Well, it's the last day before the big trek begins!  We had a good send-off party last night at Bruce's parents place.  I made my 'famous' baked beans and also my also now famous spare ribs.  (Recipes to follow!)  Mary was there with Ann but Steve was flying and didn't make it.  Drat!  But a good time and good food.  We were able to sit outside (I did have to make a dash for my 'doggie blanket' as it cooled off after dark) which is such a bonus this time of year.

We caught up with Mary & Steve for lunch today at Ogden Point Cafe and said our good-byes afterwards.  It's very hard leaving my best friend, but we'll see them on and off throughout our travels.  In fact they're joining us in less than a week in Osoyoos to celebrate our 17th Anniversary at Burrowing Owl Winery!  That should be fun!
Not much else to do but laundry and get the mo-ho in tip-top shape for the road.  We'll be catching the 8 am ferry and hope to be across the US/Canada border by noon at the latest.  A few stops for shopping, then to our first campsite - Wenberg County Park just out side of Everett.
We'll catch up then!

LINDA'S FAMOUS BAKED BEANS

1 1/2# dried navy or white beans, washed and picked over

8 cups water

(or ... 3 - 4 cans of white beans instead of doing all that work!)

2 oz. salt pork with rind (also called fatback), cut into chunks

1 - 12 oz bottle of beer

1 lg. onion, chopped

1/2 cup light or dark brown sugar, packed

1/2 cup of your favorite bbq sauce

1/2 cup molasses

2 tbsp cider vinegar

1 1/2 tbsp dry mustard

2 tsp salt

1/2 tsp ground ginger

pinch of ground cloves

1 bay leaf

1.  The day before place beans in a large cooking pot and cover with 8 cups water.  Let them soak for 12 hours or overnight.

2.  The next day, drain the beans.  Cover them with fresh water and bring to the boil.  Reduce the heat and simmer the beans, uncovered for 45 minutes - 1 hour.

Or ... use the canned beans (recommended unless you're keen to work hard and risk burning down the house because you forgot the beans on the stove and they burned through the pan!).

3.  Meanwhile, place the salt pork chunks in a bowl and cover them with boiling water.  Let sit for 5 minutes.

4.  Preheat the oven to 300F (150C)

5.  In a large oven-proof vessel, place all the stuff and give it a good stir.  Cover the pot and place in oven.

6.  Bake for 5 hours, stirring every 30 - 45 minutes.  The beans should remain covered with liquid as they cook; add more water as necessary to keep them covered. (Never had to worry about that ... they usually keep pretty soupy)

7.  Remove the cover from the beans.  Bake them for 1 hour more, or until a crust forms on top but don't allow them to get too dry.

Serves 6 - 8

STICKY BARBEQUE RIBS

Yield 4

1 cup barbeque sauce

2 tbsp packed brown sugar

1 tbsp soya sauce

1 tbsp onion powder

4 cloves garlic, minced

1/4 cup veg. oil

1 tbsp salt

1 tsp pepper

1 kg. (2 1/2 lbs.) baby  back pork ribs, cut into 3 - 4 rib pieces

1.  Preheat oven to 275F

2.  Combine sauce stuff in small saucepan.  Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer 3 - 6 minutes or till thickened.  

3.  Cut pieces of foil into sections.  Place one section of rib in centre of each piece of foil.

4.  Reserve some marinade for basting later.  Divide remaining marinade equally among rib sections.  Fold up foil and seal, making sure that steam cannot escape.  Transfer to a baking sheet.

5.  Bake ribs in oven at 275F (140C) for 2 hours or until tender and pulling away from the bone.  Preheat grill.  Over medium heat, grill cooked ribs, basting with reserved marinade for 10 - 15 minutes or until carmelized and darkened.

OH MAN THEY'RE GOOD!!!