Happy Mothers Day everyone! This is my mom. Jane. RedCampers number one fan and Facebook liker, the woman who supports me to no end, and always has. Giving encouragement, love, a good home cooked meal when I see her, and above all inspiration. She is the one who showed me, through being, how to be creative, how to never stop learning, how to love to garden/grow plants, how to experiment in the kitchen without fear, how to be patient with people (I'm still working on this one mom) and how to always hold your head up high and keep on going, no matter what. Thank you mom. I, and RedCamper, love you very much. Everyone else (I'm pretty sure it's just my mom that reads this, but if there are others...)..I hope you have mom's as good as mine, or are a mom, as good as mine. Happy Mothers Day!

top left: working a lookout tower in Oregon & appreciating the flora : top right: playing the flute, unfortunately a skill that was not inherited
bottom left: checking out the hand beaded headband she made, with her makeshift volkswagen van mirror, standing inside the adobe house she built with my dad : bottom right: working another fire lookout tower on the south rim of the Grand Canyon with my dirty faced brother. sweet shirt mom. do you still have it?

It is the season of soups, stews and chilis. So to help freshen up your recipes try adding some Deliciousness to the pot. 
Here I made a simple and easy crockpot chili for the week to come. Chili is one of the easiest, tastiest, and satisfying meals you can make. To demonstrate I am using a super easy recipe, but you can add this to just about any recipe to give it a new hint of delicious whiskey peach. 
This recipe is basically a throw it all in the pot and let it do its thing recipe, but that is also where you can get creative by using different meats, seasonings, or veggies. For this I'll stick to a classic chili. 

What you'll need

1 pound ground sirloin
1 can black beans
1 can kidney beans
1 can pinto beans
1 can diced tomatoes
1 jar of your favorite salsa
2 diced jalepenos
4 tablespoons Whiskey Peach Deliciousness
1 teaspoon cumin
1 teaspoon chili powder

I chose to use ground sirloin, but really any kind of meat will work just fine. Lightly brown meat with the cumin and chili powder using a little bit of oil to not burn your pan. Once browned drain the fat from the pan and add the meat to a crockpot or a large pot on the stove. You can then add the tomatoes, salsa, and the Whiskey Peach Deliciousness. I then add the beans. I like to add the juices of one of the cans, but I drain the other two. This adds a little bit more starch to help thicken the chili. Lastly add the jalepenos. I like it spicy, so I just chop them and throw them in, seeds, ribs, and all. Let this cook on low heat for at least an hour. I like to let it cook for as long as possible stirring frequently to break up the beans a little bit. 
That's it. Like I said, easy, but delicious. And what would a manly chili be without some beer? Enjoy!

It was the middle of September and with a blue ribbon in the bag, and a hankering to see something through, there were big decisions needing to be made, quick. With the dry summer here in Colorado, prime peach picking season came early and we had to decide how much to get. Working on a secret recipe for a couple years now we knew we had to go big or go home. So we ordered some jars, borrowed a truck, packed some snacks, put the dog (Halle) in the back and started our road trip to the other side of the Rocky's. 

Our destination; Paonia Colorado. A small town on the western slope filled with valleys of orchards, vineyards and grazing horses. The perfect summer day in the mountains with no agenda but to pick as many peaches as we thought we could. 

And boy did we. In fact we kept going till the truck was full. 

Meanwile, Halle took it upon herself to stay busy by swimming just about the entire time we were picking.

Near sundown we were all picked out. So we packed up and started our journey back to Denver. Since we picked these peaches at the peak of freshness we had to act fast. This meant we were off to the commisary kitchen the very next day.

Once in the kitchen it was a whole mess of choppin'. Special thanks to Ross Evertson and Deb Fox for a bunch of help.

Future brandy?

Heaping handfuls of whole delicious Madagascar vanilla bean.

Our key ingrediants (Colorado peaches, fresh lime juice, fresh Vanilla Bean and locally distilled Leopold Bro's whiskey) all mixed up the first batch is ready for the stove.

And the result of a lot of hard work, years of testing, and the best ingredients. This is our limited seasonal release of our Denver County Fair blue ribbon award winning Colorado Whiskey Peach Deliciousness. We didn't make much so do yourself a favor and get some quick. Watch out though..you'll be yearning for more before we have more peaches probably.....

Well, we have made it back from Labor Day weekend, and while Mark is sipping RedBull to stay awake from his return of a  several thousand mile roadtrip through 11 states in 10 days (check his sweet photo of a vw bus at the badlands), I thought I'd drop a note on some of what the "other part of RedCamper" was up to. Starting with a traveling art show that the informed Ross took us to. (Well, not Halle, she stayed home, she's not really into art.) The Trading Tortoise came to town and stopped in front of the Denver Art Museum. Souther Salazar and Monica Choy have been traveling around the U.S. for 5 months now trading precious items out of their adorable turtle tent. So awesome. What could be more up our alley than random stuff, traveling, telling stories, and turtles?! So, we couldn't miss it. And we didn't. And it was great.

Here is Ross doing some negotiations with the turtle house. He is being well documented. We may end up as Denver Art Museum marketing materials. Ross traded an educational poster from the 1960's that he found in the dumpster for a small book of Magic Tricks. Can't wait to see what comes of that.

I traded one of our incredible science rulers for this dazzling plate. Which I love, but I also love the story behind the plate. Ashley Jennings of Reno, Nevada picked up this plate at an estate sale while she was out with photographer Jennifer Garza Cuen who was finishing up her series of "Cocktails" photos. Seems Ashley, though not confirmed..is the Ashley Jennings that started Checklet that released the app Metricorn for small makers and sellers like us. Which is also..pretty great.

