Been a while, let's talk candy...

It has been a long time since I posted anything. One of the reasons I started this blog was to have an outlet for ranting so as not to turn off any "friends" on Facebook. So, I could complain about the disappearance of the yogurt that used to accompany the apples in the kids' meals at Arby's. I could bemoan the great loss of Moose and Zee and all the wonderful artwork and graphics from what was Noggin and is now the bland Nick Jr. with the added insult of commercials. I could whine about how the argument between my '06 Tacoma and bentonite clay last summer has claimed another victim, the front wheel bearings. I might even cry over the closing of Dakota Soda Company in Rapid City, SD. But, I think I will just make you drool instead.

Today I fulfilled a promise to my kids by taking them to Minnesota's Largest Candy Store in Jordan, MN. It was an experience! We were on a budget, each kids had $10 to spend, I had $20, and no more. So, I was not able to partake in any of the 127 varieties of root beer they sell, nor was I able to sample any of their homemade apple streusel. I did, however, walk out of there with some of the freshest marzipan I have ever eaten, and the BEST orange dark chocolate bar I have ever tasted, Chuao's Orange-A-Go-Go. They had a wonderful assortment of salt water taffy as well as an amazing collection of imported European candies and chocolates including a line imported by Koppers. They had hand made nut rolls, a bizarre selection of bacon containing candies, and tons of novelty candies in all sorts of tins and plastic gizmos for kids of any taste. Nostalgic candies were also in abundance, Zots, Pop Rocks, candy lipstick, button candy, Nik-L-Nips, Fruit Stripe Gum, and more. I really enjoyed getting to show my kids candies that I remember being very fond of when I was their age, and they liked hearing it too. While they ended up choosing many of those items, both girls were most excited to spend nearly a third of their allotted money on a 3 foot long gummy snake. Honestly, there was so much to take in it is impossible to really see all of what they have, no matter how slowly you go or how methodically you think you are going through the aisles. They have many other gourmet food items such as maple products, soup mixes, pastas, jams, and so on. When we were there sweet corn was just coming in and was quite popular with other visitors. Apple season is their main season, though, as it is an extension of Jim's Apple Farm, then fresh apple products become the main draw. This place does not have a webpage, they are not on Facebook, and I do not even think they have a phone number you can call. But I guess those in the know simply know you can't miss the giant yellow building on Highway 169. They do not take plastic, so bring cash or your check book.

While we are talking about good eats, we came a cross another gem, Sugar High, in Ennis, MT. We had just come out of the mountains after the most enjoyable drive along Gravely Range Road when we came across this place and decided to eat. It was like heaven after all the terrible tasting and over priced meals we had in Yellowstone National Park. As a bonus feature on the 'Super Size Me' DVD there is an interview with Eric Schlosser who explains that if you are going to eat fast food a place like 'In and Out Burger' is "doing it right" by making their patties fresh and cutting their own fries on the spot. Well, Sugar High then is definitely doing it right. From the moment we walked in the smells from the grill made us forget all our recent bad culinary experiences. The burgers were fabulous, all the toppings were free, and the fries? OMG! Yes they were hand cut on the spot, but they were skin on and SKINNY! Oh, we needed this food if for no other reason than to restore our faith in the restaurant industry. And I did not even get to talk about their ice cream, the array of toppings was a true kid pleaser. So, if you are ever in the area, Sugar High is a definite must.

Another Great Product Bites The Dust

In the last couple of years there have been several companies whose products our family used regularly who changed their product formulations rendering their products no longer acceptable to us. A few of the most notable ones were Desert Essence Organics who changed their formulas and their conditioners no longer left our hair comb-able, Organic Planet once had a 100% whole grain udon noodle but now it is a blend of whole and non-whole wheat, MyChelle revamped their entire line leaving me high and dry for many of my daily facial products including sunblock, and quite painfully Cascadian Farms changed their children's cereals bumping the sugar content in their Clifford Crunch from 5 grams per serving to 8 grams per serving, shame on you Cascadian Farms.

