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A bird in hand….Colorado Day 11

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That bird up there is a thief. A stealing thief!

We came through a small rain storm and as it finished, we found this picnic area to have lunch. I laid my pack of cheese crackers on the table and went back to get a chair. This bird swooped down and grabbed the whole pack of crackers and tried to fly off. It landed on the ground and we both yelled and waved our arms. It picked up a cracker square and flew off, leaving the rest on the ground. It came back for more and I got the picture then.

For lunch, Stephen wanted to try out his camping burner. This is to practice using it before he has to depend on it for a week when he comes back to go on 5 day hunt. The purpose of this is the have a small, extremely lightweight source of heat that will boil water quickly. When hunters go in the high altitudes and pack in the elevation for a week, they need everything to be as lightweight as possible. We bought these dehydrated (and LIGHT) meals at REI earlier and just needed an opportunity to eat them. I have to admit. I was imagining those MRE’s that I’ve seen on History channel that look nothing like food. As far as taste, I was expecting a beef bullion salt lick flavor.

And as usual, I was surprised. Stephen doesn’t do anything half way and he researched this extensively.

This is the burner, pot, cup, and alcohol (fuel source). This all fits in that round black bag. The aluminum cylinder is something he cut and made to act as a wind barrier. 

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Boil the water

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Now wait about 5 minutes and get the package of food ready. I chose low sodium white bean chicken chili.

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Before adding water, make sure to dig out the moisture pack things.

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After the water is added, zip it close and read the bag to see how long to wait!

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The result: It actually had a great taste and texture. The beans were done, but not mushy and the chicken was real chicken. I had to add a pinch or two of salt. It had the spice of chicken chili and it was way better than I had expected!

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Here is the spicy sausage pasta. It looks like pasta. And tastes great.

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After lunch, we saw more wildlife and more sky lines.

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