My Water Post For Today.
The weather is just perfect in Fort Madison, so the difference between last time we were in the area and now, is night and day.
While on the river cruise, we hit a bit of a swell, but not much.
The leaves are just beginning to show a tiny bit of color. A few weeks from now, it will be magnificent.
I hope you enjoy.
The riverboat cruise was very nice.
The captain and his son were our crew, and we had 6 people on the boat.
We spent a lot of time by the bridge, watching trains going over us, and then went north on the Mississippi, to an island, and went around it and back to Madison.
Interesting homes along the way, and again when we went under the bridge, it had more trains on it. It is the Southern Transcon, as you might remember.
A worthwhile experience.
I finally got to a computer, so here are a few photos I took on Saturday.
We arrived Friday night almost 12 hours late, to Fort Madison, so no car.
Thankfully, we are now best friends with the local taxi company and are getting around just fine.
We took our river boat tour of the area, more on that later, and met the late Southwest Chief, with the Virtual Railfan crowd. Had lunch from a BBQ truck that was there, it was brisket and it was good.
We talked with many people who hang out at the camera sites, and minus not getting the rental car, we enjoyed the day.
More to come.
Sometime in the afternoon of 9/26, at approximately 10:52AM, we should arrive at Albuquerque, New Mexico. There are no cameras at Albuquerque, so you don't get to watch us for about 45 minutes. A shame.
After this lengthly stop, we will be going through more of New Mexico, including the Raton Pass, and three stops in lower Colorado.
Nighttime, we spend in Kansas. Early morning in Missouri, and will arrive at Galesburg, Illinios, at about 11:28AM, where we will de-train.
Then, onward to our rental car, and the final drive back to Fort Madison, Iowa.
Then, our vacation will truly begin.
Shortly after this posts, we should arrive in Flagstaff, Arizona.
We have done this many times before, so we may not necessarally wake up since it is due at the station at 3:55AM.
If I do wake up, I will at least look outside my window, since it is a very beautiful station.
God willing, we will continue through places like Gallup, New Mexico today, before we make the big stop in Albuquerque, New Mexico, for refueling.
Some of the most beautiful sections of the Southern Transcon of the US, will be available for us to view.
See you down the rails.
We leave today via Amtrak, so I thought I would bring back a post from way back in 2008. Note, I had to rework the blog post, due to it being so old, but the link still works, all these years later. Enjoy.
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Los Angeles has times of the day and times of the year, when fog is a normal occurrence. Many have heard about May Gray and June Gloom, which is the time of the year when morning fog becomes the norm, rather then the exception, but the Central Basin of Los Angeles, gets evening fog quite a bit throughout the year.
During the mid to late 90's I parked my car at Glendale Station and drove in the last few miles to work. Many a night I would be waiting in the dark for the train home and being that Glendale is directly adjacent to the Central Basin, the fog would roll right in.
So there I would be, me and a misty track, with the lights of the area filled with fog.
It made you feel like you were all alone in the world and more times then I want to talk about, the song that Bruce Springsteen wrote on his Born In The USA album, "Downbound Train" would be running through my head.
Being that I felt so alone in the world at that point, I would end up singing the song, while sitting on the edge of the platform and looking down those tracks.
The other day I went in search of this song to see if there was a You Tube Video of it. I don't remember seeing it performed when I saw Bruce (Twice) in 1985, but it obviously was.
I found a particularly good version of it from a concert of that era. Click HERE to watch.
Updated thought by me.
I am so glad I went and saw Bruce two times in 1985. He still performs great concerts to this day, but there was just something extra special about that "Born in the USA" tour. He, and his band, put on one heck of a great show. RIP Clarence Clemons.
My girlfriend, Irene, posted this recipe on Facebook on Thursday.
I had the shreded steak in my freezer, so I bought the Rana Tortellini, and some cheese.
I did not have heavy cream, so the sauce came out thin, but otherwise, edible.
Maybe someday, I will make it again.
Cheesesteak Tortellini in Rich Provolone Sauce
Ingredients:
1 lb cheese tortellini (fresh or frozen)
1 lb ribeye steak or sirloin, thinly sliced
1 green bell pepper, sliced
1 onion, sliced
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 tbsp olive oil
2 tbsp butter
1 cup heavy cream
1 cup provolone cheese, shredded
1/2 cup Parmesan cheese, grated
1/2 tsp garlic powder
Salt and pepper to taste
Fresh parsley, chopped (for garnish)
Directions:
Cook the Tortellini:
Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Cook the tortellini according to package instructions until al dente. Drain and set aside.
Cook the Steak and Vegetables:
Heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat.
Season the thinly sliced steak with salt and pepper.
Sear the steak for 2-3 minutes on each side until browned. Remove from the skillet and set aside.
In the same skillet, add the bell pepper, onion, and minced garlic. Sauté for 4-5 minutes until softened and fragrant.
Make the Provolone Sauce:
In a separate saucepan, melt the butter over medium heat.
Stir in the garlic powder and heavy cream, bringing the mixture to a simmer.
