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Published: October 22nd 2014
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Pops got up around 7, put Lola in bed with me and left to go to Jason's. They are going to blow the leaves out of his yard down to the creek. His yard has lots of trees. I enjoyed so much snuggling with Lola and slowly waking up. We got up and made coffee and hot chocolate. We used the leftover liquid chocolate for her hot chocolate. It was so good!
We are making Pumpkin pancakes and applewood bacon for breakfast. Jason, Amy and Pops will join us in a bit. I found this recipe on 'My Baking Addiction' website. I am not a pancake lover and these were so, so good. Very much worth the effort...especially when you have an 8 year old helper who loves cooking.
Pumpkin Pancakes Recipe Yield: 4-5 servings Ingredients: 1 1/2 cups low fat buttermilk 1/2 cup whole milk 1 1/3 cups pumpkin puree 1 large egg 2 tablespoons vegetable oil 1 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract 2 cups all-purpose flour 1/3 cup packed light brown sugar 2 teaspoons baking powder 1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda 2 1/2 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice ½ teaspoon cinnamon 1/2 teaspoon salt Directions: 1. In a medium bowl, whisk together buttermilk, whole milk, pumpkin, egg, oil and vanilla. 2. In a large bowl, combine the flour, brown sugar, baking powder, baking soda, pumpkin pie spice and salt. Stir dry ingredients into the pumpkin mixture until just combined. Fold in toasted pecans. 3. Heat a lightly oiled griddle or nonstick frying pan over medium high heat. Pour or scoop the batter onto the griddle, using approximately 1/3 cup for each pancake. Cook until surface of pancakes have some bubbles and a few have burst, about 1 to 2 minutes. Using a thin spatula, carefully flip each pancake and cook until browned on the underside, about 2 minutes more. Transfer cooked pancakes to a baking sheet and keep warm in oven. Continue with more oil and remaining batter. If desired, top with butter and high quality maple syrup. After a delicious breakfast we headed to the grocery to pick up lunch. We are going to Cataloochee Valley in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. Amy's friend told her about this valley where the Elk roam in the fields
and you can get very close to them. The drive there is absolutely beautiful. Autumn is bursting with color. The road is narrow and winding. Many times we have to move over and stop to let another car pass. Before we arrive in Cataloochee Valley, we stop at a trail and take a short hike: Boogerman Loop. It begins at a footbridge that crosses Palmer Creek. The bridge is really just a thick, shaved off log and Lola takes her time as she maneuvers across. The trail is filled with rhododendron. We followed the trail for about a half mile before turning around....we want to see the Elk but couldn't resist stopping to enjoy the beautiful fall day.
We arrived in Cataloochee Valley and see several elk in the field on our left. We keep driving and come to a narrow one-way road. In the field on the right there are about 4-5 elk. We find another foot bridge that crosses a little stream and enjoy our lunch. I wish this was my backyard. Afterwards we walk along the field and get very close to the elk. We can hear their mating call- an interesting sound. The field also
has many wild turkeys. Everyone is quiet and respectful And we got some good pictures.
We enjoyed the drive to take Lola back to Bryson City. We told stories and laughed. We don't know when we will see her again which is always sad, but it's so good that Jason lives so close to her. It was a great weekend!
After dropping her off, we drove back to Asheville and we stopped at a local pizza place for dinner. We gave hugs and goodbyes and retired for the night. Tomorrow we head west to go home to Tucson.
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