Two-Hearted River/Tahquamenon Falls adventure

Back from our first camping trip of the summer, and all pleasantly achy, sticky from sun block, and pink-nosed from not wearing enough of it. Stinky, wood-smoke scented clothes are in the washer, dishes and cast iron implements have all been washed and re-oiled. The camper is full of mayflies and mosquitoes, but that can get opened up and cleaned out tomorrow. It was a good trip.

Where did we head off to this time? Michigan's upper peninsula, where some of our best camping trips have taken place. Muskallonge State Park is on the southern shore of the awesomely beautiful Lake Superior, between the small town of Grand Marais and Whitefish point. It's not right on the beach, but a short walk to the park entrance, across the road, and a few flights of stairs down will take you to a sand and granite cobble beach, where you can watch the loons float on the lake and fish jump and admire spectacular, long lasting summer sunsets.

It was mom's birthday on Friday, so we stopped in to see her. We gave her a couple gifts and strolled around the back yard admiring her various outdoor decorations and furnishings. Her yard is starting to look like a living room. No kidding, it has candles, mirrors, furniture, window frames, picture frames... *sigh* To each their own, I suppose. I think Tim would have a small accident with the weed whacker if I dared to put a gazing ball anywhere on our property (not that I want to). I think we counted 4 on hers. The fence she had installed against the back property line was a blank expanse of wood last year. This year, it is adorned with rustic paint-peeling window frames, metal planters, trailing lengths of plastic ivy, a framed mirror, and I forgot what all else. Her plants look very nice, thanks to Ron's ministrations.

We went out and had a nice, if mediocre lunch. We could have gone to a nicer place, but mom wanted to make sure we had a big enough place to park with our camper, so we ended up in a place in a large grocery store parking lot. Which we thought was very considerate. We didn't talk about aging parents/grandparents or any other unpleasantness. Her upcoming trip to eastern Europe dominated the conversation.

We arrived at the campground with no incident, other than dodging the usual construction. They are removing the original lead-based paint on the Mackinac Bridge, which is quite an operation. It meant the outer lanes were closed, and you were forced to drive on the see-through metal grating lane. Which doesn't bother me, but I know it freaks out some people.

Todd and Gretchen and Jeff and Jen were already there when we arrived. We had a light dinner of smoked fish and cream cheese on crackers after we set up the camper (we can't go to the UP and not buy smoked fish), had a few beers and called it a day.

Saturday, June 18th

We are on for breakfast this morning, so we served up corned beef hash, toasted English muffins, fried eggs and blueberry jam. This pretty much lasted us all day, because all we needed during the canoe trip was a few granola bars, some English farmhouse cheddar and bread. And beer, of course. The plan was to drink Bell's Two-Hearted Ale while cruising down the Two-Hearted River. Which we did, and wholeheartedly enjoyed.

Rainbow Lodge provided the canoes and transportation to the drop-off site at Red Green bridge. We took the short trip (4-6 hours), but I think it took us close to 6 hours. After a few minutes of getting our 'river' legs, we remembered how to steer a canoe with pretty much no problems. No one tipped over, and Tim and I only found ourselves going backwards twice. Just in case, though, the camera rode in an air-tight zip-lock bag. There were plenty of fallen trees and sunken logs to maneuver around.

If only it was possible to bottle the air in that place, on that day. About a half hour before we set out, the clouds cleared away, and we enjoyed clear blue skies the rest of the day. The temperature was somewhere around 60F and perfectly refreshing. The scent of the water, the balsa and hemlock and spruce trees...we found ourselves breathing it in over and over just to smell it. No car noise, no plane noise, just the birdsong, the occasional scream of ravens as we intruded on their territory, and the rill of water passing beneath the prow of the canoe.

Many of the rivers and streams in the upper Peninsula are tinted brown from tannins. It looks a little odd, but it's just a natural feature of the area. Thousands of seasons' worth of leaves and fallen needles steep to make the water the color of tea...or a good ale. In the sunny patches on the river, the water took on an almost opalescent sheen.

I did see one trout. Just a big dark trout-shaped shadow darting under the nose of the canoe.

