rushing through the stream bed and the sight of the beautiful cove hardwoods and hemlock and rhododendron forests creates a peacefulness, which is not always easily found in today's hectic world. This area will break out into wild flower heaven in just a few weeks. It really is no wonder that I've spent many walks on this lovely trail over the years and keep coming back to it.

Big Daddy Bluegrass Band at Pisgah Brewing Company

2011-02-13T19:13:00.000-05:00

We were stoked to be able to see the "next generation" of the Big Daddy Bluegrass Band at Pisgah Brewing Company last night in Black Mountain. As every music lover around western North Carolina is fully aware, no one can sing a song like Steve "Big Daddy" McMurry. The vocal harmonies with Robert Greer of Town Mountain and Jason Flournoy were spectacular to say the least and the licks were hot as fire! We are so fortunate to live in an area where such top-notch musical talent literally grows wild in the hills. Live music just doesn't get any better. Big Daddy Bluegrass Band is a must see!

Big Daddy Bluegrass Band features Asheville area musicians; Steve McMurry on lead vocals, mandolin, and guitar, Billy Cardine on dobro, Jason Flourney on banjo, Robert Greer on harmonizing vocals and guitar, and Jay Sanders on bass.

Here's a good read on the band The Laurel of Asheville.

The Bartram Trail / Wallace Branch

2011-02-10T19:24:00.002-05:00

It's all honey thick sweetness living in southern Appalachia when it comes to hometown hiking.

The Wallace Branch trail head of the Bartram Trail is a short couple miles away from my front door.

Eleven miles up the Bartram is Wayah Bald on the Appalachian Trail. At that point, if I turn and

follow the white blazes north, I will end on top of Mt. Katahdin in Maine in roughly two thousand and fifty miles.

It can be a constant temptation, believe me.

The Barn Cats // Clog Dancers

2011-02-07T10:41:00.002-05:00

It seems that with the explosion of youth sport programs, traveling teams, and other after school diversions over the last 15 to 20 years that local clog dancing has experienced a general decline in popularity.
It's not been that long ago that every little community in the mountains had their own competitive teams. I can still vividly remember sitting in the bleachers at the Franklin High School Gym with my family and watching the best dance teams from the western counties compete. I'm sure that the rocking and stomping of the hard wood could be heard a block away. It was a site and a sound to behold, for sure.

I was pleased to see a few young clog dancers get up on stage with The Barn Cats last Thursday night at the Mountain Heritage Center at WCU and show their stuff. After all, music without dance is like peanut butter without jelly. It's just not right!

The Barn Cats at The Mountain Heritage Center

2011-02-04T09:42:00.004-05:00

The Barn Cats performed last night at the Mountain Heritage Center at Western Carolina University in Cullowhee, NC. The Barn Cats are the three piece band consisting of Frank Lee, Issac Deal, and Bradley Adams of the Freight Hoppers. Even though though they were without David Bass on fiddle (he was out of town and unable to attend) their inspired passion for traditional music made for great times and great music.
It just doesn't get any better on a cold and rainy winter night in Appalachia.

From their website: http://www.thefreighthoppers.com/

The Freight Hoppers: Bio After more than a decade The Freight Hoppers have released their eagerly awaited fourth album Mile Marker. This collection includes music that was first recorded in the late 1920's and early 1930's, and spans geographically from Mississippi to West Virginia. The Freight Hoppers play hard driving old time music with an emotional, raw excitement that keeps one foot planted in the past and the other in the present. Of course that’s only when they keep their feet still, for this is high energy dance music of an older day played like there's no tomorrow. Finding their passion from a love of stringband music of the 1920's and 30's, The Freight Hoppers have been entertaining crowds of fans at festivals and music halls alike as they travel around the country. The heart of the band is held together by the powerhouse fiddle and banjo combo of David Bass and Frank Lee, while the rhythm section of Isaac Deal on guitar and Bradley Adams on string bass keep the groove moving. Add in the vocal duo of Frank and Isaac, and you've got yourself one of the most exciting traditional bands to come out of the woodwork. Based out of the Smoky Mountains of North Carolina, The Freight Hoppers draw from a deep source of rural southern music for their inspiration, and are proud to present music that is still very much alive and meaningful to today's world.

The Freight Hoppers are:
David Bass fiddle
Frank Lee banjo, vocal
Isaac Deal guitar, vocal
Bradley Adams string bass

Donna The Buffalo at The Orange Peel

2011-01-30T19:29:00.001-05:00

Black Betty and I got our groove on at one hell of

a Donna The Buffalo show last night at the Orange

Peel. This week is being celebrated as The

Birthday Week of Carolina resident and

keyboardist extraordinaire Dave McCracken.

Although, and I kid you not, at one point he

actually had a cordless drill out on stage while

the rest of the band was playing, in an attempt to

repair a broken component of his rode-hard and

road-weary organ.

McCracken persevered as he always manages

to do and ended the night by fueling an insanely

scorching hot jam during a blistering encore

rendition of Hot Tamale Baby which stampeded

the herd in a hoof hopping, buffalo boogie frenzy.

I've said it before, Donna the Buffalo is hot, hot,

hot, right now.

The planets are in perfect "Donna" alignment.

See 'em now, don't miss 'em!

Greensky Bluegrass and Railroad Earth @ The Orange Peel

2011-01-15T20:05:00.002-05:00

Black Betty and I got to see two of the hottest Americana jam bands touring today when they rolled into Asheville last night.

Greensky Bluegrass opened for Railroad Earth at The Orange Peel and got the crowd warmed up for a scorching hot show on a cold Friday night.
Here is a recording of their set on Archive; Greensky Bluegrass.

Railroad Earth started the first set with a heavy electric bass intro by Andrew Altman with the Happy Song. Other first set highlights included a crowd-favorite Like A Buddha and ended with Lone Croft Farewell.
Set two featured the latest RRE sing-a-long, The Jupiter and the 119, and an epic and wonderfully jammy masterpiece Warhead Boogie, which really managed to get the whole house rockin' without restraint.
Here is a link to their show on Archive: Railroad Earth.

It was another fine night of listening to some of the best live music in the world delivered right to my door step in Western North Carolina. How lucky is that?

11 Questions with Caroline Pond

2011-01-04T14:30:00.001-05:00

From her Bio:

Caroline Pond is the front woman for Snake Oil Medicine Show. From Asheville, North Carolina she has been a touring musician for 15 years. She delights audiences with her vocals, fiddle and her Martin ukulele. Her original songs are catchy, uplifting, positive and just plain fun. Caroline dips through many styles of music, from Bluegrass, Old Time, Jazz, Reggae, Ska and funk.
Caroline Pond is an ambassador of peace through her music, art and positive outlook on life. Her travels have spanned throughout Europe, North America and Jamaica.
Caroline has shared the stage with many artists/heroes including: Vassar Clements, Larry Keel, Yonder Mountain String Band, Leftover Salmon, Acoustic Syndicate, Donna The Buffalo, Mad Tea Party and so many more amazing musicians.

Caroline has a released a new solo album this winter entitled Follow Your Heart.
Special guest musicians appearing on the CD are Asheville artists Ben Scales, George Pond, Ami Worthem, and Jason Krekel.

Black Betty and I are big fans of everything Caroline and I was thrilled to be able to ask Caroline 11 questions for the new year, 2011.

1 Your new album is called Follow Your Heart. Do you have a favorite song on the album? I think the title track "Follow Your Heart" is my favorite. I wrote the song on my back porch hanging with my dogs and thats when I dreamed of making the album and doing a tour. Also, its a strong message for us to Follow our Hearts. You can control your dreams and make your days the best days ever, whether you are in your most happiest spot like your back deck with the sun shining or having to wait in line at the Driver's License office. Its what you make of it. Follow your heart people.

2 You sing in Babies On The Lawn that babies don't belong in Babylon. Who would you say does belong in Babylon? SO this song was spawned from a play on words Baby Lawn,Babylon, Babies on the Lawn. And, I hear many Reggae Artists referring Babylon, as a negative place, like places of murder, disease, Corporate America, Wal-mart style places. And I know that Babylon, used to be a beautiful place, the Ancient Mesopotamia with its Hanging Gardens, so its really interesting how a beautiful place has become known as an area of constant revolt. So, the answer to your question, no one should belong in Babylon. I like to think of myself as an ambassador of peace through my music and so if i can spread the word by singing Babies on the Lawn don't belong in Babylon, then that's what I got to do.

