TEMP: High 84 / Low 43
Well, well, well......today proved to be quite the exciting day!
Chuck and I wanted to see if we could find a back road to the forest fire this afternoon. Afterall, it looked like it was just over the summit behind us....how far could it be we asked ourselves. So off we went on the trike....found an unpaved road that appeared to be headed towards the mountain on fire.
It was actually a pretty scenic drive the 20 miles we drove on it......until the road started getting "a little less traveled" and we started seeing signs like this......
It was at that point, we decided to turn back......defeated....never getting to see any actual flames or anything from the forest fire....DANG. We were THISSSSSS close......
As we were headed back, we came up on this beautiful wheat field in a large valley below. We; no...Liz (Chuck was starting to get annoyed at this point), decided it was a perfect spot for a picture of us......Little did I know this would be our "last" picture of the day.
We still had about 10 miles to go when we started through the large wheat field, which is when we first noticed what looked to be lots of little "stones" popping up on us, some even hitting me in the cheek.....I slowed the trike down a bit to prevent damage to it and us, and that's when we realized these weren't stones......they were grasshoppers. AGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH
Now, you may remember I am deathly ALLERGIC to crickets.....and grasshoppers are a close cousin to the cricket......which means I'm allergic to them too. My allergy consists of F-E-A-R!!!! I'm deathly afraid of crickets and grasshoppers and here they are; surrounding me like an army, hitting me in the face, jumping on my leg, they were all over the trike, on my head, hand and foot......that's when I heard a blood-curdling scream......which turned out to be coming from MY mouth...
And the scream continued.....I've never really been a screamer....I usually do the "internal" scream known as a "gasp"......but not today....no sir-ee......it was a full fledged SCREAM just like from the movie Psycho.....Now, Chuck was worried about his safety and my driving at this point, so he reached forward and grabbed the throttle trying to stop the trike......at the same time I'm screaming and flooring the throttle just trying to get the heck out of there before any more can jump on me. He successfully got the trike stopped (I'm still screaming) and told me to "Get OFF". Well, a lot of things could have happened at this point, but me getting off in the midst of a plague of grasshoppers wasn't one of them. I slapped his hand away from the throttle and floored it; all the while, between screams, telling him to keep his mouth closed so they wouldn't jump in.....and took off like I was on a crotch-rocket.
We rode the rest of the 10 miles on this dirt road going as fast as I possibly could, my entire body laying flat against the gas tank behind the windshield so as not to be hit by these suckers. As we got to the end of the road, Chuck calmly told me to stop and take a breath....to stand up and stretch my legs.....to settle down....we were safe now. I was thinking how sweet that was of him until I stood up and saw he was just trying to remove the grasshoppers that I had been sitting on the whole time. Enter blood curdling scream again......
And now that we're home, safe and sound, I've got to tell ya; I CAN STILL FEEL THEM IN MY HAIR!!!
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15 comments:
I will be traveling by CLOSED car the rest of my life :).
Doug wrote: "Fried Grasshoppers 1. Catch a bunch of grasshoppers and keep them in a container overnight so that they purge their last meals. 2. The next day boil the grasshoppers for about ten minutes in order to soften them up a bit. For larger grasshoppers you can then easily remove the tough wings and legs. 3. Next beat some eggs and stir in the boiled grasshoppers so that they are thoroughly covered in egg. 4. Throw some corn meal and the egg-coated grasshoppers into a bag and shake well. 5. Place the hoppers into a hot skillet with 1-inch or 2.5-cm of hot oil and fry to a golden brown. 6. Remove the grasshopper from the pan and place on towels to soak up the excess grease. Grasshopper Survival Stew If the grasshoppers are large then remove the smaller legs, and the end portion of the hind legs. 1. Boil the hoppers in salt water 2. Add whatever vegetables you have on hand 3. Add some butter, salt and vinegar to the broth 4. Cook until tender. The grasshopper stew can be served as a soup or over rice or potatoes.
"SOUNDS LIKE HORROR MOVIE.. I use to play with grasshoppers when i was about 5 or 6 yrs old there was an abundance of them in Lincoln Ks.. we kids would catch them an tie them to a match box like horses ,, a nabor boy actually would pull there legs off an eat the legs??? UUUGGGHHHHHHHH.."
I started lauging at grasshoppers and wound up crying at the end. My only regret.....NO VIDEO.
I started lauging at grasshoppers and wound up crying at the end. My only regret.....NO VIDEO. Too funny.... Best Blog yet.
WELL I WONDERED what happened to you yesterday. I KNEW something was going on since I didn’t hear from you. W.O.W. Now we know where Armageddon is! I guess you got your scream therapy done for the whole year! How’s your throat today? How’re Chuck’s ears today? J Bless your heart.
So I guess it WAS a fire after all. Bummer. I have to admit I felt a little guilty reading this since I’m the one who suggested you get a ‘scoop’ on the uhum, eruption. Notice: NEVER do anything I suggest again. Mostly importantly…do you still wuv me? Secondly, do we need to get you a pooper scooper for the trike?
Stay inside today, PLEASE.
Love you,
Kathy
Hey Liz! Thanks for the chuckles (again!) and one suggestion; perhaps it's not the grasshoppers (or crickets) that you are allergic to... maybe it's just the brand of corn meal! rofl"
This girl who is not afraid of driving a big rig up and down steep roads in the mountains is afraid of grasshoppers?? Mmmmmm, very interesting!
Julie
If you had a freshman at Jesuit, you would think you were in heaven. Grasshoppers are a must for the bug project!
Lord what a day of grasshoppers.. I'm like you.. but I did used to fish with them.. yuky!!!!! I know you must have been horrified.. I'm glad you are safe and sound after the grasshoppers.. you take care
up there and stay safe and get home safe.. O.K. but I know you will.. we are just setting here trying to stay cool.. not doing a thing..Just watching
TV.. you sure cannot get out of the house and do anything with it way over 100 *
...
I will go .. stay cool and we love you ALL.
Cynthia=
Our son-in-law, Bryan's family had a cabin in Dubois for years until his mom passed away in Jan. and they gave it to her husband (the kids didn't even claim him to be their step father). He has been all over that area growing up as his home was in Riverton where his sisters still live. did you see the "Jack a Lope" store? Had my picture made with the giant one in the store but I don't know how to blog to send it to you or anyone for that matter. we were in Mt. Vernon yesterday and today working with Troy & Becky setting up for LaVerne roy's funeral today. A good visit with my buds but sadden by LaVerne's passing. What a gal she was. I miss Mt. Vernon and all you guys but we are traveling so much we really haven't gotten involved here in McKinney. That will come after we settle in. Glad you are safe and doing some wonderful sightseeing. Take care.
blessings,
Doy & Arlen
Chuck always looks the same in the pictures. Are you photoshopping him in? Did you possibly leave him at a gas station or on the side of the road?
Enjoying your travels, and your cool weather. We can only imagine!lol
Oh my dear friend - you poor thing! While I'm not afraid of them, I don't like them and as for your experience......eeeeewwwwww!!!
Well I guess that would do it! My brother acted like he was going to push me over the edge of a cliff while at big bend. To this dag o have a fear of heights. Gotta luv those older siblings don't ya!
Julie
Oh YUUUUUKKKK!!! I’ll take the heat anytime. I HATE grasshoppers. Stay Safe. Sandee
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