It happened back in November. This time most of the olives were black—which made them much easier to spot against the copious green leaves. Unfortunately a fair number had been infested by the olive fly—which we had to sort out as we picked. The reward was getting to take home bottles of olive oil made from the olives we’d picked the year before. Too cool.
I figured there was a chance I might be able to squeeze in a Sonoran hot dog during our return trip to Tucson, but it just didn’t seem to be in the cards. It wasn’t until we were on the way to the airport that Stephanie surprised me by directing us to Tacos Atoyac for their perro caliente de Oaxaca—an Oaxacan hot dog! We each had one with some carne asada tacos, and then rushed off to catch our flight.
As part of our Thanksgiving desert pilgrimage, Stephanie and I drove down to Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument on the border with Mexico. The park protects the desert wilderness surrounding the northernmost range of the organ pipe cactus. We had just enough time to drive the mostly unpaved, 21-mile Ajo Mountain Drive, before heading back to Phoenix to catch our flight home to San Francisco.
Last Thanksgiving, like the one before it, Stephanie and I made our annual pilgrimage to the desert. We spent this one in and around Tucson, Arizona—sort of a do-over of our initial visit (when Stephanie fell ill en route to our container ship in Philadelphia). Of course we returned to the incomparable Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum, and we went on a short walk in Saguaro National Park, but the real standout was the Telephone Line Trail in Sabino Canyon. The weather was beautiful, the sky was clear, and the late afternoon, autumnal light was golden. We really enjoyed hiking among the giant saguaro cacti. Many photographs were taken. Here are a few.
Something to try: Chemistry of Cast Iron Seasoning: A Science-Based How-To (I’ve been inspired to use my Lodge cast iron pan by this cookbook: One Pan, Two Plates)