Greg’s Truckload

Volume 10

Gregstruckload.com

Greetings truckers, I’m writing today from the passenger seat as we return from a pizzarrific weekend in Chicago. I’m gonna start with some important issues to share in case you don’t read all the way through. 1^st, in a week, I’ll be running the lawn route 1.5 days ahead of schedule. Monday lawns will be scheduled for Sunday, Aug 3^rd, and picking up the pace throughout the week with a plan of finishing all lawns by Wednesday morning. We are planning our last family summer break trip, and the kids start school 2 days after we return. 2^nd is that this will be the last print version of this newsletter. If you have been enjoying it, I hope you go to gregstruckload.com and sign up for the email version. Last month, I hired the Berry Bloom agency to develop the website, and they did a phenomenal job. Now, filling it with all the great resources I’ve been and still am planning is up to me. They have linked the Facebook page, the YouTube page, and the Wild Childs group to the website. Speaking of the Wild Childs, if you’re interested in group activities, these will be posted on the Wild Childs Facebook page, so be sure to join the group. We will gather for activities such as hiking, kayaking, kickball, and all sorts of fun stuff, and I’ll encourage other members besides myself to join in planning these activities. I had some Wild Child stickers made, so if you would like one or a few, ask, and I’ll make sure you get some.

Our recent trip to Snowshoe Mountain totally beat our expectations. I really could have easily doubled our time there. The time we did have was synced up with downhill championship races, and every time we rode the lift, we could talk with people from all around. That was so much fun. We learned what trails were doable and which ones we had no business getting nearby. The trails were very challenging and exciting. We had ideal conditions with nice brown powder (no mud). The center of the village was bustling with activity. Youngsters showed off their bike skills with wheelies and tricks, and the outdoor dining was full. They had some live music and even a movie one of the nights. They even offered a really cool R/C truck skills course.

The lake at the bottom of the mountain had a popular beach area; admission to this was included with your stay, and so were the available kayaks, paddle boards, and an inflatable obstacle course; our kids loved it. I so wanted to explore the local area but ran out of time. The nearby town of Cass offers a scenic train ride that, after talking to people who did it, should have been on our agenda. Cass is also where the Greenbriar River trail ends or begins, depending on your travel route. It is a 78-mile train track converted into a trail that takes you through several small towns, over 35 bridges, and a few tunnels. It is rated as one of the country’s top 10 Rails to Trails. Also not far away is the Greenbank observatory, the world’s largest moveable surface-mounted telescope; scientists from all over the globe have applied for a time slot for its use.

Also in the area is Nelson Rocks. This place scares me to death, but I’m also highly attracted to it, maybe to overcome my fear of heights. Google it, it’s nuts. Hmm, a Wild Child field trip? In addition, some of the folks we talked to mentioned that Summersville Lake has a rock climbing location accessible by paddleboard. If you fall, you land in deep water, making it a great location to experience the thrill without worries. Surely, you’ve all heard of the nation’s most recent addition to the national park system, the new river gorge. I have rafted the New and the Gauley and now want to see the new park aspect which offers hiking to view points of the river and bridge and who knows what else. Basically, West Virginia is a playground for nature lovers and should be considered for future travel opportunities. Feel free to reach out if you want to know more about anything specific, as I’ve done a good amount of research on the area, and if I can help, I’m happy to do so.

Back home, the garden is doing ok. Best tomato season I’ve had in years. Worst pepper season ever. Squash got wiped out, but I am starting another round. There is still time, I think. We already have 4 ripe pumpkins, all nice jack-o-lantern size, but I know they will be rotten by the time we really want them, so I’m hoping the vines don’t die off as they look pretty rough. We can have something in the garden year-round in this neck of the woods. This is an excellent time of year to be thinking cool season crops. Lettuces are one of my favorites; also, I plan on many cold, hardy greens such as kale and turnip. November is a great time to plant garlic as it will winter over and be ready sometime around July. Man, I love fresh garlic. When I ran a restaurant in Oregon, one of the regular guests was a garlic farmer who would bring us many different varieties and explain the difference in flavor. That didn’t change how I used it, but it’s interesting that garlic, like a pepper, comes in many varieties. In addition to the vegetable garden, I’m enjoying the summer blooms. Standing out are the hydrangeas and crepe myrtle. The container gardens and topicals also look fantastic. Speaking of which, have you made it out to Brian’s botanicals? I’m hoping to get over there again soon as I hear it’s epic this time of year, and I haven’t been since he brought everything out of the greenhouses. Sara is trying to sidetrack me doing this because she knows I will come home with more plants.

