Ever have those moments where you come out of a situation,
not entirely unscathed, created by none other than yourself and wonder, “WHY
DID I DO THAT??” I had no idea
that there were unplumbed depths to my stupidity. Stupidity? Perhaps I mean
insanity. There’s such a fine line between the two…at least for me. What was
meant to be just a short walk to view the smoke plume from the Pine Ridge fire
turned into a nightmare trek across the desert on the hot tarmac in 100 degree
temps. Without sunscreen. Or water. And did I mention, in my Crocs? I’m not
sure at what point I decided to slip the leash and go for it, but the thrill of
the hunt took me too far out to turn around and go back and really too far to
keep going on in the brutal sun. I made the decision to go on because I could
see heavenly shade in the distance from some trees. I knew there was no shade
if I turned around.
I didn’t remember the loop being so long or so sunny and scorching HOT. Perhaps because
the last time I walked it I was with my sweetie. Time seems to fly when I’m with
him, plus we walked it in the evening when it was cool. At any rate, I managed
to drag my parched carcus the rest of the way home, all the while praying I wouldn’t
dry up into a perfectly preserved mummy. I neared the house and but for the blisters on my feet, I'm sure I could have managed a spring in my step. Alas, I did have blisters and so I entered the house as dramatically as I could manage given the circumstances. After guzzling a gallon of water, I sprayed myself down with Solarcaine
and decided to update my blog, which I’d planned on doing before I got the bur
under my saddle. It feels good to be home in the AC with a cold glass of water,
all the while nursing what is going to be one doozey of a sunburn and two
lovely blisters on my feet. I often wonder how people bicycle in that kind of heat and on
paved roads. I see them all the time. They probably have a lot of water with
them. And I bet they don’t cycle in their Crocs.
I’m sitting here just shaking my head. I can’t fathom why I
did what I did, other than I was feeling pretty good because of my little
miracle pill, Bentyl. I’m very lucky to be home without passing out, but I knew I had
to keep going because there was no way I was calling 911. How humiliating that would have been: Crazy Lady Hospitalized After Traversing Desert In Bright Pink Crocs. No thank you. Plus, it would have freaked my husband out even more than what he’s going to when
he sees how much I’ve overdosed on vitamin D and ultraviolet rays.
Before my desert safari, my new post was going to
showcase a picture of my corn tortillas I made for lunch today. Because of a
4-day rotation adventure diet for the next 12 weeks, there are only a finite
number of foods I can eat. Non of which contain gluten or dairy or eggs or many
spices. Basically if it tastes good, I can’t have it. You know, I was always
impressed with people who willingly chose to go gluten-free and vegan, and I
always bragged that I could never do that! Well, people, there’s a lesson in
here somewhere. Watch what you say because it may come back to bite you. And
did it. The girl who loves all things wheat and dairy has been forced to give
it all up for 12 weeks. Of course, there’s always the little voice in the back
of my head saying, “What if it ends up being permanent?” Permanent or not, I’ve
been trying out recipes that will satisfy my craving for breads and sweets with
some success.
I’ve made some pretty successful blueberry muffins and decadent
brownies. Gluten-free corn bread is super easy to make. The gluten-free version
tastes as good as the cornmeal/flour mix. Then for lunch today I decided to try flat
bread and did some reading online for a simple recipe. I learned about a flour
called masa harina, which is nothing more than corn soaked in lime and then
ground into flour. I made a special trip to Vitamin Cottage Natural Grocers and
bought Bob’s Red Mill masa harina that conveniently had the recipe on the back.
You add water and salt to the flour. And wa-la! You have corn tortilla dough. Fry it up and your done. They
are ridiculously easy to make and extremely tasty. So much better than anything
you buy in a store or eat at a restaurant, and they’re infinitely healthier
because there are no additives. Highly recommend whether you are on a
gluten-free diet or not!
I'm fairly certain these are the reason why I was able to survive that which tried to eat me alive this afternoon: the Desert.
