Thursday, February 15
1.7 miles up and back – 1,062ft elevation gain.

After we got home from the bakery and shopping Cristhian, a distant cousin of Arjelis, with his girl friend, Rocio, and his brother Denzell stopped by the house for a visit, (They hadn’t been by in years). After talking for a while they asked Sela and I if we wanted to join them on a hike – and of course we said yes. We met them at 2PM and loaded into the back of Cristhian’s rustic Toyota Land Cruiser. After putting the vehicle into 4 wheel drive we managed to get up a very steep part of the road to the beginning of the trail – is was only going to get steeper from here.

It took Cristhian only a few minute to cut and shape trekking poles for Sela and I with his very sharp mascette – which helped a lot. There were however, certain points along the trail so steep we needed ropes to help us up – it was fun and exhilarating – and our 3 guides were very kind and patient.

The hiking trail was so beautiful – at times I felt like we were walking through an enchanted forest.

Dates: Tuesday February 13 to Wednesday February 21
Sela and I went to visit – Kirt, Arjelis, Sofia(16) and Ariana(11)

Sela and I planned and made our air reservations on Tuesday January 23, just 3 weeks in advance of our trip. I was still in Apalachicola on camping trip but I had pretty good internet connect.
Both Sela and I were flying to Panama City: Sela from Portland and me from Atlanta, Both of our flights arrived around 7:30 and we had arranged to meet in the baggage claim area. The area was very crowded but we didn’t have any trouble meeting up. We got through customs and made it to our hotel around 9:30PM. We were able to get rooms across the hall from each other.

After stowing our gear in our rooms we went down to restaurant for a small bite and a well deserved glass of wine – salad and ceviche. We had a good talking and catching up but decided to wrap up a little after 10:30 because we had a 7:30AM flight to David.

We took the 6AM shuttle from the hotel, Crowne Plaza, to the airport. The hotel was only a quarter of a mile away and we were told to be in the lobby 15 minutes before the hour. Wwe were and it was a good thing because 1 minute after 6 the driver was pulling away as some folks, who didn’t listen, were walking out of the front door – the next shuttle was at 7AM. At the Panama City airport we had to take a bus to the waiting aircraft and board using ramps.

Kirt was waiting for us at the airport and drove us the 45 minutes to Boquete where his house and farm is located. Sofia was getting a private tennis lesson on the court on their property so Ariana the youngest daughter gave us a tour of the property and to meet their 2 horses. Kirt left for an already scheduled golf game and he all met at the country club for lunch around 2PM – wood fired pizzas, delicious!

Left to right: Tia Sela, Sofia’s friend, Sofia, Juan(Sofia’s novio), Ariana and Arjelis. Below a little fun on the golf course after lunch. Sofia swung at least 7 times before actually connecting with the ball – plenty of laughs.

After leaving the country club around 5:30PM we drove to Ariana’s Taekwondo class and watched her practice – she’s about ready to take her green belt exam. We got home around 8PM and that concluded our first day in Boquete.
The next morning, Thursday February 15, we went to Morton’s bakery before doing some shopping, Sofia ordered for everyone – I had a fried egg and avocado sandwich on sourdough bread, delicious.

After the bakery and shopping we had enough time when we got home for a short rest before going on a epic hike – see the post on Cerro la Piedra de Lino Trail.

Blacken Salmon

Creamy Grits
– 1/2 Cup yellow grits – I use the organic yellow grits from the bulk section of Earth Fare
– 1 cup of whole milk plus some extra for thinning
– 1/2 tablespoon of butter
– Pinch of salt
– a little cream cheese
Put the yellow grits, butter and 1 cup of milk in a small pot – slowly bring to a low boil stirring constantly.
Reduce heat to low and cook 5 to 8 minutes adding more milk or water if the consentience is to thick.
When the grits are soft and tender add the cream cheese and stir to incorporate.
Serve and enjoy.

Buckwheat Bread
– 250g of All purpose flour
– 50 g of organic buckwheat flour –
– 100g of Sprouted Spelt Flour
– 1 Tbsp – brown sugar
– 1-1/2 tsp salt
– 1 package of instant rise yeast
– 1-1/4 cups of water
– 1 Tbsp of extra virgin olive oil
Mix all of the dry ingredients together, add the tablespoon of EVOO to the 1-1/4 cups of water, stir the water and EVOO mixture with the dry ingredients – cover and place in a warm area to rise for 5 or 6 hours.
Pre-heat oven and dutch oven to 450.

