This year for Thanksgiving, I headed down to Ehrenburg, Arizona, where the Thanksgiving Turkey Masterminds, otherwise known as Bob and Steve, coordinated, cooked, and cooked some more, for forty people. The day was perfect in every way possible: bright and sunny, brilliant blue skies, a few white puffy clouds drifting by, about 75 degrees F, no wind (just a small breeze), lots of friends (new and “not-so-new”) – no flies, no riff-raff, no family tensions, no nothin’ other than a whoppin’ good time and gobs and gobs of delicious food!
Steve baked sweet potatoes the night before and then made a yummy sweet potato dish with them; so yummy, the marshmallows disappeared into the sweet potatoes! There were two big, giant turkeys: one roasted on Steve’s big barbeque, and one fried up in a turkey fryer (…and no apartments were burned down in the process!). Along with stuffing/dressing, mashed potatoes, gravy, cranberry sauce, green bean casserole, and whatever else I’m forgetting, it was a fantastic meal spent with amazing people from all over everywhere – people as close as San Diego and as far away as Vermont. Oh yeah, and don’t forget the pumpkin pies!
Some of us had a campfire that evening. I don’t know what it is about campfires but they just seem to be the most relaxing things ever… turkey, campfires, friends, dogs – what more could a day ask for? (Well, maybe some of that left-over sweet potato casserole…)
I spent the rest of the four-day holiday watching the sun rise and set, and reclining back with my feet up, getting a tan for my toes.
I highly recommend this style of Thanksgiving dinner (or any other holiday, for that matter) to anyone who has family drama and/or no family at all – get yourself out to nature, surround yourself with people who just want to be the best friends you could ever have, and enjoy the holiday in a way that makes you vow never to endure a drama-holiday again. You’ll start loving the holidays again, just like when you were a kid. And just think: Christmas is coming!
A huge thank you from me to Steve for all the food and cooking it, and to Bob for coordinating the time and location. These two guys rock big time!
Bob’s blog is Cheap RV Living – check it out for other upcoming events like the RTR (Rubber Tramp Rendezvous) in January in Quartzsite, which Bob has coordinated every year for the past few years. It’s fun, informative, and full of friend-making and campfires.
Maybe we’ll see you next year!
Wow, I would of loved being there, that looked wonderful
It was so much fun, Debbie! My first time with this bunch of people. I only knew a handful of people that I met last January during a two-week stay in Quartzsite. It was a hoot! And the food was delicious!
Darn it, I wish it had been 42 people.
Hi Nelda! I wish it had been 42 people, too! Thanks for stopping by and leaving a comment 😀
Yay! No dysfunctional family to spoil the holiday!
Yeah, no kidding, huh?! I love the family we create… so much more fun than the one I was born into 😀