Gradually add the provolone and Parmesan cheese, stirring constantly until the sauce is smooth and creamy. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
Combine and Serve:
Return the cooked steak to the skillet with the sautéed vegetables.
Add the cooked tortellini and pour the rich provolone sauce over everything.
Toss to combine, ensuring the tortellini is well coated with the sauce and the steak and vegetables are evenly distributed.
Garnish with fresh parsley and serve hot.
Prep Time: 10 minutes | Cooking Time: 20 minutes | Total Time: 30 minutes
Kcal: 600 kcal per serving | Servings: 4
My Water Post For Today.
Mississippi River, we are coming to see you!
We leave on Wednesday and will cross the river on Friday.
It may be raining that day, so it may look exactly like this, when we cross.
Enjoy the Mississippi River, from the railroad bridge.
Our trip to Fort Madison is fast approaching.
Out of the blue, on Wednesday, they offered River and Rail tee-shirts for sale.
They are only in white, so I passed on it, but my Husband was all in, so I ordered one for him.
It definitely makes the trip more real, for us.
With luck, we leave on Wednesday afternoon.
Hopefully, I will keep you informed on a day to day basis, even if we are on a train, but if I miss a day here and there, you will know why.
Bruce Breslau is the man who taught my Son how to fly.
We have known him and his husband for over 15 years.
If you spend the time to read the article from the LA Times, you will find out one of the problems with getting insurance coverage in fire prone areas of Southern California.
They live in Chatsworth, which is right on the north west edge of the San Fernando Valley, just before you go through the pass to Simi Valley.
Farmers Insurance dropped their coverage this year, and the cobbled together coverage the property owner managed to put together is outrageously expensive.
He is lucky, that he can pay it, but so many are probably retired on fixed incomes, and can not.
I keep waiting for the other shoe to drop, in regard to our insurance policies, but so far, ours has gone up small amounts, like $20.
May it stay that way.
Good luck, Bruce and Eric.
Shohei Otani has hit 51 home runs and stolen 51 bases, as of September 19th.
It's a pretty impressive stat, since no one has done it before.
I was not happy with the Dodgers paying an astronomical amount of money for this person, but I have been proved wrong.
He brings life to a team that really needed it.
My best to him moving forward, into the post-season. He has earned his place there.
It has been a few weeks for us, dealing with our sprinkler system.
When it died, we bought the newest one and with a little help, installed it.
The sprinklers worked, but not the lights and pond.
WTF!
It ended up needing a transmitter that my Son did not tell us about. Back in the day, he had used a soldering iron to attach the RF transmitter to the board, inside the case. Then he forgot all about it, until we told him we could not connect to all the RF units in the house.
Thankfully, he had 9 more at his home, so he sent us two of them. One with the antenna pointed toward the back of the board, and the other pointed to the front of the board.
The first one did not work, so I told my Husband to use the one with the antenna pointing out front, and that finally worked. (Photo is of the one with the antenna pointed toward the back). I am not happy having the transmitter outside the case, but what can you do.
BTW, it has always been a very sensitive antenna.
Pray we have no more trouble with it.
I have been a customer of Penzey's since the 90's.
It was back in the days when Bill Penzey used to travel the world, looking for spices.
Eventually, he found a girl, got married, and had three children, all things I watched, via his blog, within his catalog.
He is like family, and I am sure many, many people feel the same way.
The catalog is long gone, along with the stories he profiled, regarding regular people, sharing their best recipes.
One of which ended up in my iBook recipe book, Cathy's Cookbook, created in 2013. Choco-Banana Cookies. The recipe that keeps on giving. :-)
He is a very "Blue" businessman, who shows his colors in his blog posts on Facebook. The Republican's are not happy with that, and when Kamala Harris visited one of his stores a few weeks ago, all hell broke loose, with them trying to drive him out of business.
It saddens me so much to see this, and I would like to point you to his Website, where a $50 gift card can be purchased for $35. Of course I don't see it anywhere, but that is what he said on Facebook. It's a great deal, if you use his spices. Call the phone number, if you want more info about that.
Wishing him the best, for his business and his family.
Good people don't deserve this.
My Colonoscopy is done for another 5 years, if no cancer is found on any of the 3 polyps they removed.
Using the Sutab pills was a game changer, for me.
Taking 12 pills over a half-hour with a sip of water each time, was no real problem.
Drinking 16 oz of plain water twice during a 30 minute period of time, was again, no problem.
I drove over to the appointment, and did not look like death warmed over.
I highly recommend this way to prep.
My Water Post For Today.
I have belonged to Bluesky, for almost a year, and though I don't post much, I am trying to increase my presence there.
I just found out that they have something called "Water Wednesday", so after I set this post up, I give it to Bluesky on Wednesday.
Why not, I have already done the research.
This is Horse Thief Lake, which I showed you last year, but it is a totally different view of it.
It is just to the west of the site of Mt. Rushmore, on the road to Crazy Horse.
Being a big rock fan, I love that you can see the small rocks on the shore of the lake (click the image to see a few of them).
I hope you enjoy.