Today I received a very sad e-mail from Sunspire informing me that they had indeed changed the formula of their Grain Sweetened Chocolate Chips. This is perhaps one of the largest losses to the natural and health foods industry. Anyone who is trying to eat a "whole foods" diet was familiar, I am sure, with the Sunspire Grain Sweetened Chocolate Chips as they counted as a whole food and allowed whole foodies a sweet treat without eating refined sugars. They were sweetened with whole grain corn and barley malt, basically like diastatic malt. The grains were sprouted, then the entire grain along with the sprout were dried and ground and used to sweeten the chocolate (with normal malt only the sprout is dried and ground and used as a sweetener). Sunspire has now switched to a brown rice syrup to sweeten their Grain Sweetened Chocolate Chips leaving a huge void in the sweets category for whole foodists and anyone trying to eat as little refined sugars as possible. Shame on you Sunspire, or maybe this was a decision made by Hain-Celestial. In any case, I am not sure if contacting the company to complain would help, but here is SUNSPIRE'S CONTACT FORM. If anyone knows of a chocolate that fills this void, please let me know!

I-80 OASIS

Thinking on my previous post about gems I've come across, I cannot believe I forgot to list Kids Kingdom in Stolley Park in Grand Island, Nebraska. Anyone who is traveling Interstate 80 across Nebraska with small children needs to know about this oasis. This park not only has an awesome playground with a castle sort of theme going on, they have a nice concession stand, and a train. Yes, I said a train. The Stolley Park Railroad is awesome and cheap, costing only a couple of dollars to ride. Stolley Park also has picnic areas, playing fields, a wading pool, gardens and walking paths, additional playground areas, frisbee golf, and horseshoes. So, if you are tired of planning your interstate breaks around McDonald's Playlands, then put Kids Kingdom on your list of places to stop instead, you won't be disappointed. Hop off I-80 onto US Hwy 281 north, turn right on Stolley Park Road, and follow that till you come to the park.

A FEW GEMS

Okay, so maybe I've got more than a few to share. To qualify this, when traveling we usually go to the same states/cities, so my recommendations may be limited in scope, but not in quality.

Punch Pizza Punch has multiple locations in the Minneapolis/St. Paul metropolitan area of Minnesota and is our favorite pizza hands down. They belong to some organization that is for the preservation of true Neapolitan style pizza and Meryl Streep once declared Punch was "the best pizza I ever ate". They have a wonderful light and chewy crust topped with crushed tomatoes, olive oil, fresh mozzarella, and what ever else you like, all at a surprisingly affordable price. I've tried other Neapolitan pizzas including the one made famous by Oprah, Bianca Pizza in Phoenix, but Punch really is the best. Be warned, however, after eating enough Punch our five year old twin girls turn their noses at pizza like Domino's and Pizza Hut.

The Pizza Place A close second for pizza in my book is in Lusk, Wyoming. The Pizza Place is owned by a fellow off road enthusiast and we make it a point to hit this place any time we are somewhere remotely near. The pizza is really amazing, my only complaint is that they do not offer artichoke hearts as a topping. They have a great crust that gets perfectly crispy and is a little thin with a nice chewy edge, and their sauce, sausage (house made), and other toppings are really well done. But don't go here just for pizza. The great thing about The Pizza Place is that their menu could stand alone without the pizza, the stromboli sandwich, for example, is to die for. They even brew their own sun tea in more than one variety for those of you who drink iced tea while dining out.

Dakota Soda Company No food service patties or fries here, Dakota Soda Company makes their own burgers and fries from scratch. Much like In and Out Burger, walk in and you'll see the whole potatoes sitting there waiting to be cut, and you can watch the soda jerks form the burger patties themselves. We ordered the sweet potato fries and expected the food service ones that are available at just about every restaurant now (not that this a bad thing), but what we got were hand cut fresh sweet potatoes fried up and served in such a huge pile that it only fit in a paper to-go bag. When you're done with your most excellent burger and fries, really delicious, made on-site, frozen custard is up next. Much like Culver's, DSC offers special flavors daily, but you can't go wrong with one of their orange sodas any day of the week. Wednesdays are open mic night, and just outside is a small open square with interactive fountains that on hot days you'll see children playing in.