3 We see you with Snake Oil Medicine Show, The Pond Farm Pickers, and sometimes with Sugar and Spice. Do you have any plans for 2011 yet? Well my plans are to still play in heavy rotation with Snake Oil Medicine Show, we are taking a bit of time off this month for recording and the Pond Brothers are brand new daddies. Also, I plan on averaging one show a month with Sugar & Spice with Ami Worthen. We sure do have a blast. I play in an old-time band called Tater Diggers and we have many shows and a new cd to share in 2011. In addition, I plan on fine tuning my solo career and want to travel through the United States again.

4 You took your mother along for a cross country tour this Fall, playing solo shows and staying with friends and fans. What was that like? I had a blast and was so grateful that I got to share that solo tour with my mom. We managed to get along really well, except our nerves were getting challenged while driving through snowy conditions in Colorado. We survived driving over Vail Pass. My mom hula hooped at the Winter Park, Colorado show and all the kids were loving that. Mom and i also got to spend a week with my sister in Southern California and that was such a lovely vacation family time, hanging out in warm climates and sitting by the poolside. I am so grateful to all those people in my home country that supported me on my pathway and providing us with soft landings and yummy food.

5 Name one artist or band (someone you've never played with) that you'd jump at a chance for a 2011 collaboration. I dig Jason Mraz and his positive music.

6 Your Snake Oil Medicine Show performance at Bishop's Cafe on 11-13-2004 has an amazing 500,00 downloads on Internet Archive. What if anything do you remember about the show? This is sooo amazing to me that we have this many downloads. I remember having to take a ferry to get on that island, which I believe was called Vashon Island and I remember that not many people were at the show, but our host Alex and all the people that were there were so sweet, supportive and dancing their butts off. I also remember loving just being with my Snake Oil Family and just being on tour together in such a cool spot. Also, I was wearing a brand new dress that made me feel like I was rocking my mojo. Music has definitely taken me places.

7 What is it like to be part of the Asheville music community? Everybody plays with everybody. We have an open and supportive group here.

8 Name five non-Asheville area groups on your IPod today. I have some random stuff and groups on my Ipod and mostly they are Zydeco bands from rural Louisiana. These bands feed my soul. 1. Little Nathan and the Zydeco Cha-Chas, 2. Keith Frank 3. Brian Jack 4. Chris Ardoin & Double Clutch 5. A non-zydeco band that I met in California,they are a swing band called Steve Lucky and The Rhumba Bums.

9 What is one regional music festival that you would encourage someone to try to attend this year? I just love the French Broad River Festival. Its held every year in lovely Hot Springs, NC. Last weekend of April. Family friendly, great bands, awesome folks, amazing vibe, on the river, across the street from the hot springs, cute little town and I emcee the fest.

10 Your blog is called Caroline Pond's Earth Adventures and you sing a wonderful song called I Am Only Human. I'm also pretty sure that I once heard Col. Bruce Hampton refer to you as an alien. Are you really trying to convince us or is it you? Well, Colonel Bruce definitely cracks me up, it takes one to know one. As far as being an alien, its confidential, if I told you I would have to kill you. Ha ha. Just kidding. The song I am only Human was another song written in my yard underneath the sunshine, it just all came out smooth as butter, between sips of coffee and ukulele strums the song was born.

11 How can someone get a copy of Follow Your Heart? you can directly order it from me. I accept paypal, check, deed to your tropical vacation home and cash. You can go to carolinepond.com or email me at scarycaro@hotmail.com Soon the album will be on i-tunes.

A White Christmas!

2010-12-28T08:18:00.020-05:00

Black Betty and Wyatt with Snowman.

We actually had a real white Christmas this year. I guess we had about 6 inches of snow or so fall on the Hometown Homestead on Christmas day.
It'll be one that we remember for a long time. It was lots of fun with the grandsons Wyatt and Jack!

Wyatt enjoying the moment.

Little Jack with Wyatt's headlamp.

Larry Keel "We Wish You A Larry Christmas"

2010-12-24T08:44:00.001-05:00

Nobody can play play it like Larry Keel. Merry Christmas from your Hometown Hiker!

Your Hometown Hiker's Camping Stats 2010

2010-12-17T11:03:00.002-05:00

Gnometown at Buffalo Bill State Park, Cody, WY.

Black Betty and I got in plenty of "bag-nights" camping in our little Gnometown camper this year.
We did our first big trip to the Western States along with our Granddaughters, Aijia and Scout. It was a trip that we'll always cherish, being able to spend quality time with our two delightful girls and exploring the natural wonders of the Black Hills, Badlands, Yellowstone, and Grand Tetons.
This road trip ended up at 26 days and 5600 miles. We camped at 5 State Parks, 2 National Parks, and 1 State Recreation Area.

Hobo Camp at Delfest 2010, Cumberland, MD.

We also were fortunate enough to attend 6 music festivals in 2010 for 15 days and nights of the best live music played anywhere, anytime. I can't forget to mention the joy of hanging with all of our Festivarian friends from around the country.
This year we went to Suwannee Springfest near Live Oak, FL, The Keel Family Function in Lafayette, GA, DelFest in Cumberland MD, Music on the Mountain Top in Boone NC,
DelFest Carolina in Black Mountain, NC, and MagnoliaFest at Live Oak, FL.

My brother, Matt and I in the Florida Panhandle.

I also managed to pull off 2 bicycle trips this year. In April, I rode with my brother Matt and another friend, Phil Potter for over 400 miles visiting State Parks in Florida. In late September I was able to complete my 5th Cycle North Carolina ride. This year we rode from Asheville to Ocean Isle, North Carolina for another 433 miles or so.

With Aijia, Scout, and Black Betty in The Grand Tetons, Wyoming.

All in all, 2010 turned out to be a great camping year for your Hometown Hiker. With all the numbers totaled I had 41 nights in the little Gnometown pop-up and another 13 tent camping for a total of 54 bag night!
Not bad.....

Your Hometown Hiker's Live Band List 2010

2010-12-11T10:04:00.001-05:00

2010 proved to be another great year for live music. Black Betty and I were fortunate enough to see many of these groups numerous times each. There were so many incredible shows, so much inspiring music!

We love each and every musician who poured it on and ripped it unselfishly in order to aid us in our never ending quest for spiritual growth through boogie woogie enlightenment and rock n roll endarkenment!

Thank you, thank you, thank you!

When they come to take you down

When they bring that wagon round

When they come to call on you

and drag your poor body down

Just one thing I ask of you

Just one thing for me

Please forget you knew my name

My darlin Sugaree

Shake it, shake it Sugaree

Just don't tell them that you know me

You thought you was the cool fool

Never could do no wrong

Had everything sewed up tight

How come you lay awake all night long?

Just one thing I ask of you

Just one thing for me

Please forget you knew my name

My darlin Sugaree

Shake it, shake it Sugaree

Just don't tell them that you know me

You know in spite of all you gained

you still have to stand out in the pouring rain

One last voice is calling you

and I guess it's time you go

Just one thing I ask of you

Just one thing for me

Please forget you knew my name

My darlin Sugaree

Shake it, shake it Sugaree

Just don't tell them that you know me

Shake it up now, Sugaree

I'll meet you at the Jubilee

If that Jubilee don't come

Maybe I'll meet you on the run

One thing I ask of you

Just one thing for me

Please forget you knew my name

my darling Sugaree

Shake it, shake it Sugaree

but don't tell them that you know me

Shake it, shake it Sugaree

Just don't tell 'em that you know me

-Garcia/Hunter

The Best of 2010: Ray Wylie Hubbard Live at The Grey Eagle

2010-12-10T11:02:00.000-05:00

Your Hometown Hiker: Ray Wylie Hubbard Live at The Grey Eagle: "I've never found that the Texas troubadours have really ever had a big following in Asheville. Sure Willie Nelson and Robert Earl Keen may d..."

The Best Of 2010: The Keel Family Function

2010-12-09T06:57:00.000-05:00

Your Hometown Hiker: The Keel Family Function 2010: "Black Betty and I are back from an absolute gem of a little music festival, which was held at the beautiful and idyllic Chero..."

The best of 2010 - Suwannee Springfest

2010-12-06T15:05:00.000-05:00

Your Hometown Hiker: Suwannee Springfest 2010 Report: "We are back home from a 798 mile round trip to a scaled-back and down-sized Suwannee Springfest. Black Betty and I arrived Thursday afterno..."

The Best of 2010 - Woody Wood at The Grey Eagle

2010-12-05T20:41:00.000-05:00

Your Hometown Hiker: Woody Wood / I'm Gonna Miss You (Like The Devil): "Those who know us, will attest that Black Betty and I thoroughly love rockin' it at the Grey Eagle with Woody Wood! Friday night I had an..."

