Medano Pass

Jim, Lee Solomon, Chuck Moore and Chuck Geno all went 4-wheeling Sunday in two jeeps up Medano Pass on the Sangre de Cristo Mountains. All of us had boondocked in Westcliffe on the other side of these same mountains....we've seen both sides now. With Jim being born and raised in this area he had never driven up Medano Pass so this was a special treat. This last picture is on top of Medano Pass look towards Westcliffe.

While the guys were jeeping the ladies walked the three loops of the campground (some 3,000 steps) in preparation of indulging. We went down to the Oasis Restaurant just outside the park and enjoyed homemade pie-a-la-mode and coffee. Left to right there is Jan Moore, yours truly, Nancy Geno, baker Diane Vittoria, Marie Gengate, and Edie Solomon. We ate some very tasty and some unusual pies like Macadamia Nut White Chocolate Custard, Pecan Surprise, Mixed Berry, Apple, and Strawberry/Rhubard. Add two large scoops of ice cream........yummo!!!

Diane's son owns the restaurant and she goes in every day and bakes numerous fruit and cream pies every day during the season. She has written three cookbooks called Pie in the Sky #1, #2, #3. I first met Diane when she and her husband, Tony, took my computer classes when I worked at the public library in Alamosa. When she did a book signing at the library, Diane brought in six pies for the audience to sample....boy did she sell books then. She told us she tries to create a new pie every day. Well, she has three cookbooks full, so she is sure fulfilling that goal.

Like we needed anything else to eat after that, but we did. Jim cooked everyone's hamburgers to which we added roasted green chiles. This is the first week that Hatch chiles have been available. The chiles come from only Hatch, New Mexico, and they are considered the best chiles anywhere. Grocery stores all over New Mexico and Colorado have wire mesh barrells on a stand that rotates over burners to char the chiles for 10 minutes. Then the chiles are placed in heavy-duty plastic bags to steam off the skins. The aroma is amazing!!! Jim and I have been known to eat a fresh green chile sandwich, just on bread with butter.

The sunset was beautiful and then the moon came out and made for a nice photo.

That is the moon sparkling in the left corner of the right photo.