I can only wrap up this section if I mention the lawns. Man, even with irrigation, they really stressed out there at the end of June. Most of the lawns around here are fescue, a cool season lawn. If you want it to look good in the heat, you’ll need to water it heavily during hot, dry weather, and it’s still gonna show signs of stress. Louisville is smack dab right in the middle of what we call the transition zone, an area between cool-season grasses to the north and warm-season grasses to our south. It is said that we grow each of them equally bad. Almost all of you have  fescue, and some have bluegrass mixed in. This is a nice blend that does well most of the year, but when it gets hot, it shows. This is a critical time to irrigate because if you let it go dormant, it is like opening the door and saying, hey, weeds, “you’re gonna love it over here.” Come on in. Chemical applications will have to be more frequent and will have less effect. Almost all seeds available today are hybrids engineered for specific traits, primarily for looks. Darker green, finer blades, etc. A lot of work goes into the perfect lawn, and it’s not for everyone. Some people would call an all-fescue lawn a monocrop when it has been allowed to go dormant in a drought; in my opinion, it is less attractive than a natural lawn (native grasses and weeds). Natural lawns will do better with less water. It’s also a toxic brown square with no signs of life and of no benefit to anyone. All the while, next door might have a natural lawn made up of whatever, native Bermuda, crabgrass, this, that, and the other. That lawn, made up of opportunistic varieties, will fare better when left to fend for itself and continue to benefit everyone through aesthetics and its ecological life. Each of these care styles has its place, but each homeowner must make a choice that fits their lifestyle and preferences. There will be no judgment from me; they all mow the same.

Heading back into the kitchen or the outdoor kitchen, I’m digging this weather and grilling out almost every night. It’s my sanctuary and place to gather my thoughts after a long day. I made some ribs a couple of weeks ago, and Sara said they might have been the best she has ever had. We only do ribs a few times as they take a while, but this cooking style, while I’ll admit it is a cheat, is very effective. It’s intended to be primarily hands-off and finished properly with smoke and fire. Here is the method. I used baby backs and 3 full racks.

Rinse and pull off silver skin. I then cut each rack into quarters, 12 rib sections. Coat them in your favorite rub. I make my own because I’m not too fond of sweets and all the sugar in store-bought. Preheat the oven to 275 and choose a 4-6 inches deep pan and roughly 16 x 12. I use a stainless-steel half pan. Put a nice pour of distilled vinegar, about a cup, and a couple of drops of liquid smoke. Place ribs in a pan standing up, bones standing vertically in rows. The 3 racks I did filled this pan perfectly. If doing fewer ribs, choose a smaller pan. Cover the pan first with plastic wrap and then with foil. Place in oven for 4 hours but turn down to 250 degrees at the 3-hour mark. After that time, light a charcoal grill with reasonable airflow control; I use a primo ceramic; a big green egg would suffice, as would a Weber. Hopefully, when you open the pan of ribs, the meat has begun to pull back from the bone. Try to achieve a grill temperature of about 275. Place the ribs on it.

I like to occasionally put a handful of pellets on the coals. Whatever variety you want, I’ve been using pecan. Get your favorite sauce (Stubbs is mine, what is yours?), pour some in a bowl, and cut it in half with more distilled vinegar. Occasionally, brush this on the ribs and flip and brush both sides. When that is gone, pour some more sauce into the bowl, don’t cut it, and brush it on, maybe throwing another handful of pellets on the coals. This process on the grill will take 45 minutes to an hour and is the final step. Time to enjoy your ribs. My favorite sides are slaw, bean salad, green beans, and mac n cheese. In the future, I’ll share some recipes for these. Enjoy. Here is a list of ingredients/supplies

BBQ Baby back ribs         4-6 inch deep pan

# racks ribs                          charcoal

Bottle of BBQ sauce         wood pellets

Distilled vinegar                bowl/ grill brush

Liquid smoke                      plastic wrap/ foil

Rib rub I’ve only made 1 time, and this is roughly it (1 part garlic, 1 part onion powder, 1 part black pepper, 2 parts salt, 3 parts paprika)

I’ve dug into storage, and I dug out my old banjo. This winter, I’m going to sign up for some lessons. It’s been 30 years, but what the hay.

Day trip I’m planning that you are invited to join, kayak to the Ohio River ghost ship, the USS Sachens. It’s got a remarkable history; Google it. Once a time is set, it will be posted on the Wild Child’s group page.

An observation I’ve made: I get a lot of steps in when we visit big cities and only touch the car once we head home. This weekend in Chicago, there were at least 20,000 steps daily, which didn’t include the mileage on bicycles. We chatted with the chef at our ^second pizza stop in Chicago, and he had over 30,000 for the day. Good stuff.

I hope you enjoyed this issue and will sign up online to continue receiving the truckload. Until next time, Keep on trucking.

P.S. Before Labor Day weekend, I plan on doing a how-to video explaining the process and recipe for BBQ ribs and the rub. There may be some sides, but there are no promises there. This will be posted to YouTube with a link sent through email and on the website