The Best of 2010 - Donna The Buffalo and The Believers at The Orange Peel

2010-12-03T08:31:00.000-05:00

Your Hometown Hiker: Donna the Buffalo and The Believers at The Orange ...: "Black Betty and I headed to Asheville after work on Thursday to see Donna the Buffalo at the Orange Peel. It's tough to make the call to g..."

Cades Cove Weekend

2010-11-28T16:55:00.000-05:00

Black Betty and I are home from a wonderful Thanksgiving weekend camping trip to Cades Cove in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. I figured that the crowds would be gone (they were) and the camping would be sweet. It was a rare opportunity to enjoy the Cove without having to experience the horrible traffic-choked nightmare that the loop has become during peak season. The campground was also sparsely populated, creating a quiet and peaceful campsite.

We awoke to heavy frosts on Saturday and Sunday mornings with temps in the 20's. The little pop-up was pretty chilly, the only warm place around was deep inside our sleeping bags. It made for some great camp fire time, though. The stars were spectacular in the night sky and I was treated to a couple of the quietest nights that I've experienced since my AT hike. What a great setting to enjoy eating our Thanksgiving left-overs in. Mmmm pie!

Black Betty told me that it was all worth it (speaking of the cold) as we watched 2 bear cubs and their momma dig for grubs while they sauntered through the chilly woods on Sunday morning. She was right!

Wallace Branch Hike

2010-11-05T14:41:00.015-04:00

I got to hike with my favorite little hiker today. My grandson, Wyatt and I walked on the Bartram Tail at Wallace Branch. There's nothing like spending time in the woods with a child's sense of discovery and wonderment. It's a good reflection on why there is still hope for tomorrow!

7 Walkers

2010-11-02T07:51:00.003-04:00

7 Walkers walking in the sky

7 Walkers watching from on high

7 Walkers offer their protection

7 Walkers looking down from heaven

-Robert Hunter

The new 7 Walkers CD is finally released today. After seeing 7 Walkers (Bill Kreutzmann, Papa Mali, George Porter Jr. and Matt Hubbard with Robert Hunter penned songs) at MagnoliaFest and streaming them on Internet Archive, I am more than excited about hearing the studio album. You should be too!
Besides, how could a guy with a blog name like Hometown Hiker not appreciate a band called 7 Walkers?

Here is a superb review from Dennis Cook on JamBase:

7 Walkers (arriving November 2 on Response Records) is the most organic, original music to come out of the core Grateful Dead alumni since the passing of Jerry Garcia. It's worth getting right down to brass tacks since 7 Walkers goes for the creative jugular in such a lusty, exuberant manner. With richly imaginative lyrics penned by Dead scribe Robert Hunter, the band is comprised of percussion master Bill Kreutzmann, psychedelic blues rock marvel Papa Mali, New Orleans funk pioneer George Porter, Jr. and multi-instrumentalist & longtime Willie Nelson collaborator Matt Hubbard. Even on paper this quartet is lethal, but that's nothing compared to the roiling energy when they come together in the flesh. With their collective pedigree, there's an enormous pool of possibilities and their self-titled debut reflects all their swirling undercurrents AND coalesces into fascinating new shapes, fresh colors forming on the surface of things as dark, interesting eddies move below. Put another way, there's something powerful and primal and beautiful going on in the music of 7 Walkers. Read entire article here.

MagnoliaFest 2010 Report

2010-10-25T20:43:00.000-04:00

Black Betty and I grooved our way through another great Magfest at the Spirit of the Suwannee music park this weekend. Perfect weather, a full moon, and a kick-ass music line up all came together to create one special and unforgettable Magfest.

Thursday night alone was worth the trip just to see the energetic and exhilarating performances by Cornmeal and Railroad Earth. We were psyched up to see both groups, listening to RRE's new CD and the Internet archive's Cornmeal show from Springfest on the drive down from North Carolina. Yes, Allie Kral and Tim Carbone joined each other on stage during the Cornmeal show (as predicted by festivarian, Melanie) and duelled with their deadly fiddles to the delight of the crowd.



Once again, Jim Lauderdale and Donna The Buffalo rocked Mag like they were on fire! There is nothing like dancing to Donna while Uncle Jim sings his heart out. And what about Dave McCracken on keys? Wow! Like I said on my SpringFest report, this guy fuels the jam.

Of course, we're big Keel fans around the Hometown homestead and I must say that Keller and the Keels had a huge show Saturday night playing most of the songs from their new CD Thief and a few from their older Grass. They were definitely a crowd favorite. There was an odd moment when Peter Rowan joined them on stage and appeared to have forgotten how to play his guitar!



7 Walkers, the super group featuring Papa Mali and Bill Kreutzmann was everything that I thought it would be, jammy New Orleans meets Grateful Dead meets Magfest. It was my first time seeing Papa Mali live, and I can tell you, he sure can play one mean guitar. They played a few old Dead songs (including "Sugaree") and some new Robert Hunter-penned 7 Walker songs. What can I say? We loved it and can't wait until the CD is released.

Magfest Vibes:

We managed to miss several bands that we wanted to see, bummer! You just can't see them all.
Mike and Ruthy were better than ever with their Folk City Band. We love their new CD.
The Turtle Duhks always steal the show, how can you not love Leonard and Lydia?
Bobby Miller and The Virginia Dare Devils, 18 South, Sloppy Joe, Peter Rowan, and Sam Bush played their hearts out for us. We loved them all!
Jeff and Johnny Mosier were hot, hot, hot! The Rev laid his "ole love" on us--may we all find that love! Talk about karma, their new CD arrived in time to be released at MagFest! David Blackmon on fiddle..... man!
I didn't remember Wet Willie being as funky and soulful as they are. I actually expected to be disappointed by them; instead, I was pleasantly impressed! Steamy stuff!
Joe Craven inspired us with his talk of enlightenment, growth, change, and courage. This guy is the true Renaissance man.
As always the camping was sweet; Gnometown was our oasis.
It was wonderful to see the old friends who could attend and it was sad that several were unable to make it.
The apple crisp at Sweet Revenge was as good as ever. I ate it all weekend.
If you ever get a chance, be sure to hop aboard the Hopryland bus!
There was talk of this being the last MagnoliaFest. Founders Beth and Randy Judy are not producing the 2011 Suwannee Springfest in March. I'm not in the loop, so we'll have to see what happens.
There seems to be too much momentum here to let it end here!

Mike and Ruthy

David Blackmon and Jeff Mosier

Larry Keel, Keller, Peter Rowan

Jeb Puryear and Jim Lauderdale

Turtle Duhks

Jambands.com - Need We Say More? Reviews CDs Railroad Earth: Railroad Earth

2010-10-20T18:12:00.000-04:00

Great review here of the new Railroad Earth CD. I've really been burning the disc up, can't wait to see them again tomorrow night at Magfest.
Jambands.com - Need We Say More? Reviews CDs Railroad Earth: Railroad Earth

Jim Lauderdale and Town Mountain @ The Grey Eagle

2010-10-10T15:35:00.000-04:00

We were lucky enough to get to see two of our favorite acts at the Grey Eagle last night in Asheville. Jim Lauderdale (Mr. Americana Music himself) opened the show with a solo set. Next, Asheville's own Town Mountain followed with a blistering bluegrass set for the rowdy and appreciative hometown crowd. And finally, Jim and Town Mountain then joined forces for a third set. It was another magical night of live music at its finest in Asheville. Who wouldn't want to live in western North Carolina?

Speaking of Town Mountain, I understand that they are currently wrapping up a new CD. I can't help thinking of CD cover art with a photo of the band loitering around a sidewalk in downtown Asheville, wearing cowboy hats, jeans, and boots. The title I'm thinking of is "Workingman's Grass". Does that not describe perfectly what Town Mountain is about? Bluegrass for the working man, bluegrass for the masses! Their current album is Heroes and Heretics, one of the best bluegrass recordings out there.

Check 'em out, it's bluegrass that everyone can love! Town Mountain

Tell me what you think.

Greensky Bluegrass plays Asheville, NC

2010-10-03T21:38:00.000-04:00

Greensky Bluegrass finally made their jammy way back to Asheville on September 24th. They were playing a rather strange venue, the Mellow Mushroom, but it seemed to work for the sizable and raucous crowd of eager supporters who turned out for the show.

