That’s more like it

Our second night of camping was to be far more successful.

We pulled into the Lewis & Clark Recreation Area in Yankton, South Dakota at around 6, well before nightfall. Thankfully, we managed to get one of the last available RV slots alongside the swollen Missouri River.

Almost immediately, a man in the group parked opposite us leapt up from his camping chair to give directions on how best to reverse into our paved spot.

Reversing a car and trailer together is pretty hard. I have yet to drive the two together, and Daniel said that the only secret is practice.

As soon as we disembarked, Sophia went straight over to the man’s group, baby doll, three Barbies and Kiki, her much loved black and white stuffed cat, in hand. Having introduced herself and her brood, she waved us over. Shortly after that, we had an invitation to join them for dinner at 7:30.

Barb Nielsen and her extended family – who all live in and around Yankton - then plied us with food, prepared by three brothers using three different outdoor preparation methods (barbeque, Dutch oven and one other thing we can’t remember). They took Sophia to the bathroom and then held Lulu so Daniel and I could eat. They asked about our trip, told us about their family and livelihoods and gave us lots of tips on what to see in South Dakota, Nebraska and Wyoming – complete with directions.

We even got some recipes, both for the Dutch oven
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dutch_oven

Beer Bread:
3 cups self-raising flour
3 tablespoons sugar
can of warm beer

Mix and put in Dutch oven at equivalent of 350 degrees until it gets a nice crust on top

(Another version used in the family is: 6 cups self-raising flour, stick of butter, can of warm beer)

Peach Cobbler
Box of cake mix
Can of peaches
Large can of pineapple chunks
Stick of butter

You don’t even have to mix this one. Stick it in the oven at equivalent of 350 degrees and remove when it gets a nice crust. Tastes great with peach frozen yoghurt.

Both of these were delicious…we got yet another recipe for Beer Pancakes (add can of warm beer – instead of milk and eggs - to pancake mix) in the morning, when once again we were treated to food.