We tried to guess how old some of the white pines were along the river banks. Hundreds of years, probably. We also wondered which storm would be the one to finally knock some of the precariously leaning trees into the river.

We were starting to get tired toward the end of the trip. Only one wrong turn, but it didn't take us long to figure out which way to go. We reached the Lake Superior shore and hauled the canoes out of the water and headed back to camp. We had a feast of smoked burgers that night, courtesy of Todd and Gretchen. I never would have thought to smoke ground beef but yep, you can smoke hamburger patties and they are delicious.

Sunday June 19th

We started off with a tasty rendition of croissants and 'armadillo eggs' served up by Jeff and Jen. Only these were made with bell peppers instead of jalapenos. Even though they didn't assemble quite as planned, the combination of pepper, cream cheese, cheddar cheese and bacon on the grill was wonderful.

This day the plan was to hike 8 miles round trip between the Lower and Upper Tahquamenon Falls (link), and then go out to eat at the brew pub at the Upper Falls that night. As the day warmed up, and as we hiked farther into the woods along the river, a beer in the middle of that 8 miles started sounding better and better. So we were more able to enjoy the scenery knowing there was something good to drink at the end of 4 miles. The river was wide and peaceful between the falls. We saw a family of merganser ducks swimming along, the little ones looking like they had invisible string connected them all to mom. We saw some incredibly huge old trees, beeches and paper birches.

Plenty of other plant life closer to the ground, too. Along with all the beautiful wildflowers, we passed through some rampant poison ivy patches in the low areas of the trail near the river. I thought I was doomed. Luckily, Tim and I escaped that. Ironically I now have a lovely weeping rash from the weed-pulling I did right here at home after we got back. We still have some seedlings sprouting around the property. The stuff is just plain, utter evil. You should see what one brush against one itty bitty seedling has done to my wrist.

The beer at Tahquamenon Falls Brew Pub is nothing to get super excited about (at least according to the beer experts among us) but we enjoyed the Tannin Ale and the Black Bear Stout. We had a few appetizers to help sustain us for the hike back. I can now say I like deep fried dill pickles.

We decided to take the road on the way back. Still 4 miles, but at without all the stairs, steep climbs and tree roots. And there were plenty of wildflowers to admire along the roadside. White daisies and red hawkweed and various yellows against the green ferns are the eastern UP palette in June. I really think we walked more than 8 miles that day. It seemed to feel a lot more like 10 by the time we got back to our vehicles. By that time the mosquito repellant was seriously wearing off and we were tired.

We had a smorgasboard of leftovers that night for dinner. And of course more beer. Tim would have to supply the names of all the things we opened and shared, including some homebrew from Todd. We had some crazy Belgian things that could have passed for champagne. The raccoons were even more ballsy that night, coming out to search for food well before dark. Friday night Tim interrupted one's dinner inside our trash bin before we had a chance to lock it up in the truck. The guys were good he-men as they thrashed through the brush, searching for the persistent masked bandit and running it out of camp.

The raccoons aren't the only things who know campers are good for a free meal. Three families of Canadian geese, including little goslings, waddled up to us expecting a handout Sunday evening. Since someone had already done the damage by conditioning them to think humans are okay and will feed them, we shrugged and grabbed some leftover bread. The adults were trying to herd the littlest ones away, and they gave any others a good pinch if they got out of line, but they were so cute. They still had to grow into their giant black feet. They surrounded us, flapping and peeping and gobbling up bread.

I hope Jeff's pics turn out. Ever the professional, wherever we went he had his equipment, including his tripod, with him. For a look at some of his work, check out Composition Nature site . He was kind enough to send us some shots he took while we camped with them in the Porcupine Mountains last summer. We went down to the lake shore Saturday night to catch the sunset. He captured some old pier pilings standing near the beach, and we saw a beautiful orange sunset. We checked out the hundred year-old sawdust pile there too, from a sawmill that used to stand there. You can pick pieces of wood from the exposed wall of sawdust which I would guess is 20 feet high.