As always, the Kalamazoo, Michigan based Greensky Bluegrass delivered the finest in contemporary Americana jamgrass. They certainly perform some of the most exciting and innovative live music that you will see today. If you don't own any of their music, you are really missing out. Do yourself a favor and check 'em out. http://www.greenskybluegrass.com/

Greensky Bluegrass is Dave Bruzza/guitar&vocals Anders Beck/dobro MikeDevol/bass Mike Bont/banjo Paul Hoffman/mandolin&vocals

Double Dutch Stacked Dinner/Stuffed Acorn Squash with Ham Patties and Potatoes

2010-09-20T20:07:00.000-04:00

I called this one "The Double Dutch Stacked Dinner" because I liked the name, but in reality, it is baked acorn squash stuffed with apples and raisins in the bottom pot and ground ham patties with potatoes in the top pot. I'll break it down into two separate recipes.

Start by firing up 36 briquettes.

I used a 12" and 10" dutch oven.

I also used a 10" cast iron frying pan.

Stuffed Acorn Squash

Ingredients:

2 acorn squash

2 large apples (your choice) peeled, cored, chopped

4 tbs golden raisins

4 tbs melted butter

4 tbs brown sugar

1 tsp cinnamon

Cut the squash in halves and scoop out seeds with a tablespoon.

Pour about 1/2" boiling water in a 12" dutch oven.

Place squash, cut side down in pot. Place lid.

Bake for about 30 minutes with 6 briquettes below oven and 18 on lid.

During this time combine the rest of your ingredients for the stuffing in a glass bowl.

Also prepare the following vegetables for top pot:

Top Pot Veggies

Ingredients:

white potatoes (a few handfuls) cut in half and sliced

1 onion, diced

1 red pepper, diced

1 cup fresh mushrooms, sliced

4 cloves of garlic (I missed this one)

3 tbs olive oil

salt, pepper, dried herbs (your choice)

Place the olive oil in the bottom of a 10" dutch oven.

Put the remainder of ingredients in the dutch oven and place lid.

At this time carefully remove the lid from the 12" dutch oven and turn the squash halves over.

Stuff the center of each squash with the apple/raisin mixture.

Place the lid (coals still on it) back on the pot.

Stand the 10" pot on the 12" pot.

Put 12 hot briquettes on lid.

Let these cook for an hour.

At this point, I started preparing my ham patties:

Ground Ham Patties

Ingredients:

1 lb. ground ham (I bought a reduced sodium ham steak and ground it in the food processor)

1/4 cup finely chopped onion

1/2 cup soft bread crumbs

2 eggs

Combine the ingredients and form 6 patties.

Brown both sides in cast iron fry pan with olive oil.

Remove from pan when brown and set aside.

After the pots have cooked for one hour, remove the lid on top pot.

Gently stir the potatoes and place the ham patties on top of the veggies.

Carefully replace lid (with coals).

Bake for 30 more minutes.

Serve and eat... it's good stuff!

Dutch Oven Moroccan Lamb Stew

2010-09-13T18:13:00.001-04:00

I went to the Lodge Cookware factory outlet in Sevierville, Tennessee over the weekend and purchased several new pieces of cast iron cook ware at a great price. I've been dying to try one of them out so I put this dish together in my new 10-quart dutch oven.

Ingredients:
1 Bone-in lamb shoulder
2 cans of low-sodium chicken broth
1 can diced tomato
1 can chick peas
1 onion diced
1 cup sliced carrot
2 stalks chopped celery
1 cup diced dried apricots
3 tbsp olive oil
salt and pepper
6 cloves crushed garlic
2 tsp curry powder
1 tsp smoked paprika
1 tsp Garam Marsala (cinnamon, cumin, coriander, black pepper, cloves, cardamon).
1 tsp ground cumin
1/4 tsp ground cayenne

Preparing the Lamb:
Because I was using a bone-in lamb shoulder I pre-cooked it, so that I could easily separate the bone, fat, and connecting tissue from the meat.
Salt and pepper the lamb shoulder and brown it all sides in a 10" cast iron dutch oven in 3 tbs. of olive oil.
When it's browned, pour one of the cans of the chicken broth over it, put on the lid, and bake at a low heat (around 300F) for 4 hrs.
After 4 hrs. the lamb was cooked and the chicken broth was mostly evaporated. I put the lamb in a dish and placed it in the refrigerator for a few hours. When I was ready to use the meat, it was easily separated. I cut it into bite-sized pieces.

Cooking the Stew
To start, scrape most of the lamb fat out of the bottom of the dutch oven (up to you), but try to leave some of the good drippings for taste.
Add a little olive oil and brown the onion.
Pour in 1 can of chicken broth.
Add carrots, celery, canned tomatoes, garlic, and dry spices. Spices should be used to taste.
Bring to a boil, reduce to simmer.
Add meat and apricots.
Simmer for one to one and half hours until carrots are tender.
(I did have to add 1 cup of hot water before it was through)
Serve over cous-cous.

First of all, I must say that I don't know anything about Moroccan food. I'm really just a dude with a couple of Dutch ovens and a penchant for cast-iron cooking. I do like Indian food and this dish has curry and Bengali spices in it, so maybe it should be called Bengali Lamb Stew. I don't know about that, but I do know that this dish is spicy, exotic, and scrumptious. I can definitely see myself lounging around on big pillows with hookah pipes and belly dancers while eating it. It's good stuff, maybe one of the better things I've cooked in a while. Black Betty thinks so too!

I was inspired by a Moroccan Chicken Recipe that was posted by Cliffmeister2000 at the wonderful and informative camp cook forum: Camp-Cook.com
Bob appetit y'all!

Town Mountain at Del Yeah! Black Mountain

2010-09-07T20:24:00.000-04:00

Black Betty and I were thrilled to see one of our favorite bluegrass groups, Town Mountain on the lineup for Del Yeah! over Labor Day weekend in Black Mountain. I managed to shoot this clip of Town Mountain joined by Andy Thorn (banjo) and Tyler Grant (guitar) of The Emmitt Nershi Band.

Asheville's Town Mountain consists of Robert Greer (vocalist, guitarist, and songwriter); Jesse Langlais (banjo, writes a large part of Town Mountain’s original material and sings tenor and baritone); Barrett Smith (bass, guitar, vocals); Phil Barker (mandolin, vocals); and Bobby Britt (fiddle).

Del Yeah! Black Mountain

2010-09-05T12:09:00.026-04:00

We were fortunate enough to be able to attend the first Del Yeah! weekend at the Pisgah Brewery venue in Black Mountain yesterday. It was a wonderful day spent enjoying beautiful mountain weather and listening to superb mountain music. Labor Day weekend doesn't get any better than this; if you missed it, you missed out indeed!

The lineup featured Charlotte rockers The New Familiars, Asheville bluegrass band Town Mountain, Black Mountain's Paco Shipp on blues harmonica, Colorado super group The Emmitt Nershi Band, and, of course, the one and only Del McCoury Band.

The enthusiastic crowd gave their love to Del and the boys. Del summed it all up in the lyrics from "Sweet Appalachia":

I’ve got that sweet mountain soul down in my bones,
And I can feel it when I sing them lonesome songs.  
And I can tell by the way I feel,
That it comes from somewhere else, 
Got that sweet mountain soul down in my bones.

I’ve got that sweet mountain spirit down in my veins,
And it flows through my heart like a mountain rain, 
And no matter where I might roam, 
These hills and hollers are still my home, 
Got that sweet mountain spirit down in my veins.  

Some people call me Hillbilly,
Some people call me Mountain Man,
Well, you can call me Appalachia,
Appalachia’s what I am. 

Music on the Mountain Top

2010-08-30T22:02:00.000-04:00

Black Betty and I had a great time of fun and music (and nothin' but fun and music) at the Music on the Mountain Top Festival in Boone, NC on Saturday. We spent the day with our favorite groups Snake Oil Medicine Show, Larry Keel and Natural Bridge, Acoustic Syndicate, Toubab Krewe, Sam Bush, and Railroad Earth. They rocked us like we needed to be rocked. We're some happy Festivarians, indeed!

The Great Family Road Trip

2010-08-02T12:26:00.001-04:00

Art by Aijia

7/7 We left home with the Jeep towing the little pop-up loaded with bikes. Granddaughters Aijia and Scout joined us. We drove 420 miles to Metropolis, IL on the banks of the Ohio river. Camped at Fort Massac State Park which had around 50 sites with only about 6 occupied. We visited the fort, rode bikes, grilled burgers, and played bean-bag toss.

7/8 Drove about 400 miles to Pershing State Park near LeClede, Mo. A small, secluded campground with only hosts and us camping. Lots of bicycle riding for the girls. Cloudy weather and pleasant breeze kept the bugs off. Spent a relaxing evening.

