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Winter at the Grand Canyon South Rim

Some time ago we went to my precious niece's wedding in Arizona then took a trip  to the Grand Canyon.   I thought I would share some info with you in case you ever want to consider visiting the South Rim in Feb.  I only have info. here about the South Rim.  Our trip was in Winter and the roads in the canyon were open to vehicles.    The look out points are only accessible by shuttle starting on March 1st. You can literally walk out of your hotel take a shuttle to the shuttle stop and visit the specific look out points on the South Rim.  We stayed at the Eltovar hotel in the Grand Canyon Village.  The reservations during peak seasons are usually booked 8-12 months in advance.  We had no problem getting a room in Feb. although, we did book in Oct.   The restaurant requires reservations during peak season,  we did not need any in Feb. Turns out, access to the roads leading to the overview sit...

Lemon Icebox Pie

Today I made a Lemon Icebox Pie. I got the recipe from a cookbook published for Katy First Baptist Church's 100th Centennial Celebration. Its a breeze to make and quite delicious with a warm cup of tea. Whenever I have the opportunity to squeeze fresh citrus juices and freeze them for later use I do so. I utilized the lemon juice I had previously frozen for this recipe. I cheated and used a store bought crust. Here is the recipe: 1 can condensed milk, 1/2 cup fresh squeezed lemon juice, 2 egg yolks Mix all the ingredients on low speed with elec. mixer less than one minute. Put the ingredients in a precooked pie pastry shell(400 degrees for 10 minutes) and top with three egg whites whipped until light and fluffy. Whipped Egg White Topping: The egg whites should be room temperature and to the three egg whites you add 1/4 teaspoon of cream of tartar and two table spoons of sugar. Mix the egg whites until they form peaks and the sugar is dissolved. Once you have added the egg whites f...

The Septic System Landscaping Dilema

Here is a photo of the landscaping around our aerobic septic system   http://www.damnseptictank.com/ holding tanks prior to removal of landscaping. The variegated shrubs and sago palm were babies when I planted them. The red shrimp plants were frequently visited by hummingbirds and swallowtail butterflies.  I purchased the pastel pink crape myrtles from Cornelius nurseries on Dairy Ashford when I was an employee there in 96'. They were only supposed to grow 18 feet but at the time of removal they were 30 feet. Needless to say their roots were tickled pink to be on top of the septic tanks. I had to remove the landscaping because the roots of our 70' tall gorgeous bald cypress tree had invaded the septic tanks. Whatever I chose to put in place of the previous landscaping had to have shallow roots.  So, for the first season I decided to put down some native wildflower mix I purchased from the Wildseed Farm in Fredericksburg.   ...