We so enjoyed meeting Todd and Gretchen for the first time. Hopefully we can do more camping/eating/drinking together at some future point. Her story of their daughter touched me. She was diagnosed with a retinal blastoma last December, but has now made a full recovery. There's something about little kids with cancer that is just all wrong. The bitch of it is that it's a genetic condition. Their family has been through a lot in the space of about 7 months. Something to think about when you're having a 'bad' day...

I think Jeff and Jen finally made it home at least 3 days after they planned. The transmission on their van tanked, and they were stuck in Escanaba waiting for repairs. I'm sure I heard him say one evening around the fire 'I don't want to go to Escanaba'. Famous last words...

I was inspired to pick up 'The Nick Adams Stories' by Ernest Hemingway, and am now reading about northern Michigan, including the Big Two-Hearted River. I think this is my first Hemingway, because I don't remember being forced to read it in high school. Willingly reading something is always better anyway.

I promised to post some recipes. Here are just a few of the things that helped make the weekend so tasty:

Simply the Best Chocolate Brownie
From 'Death by Chocolate (The Last Word On A Consuming Passion) by Marcel Desaulniers

4 tablespoons plus 1 teaspoon unsalted butter
1/4 cup plus 1 teaspoon all-purpose flour
2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
3 ounces unsweetened chocolate, broken into 1/2 ounce pieces
2 ounces semisweet chocolate, broken into 1/2 ounce pieces
3 eggs
1 cup granulated sugar
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1/4 cup sour cream

Preheat the oven to 325 F.

Lightly coat a 9X9X2 inch square cake pan with 1 teaspoon butter, then flour the pan with 1 teaspoon flour, shaking out the excess.

Sift together the remaining 1/4 cup flour, cocoa, baking powder, and salt onto waxed paper. Set aside.

Heat 1 inch of water in the bottom half of a double boiler over medium high heat. Place the 3 ounces unsweetened chocolate, remaining 4 tablespoons butter and 2 ounces semisweet chocolate in the top half of the double boiler. Tightly cover the top with film wrap. Heat for 4 1/2 to 5 minutes, remove from heat, and stir until smooth.

Place the eggs, sugar and vanilla in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a balloon whip. Mix on high until slightly thickened, about 1 1/2 minutes. Add the melted chocolate mixture to the egg mixture and mix on medium for 30 seconds. Add the sifted ingredients, mix on low for 10 seconds then on medium for 10 seconds. Add the sour cream and mix on medium for 5 seconds.

Remove the bowl from the mixer and use a rubber spatula to combine thoroughly. [At this point the recipe variations call for adding chocolate chunks or raisins...I just add semisweet chocolate chips, about 1/2 a cup or so. Maybe more.]

Pour batter into prepared cake pan, spreading evenly including the corners. [if making the variations in the book, the recipe calls for sprinkling nuts or more chocolate chunks over the top...I sprinkle on about another 1/4 cup semisweet chocolate chips] Bake in preheated oven until a toothpick in the center comes out clean, about 40 minutes (bake another 10 to 15 minutes longer if making brownie varieties).

Remove brownies from oven and allow to cool in the pan at room temperature for 10 to 15 minutes. Use serrated slicer to cut into 12 portions.

Notes:

I find 50 minutes is just right for chocolate chip brownies. I also double the recipe and bake them in a 15X10 jelly roll pan. Greased parchment paper is a must, as far as I'm concerned, for getting these out of any pan neatly. I also melt the chocolates and butter in a microwave proof bowl without any problems.

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Homemade Granola

From 'Barefoot Contessa' (Ina Garten), the 'Big Breakfast' episode on Food Network

4 cups old fashioned rolled oats
2 cups sweetened shredded coconut
2 cups sliced almonds
3/4 cup vegetable oil
1/2 cup good honey
1 1/2 cups small diced dried apricots
1 cup small diced dried figs
1 cup dried cherries
1 cup dried cranberries
1 cup roasted unsalted cashews

Preheat the oven to 350 F

Toss the oats, coconut and almonds together in a large bowl. Whisk together the oil and honey in a small bowl. Pour the liquids over the oat mixture and stir with a wooden spoon until all the oats and nuts are coated. Pour onto a 13X18X1 inch sheet pan. Bake, stirring occasionally with a spatula until mixure turns a nice, even golden brown, about 45 minutes.