7/9 Newton Hills State Park near Canton, SD (mile 1218) Beautiful park in SE SD. Lots of campers, great swim in Lakota Lake. We stopped to resupply at Walmart in Sioux City.

Swimming in Lakota Lake

7/10-7/15 We stayed at the wonderful Bluebell campground in Custer State Park located in the Black Hills of SD. We really loved this park and CG. While here, we saw hundreds of bison, pronghorn, prarie dogs, and a couple of little big-horn sheep. We drove the gravel roads of the Black Hills and the Badlands and visited Deadwood with the graves of Wild Bill and Calamity Jane. Went to Lead and saw the "open cut". Visited Mt Rushmore, Crazy Horse, the Corn Palace, and Wall Drug. We learned about Lakota astronomy one night during a naturalist program. We drove the Needles Highway and had dinner in the lodge. We also had a $900. repair to the Jeep (a/c compressor) and a rental car for a day.
Did I mention the hail storm where it covered the ground? Also, lots of bike riding and some CG bluegrass.

The Badlands

7/16-7/18 Buffalo Bill State Park near Cody, WY. This has to be the windiest CG in the USA! I really thought that our little pop-up was going to be blown away a few times. It was also the most scenic CG spot of our trip, so it balances out. By the way, did I mention the heat? We loved Cody. We went to the Old Trail Town and saw the grave of Liver Eating Johnston and the cabin of Butch and Sundance and the Hole in the Wall gang. The Buffalo Bill Historical Center in Cody was the best museum I've been in for many years. We spent hours there and could have spent an entire additional day there. The museum actually houses five separate museums covering Buffalo Bill, the Plains Indians, Western Art, natural history, and firearms. The Whitney Museum of western art and the beautiful Plains Indians artifacts (shields, head dresses, bead work) were among the highlights for me. We took the girls out to the Cody Cattle Company for a dinner and a show. This turned out to be great fun and we were fed and entertained with cowboy music by the Martin family, champion yodelers and flatpickers. Aijia and Scout really loved this stuff (we did, too). We wrapped up our Cody stay with the famous Cody Night Rodeo. It was the girls' first rodeo experience so they were fascinated with the entire program.

Buffalo Bill State Park

7/19-7/24 Indian Creek CG, Yellowstone National Park. I cannot say enough about this little quiet CG hidden away in the NE corner of Yellowstone, far away from the crowds and noise of the populated parts of the park. This place was a gem, no generators allowed, no monster motorhomes, unbelievably clean vault toilets. Great! We were able to take nightly mountain bike rides down a secluded and gated gravel road and spot elk and coyotes and ride through creeks and just have all kinds of fun with the girls. No tourists, just us and the critters. So, for all the folks who told us how crowded Yellowstone was in July, I agree with you, if you are around Old Faithful and the other big commercial centers in the south and central areas of the park, but it was a different experience in the north! Since we spent 6 days in Yellowstone, we really saw all the main attractions. We never saw a grizzly but we did get to see a black bear on the Blacktail Plateau drive, a 7 mile gravel road that followed the Bannock tribe trail on the way to the buffalo hunting ground, pretty cool in itself. We did a great little hike with the girls on the high towering cliffs above the Yellowstone river (again no tourists, just us). My favorite time came the last evening we were there. I decided that we would go out to the beautiful Lamar Valley far in the NE corner of the park and look at wildlife. As the sun was going down, we found ourselves sitting quietly in the Jeep in the midst of a huge herd of bison as they migrated from one side of the road to the other. This situation wasn't the same as the numerous "buffalo-jams" that we had encountered in Custer and Yellowstone; in this setting, in this pristine and secluded high mountain valley, in the last rays of the setting sun, this was something timeless and primitive and beautiful and sacred. I feel honored to have been there. Wow!

Lamar Valley

7/25-7/27 Colter Bay CG Grand Teton National Park. We stayed at the huge centrally located CG at Colter Bay Village. We were in a no-generator loop. After Yellowstone, it did feel like we were staying in town, but we made the most of it (again riding our bikes all over) with nightly rides to get ice cream at the general store. Teton is pure eye-candy with the big alpine mountains and high mountain lakes. We spent the time swimming (OK, mostly Aijia and Scout) in the cold mountain lakes and hiking. We did do an early (beat the crowd while you can) boat shuttle across Jenny Lake with a hike to Hidden Falls, Inspiration Point, and a short way up Cascade Canyon.

7/28 Super 8 Motel Wheatland, WY. We left Tetons and headed east across WY on the secondary highways and encountered lots of road construction with long sections of muddy gravel roads. My advice to anyone driving on the back roads through Wyoming: Fill up with GAS if you drop below a half of a tank! The map had town names on it in fairly large type, but did these towns have more than a population of 10? No. Did they have gas pumps? No. We drove a record 45 miles with the gas light on, towing a trailer! I can't believe that we weren't stopped dead on the road but somehow we made it. We were ready for a motel room and swimming pool by the time we reached Wheatland, WY.

7/29 Sherman Lake State Recreation Area, NE. We walked out to the parking lot and found a flat tire on our little pop-up, so I started the day by putting one of my two spares on the trailer. Still keeping to the back roads, we continued across the beautiful Wyoming country side to the town of Guernsey where we stopped to see the deep ruts left in the rock by the hundreds of wagon trains above the N. Platte river as they journeyed west on the Oregon trail. Next we stopped to see Carhenge near Alliance, NE. We continued across the little back road Hwy 2 and camped at Sherman Lake SRA for a bargain price seven dollars. When we got there, I noticed that my other original tire was low on air. When I pushed on the tire valve stem, it leaked air. I went ahead and switched it out with my remaining spare.

Carhenge

7/30 Best Western Motel, Moberly MO. Found a tire store first thing this morning and had a valve stem put in the spare for $5 so we were ready to roll. Heavy thunderstorms pushed us into the Best Western motel in Moberly, MO.

7/31 Best Western Motel, Murfreesboro TN. Again, a swimming pool!

Art by Scout

8/1 Home, Franklin NC

Stats: 26 days, 5600 miles. 5 State Parks, 2 National Parks, 1 State Rec Area, 3 Motels, 2 flat tires.

Summer Road Trip 2010

2010-07-15T16:28:00.000-04:00

Hometown and Black Betty are on the road this summer
with grand daughters, Aijia and Scout. So far we have visited
the Black Hills and the Badlands. We are heading west tomorrow
towards Wyoming. Stay tuned for more adventure!

Barefoot Hiker

2010-07-06T10:16:00.000-04:00

My grandson Wyatt hiking barefoot on the Rufus Morgan Falls trail in the Nantahalas. He abandoned his shoes after getting them wet in the creek.

Bobby Miller and The Virginia Dare Devils / Brother, Adieu

2010-06-28T14:34:00.000-04:00

The new release by Bobby Miller and the Virginia Dare Devils is finally here! The Virginia Dare Devils deliver a precise and beautiful sound which tends more towards the traditional/classical end of the contemporary bluegrass genre. This is a delightful and refreshing collection of songs and instrumentals by a talented group of master musicians. It has already found a cozy spot in my collection. I've been listening over and over since downloading and enjoying every minute of it. Thanks for this one, Bobby Miller!

The Virginia Dare Devils are: Bobby Miller lead vocals and Mandolin, Griff Martin vocals and guitar, Bill Cardine dobro, Billy Constable banjo, and Stefan Custodi bass. Several other well known Asheville musicians appear as guests on the recording.

Download these 11 songs of bluegrass bliss by the stellar Asheville-area group for only 9.99 at Digstation Download.

Magnoliafest 2010 Initial Lineup

2010-06-22T20:08:00.000-04:00

The lineup looks really good so far for MagnoliaFest 2010. I know that Black Betty and I are stroked and stoked to see it up and posted after the small turn-out for Suwanee SpringFest this year. I must say that I am intrigued by the joining of Bill Kreutzmann and Papa Mali in 7 Walkers, especially knowing that Robert Hunter has penned a number of songs specifically for them. No way am I going to miss that show.

Railroad Earth, hell yes! The jam is always sweeter when the train comes to town! Keller and Keels, awesome new album, see them every chance we get! Donna the Buffalo, Peter Rowan, can we have MagFest without them? I think not. Cornmeal, Col. Bruce, how about a fantasy jam with Allie Kral and the Quark Alliance? Jeff and Johnny Mosier, we love them guys around here. Can't wait to see them again! Dread Clampitt, hot, hot, hot! Mike and Ruthie are one of our all time favorites. We are so happy to be able to see them back in Suwanee!