The Shops at Main Street Square I would never have thought I'd be writing about an entire block, but once you're into it for Dakota Soda Company, you have to check out all of it. Without even having to go outside, after your burger and fries you can enjoy a fabulous bookstore, a wicked cool toy store, and a top notch travel store. Who's Toy House is one of those hard to find toy shops that doesn't carry all those cheap plastic licensed throw-away toys. Who's carries toys that you will want your children to hand down to their children. If you are traveling with youngsters and feel they might be getting a little restless, a new toy or activity book could be just thing to make the remainder of your driving a little easier. Also, if traveling or camping and you forgot something, then Roam'n Around is a must. It is a great outdoorsy travel store that has everything from DeLorme Gazatteer map books to Jetoils, apparel to rock climbing gear, and everything in between. For those of you who read, then Mitzi's Books is another must. They have a wonderful and inviting children's section with excellent titles, and their selection of adult fiction is fabulous. We were able to find the next Janet Evanovich book I needed to keep form going through withdrawal, and my husband found the next Craig Johnson book he was looking for as well as some Randy Wayne White and Lee Childs, all titles that Books A Million did not have in stock. There are more shops than just these three at Main Street Square, and I am sure given the caliber of these three the remaining shops I did not mention are just as excellent for their genre. It simply boils down to The Shops at Main Street Square being a genuine destination.

Mason's High Country BBQ is located in Fairplay, CO and is owned by a fellow off road enthusiast. Their home made sausage is absolutely amazing, and who knew I'd like eating cooked greens, but holy cow it was yummy. Their ribs were delicious and their sides (such as slaw, corn, potato salad, and baked beans) were also excellent. Beware, their brisket and pulled pork are so good they often sell out early. If you love BBQ and are in the area, Mason's is a real oasis.

Check back form time to time for more listings of great places to go while out and about.

My experience with chronic dry eye

In fall of 1998 I was at a conference and my right eye kept watering. I called my family physician to make an appointment fearing conjunctivitis. My doctor felt certain it was pink eye and so prescribed sodium sulfacet. This seemed to do the trick. Over the next ten years I had sporadic similar episodes and used left over eye drops and it seemed to go away every time.

By 2008 my right eye would water for days at a time and then be fine for weeks. That spring I was seeing a retinal specialist and was diagnosed with Basal Laminar Drusen (which was quite worse in my right eye). I asked if my eye could be watering as a response to the drusen. The doctor said no and explained to me that it was most likely chronic dry eye. He said that it may seem counterintuitive, but when the eye does not generate enough of any of the three substances that usually keep the eye moist, the tear ducts will go into over-drive to try to fill the void. He gave me a referral to a tear specialist that I never followed up on.

By January of 2010 I felt I was really suffering and I was about to travel to Arizona for a fifteen day convention. I panicked and called an eye doctor and made an appointment. She diagnosed me as having chronic dry eye and prescribed Restasis warning me that it takes a minimum of six weeks to see results and that not everyone sees results. She also recommended I start taking fish oil. She said it was unusual to have it more in one eye, and also informed me that the dryness of winter often made dry eye worse. I started my drops, went on my trip, waited the six weeks, and no relief. I gave up on the Restasis. By the time April rolled around my eye was back to being tolerable, most likely because of the increase in humidity due to the change in seasons. My husband started taking fish oil after his annual physical so I started taking it with him in hopes it would improve my dry eye. I saw no improvement.

Fall set in and my eye started to get worse as the air started to dry out. At my physical I asked my family doctor about it and she said try taking more fish oil and give it at least two weeks to see if the increase in fish oil helped. We had been taking a fish oil that had 600 mg of omegas, so I started taking two putting me at 1200 mg. I waited the two weeks and saw no improvement so went back to just one gel cap. Winter set in and my eye got worse and worse, watering all the time with no break. The corner of my eye was red and raw and hurting from dabbing away tears. I even was having trouble driving, my eye would be blurry with tears and I would constantly have my hand in front my face dabbing at the tears. I could feel my eye lids stuck to my eye balls at night, and in the mornings I would wake with mucous sealing my eyes shut.

By January I was getting desperate and suffering every minute of every day and worried about my annual upcoming trade show in Arizona. I was about ready to call the tear specialist when the lady who manages the natural foods department at my local Cashwise grocery store told me that for omegas to have an anti-inflamitory effect one had to take a minimum of 1200 mg but most likely more than that. I also had a friend going through chemotherapy who had her blood tested for deficiencies and she was told by her doctor that she needed to be taking 1800 mg of omegas. So, I decided to try a higher fish oil dose again, only this time I went to three gel caps a day for a total of 1800 mg of omegas.