Here is the couple themselves.. And here is their kickstarter project if you want to know even more about their project there is a super cute video. And one more link..their schedule of stops. Looks like they are in Kansas City tonight and Brooklyn on the 26th. And hey there hometown..Flagstaff ..looks like they would like to stop in...

Hey.. who ever gets our ruler..we would love to know who you are....

Photo by Tocabe

After we left there, we chatted up a South African architect by the name of Russel, on a U.S. tour of architecture,  then we went over to the Taste of Colorado, a local food event in the Civic Center..wandered around for a bit eating delicious Navajo tacos from Tocabe and listening to the sweet sounds of Foreigner.

And that..was Friday night...

We reinvented our classic vertical laptop bag you've known and loved. This time dressed in super tough, water repellent, and soft to the touch, Martexin waxed canvas. Martexin has been around since 1838, so we are very happy and proud to start using their products in our bags. One of the main goals in our bags is that they will last longer than your VW bugs fenders did, and this canvas is no exception. What about our classic auto upholstery? Don't worry, there is still that famous stripe running down front and back, and boy does it look good. We will be officially launching this bag soon, so if you want to get your hands on one, or have any questions please don't hesitate to contact us at rolling@redcamper.com

While walking around Midtown Manhattan after a visit to the International Center of Photography we contemplated visiting the burger joint we heard about in the video series "this must be the place." Being in New York for over a week at this point we felt it was time to venture over there to see what all the fuss was about. As our dot approached the pin on our Iphones we looked up and saw a modest sign among the chaos of the St. Patrick Cathedral. In maroon and white it read The Prime Burger. We were greeted by a regular that told us, "You're in the right place." Signs posted on the windows and walls read, "To all our loyal customers and friends, Due to the sale of our building The Prime Burger will be closing its doors after 74 years at this location…" After sitting down at the bar we ordered a couple of sodas, cream and orange. Our waiter, Sandro, an employee of 9 years yells out "86 the curly fries." Being french fry lovers we asked what our options were. He tells us that they are out of curly fries, and they won't be getting more. Confused, we ask why. "Today's the last day," as he points back to the sign. To put this in perspective we had walked into Prime Burger in the last two hours of their 74-year existence. As we sat there waiting for our bacon cheeseburgers and side order of fries we were forced to feel the emotions clearly felt through out the room. Most of all we were forced to watch Sandro deal with the reality of his last shift where he had worked for nearly a decade. Needless to say we enjoyed our burgers and even got a slice of chocolate cake to share. We feel very lucky to have made it to Prime Burger before it closed, but we still feel even luckier to have met Sandro and wish him the best of luck in the years to come. 

We stumbled upon this little gem of a store in Brooklyn as well. Kings County Salvage. We couldn't rightly get in the door to properly view any of their fine merchandise, but what we could see from the doorway was right up our taxidermied, old wooden box alley. Owners Val and Andy were kind enough to let us stand in one spot and rotate in a clockwise motion to take it all in, and pet their dog too. We'll be back. Oh yes.

While in Brooklyn we got the opportunity to hit two locations we have been dying to visit. The Mast Brothers Chocolate production and retail location, and the Brooklyn Art Library where the The Sketchbook Project is archived. Lucky for us, and our post tradeshow feet, they were literally right next door to one another. In both cases we were not disappointed.

Mark captures the bearded clerk ringing up lots of chocolate bars.

First, Mast Brothers. Really cannot say enough how awesome their set up is. Yes, they make delicious chocolate. But yes, they sure as hell know how to set up a gorgeous environment that makes one want to rollup their sleeves and just jump in on the chocolate bar making process. The epitome of handcrafted, everything is there for you to see. The kitchen, the roasters, the gold foil wrapping team making bars, it's all there. Love. Well done Mast, we had high expectations and you exceeded them.

Then, right next door, The Sketchbook Project is a open art project where one can purchase a $25 blank sketchbook, fill it with what ever one pleases, and return it back to the Brooklyn Library for inclusion in their archive. Anyone, including, two Denverites, fresh out of a chocolate factory, or two French girls dressed in yellow searching to document anything yellow in their travels, can sit down and leave through as many sketchbooks as they please. Hands on access to thousands of artists work. It's pretty awesome. You should go.

This book by Amy Liebenberg, a Canadian artist, was called "Down Your Street".

Every two pages were stitched together, so she could embroider her illustrations.

Every single sketchbook is cataloged with the artists info.

RedCampers studio is a block away from Coors field, and as I put together this post, 3 fighter jets flew overhead for the opener of todays Rockies game. It's Memorial Day, a day to remember all those that have served our country. This day means a lot to me, for many reasons, and I'll share just a few. Memorial Day 2002 my family buried my grandparents who had passed away 2 months from one another after a life long romance.  Gram & Lu were buried that day in the Arlington National Cemetery with a full procession and a 21-gun salute. This respectable burial was the least that could be done to mark the passing of two truly remarkable individuals. Two individuals that had tremendous influence on me, and inspired the creation of RedCamper 8 years ago.

Gram, and Lu met on a train in Chicago while Gram was on leave in 1944. Immediately they fell in love, despite other relationships they were in, and were married within months going on to a lifetime of adventure. Gram climbed the ranks in the military flying planes in Africa and supporting operations through WWII as a Lieutenant Colonel in the US Army (pre Air Force). Lu, also an aspiring pilot, dutifully created home and raised 3 children, one of those my father, in Mississippi, Turkey and Germany, finally settling in Florida where they retired from the military and Gram went on to fly for Pan Am.

I am so very thankful for him, and for Lu, for their honorable service to our country and for all the other servicemen and women that have over the decades created this country, that while isn't perfect, is a pretty great place to be from, to live in. Thank you.

Gram and Lu on 4.4.44.

Gram and his crew. Gram sporting the Rolliflex that predated his 35mm camera that created all those amazing slideshows of my youth.