So far, so good. I can't wait to see what else MagFest has in store for us!

Black Betty's Birthday/Tsali/Father's Day/ Summer Solstice

2010-06-21T18:35:00.000-04:00

There's nothing quite like summertime and we've had a full week of it at the Hometown Homestead. Black Betty celebrated a birthday earlier in the week and then we spent a long weekend at Tsali for celebration of the Solstice, Father's day, and summer in general! School is out and the heat is on. We set up Gnometown at Tsali, did a little mountain biking, a little swimming, some great campstyle cooking, and lots of relaxing in general.. We had a great visit with Holly, David, Wyatt, and little Jack. It really doesn't get any better than this!

Wyatt and Jack hanging out in the Gnometown Camper.

Papa and Wyatt riding bikes.

Big boys on Nanna's Birthday.

Wyatt cooling off in Fontana Lake.

Cricket walks Wyatt.

Hometown still in all one piece.

And finally here is Wyatt on his first trip to my favorite mountain biking destination, Tsali. He's actually outgrown his helmet and wouldn't let me put it on his head, so I insisted on the hat. He'll be winning races in no time....

Charlie's Bunion Hike

2010-06-15T08:50:00.000-04:00

Peanut GA>ME '08 / Loveboat GA>ME '08

Few things bring more joy to me than reuniting with trail friends from my 2008 Appalachian Trail thru hike.
Loveboat and Peanut graced Black Betty and I with a visit on Sunday night and I was fortunate enough to join them for a beautiful hike to Charlie's Bunion on Monday before they had to head back home.
We shared wonderful stories and sweet memories of a great adventure! I already miss them and hope they come back, soon!

Dutch Oven Pork Roast with Apples and Onions

2010-06-06T11:43:00.000-04:00

Ingredients:
4 lb. Pork Loin End Roast
Fresh Garlic
Fresh Sage
Fresh Rosemary
Sea Salt
Fresh Ground Black Pepper
2 Tbs. Olive Oil
1 cup White Wine (I used Chardonnay)
2 cups organic Apple Juice (I wanted cider)
2 Granny Smith Apples, one sliced, one cut into 1" cubes
4 small Vidalia Onions sliced

Prepare the roast in the morning by trimming the visible fat. Stab the top of the roast with a sharp knife and liberally insert fat garlic slivers. Rub the roast with salt and pepper. Chop sage and rosemary, mix with olive oil, and rub on roast. Wrap meat and place in fridge.

To Cook
Prepare 22 charcoal briquettes.
Simmer the apple juice, wine, and cubed apple into a sauce pan on the stove top.
Place the hot briquettes underneath the dutch oven and brown the pork roast all sides.
When it's brown, take roast out of dutch oven and remove 15 briquettes from below dutch oven (leaving about 7).
Place sliced apple in the bottom of the dutch oven.
Set roast on top of apples, surround with sliced onions.
Pour heated juice over the top.
Place the lid on the oven and place the remaining briquettes (should be about 15) on top.
Cook for about 2 to 2 1/2 hrs until it reaches an internal temp of 170 degrees.
Remove roast, place on counter top covered with foil.
Pour juice in sauce pan and heat to thicken (I did use a little cornstarch).

To Serve
Slice thin, serve with au jus.
We ate the onions and apples on the side (in au jus) and served a green salad and cous-cous.

It's a keeper! It was a big hit with the fam and fed 4 hungry adults and 3 kids, with left overs.

The apple-wine-onion combination really worked and was something deliciously different to my taste.

Next time I cook this dish I will add more sliced apples. We wanted more!

DelFest 2010 / Greensky Bluegrass

2010-06-05T08:12:00.001-04:00

Some of our best times at Delfest this past weekend were spent listening to the Kalamazoo Michigan jam-grass band, Greensky Bluegrass. They certainly did not disappoint the fans with three hot sets of acoustic mayhem, including a heavily attended and well appreciated show consisting entirely of rock covers. We love this high energy band that has managed to create and craft unique music with superior songwriting and musicianship.
And they do not shy away from putting their own stamp on some great classics, either.
Check 'em out, I guarantee that you'll love 'em too!

Check out their website and pick up some CDs here: http://www.greenskybluegrass.com/

Stream or download one of their Delfest shows (audience taped) for free here : GSBG live at DelFest

DelFest 2010: The Good, The Bad, The Muddy

2010-06-01T20:29:00.002-04:00

We had an epic four days of fun and music at DelFest 2010 this weekend. The 1100 mile round trip was well worth the time and effort, and after about a ten hour drive, we arrived in Cumberland, Maryland and set up camp on the banks of the Potomac River. This year we were invited to join the Hobo Camp (fans of Railroad Earth) through our friend Marie. We thoroughly enjoyed ourselves with their company and were treated to a weekend of great meals, good times, and mighty fine folks!

Hobos in camp.

These are some of the groups that Black Betty and I managed to see over the festival weekend: Del McCoury Band, The Traveling McCourys, Mountain Heart, Railroad Earth, Greensky Bluegrass (three shows), The Avett Brothers, Steep Canyon Rangers, Larry Keel and Natural Bridge, Yonder Mountain String Band, Adam Aijala & Ben Kaufmann Duo, Larry and Jenny Keel, Keller Williams and Friends, and The Dave Rawlings Machine.

Darol Anger, Ben Kaufmann, Adam Aijala, Larry Keel.

Railroad Earth rocks the Grandstand Stage on Thursday night.

Hobo dancers Katie, LeAnne, Black Betty, and Marie shake it to Keller Williams and friends.

Friday evening we experienced a heavy rain, which turned DelFest into a river of mud. The trek to the Grandstand stage became treacherous.

Highlights of the weekend: all the great folks in Hobo Camp, Greensky Bluegrass playing their rock covers in the Artist Play Shop on Saturday, cooling off in the Potomac River, Sweet Revenge's apple crisp and ice cream (as always), an anonymous bluegrass band serenading the camps at 7am on Memorial Day, and, of course, all things Del McCoury.

Lefty Willams / Sugaree

2010-05-24T08:33:00.000-04:00

Here's more video from the HometownHiker archives. The crowd shares a special moment at The Keel Family Function this spring with The Lefty Williams Band performing the Grateful Dead's Sugaree.

Lefty Williams Bio

Pond Farm Pickers / Hangman

2010-05-22T07:43:00.001-04:00

From the Hometown Hiker archives.

Here are the fabulous Pond Farm Pickers performing the high octane bluegrass standard Hangman at The Keel Family Function this spring. Featuring Caroline Pond on fiddle, Andrew Pond on banjo, and George Pond on bass.

Ray Wylie Hubbard Live at The Grey Eagle

2010-05-15T13:12:00.000-04:00

I've never found that the Texas troubadours have really ever had a big following in Asheville. Sure Willie Nelson and Robert Earl Keen may draw a crowd, but knowing every word to a Jerry Jeff Walker or Guy Clark song may get you some strange looks around these mountains. Nevertheless, an enthusiastic and not-so-small crowd of Ray Wylie Hubbard fans were treated to a special show last night at The Grey Eagle when the poet/philosopher/country/blues song writer of "Redneck Mothers" fame took the stage.

Ray Wylie's song writing ability, musical prowess, and spiritual presence seems to continue to grow and evolve instead of stagnating like so many other artists of his generation. This man is a master lyricist, superb story teller, and poet. When he sings his songs to you, you believe he lived every word of it. Hell, you believe you lived every word of it! Check him out, you won't be disappointed.

Ray Wylie Hubbard's new CD is entitled A:Enlightenment B:Endarkenment (Hint: there is no C)
He currently is nominated by The Americana Music Association in three categories: Artist of the Year, Album of the Year, and Song of the Year ("Drunken Poet's Dream").

Sam Quinn + Japan Ten / The Fake That Sunk A Thousand Ships

2010-05-12T09:10:00.004-04:00

Sam Quinn is bringing it back to The Grey Eagle in Asheville on Saturday, May 15th.

We fell in love with Sam's beautiful song writing and quirky sense of humor and style as one-half of the creative force of The Everybodyfields, (together with Jill Andrews).

Sam has an unforgettably unique natural voice which seems to transport his music directly to one's soul. His songs are highly personal, mostly painful tales of self exploration and emotionalism. But they somehow don't end up being depressing. His music has a way of washing over you like soft warm waves. They gently massage your heart while reminding you of what it means to be human. As one reviewer put it, "misery never sounded so good."

