Usually Labor Day marks the end of summer in Michigan. A lot camping sites gradually shut down for the season after Labor Day. However, it looks like we are having a longer summer in 2017. A couple heat waves have brought over ninety degree hot days even weeks upon us.
So we take advantage of that and go on camping.
The leaves are starting to change colors even though it is still very hot.
Set up our tent
Prepare to build a campfire
I plan to grill beef short ribs
ingredients：
2 lbs beef short ribs
1/3 cup low sodium soy sauce
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1 to 2 tablespoons brown sugar
1 to 2 teaspoons sesame oil
1 to 2 tablespoons rice cooking wine
salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
Mix the beef short ribs and seasonings together. Refrigerate overnight. Pack in Ziploc bag and store it in cooler.
When the firewood is half burned, it is time to grill!
Heat a cast iron rack nearby fireside. When it gets hot, add beef short ribs. There is usually high amount of fat in short ribs which will prevent from sticking to the cooking rack.
Looking good
Ready to eat O(∩_∩)O~
BBQ and cold beers go hand in hand
This is the view we have when having dinner
Isn’t it gorgeous?
The second batch of short ribs is ready. The trick is to perfect campfire grilling is patience.
Bacon wrapped scallops and shrimps are next.
Sprinkle the scallops and shrimps with sea salt and freshly ground black peppers.
Wrap each scallop with a slice of bacon. Secure with bamboo sticks.
Skew the shrimps with bamboo sticks too.
The firewood is turning to charcoal. It is perfect for grilling.
Add bacon wrapped scallops and shrimps to the grill
Be patient. Drink some beer and relax
Bacon wrapped scallops will take some time to be cooked to perfection
Shrimps cook faster than scallops
Dessert is cinnamon rolls I bought from nearby grocery store
Heat up a cast iron skillet. Grease it with oil and add cinnamon rolls
Flip them over when half cooked.
To be honest, they are as good as I expected.
So we decide to drove to monomers for dessert
I have chocolate + pistachio flavor. My husband has chocolate + rocky road
The chocolate coated waffle cone is good. But chocolate is too thick to chew.
After dessert, we go hiking in the park for a while before it gets totally dark.
The moon hasn’t risen yet. When we look up, we can see the amazing star night sky. The sparkling stars are so bright and beautiful.
We walk to the lakeshore to get a better view.
We have been living in Michigan for years. But we haven’t seen such beautiful stars before.
We can even see the Milky Way very clear right upon us in the sky
I wake up early the next morning; sneak out the tent to watch the sun rise.
The sun isn’t up yet. The sky is turning color from gray to blue to purple to rose to deep pink
Here comes the sun!
My husband is up too.
We start another campfire for breakfast.
Heat a cast iron by the fireside. Add chopped bacon.
Add bacon wrapped scallops to the grill
Add diced cooked potatoes. I bought the mini potatoes from local farmer’s market. It is one of my favorites.
Add salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
When the potatoes is golden brown, add chopped green onion and rosemary
I enjoy campfire cooking even more than I realize
Alright, time to eat!
Make good use of the fire and grill some sweet corns
Grilled corns are sweet and light smoky; very tasty.
Lets cook and pose like an iron chef! O(∩_∩)O~
You think the breakfast is over?
Of course not!
Let there be smore! O(∩_∩)O~
I add a couple dark chocolate with caramel filling to cookies and briefly heat them up by the fireside too; just warm enough to melt the chocolate.
And toast the mashmarrows
Add the mashmarrowson top of chocolate
Now we have perfectly cooked S'Mores
Ok, now it is time to dissemble the tent and pack.
Moomers ice creams again
We drive to Traverse City downtown and rent a double kayak for 4 hours
I have my camera and keys locked on shore and take just my phone with me.
Traverse City downtown rive doesn’t look pleasant this time. So we turn around back into the lake.
The water near old mission peninsular is very clear and beautiful
4 hours later, we get back to the shore and ready to go home.
Another perfect camping trip accomplished! O(∩_∩)O~