With the help of two friends, Jen Borg and Cathy Dykes, I hosted a holiday party for 32 friends who live in the neighborhood. When I was in Denver visiting Greta she helped me design an evite invitation that I sent out on December 1 with an RSVP date of December 15.
Date: Thursday December 21
Time: 6PM to 9PM
Guests: Lee and Jane, Rick and Alice, Mary, Judy, Gene and Sherrie, Steve and Debbie, Jen and Andy, Pierre and Patty. Kathy and Brown, Derek, Clare, Ed and Mary, Cris, Cathy, Charles, Rae and Sammy, Lauren and Brian, Chuck and Janet, Liz, Bruce and Rae.
Food: Honey Baked Ham, Hawaiian rolls, Cheese platter, Mini quiches, Christmas Tree Spinach Dip breadsticks, Smoked Salmon Bruschetta, Mushroom Bourguignon, Baked Brie with fig jam center, Carrot, celery and broccoli platter with humus. Cheese, crackers and grapes, Boursin cheese as well as bowls of nuts and bolts and cashews.
Drink: Beer, Wine and warm spiced apple cider.

Desserts: Christmas Cookies – Rum balls, Chocolate Crinkles, Santa’s Whiskers, Peanut Butter Blossoms and Ginger Cookies.
The cookies were set up on the table out on the screened in porch. One tray of cookies was set too close to edge of the table so Cleo decided to help herself to a few of the chocolate crinkles. I was worried about the chocolate but she seemed okay,

I thought the party was a big success and everyone seemed to have a good time. The food items mentioned most by the guests where the mushrooms and spinach dip bread sticks.

When I was out in Denver in May, for Greta’s birthday, we went to the Cherry Creek State park to see about the camping spots. After seeing how beautiful this park is I decided to book a 2 week stay over Thanksgiving. I know the weather in Denver can be unpredictable especially in late fall and winter but, I decided to give it a try. I gathered some information on the park and the guy behind the counter assured me I wouldn’t have any trouble getting a reservation. A few days after I got home I logged onto their website to book my reservation and to my surprise, there was only 2 spots left. While the park is open all year round for camping they only have one small area that has freeze proof water spigots and that is the only area open.

Getting There!
I planned my trip to Denver so I wouldn’t be traveling over 260 miles per day. I wanted to be able to get and early start everyday and pull in to a campground around 1PM so the girls and I could walk, stretch our legs and relax a little before dark.
We left Sunday morning November 5 at 9AM, the time had just changed that night back to standard time, so it was actually 10AM.

Raccoon Mountain Caverns and Campgrounds
Chattanooga, TN
Mileage: 190.2 Arrived: 2:15 PM Weather: Sunny – High: 70 Low: 45
Food; Chicken, mushroom rice and zucchini – all that was prepared at home beforehand.
I decided that with the trauma of packing, and dealing with the traffic around Atlanta our first day shouldn’t fairly short. The Raccoon Mtn campgrounds were only 190 miles from our house but with the intense traffic and road construction around Atlanta and Chattanooga it took 5 hours to get there. The weather was nice – 70 degrees in the afternoon and dropping to 45 degrees at night. I had to get up in the middle of the night to turn the heat on.

The campground was very nice all of the spots were level and contained a picnic table and fire pit. I spent 10 dollars on 2 small loads of wood and had a nice fire that lasted several hours. The girls and I found and unmaintained trail to walk on for a few miles.

Fern Lake
Paducah, KY
Mileage: 268.8 Arrived: 1:15 PM Weather: Sunny – High: 78 Low: 65
Food: Frozen pasta with marinara sauce and beef, salad and bread

KOA Springfield / Route 66
Springfield, MO
Mileage: 304.2 Arrived: 1:45 PM Weather: Sunny, Breezy High: 78 Low: 62
Food: Leftover chicken, rice and mushrooms.
This was a very nice and clean campground

Camp the Range
Wichita, KS
Mileage: 246.4 Arrived 1:15PM Weather: Sunny, windy High:70 Low: 47
Food: Frozen beef patty, onions, rice and zucchini.
Very windy drive today – wind gusts were blowing RV around and it was difficult staying in lane. The road was a, heavily traffic, 2 lane with very a little shoulder.

Diane and Greg’s House.
Hays, KS
Mileage: 1xx Arrived 12:30 PM Weather: Sunny High: 60 Low: 30
Food: Steak, Baked Potato and a salad. Friday Night Mexican Cancun rest