When the Everybodyfields parted ways, Sam teamed up with Josh Oliver, Megan Gregory, and Brandon Story to form Japan Ten. They have just released a new CD The Fake that Sunk A Thousand Ships, you can listen and download (for a mere 5 bucks) here: Sam Quinn / The Fake That Sunk A Thousand Ships

Here is video I shot at Bristol Rhythm and Roots of Sam Quinn and the Japan Ten performing Gun.

Dutch Oven Savory Beans with Ham

2010-05-10T18:37:00.001-04:00

Beans and cornbread are one of my favorite comfort foods. Growing up in a family with seven brothers and sisters I ate plenty of beans and cornbread as a kid. My dad was enlisted in the Air Force and it was an easy and inexpensive meal that my mother could fix to feed all of our hungry mouths. My kids in turn were also raised eating beans and cornbread and it remains a favorite around the Hometown Hiker's homestead.

For this bean dish, I used dried mixed beans, leftover ham chunks together with a leftover leg of lamb bone and cooked it in my dutch oven. I served it with my special buttermilk Mexican cornbread. Man oh Man! You can't go wrong with that!

Here's the deal:

Beans and ham
Ingredients:
big bag (2lbs. 8 oz) of dried beans
2 cups leftover ham chunks
leg of lamb bone
2 medium vidalia onions diced
sea salt and ground black pepper (to taste)
1 tsp. ground cumin
1/2 tsp. ground cayenne

I soaked the beans overnight.
In the morning, I put ham chunks and leg bone in the bottom of a 12 qt. dutch oven.
I added drained beans, onions, and spices to the pot and covered with boiling water.
At this point I put the lid on the dutch oven and cooked with 6 briquettes below and 12 briquettes on the lid.
I kept the fire going, replenishing briquettes two additional times and cooked for 8 hours.
The beans were perfectly done and delicious!

Hometown's Buttermilk Mexican Cornbread

Ingredients:

1 1/2 cups cornmeal

1 cup white flour

1 1/2 tsp. baking powder

1/4 tsp. baking soda

1/4 cup sugar

1/2 tsp. salt

1 cup buttermilk

2 farm eggs, beaten

1/2 stick (1/4 cup) butter

2 jalapenos, diced

1 cup southwest style whole kernel corn

1 1/2 cup grated cheddar cheese

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Mix all dry ingredients and blend well.

Add eggs and buttermilk and stir until smooth.

Add jalapenos, corn, and 1 cup of cheese. Stir it up!

At this point I melt butter in the bottom of my 11'' cornbread cookin' skillet.

Pour batter on top of melted butter.

Place in hot oven for 20 minutes.

Open oven door and sprinkle remaining 1/2 cup of cheese on top.

Bake for an additional 10 minutes until golden brown and cooked to perfection.

This stuff is to die for! Serve with a cold glass of milk and enjoy!

Dutch Oven Slow Roasted Lamb Shoulder

2010-05-03T08:17:00.010-04:00

Here's another cut of lamb that I cooked in my dutch oven this weekend.

I browned two small (bone-in) lamb shoulders in a hot pan with 2 tbs olive oil on the stove top.
After browning I removed them from the pan and let them cool for a few minutes.
I scored the top of each shoulder with a knife and rubbed in a mixture of: garlic, fennel seed, basil, and rosemary which I crushed and then added olive oil, salt and pepper. (Sorry I didn't measure)
I placed the lamb in a 12 quart dutch oven.
I poured 3 tbs of lemon juice and 1 can of low sodium chicken broth over the meat and then tossed in 6 peeled cloves of garlic.

To start, I used a hot fire placing 12 briquettes below the dutch oven and 24 on the lid.
After three hours I brushed off the ash and placed 6 briquettes beneath the dutch oven and 12 on the lid.
I left it to cook an additional 4 hours.

This is what I saw when I removed the lid:

I removed the bones and fat from the meat.
I placed the pan juices in a separate bowl and refrigerated.
(On this particular occasion I elected to cook the day before eating.)

Before eating, I skimmed the congealed fat off the top of the pan juices and heated it on the stove top. I warmed the meat in a low-heat oven. We served the lamb with mashed potatoes (with juices drizzled over) and green peas.

This lamb dish was unbelievably succulent. Although the shoulder cut is full of bone and fat, slow, moist roasting allows the meat to fall off the bone and the fat is easily separated. What you are left with is nothing but absolutely delicious lamb meat. We loved it!

Florida State Park Bicycle Tour

2010-05-01T22:16:00.048-04:00

4/22/10 Grayton Beach to Falling Waters State Park.

68.14 miles

My brother, Matt and I left his house in Grayton Beach, Florida, after eating a big breakfast. Our weather research from the previous evening predicted a favorable wind, but as is often the case with bicycle touring, we actually were pedaling into a head wind. As the day grew hot and humid, we stopped for a good lunch of fried catfish at Big Daddy's cafe in the little town of Vernon. We pulled into Falling Waters State Park about 4:30 and found our cycling buddy, Phil, waiting for us in camp.

4/23/10 Falling Waters State Park to Florida Caverns State Park to Three Rivers State Park.

55.73 miles

We packed up our bikes and rode to Marianna where we spent a few hours touring the beautiful caverns with Frank as our personal tour guide. My brother, Matt, worked at this park several years ago and everyone was happy to see him and visit with us. We ate lunch (grouper fingers) at Blondie's in Grand Junction. We actually had lunch at this same joint on a previous bicycle tour. The food was still good and I had an ice cream sandwich for dessert. We camped at the little Three Rivers State Park near Sneads. The ranger, Wesley, brought us a generous load of firewood and visited with us for a while. We built a cozy campfire and enjoyed the evening.

4/24/10 Three Rivers State Park to Quincy

31.45 miles

I awoke to heavy thunderstorms this morning with some close boomers, which made me jump out of my sleeping bag. We were finally able to leave camp about 11:45 when the storms passed on. We rode into a blustery headwind with more thunderstorms threatening. We crossed the Appalachicola River and made the long climb into Chattahoochee for a fried shrimp lunch at Jerry's Restaurant. At Quincy, we decided to stop and get a room at the lovely (not) Royal Inn. Later that evening, we found a little fish house (I forget the name) where I found me some fried mullet and the best cheese grits of the trip.

4/25/10 Quincy to Wakulla Springs State Park

47.65 miles

Again we had heavy thunderstorms in the morning, I was glad to be sleeping indoors, but we were able to get rolling by 9:45. Stopped in Midway for a breakfast buffet at a truck stop and had great riding on US 90 with decent wind. From Tallahassee, we took the nice paved St. Marks bike trail for the last 10 miles to Wakulla Springs State Park. This park has no camping; however, since Matt works for the park service, they allowed us to camp in the volunteer area. Matt and I took a boat tour with the great guide, Don, and saw at least 30 alligators. After the boat ride, I joined Phil for a swim in the cool springs knowing that the gators were just hoping that we would journey outside of the roped swimming area. That evening I had an unbelievable all-you-can-eat fried shrimp dinner at the lodge. Delicious!

4/26/10 Wakulla Springs State Park to Ochlockonee River State Park.

46.62 miles

After a big breakfast in the Lodge, we mounted our bikes and pedalled to St Marks State Park and toured the museum and old fort situated at the confluence of the St Marks and Wakulla rivers. Arriving in Sopchoppy for lunch, we discovered that the two restaurants were closed on Monday, so we hit the little grocery store. Riding into town, I ran over something hard and metallic on the shoulder of the road and my rear tire went flat leaving town. Camped at a beautiful and shaded campsite at Ochlockonee River State Park.

4/27/10 Ochlocknee River State Park to Indian Pass.

62.78 miles

Left camp early at 8 to try and beat the afternoon winds. I saw a big white tail deer jumping through the woods as we left the park. The ride was easy and enjoyable to Carabelle where we stopped at a little coffee shop for a breakfast bagel. The ride got difficult as we approached Appalachicola. We had a strong head wind crossing the 4 mile long bridge into town, but I did get to see an American Bald Eagle on Appalachicola Bay. We stopped for lunch at Boss Oysters on Water Street in Appalach. We shared a dozen delicious raw oysters, and then I ordered the "Journey's End" sandwich which consisted of fried shrimp, scallops, and oysters heaped open face on bread. It was ridiculously large, but Phil and I were both up to the challenge! After this big lunch, we had a 20 mile ride into an ever increasing headwind to Indian Pass where we camped at the commercial campground.

4/28/10 Indian Pass to The Allen house in Panama City.

