Another Bucket Item

Bill and I did a first for our Team Love experiences last night:  a Dutch-oven cookout.  

I think we may even attend some more, and next time we’ll try to arrive on time.

We learned last night that arriving on time is pretty essential for a Dutch-oven cookout, cuz when it’s time to eat, the menu consists of what’s ready to eat.

Our Dutch-oven, filled with beans,  along with a Tupperware container filled with chunks of ham,  stayed in the pickup.

My peach cobbler, prepared in a pyrex dish and baked in our oven, did make it to the table and eventually onto some plates.

The Dutch-Oven Cookout flyer announced that coals would be ready for cooking at 4 p.m. Dinner would start at 5:30 p.m.

When I looked at the car clock as we pulled into the Samuels store, it was 4:22.  Bill had to buy ice, and we still needed to drive to almost to Naples before turning off on Plantation Road near Stampede Lake.

After another mile or so through an area known for its sand hills and recreational trails, we pulled in to the picnic spot shortly after 5.

A semi circle of Dutch ovens were going full-steam ahead near the campfire by that time.

We had no idea who we would see at this cookout, except for Diane Maurer, who had invited us.  The suspense made the experience all the more intriguing in my mind.

Turns out we knew some folks---Diane’s hubby Marty, her new pup Banjo, artist Janene Grende and retired U.S. F.S.  “Ranger Dick” Kramer and his wife Jody.

Another friendly lady, Kathy, walked up and said we’d met once before.  She then introduced me to her husband John.

Then, I met their cousins, Roseanne and Tom (not of the TV show) but retired teachers from Ohio who moved here in the past year.  

Another Samuels-area resident,  who lives next to last month’s Union Pacific train derailment,  showed up later.

When I asked Roseanne and Tom what lured them to Sandpoint, part of their story dealt with CJ Box’s book Blue Heaven. 

It was kinda neat to tell inform her that the names Willie and Annie from the fictional book about a murder in this general area were inspired by someone I know very well. 

Roseanne said she’d have to go back and read the book again.

This gathering had a definite Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation influence, and, of course, one Dutch oven contained a healthy supply of Elk meatballs.

Diane said she has put monthly Dutch-oven cookouts on her Bucket List for this year.   

Sounded like a good idea to me, especially after the pleasant time we spent visiting and filling our plates with chicken, a Mexican dish, some Jumbala and those meatballs.

On our way home, Bill and I both realized we had hit the desserts from the picnic table and had forgotten to grab a helping of Diane’s cherry, chocolate cobbler moisturized with a can of Coca Cola.  

Next time!   

With his scouting experience, Bill has done plenty of Dutch-oven cooking, and now with his new oven, we’ll plan to make it to our next cookout on time and ready to cook.

We loved the experience and thoroughly enjoyed the group.

Diane is constantly adding to her Bucket List, and one of the additions over the past year has been the sport of geocaching.

So, of course, we stopped at a geocache on our way out.  

Diane had searched for it before and was surprised to learn that the cache (a magnetic slab with some lettering slapped on to a telephone utility box) had been right in front of her face.

One geocaching story led to another, and I’m sure we would have stood there ‘til dark ‘cept for some mosquitoes out looking for their blood soup and hearing about a Dutch-oven cookout in the area.

Yum! Yum!