Thai-style jicama salad

fresh and flavorful

Ingredients

1 large jicama, peeled and julienned using a mandoline (about 4 cups)

1 large carrot, peeled and julienned using a mandoline

2 stalks celery, very finely sliced

1/4 cup each mint and cilantro, chopped

2 serrano chiles, minced

1/2 peeled, cooked medium shrimp (36 to 42 per lb.), tails removed, sliced in half lengthwise

2 tbsp. sugar

6 tbsp. fresh lime juice

6 tbsp. Thai or Vietnamese fish sauce

1/3 cup chopped salted peanuts

Directions

1. Spread jicama and carrot on a clean, dry dish towel with strands going in the same direction. Roll up and press towel (to squeeze out as much liquid as possible without breaking strands). Transfer vegetables to a bowl and fluff with your fingers. Add celery, mint, cilantro, chiles, and shrimp and toss to combine.

2. In a small bowl, combine lime juice, sugar, and fish sauce and stir until sugar dissolves. Pour dressing over salad and toss to coat, then sprinkle with chopped peanuts.

-Sunset May 2010

Tent Camping Tips

Many people today are keen on recapturing the ultimate summer experience, and nothing says ‘Summer!’ like camping out in a tent. To make the most out of your tent camping experience, here are some tips to remember in the wild outdoors. Keep these tips in mind and you’ll have more ‘oohs’ from your tent camping trip than ‘arghs’.

1.) Plan to arrive while there’s a lot of daylight to set up camp; the closer to sunrise the better. Remember, you are replicating your own residence (roughly speaking) in the campsite you’re going to, and this means you’ll be doing an accelerated version of constructing a dwelling with kitchen (campfire), sleeping quarters (your tent), restroom facilities (depends on how rustic your tent campsite is) and garden/recreation area. While you may have a rough idea of how things will be set up, remember that the lay of the tent camping site will include trees, rocks, dips in the terrain and other considerations that you need to account for only when you get there. Part of the fun of tent camping is the flexibility roughing it demands of you.

2.) Make sure you have figured out how to assemble your tent before you arrive at the campsite. This means setting up the tent overnight in your own backyard and leaving it overnight to make sure it still stands in the morning. Setting up your tent before you go on vacation leaves you lots of room to figure out the best way to start assembling it, and lessens the stress on you, since the time you actually need it will be the second (and familiar!) time you put it up on the campsite.

Most people will tell you the how-tos of camping but as a seasoned camper, I still rely on these two rules I’ve shared since they are the best way to eliminate stress from the tent camping vacation. As you get older and look forward to more peace and quiet which nature provides, allowing yourself enough time to set up camp is a godsend to your sanity as well as those who came with you.

Sacred Rocks RV Park is your Southern California campground for recreational vehicles, tents, and our comfy bunkhouse.
Please visit our website: http://www.sacredrocksreserve.com/rvpark/index.html

April is Stress Awareness Month

Howl at the Moon?

We all know that stress can kill you so, what is the fix for managing it?

• Laugh
• Deep breathing
• Exercise
• Go into nature
• Avoid tv [depressing news]
• Make lots of love
• Talk to a friend
• Write it out
• Pamper yourself

How do you handle stress?

RV Storage Winter Special

There is a special wonder about being outdoors in all weather.  It is REAL!  We thought about how to encourage our guests to visit during the winter.  And we thought about the urban problem of RV storage.  Many people cannot park in their own front yard because of city ordinances.   So here is an idea you might want to consider.

RV Storage on Your Site

Store your RV on a full hook up site for $65 per month.  When you want to come up and spend a day or weekend, then you pay only $20 per night.  You can leave your rig hooked up or not, your electricity will be metered.  Enjoy every season’s weather – and snuggle up at night!

Limited sites are available for this program, and, the dates are November 1, 2008 to April 1, 2009.  The month of April normal rates will apply.  April is our spring cleaning month when we ready the sites for summer guests.   We re-level, trim trees, rake leaves, and clean & paint tables and this is why we need storage RVs to vacate the site.

Many people, especially from desert areas, bring their rigs up from May through October.  We do have a special program for these six months.   If you choose to do this, we urge you to book your reservation early because you have the best choices of sites.  Of course, in this nature Reserve, every campsite is beautiful.

Or, you could store your rig on a site just like this one for $65 a night and pull it into a site when you want to spend a weekend.

Regular RV Site

Ants, of course , always want to join the picnic!

I just found out today an awesome new technique that my cleaning lady told me about concerning ants. Take your coffee grounds and spread them around the perimeter of your rig. I want to hear about your experience. Does it work?