Jellystone Stew is born!
(From Mallorie M. in Plano, TX)
My earliest memory of being transferred from one base to another has remained one my favorite childhood memories. The year was 1962...Dad was being transferred from Glasgow, Montana to Hawthorne, Nevada. My dad decided to make an "adventure" of the trip, with the plan to include camping along the route, a few days of the trip being in Yellowstone National Park. The trip started off disastrously! We all got food poisioning from our last meal in Montana (to this very day, I cannot eat chicken a la king). Mom also had had some dental work done so was quite miserable, in addition to being sicker than a dog! Once we got to Yellowstone, Dad insisted on setting up camp in the most remote section of the park (i.e. far away from bathrooms!). The sickness passed (ewwwwweee, no pun intended) in time for us to enjoy the really cool sights of the park. And eventually our hunger came back. Dad decided that since Mom was still feeling poorly, he'd fix dinner. Dad sent Mike and me to the stream to get the water. (really he did!) Then he put the pot over the fire and started adding things from the coolers. Whenever we asked him what he was making, he would say it was a surprise. I remember being actually kind of afraid ..but finally he said "Come and get it". And with a great big smile, he served us his mystery dinner. It was delicious! And best of all, he called it "Jellystone Stew"! Now, I don't really remember if it was delicious or not. What I do remember is the howls of laughter from Mike and me, and the silliness and the togetherness. That was just the beginning of our adventures over the years to come, but it will always, always, be my most favorite.
