Lumberjacks and a Perfect Smore

We recently went camping in Idaho. Last time we were camping in Idaho, there were fire restrictions, even in the campgrounds. This was very discouraging for Mr. G because, you know, how can a guy go camping and not use his axe and saw to obtain firewood? And buying a bundle of firewood wrapped in cellophane from the local country store is just not acceptable. Lucky for us this campground allowed campfires. So Mr. G got right to chopping up some firewood. I was the lumberjack helper; I had the privilege of stabilizing the tree while my lumberjack hacked and chopped. I was never concerned about losing an arm to a mis-swing of the axe, but I did, at several points, fear getting my eye poked out by flying wood debris. This guy takes his axe hacking skills very seriously!

Thanks to my own private lumberjack, we had a pile of wood sufficient to warm an entire Who-ville community.

And what would camping be without Smores? Every time I go camping I think of Smores as a must-have dessert. Making Smores seems pretty basic, doesn't it? - roast a marshmallow; sandwich the mallow with a piece of chocolate between two halves of a graham cracker; smashed together, the heat of your marshmallow will melt the chocolate giving you a perfectly gooey and delicious Smore. Well, I think Martha Stewart, who only creates recipes that are impossible for the average person to cook, invented the Smore because they are just that, impossible. Usually one runs into several obstacles when trying to make this treat. Sometimes it is difficult to find a graham cracker that has not been totally crushed. Or, your marshmallow catches fire in the coals or melts right off your roasting stick and actually falls into the fire. And come on, does the chocolate ever really melt? In most cases, you will find yourself in one of these predicaments, but one doesn't usually complain - you just take in stride and think to yourself, "Sheesh, this is sure a lot of work for the mediocre end result." Well guess what, I experienced a Christmas miracle on this camping trip. I actually made the perfect Smore. I will admit, it only took about three tries and various creative cooking methods to get it just right (yes, I still ate the failed attempts), but I was determined and I did it. Smores really are the best camping treat.