Within a mere four days my dry eye symptoms were completely gone. I was amazed and so thankful. To this day I still take 1800 mgs of omegas and am still free from dry eye symptoms. I am not saying that this will work for everyone, but it worked for me. I wanted to share my story in hopes that it might help even just one more dry eye sufferer as it is an easy and inexpensive remedy to try. Best of luck!

On Curses, and the Electrical Conductivity of Bentonite

I am not a person of faith, nor am I a person of superstition. That being said, an hour before leaving for a 10 day vehicle dependent expedition I found this antique gate hinge pin embedded in the tread of my mud terrains. I offhandedly commented to a friend that it was a "bad omen".

Taking the wheel off and dragging it into Walmart for repair cost us two hours that evening, but the trip seemed to have gotten off to a fine start none the less. Unfortunately it was all down hill from there, and I did start feeling like the trip was cursed, like my "bad omen" comment was a self fulfilling prophecy.

Once in the Badlands of South Dakota we decided to take a road we had been down many times before. This road has several small creek crossings and takes you through some badlands terrain up close. The scenery is outstanding and at one spot along the road the butterfly and dragonfly watching is amazing. We came to the last creek crossing and, unlike every other time before, we didn't make it.

We tried all sorts of maneuverings as well winching to fence posts till the winch died. After two hours of struggling and starting to think it was finally time to really begin worrying, we were most embarrassingly though gratefully pulled out by a Ford F150 that happened upon us on his way to shooting prairie dogs. Once out I managed to stall the truck thus discovering the hard way that the starter was no longer working. So, the F150 pull started us (one added benefit to having a manual transmission). We thought all would be well again once things dried out. This was not be the case.

We hit the interstate and made it a total of 18 miles before the truck died. We watched in horror as systems started to fail, one by one starting with the air conditioning, as the battery lost its charge. The alternator was gone. We got a tow into Rapid City, dropped the truck off at the dealer, and got an air conditioned hotel room on a 108 degree night. It took two days for the dealer to find and install a replacement starter and we ended up sourcing the alternator ourselves to speed up the effort. When we finally got our truck back and drove into town to find a car wash more systems began to show their disdain for having been submerged in water and bentonite. The airbag light was on, the recirc for the air turned on and off on its own, the truck would sputter every once in a while and seemed to be lacking acceleration, and the speedometer needle was bouncing around a lot meaning that the cruise control was also not functioning.

We limped our way to our final destination in Colorado. Here, in the comfort of the Arlberg Club in Winter Park, my brother, an electrician, educated me on the finer points of bentonite and how the electrical conductivity of the minerals in bentonite would cause short circuits even when dry. Great. And to think I thought bentonite was only good for clearing out your pores. By the time we left Colorado we had lost the speedometer all together though the recirc problem disappeared as did the sputtering. And maybe we just got used to it or maybe it improved, but the acceleration was no longer an issue.

We get through most of Wyoming and decide we will not make Devil's Tower in time to camp so we find a nice piece of BLM land along the Belle Fourche and head for it. A matter of just a few hundred yards away from where we were going to camp, BOOM. Smoke/steam rose from under the hood and the speed at which my husband cut the ignition was nothing short of heroic. At first fearing the worst (blown engine), then thinking radiator, then thinking power steering, we see that it is none of the above, it is the high pressure hose for the air unit. Completely unrelated to our little episode in the creek, a battery acid leak had slowly eaten away at the hose till it blew. Truth be told, we knew about this leak a long time ago and had simply not gotten around to replacing the battery. The next morning we called the dealer in Rapid again and ordered the hose which would be in the next day. We bummed around Devil's Tower, then headed to the Hills enjoying Slate Creek until the part was in the next morning. My husband installed it in a Walmart parking lot and recharged it with the kit Walmart sells for $29.99, all in less than an hour. We made it home with no further incidents other than my husband losing his sense of adventure.