47.88 miles

It was cool in the morning, and I laughed at Matt, who crawled out of his tent bundled up like he was winter camping in Alaska. We had a good day of riding and the winds weren't too bad. Temps were nice--in the 70's. As we crossed the bridge in Port St Joe, I noticed an unusual petroleum smell. It was strange since both the paper mill and chemical plant in St Joe are not only shut down but are dismantled and gone. Later, I realized that I must have been smelling the oil from the huge off shore oil drilling disaster in the Gulf. We travelled through Tyndall Air Force Base (home for some of my childhood) and watched the F-22 Raptors shoot straight up into the sky. We arrived at my parent's house early in the afternoon and had a nice visit. My brother, Barry, and his family joined us for dinner topped off by my mom's wonderful apple pie and ice cream.

4/29/10 Panama City to Grayton Beach.

46.44 miles

We took a leisurely tour of Panama City and St. Andrews before tackling the heavy traffic and anti-bicycle attitude of US Hwy 98 and Hathaway Bridge. One of the problems was that it was the week of "Thunder Beach" when thousands of motorcycles hit the beaches increasing the congestion. We did finally have good tailwinds and made great time with little pedaling effort. We stopped at the Winn Dixie on PC Beach and visited with my youngest brother, Jason. When we arrived at Grayton Beach, we stopped at the Red Bar for a grilled Mahi Mahi sandwich. Later that night we went to the Laredo Cantina in Destin for some killer fish tacos! It was a great finishing meal for this little tour of Florida State Parks and seafood restaurants in the Florida Panhandle.

I thoroughly enjoyed the company of my brother, Matt, and my buddy, Phil. I have toured with both of them in the past and knew that we were compatible riders and good companions. Somehow, I managed not to get a picture of the three of us together. Bummer.
The pedaling miles of this tour were purposely kept short and unharried and the camping was totally relaxing.
I chose late April to miss some of the spring rains and beat the heat of May. It seemed to work as we were pretty luck weather-wise.
The food was totally awesome; fresh gulf seafood fried the southern way! What's not to like?

Monday Bike Rides and BBQ Lamb Ribs

2010-04-12T21:11:00.000-04:00

Back in February I started a bike ride on Mondays (I'm usually off on Mondays), that I call my grocery-getter ride. It was actually a way for me to get some saddle time in on my touring bike, which I normally don't ride except on my bicycle trips. So I started riding into town and doing my chores, buying whatever groceries we might need, cruising out to the river, and eating lunch on the Greenway. When the weather is warm, I even bring a paperback and enjoy some premium leisure time, reading in the solitude of the far southern end of the greenway,while sitting along side the river bank. This is some sweet bicycle time; I don't plan on giving it up anytime soon. I usually manage to pull about 25 miles out of it, too!

The grocery-getter on the Greenway.

Also in February, we bought a couple of spring lambs from our friends Dan and Kathy at Slagle Farms in Cartoogechaye. Like a lot of other people, I did not grow up eating lamb. I can't even tell you if my folks ever cooked it. I have, however, become a huge fan of the delicious meat. Since I am the proud owner of a freezer full of lamb, I have been enjoying learning how to cook the different cuts.

Today, I focused my culinary attention on baked BBQ lamb ribs. I could have baked these in my Dutch oven, but time got away from me, so I used the regular oven. This is what I did:

I placed a couple rib slabs in the bottom of a stock pot this morning. I threw in a large diced onion, two stocks of diced celery, a tsp. of salt, and lots of dried herbs (whatever I had in the pantry, basil, rosemary, herbes de provence). If I'd had garlic, that would have gone in too! I added enough water to cover everything and brought it to a boil and then turned it down and simmered it for an hour. I took the ribs out, let them cool, trimmed off the fat, and sliced each slab into three sections.This afternoon, I brushed the ribs with a bottled bbq sauce and stuck them in a 350 degree oven.

I baked them covered with foil for about 45 minutes and then took the foil off for about 15 minutes to crisp them up a little.

Ribs fresh out of the oven.

The ribs were awesomely tender and delicious, they were cooked perfectly, and the meat seperated easily from the bone. Black Betty whipped up a tasty side of Israeli cous-cous with dried apricots, pine-nuts, and green olives, and we ate up.

BBQ lamb ribs with Israeli cous-cous.

Dutch Oven Beef Pot Roast with Beer and Veggies

2010-04-07T20:24:00.000-04:00

I've bought some really good local beef, raised right, no hormones, no antibiotics, allowed to roam the fields. You know, good stuff, not your usual grocery store variety feed-lot beef. Hell yes, you can tell a world of difference. But anyway, I decided to break out the Dutch oven again. Here's what I did:

I had a 4 lb. fresh rump roast cut from this beef. I rubbed it with salt, pepper, adobo seasoning, garlic flakes, and lots of smoked paprika. I rewrapped it in the butcher paper and stuck it back into the fridge overnight. I prepared a hot 12" dutch oven with 12 coals underneath it and heated about 1/8 cup of cooking oil. When the oil got hot, I browned the roast on all sides, leaving it with the thin fat layer on top.
I then poured a bottle of beer (NA Coors is what I had) into the pot and added my veggie mix (which consisted of a quartered large onion, about 6 medium potatoes cut into 1" squares, a cup or so of baby carrots cut in half, and several chopped cloves of garlic). The veggies were seasoned with salt, pepper, and dried basil. I placed the lid on the oven, gave it a spin to ensure that it was on tight, and placed 24 hot coals on the top of the lid.

I pulled the lid after two hours and stuck a meat thermometer down in it. It was still pretty rare at this point (120F) so I built back some coals and left it for another hour. This is what I saw when I pulled the lid the second time.

It was truly delicious; the beef was extraordinarily flavorful and the veggies were perfect. The paprika had a little heat to it, and added with the beer and juices, it was hard to beat. The family loved it, and no one seemed to want to back away from the table. It'll be a keeper, for sure!

Note: This roast ended up being more on the medium well side of doneness, which was fine for my daughter's family, but my wife and I could have eaten it more on the medium rare side. Next time (for us), I would probably take it off about a half hour earlier.

The Keel Family Function 2010

2010-04-05T16:40:00.000-04:00

Black Betty and I are back from an absolute gem of a little music festival, which was held at the beautiful and idyllic Cherokee Farms near LaFayette, Georgia. This was the second installment of the Keel Family Function, named for our favorite flat pickin' guitar guru, Larry Keel.

The festival crowd was small, friendly, and intimate; the music was the finest, anywhere, anytime, and the camping was perfect. There was plenty of space to spread your camp out on the grassy green fields on the rolling farm land. We quickly claimed a breezy hilltop, overlooking the main stage area on which we set up our festival camp also known as "Gnometown". We were joined there by a couple of families from the Atlanta area, with whose company we enjoyed the weekend. There were lots of family and kid friendly activities including a Saturday moring kids jam. As usual, Black Betty and I brought our bicycles along and had fun riding up and down the hilly property. There was a small vending area set up around the two stages with limited food, beer, artist merchandise, t-shirts, tie-dye, and assorted hippie arts and crafts. One unique thing about the festival was the stages were wind and solar powered, with a back up bio-fuel generator to keep things green and off grid. The music went long and late into the night. Friday night the sleeping was somewhat difficult, but by Saturday night, I was so exhausted that I just slept right thru the late-night jams.

This year Larry's family included, among many others, Larry Keel and Natural Bridge, Col. Bruce Hampton and the Quark Alliance, the Pond Farm Pickers, The Mosiers Brothers featuring David Blackmon, Bobby Miller and the Virginia Dare Devils, Lefty Williams, Donna Hopkins, Jeff Sipe, Ralph Roddenbery, and the Josh Phillips Folk Festival. I must say at this point that I have failed to mention all the talented musicians in attendance, and for that I do apologize. Everyone really kicked ass!

The highlight (musically speaking) of the weekend for me ended up being the two Saturday afternoon super sets of songwriter showcases in which many of the musicians shared the stage together, talked about and sang their songs, and jammed with each other. Let me tell you, it was some hot stuff! These super jams were worth the price of admission on their own. We are definite converts to this little festival in the NW Georgia hill country and hope that The Keel Family Function resurfaces in 2011, so that we can again attend!

From Keel Family Function 4410

Little Festivarian Anna, chillin' at her 2nd Keel Family Function

From Keel Family Function 4410

Hometown hiker with the Pond Farm Pickers

From Keel Family Function 4410

Black Betty with her favorite bad man of bluegrass, Larry Keel

From Keel Family Function 4410

Super jam on stage with L>R Michael Tolcher,Lefty Williams, Donna Hopkins, Jeff Mosier, Larry Keel. Erin Zindle on Fiddle.