In the spring of 2013 we found ourselves really missing my second son and his family who are stationed at Fort Bliss in El Paso, Texas. It is a brief sixteen hour drive from here to El Paso and surprisingly, it is the same distance from there to here in Utah. Searching for a solution, we decided that Cortez, Colorado was as close to the middle as we could get. Some investigation found Mesa Verde which is a park with amazing cliff dwellings. This picture was taken by the park ranger that we ran into on our way down to this ruins. The fun part of this picture is who you do not see but were actually there. There were two pregnant ladies in this picture and we have since welcome a wonderful little grandson and a delightful little granddaughter.

There are many cool aspects of this photo. Little Sydney tucked inside of Stetsens' coat is a doll and being kept warm. Kelton is being funny and posing for his police photo. Darren is trying to remain incognito and all are just trying not to freeze. for me the most interesting aspect of this photo is that even though we drove hundreds of miles and hiked down to ruins that are thousands of years old and perhaps a little six month old girl may be what draws your attention first. To the random observer, this is just a picture of a family visiting a park but in our redneck world, this is a family outing that required much sacrifice to get there and then was filled with life long lasting memories.

Recipe

 Kirt Womack

Rosa Thornley

English 2010

1 October 2013

 Recipe for Dutch oven Zucchini Potatoes

10 Pounds potatoes

4 Yellow onions

1 Large Zucchini

2 Tablespoons Garlic salt

2 Tablespoons season salt

1 Teaspoon Cumin

2 Frozen sausage sticks

1 Can cream of mushroom soup

1 pound grated cheese of your choice

Start by pealing the potatoes and slicing them approximately ¼ thick and place the first half of potatoes in a 12 inch Dutch oven pan. Sprinkle with some of each of the seasonings. Add the Zucchini sliced the same way as the potatoes and ad them to the pan. Spread the mushroom soup over the top of the Zucchini and sprinkle seasoning over the soup. Slice the sausage sticks up in pieces according to your taste and spread them out on top of the soup. Then add the remaining potatoes and seasoning to the pan. Add two cups of water and place the lid on the pan. I personally like to cook these in my oven which I have preheated to 400 degrees. Cook the potatoes for about one hour or until a fork passes through the potatoes easily. I then sprinkle the cheese that has been grated evenly over the contents of the pan. I replace the lid but do not return the pan to the oven as the internal heat is sufficient to melt the cheese.

            It is amazing to taste just how much the Zucchini takes on the flavor of all the ingredients and makes them even moister without being runny. This recipe is a true artifact because I never follow recipes and my children will proclaim that I never make the potatoes the same two times in a row.