July 4, 2020 Lunch – Picnic at Montjeu Overlook. Dinner – Grilled Rib Steak with Sautéed Ratatouille and Black Beans and Chard Couscous

July 4, 2020 Lunch – Picnic at Montjeu Overlook. Dinner – Grilled Rib Steak with Sautéed Ratatouille and Black Beans and Chard Couscous

We awakened at 6:00 and after watching a great sunrise at 6:18 we gathered up all our picnic supplies and food and a bottle  of 2001 Cru Bourgeois Chateau Cantegril Sauternes that I bought at Total Wine in 2015 for $29.95 less 20%.

We first drove to the upper canyon but the road was fenced well short of where I recall there being a beaver dam.  We next drove to Grindstone Lake but were turned back because it can be visited by reservation only this weekend.  We then decided to drive to the Mescalero Indian Reservation and tried to drive to the other side of the Inn of the Mountain Gods but was stopped by a gate above the stables.

We decided to get out our binoculars to see what we could see.  We soon saw about six large birds circling on air currents about 500 feet above us ¼ mile away.  As we looked we soon agreed there were three golden eagles and three turkey vultures.  We were satisfied with our bird watching for the day, month, and year.

We then decided to drive north toward Ski Apache where we saw that there was a state park with picnic tables named Montjeu Overlook on state road 117.  We turned onto it and started climbing.  After 4.5 miles of driving through a burn zone we were at about 9000 to 10,000 feet with a view of a long vista to the west.  Here is a picture.

We laid our picnic lunch of three types of salami, Gouda and brie cheeses, foie gras, butter, pepper relish, honey mustard, and olives, plus the bottle of Sauternes.

We had a lovely very much like those we ate on our trips to France, but with a better view.

After lunch we returned to the cabin and I napped for two hours until 2:45.  When I came into the living room, Suzette was watching No Direction Home, a 4 ½ hour documentary on the career of Bob Dylan.

We watched almost the whole thing but toward the end we cooked dinner.  Dinner was a perfect combination of PPIs.  Suzette Grilled a 1 ¼ inch thick rib steak and sautéed PPI Ratatouille and Black Beans and microwaved the PPI Chard Couscous we made on July 2, 2020.

I opened the chilled bottle of 2016 De Ponte Cellars Dundee Hills Pinot Noir and poured short glasses so we could drink them chilled and refill them without having to add ice.

Suzette plated a pile of Couscous and put Ratatouille and Black Beans on top.  I sliced ½ thick inch slices of steak and we took our plates and glasses to the dining table on the deck.  We watched the sunset on the valley while we listened to Dylan.

Suzette enjoying her steak

Dinner was perfect . I love the combination of beans and Ratatouille with the Couscous really well.  The steak was cooked perfectly to rare.

After dinner we watched fireworks from Washington and New York.

The Suzette watched home improvement shows and I blogged.

In a hour we sipped some more Sauternes and nibbled chocolate chip cookies for dessert.

It was as nice a 4th as we could have wished for in this Covid 19 era.

Bon Appetit