This trip was most definitely the worst either of us has ever had in more than 20 years of overlanding in terms of mechanical failure, on a scale grand enough that it's easy to see why people believe in curses, jinxes, bad omens, bad karma, or plain old bad luck. But in the end, everything except the hinge pin was a result of our own actions. Today, as I write this, the electrical shop in town is working on our winch, and my husband is tearing into the truck and one by one taking apart all previously submerged electrical connections, cleaning them, and coating them with dialectric grease in hopes of finding the one that has been shorting out the speedometer. Despite all this, my daughters and I leave on yet another adventure to, yep, you guessed it, the Badlands, Black Hills, and Devil's Tower in less than four weeks. Glutton for punishment? Maybe. Maybe we just don't believe in curses.

How to Sleep a Family in an '06 Tacoma Short Bed

Our family is very into off-roading, overlanding, vehicle dependent expeditioning, whatever you prefer to call it. My husband and I bought our 2006 Toyota Tacoma double cab short bed TRD with factory rear locker and 6 speed manual tranny brand new and immediately went to work improving it. We went with Deaver 10 leaf packs in the back with reservoir shocks, and Icon coil overs in the front with Camburg upper A arms, giving us 3 inches of lift. We went with an All Pro rear bumper, front winch bumper, and rock sliders. Then 33 inch Goodyear Mud Terrains and we were all set. For sleeping accommodations we got a Sportz truck tent. We were in heaven, wouldn't you be with a set up like this one below?

We had tasted life camping off the ground and could never go back. Months later, surprise, we're having twins! You can't fit a family of four into the short bed truck tent. We were crushed. We had the perfect set up and were now back to square one. My first choice was some sort of heavy duty tonneau with a roof top tent mounted to it. We were never able to find a roof top tent that when folded would fit onto such a small tonneau that was also large enough to sleep two adults and two kids. We had heard of FlipPacs, but figured we'd never have the money, and they don't ship. Well, Tucson was about as close to Riverside as we ever got and we came into some money, so we detoured on the way home and went to Riverside to buy a FlipPac. Closed, it is barley larger than a topper, canopy, shell, or whatever you want to call it. It only weighs 300 pounds, and has a double sized mattress in it. The added weight of the FlipPac did lead us to upgrade our rear suspension to 12 leaf All-Pro Expedition packs which added a fourth inch of lift without the weight of gear and camper and leaving us back at out original 3 inches of lift with the weight of gear and camper. Below is a photo of it closed.

Here is a photo of it open at Castle Rocks in Rabbit Canyon, CO. The company's slogan is "Shell to Camper in 30 seconds", and that is spot on.

With the optional rain fly we were ready to go, except for one thing, where would the girls sleep? We talked it out and decided that a raised platform above the wheel wells was the way to go, the question was how to execute it best. My husband's talk was of a sheet of plywood with a frame under it, I wasn't excited by that prospect, and to make matters worse there were no inflatable mattresses that were well sized for the project. Then I had an epiphany, Ikea. I recalled how they not only have odd sized mattresses for children but they also use a slat system for their bed frames, so we went shopping. For a little over $150 we walked away from Ikea with a full sized Sultan Luroy slatted bed base and two Vyssa Sloa children's mattresses. The slatted bed base fit perfectly width wise on the frame my husband built, the length did not matter as you could space the slats as close or as far apart as needed. The mattresses came with a zip off cover and were just foam, so I cut 3 inches off the length of each, and once stuffed back into their covers they were a perfect fit on the platform in width and length as well. Then all our gear stores beneath the entire set up.

We had intended that the girls sleep lengthwise, one on each mattress, but in the last photo above they test out their new sleeping area side to side, perhaps in preparation for a trip on which they would have to sleep side to side as they would be sharing the mattresses with a third 5 year old. A friend of mine, her 5 year old son, my two 5 year old girls, and myself stayed quite happily over nearly 4400 miles and 12 days. So I can officially declare this set up a success.

One night we even had a sixth person join our party. Two adults slept up top, the smallest adult slept below with two children, and one child slept on the "hammock". The "hammock" is a fabric sling that, when fully extended, is there to hold the mattress in place when the FlipPac is closed. When sleeping up top in the camper the sling can also be extended to offer some privacy from below. The wider part of this fabric sling can be folded back leaving a narrow sling that can support 100 pounds, whether gear or child.

This inaugural trip with the FlipPac unfortunately did not involve any off-roading as evident in the use of street tires as opposed to our Mud Terrains. We have another trip coming up in a few weeks where we will indeed be putting our off-road tires back on and will test the weight and girth of the FlipPac on trails in northern Colorado.