Remove the granola from the oven and allow to cool, stirring occasionally. Add the apricots, figs, cherries, cranberries and cashews. Store the cooled granola in an airtight container.

Notes:

I have always used whole toasted almonds in place of the cashews. It seemed to make more sense, but I'm sure the cashews are good. I can't help but think pecans would be the bomb, too. I have also added prunes and dates to the fruit mixture. I saw a bag of dried blueberries in the pantry yesterday, and thought those would be good to try, too.

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Chewy Granola Bars

From Alice McVey of Evansville, IN in the June/July 2004 issue of 'Taste of Home'

1 package (10 1/2 ounces) large marshmallows
2/3 cup chunky peanut butter
1/2 cup butter, cubed
1/4 cup corn syrup
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
4 cups quick cooking oats
1 cup crisp rice cereal
1 cup miniature semisweet chocolate chips
1/2 cup flaked coconut
1/2 cup cup sunflower kernels
1/2 cup chopped peanuts
1/2 cup raisins
2 tablespoons toasted wheat germ
2 tablespoons sesame seeds

In a large microwave-safe bowl, combine the marshmallows, peanut butter, butter, corn syrup and vanilla. Microwave, uncovered, at 70% power for 2 to 3 minutes, stirring often until blended. Stir in remaining ingredients. Spread into a greased 9X13 pan. Bake at 350 F 15 minutes, or until set. Cool on wire rack.

Notes:

I find using a heavy saucepan to melt all the gooey stuff works better, because you can get at it to stir it as often as you need to. It will scorch if you don't give it enough attention. Also I use the regular size chocolate chips. They work just as well. And I'm not sure what inspired me to add peanut butter M&M's last year, but I now cannot make these without adding them. You can make the recipe exactly, and these will be good, but the M&M's put them over the top. I dump the entire pan out onto a large cutting board and cut into candy bar-sized pieces when it's cool. Wrap individually in waxed paper, and you have a snack to tuck into a backpack, perfect for that break in the middle of a long hike or a canoe trip.

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Homemade Corned Beef Hash

Forget the greasy crap in the can. Here's something lean, mean and perfect to start off a strenuous day of floating down a UP river and drinking beer around the campfire.

1 corned beef brisket (I dunno how big, I just picked a good-sized one out of the fridge case)
a 5-pound bag of russet potatoes
1 sweet vidalia onion, finely diced
a bunch of green onions, diced (white and green parts)
about 2-3 tablespoons fresh thyme leaves
about 1 tablespoon minced fresh chives
about 1/4 cup brown grainy mustard
a few grinds of black pepper

Open the corned beef and remove the spice packet. Rinse and set aside for a future unknown use (we just can't throw that away, now, can we?!). Place beef in a crock pot and almost submerge in in a mixture of water and white vinegar (about a cup of vinegar, about 5 cups water). Cook on low overnight, about 8-10 hours. Remove from cooking liquid and cool. Save about a cup or two of the cooking liquid and refrigerate.

Dice the potatoes (Leave the skins on. It's more wholesome and rustic, and I certainly hope we don't need to have a discussion about fiber). I think I used the entire bag. Cook in the microwave, or in water on the stovetop. Cool after all pieces are evenly cooked.

Shred or dice the corned beef, peeling all the fat and membrane off as you go. Add to the cooked potatoes. Add all remaining ingredients. Salt? Well, you make the call on that one. The corned beef has plenty, so you may find, like I did, that it really doesn't need any. Add as much cooking liquid as you need to make it moist. You did skim all the nasty fat off it first, right?

Pack into a large container for traveling, or cook it right then and there in the hot, well-seasoned cast iron implement of your choice. We used a little butter and canola oil in the bottom of a 12 inch dutch oven, and it didn't stick at all. Take your time getting that crust on the bottom. Serve with fried or poached eggs.