our trip // food

I have to admit that I haven't always been a hiker/backpacker/camper. My family would go on the occasional camping trip, but it was far from rugged. We're talking massive 4-room tent, 2-burner Coleman stove, pancakes for breakfast, and homemade casserole for supper. And then I met Tim. He introduced me to a whole new world of camping and being outside. The first backpacking trip I ever took was a long weekend on the Superior Hiking Trail. I carried everything I needed for the weekend on my back, so the luxuries for pretty minimal. And the food = dehydrated noodles, apples, peanut butter, and hard blocks of cheddar cheese; things that could withstand several days in a pack without refrigeration. It was all so exhilarating and uncomplicated. This is the type of camping we have fallen in love with.

So when it came to our trip out west, we were a little overwhelmed because this time, we would be "car camping," as we call it. We would always have access to our car which could house food and coolers. This meant we could actually have "real" food for breakfast, lunch, AND dinner. And that's exactly what we did. I spent the week leading up to our trip planning and shopping and cooking and freezing what meals I could so that when we would get back to our camp site at night after a long day of exploring, all we had to do was light a fire and reheat the food. Lunches had to be easy and accessible since most of the time we would be in the middle of sight-seeing, i.e. tuna and cheese wraps, fruit, peanut butter sandwiches. And breakfasts needed to be more than a granola bar, i.e. corned beef hash, sausage, fried egg and cheese sandwiches. I'm happy to say that all the prep was worth it and we ate good.

Lunch on the road (Murdo, SD) - chicken salad and cherry tomatoes.

Supper in the shadow of Devils Tower - Pad Thai and fruit.

Lunch break at our camp site in Mammoth - cold roast sandwiches, pickled veggies, and salt and vinegar chips.

Supper on a cool evening - chicken corn chili and banana muffins.

I also owe a huge thank you to both of moms who contributed things like meatballs, mashed potatoes, spaghetti pie, and muffins to our food cause of the week. It was all so delicious!