Re: Camping for Thanksgiving

Has anyone done this? (well, obviously some of you have, since Yosemite is sold out) I am wondering what you cook, anything fancy? Any tips for making a turkey or perhaps a breast?

We'll be in Zion from Weds to Sat (like I said, Yosemite was sold out) and I haven't figured out yet if we will just do typical camp food, or try and have a turkey day feast.

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Dave
Freeze dried turkey?

Blech, no thanks!

I have seen recipes where you can do a turkey in a dutch oven. It would be easier just to do a breast and not the whole turkey, boxed stuffing, some baked potatoes done in foil in the fire, cranberry sauce and there is your dinner. You can buy a pie at the Pioneer Restaurant or Bumbleberry's. This will be the first time in 9 years that we will not be in Zion at Thanksgiving. We always stayed in one of the cabins at the park so we would go out for dinner. If you don't want to cook, Zion Lodge has an all day buffet. Other restaurants in town also serve a Thanksgiving lunch/dinner. However, you will need reservations. Have a great time. I wish we were going.

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parklover
I have seen recipes where you can do a turkey in a dutch oven. It would be easier just to do a breast and not the whole turkey, boxed stuffing, some baked potatoes done in foil in the fire, cranberry sauce and there is your dinner. You can buy a pie at the Pioneer Restaurant or Bumbleberry's. This will be the first time in 9 years that we will not be in Zion at Thanksgiving. We always stayed in one of the cabins at the park so we would go out for dinner. If you don't want to cook, Zion Lodge has an all day buffet. Other restaurants in town also serve a Thanksgiving lunch/dinner. However, you will need reservations. Have a great time. I wish we were going.

Thanks, what stopped you this year? And do you happen to remember the price of the buffet?

We had some changes in our lives this year so we will not be traveling like we did for a while. We really will miss not going for we always enjoy our little Zion Lodge cabin with it's fireplace. We have gone to Zion so many times, not just at Thanksgiving and people in town and at the Lodge recognize us. Eight Thanksgivings ago we met an older couple who also stays at the Lodge every Thanksgiving so we do things with them. We don't have family close by so it is like being with relatives.

I can't remember how much the buffet costs but you can call the restaurant there at 435-772-7760. For the past few years we have been eating at the Parallel Eighty Eight which serves a traditional dinner which is more expensive.

We have a big group that meets in Death Valley every thanksgiving. Everyone brings a different piece of the Thanksgiving feast, keeping in mind that we are usually dispersed camping on BLM land so resources are limited to what we can bring in our cars (water, stoves, cooking gear, campfire, etc). This year we're bringing the turkey, but we're actually cooking it right now. Like, today. It's in the smoker as I type this. When it's done we'll break it down into a few large pieces and vacuum seal it, then freeze it. It warms wonderfully over a campfire, only enhancing the smokey flavors.

As for the rest - well, stove top stuffing, instant mashers, pre-made pumpkin pie - you can cover pretty much anything. It's not going to be gourmet but that doesn't matter - it all tastes better out there anyways.

Last year we camped at an old miners cabin and used the wood stove to help heat dinner. Here's how it all came together:





Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 11/10/2012 12:53PM by calipidder.

Anyone else camping for Thanksgiving?

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hotrod4x5
Anyone else camping for Thanksgiving?

I'll be camping in the kitchen.

How did the trip to Zion go? Did you do a turkey? Were there still leaves on the trees?

We had a great time in Zion. There was still quite a bit of color in the lower areas, around the campground and in Springdale. We hiked Angel's Landing and the Narrows past Wall Street. Here are a few shots from the trip.

Cornish game hens for Thanksgiving. Turkey breasts were way too expensive!



The view from the campground



To see a few more, go to my photography facebook page: My facebook page



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 11/26/2012 07:21AM by hotrod4x5.

Sounds like you had a great time and dinner looks really good. I will have to use my son's Facebook to see the rest of your pictures. My husband saw the one with the tree and is about ready to slit his throat since we have not seen fall colors like that in Zion in years. Just our luck not to be there this year.

You don't have to have a facebook page to see my photos, I made it a public page. Facebook might ask you to sign up, but no need just to look.

The fall colors were good, but not great, from a photographer's perspective, mainly because they were scattered around the park mixed with a lot of bare trees.

It sounds like the fall colors and foliage was not much different than what we have seen on previous trips at this time of the year. My poor husband was afraid that he missed a great photo opportunity when he saw that one picture. Some year we will have to try to go to Zion earlier in the fall when the colors are at just before or at their peak.

In Zion, the peak fall colors inside Zion Canyon are usually during the first two weeks of November and about a 1/2 month earlier in and around the Kolob Canyons.

For most years, Thanksgiving weekend would be about two weeks too late for the peak fall colors inside Zion Canyon.

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That is why we always miss it, school is in session when the colors usually peak. When the nest is empty then we will be able to go to Zion during the peak time.