BRT Insights - WW Kayaking & Hiking

JimH & I met at Cache Creek Nature Preserve (just a few miles west of Woodland, CA) for a bit of easy hiking close to home.

Cache Creek Nature Preserve Trail Maps.

• Download map: CCNP Trail Map. CCNP Audio Tour map.
• Map book: California Maps - Atlas & Gazetteer by Delorme, 2008.

• Online map user instructions. Click and drag to reposition this interactive map.
• The tool on the left zooms in and out. Point on the red markers to see the names.
• Map=roads. Satellite=satellite map. Terrain=3D shaded topo map. Topo=topographic map.
• Full-Screen online driving map - Cache Creek Nature Preserve.



Geographic Coordinates - Landmarks (Marker)
N 38.69108 W 121.87191 - Cache Creek Nature Preserve (A)
N 38.67790 W 121.83410 - T & Y Strawberry Patch produce stand (B)
N 38.68136 W 121.96767 - La Plazita Taqueria (C)


• Full-Screen online satellite map - Cache Creek Nature Preserve.



Geographic Coordinates - Landmarks (Marker)
N 38.68975 W 121.87323 - wetland overlook (A)
N 38.68898 W 121.87524 - Tending & Gathering Garden (B)
N 38.68853 W 121.87225 - Cache Creek access (C)
N 38.68982 W 121.87070 - oak savannah and footbridge (D)
N 38.68960 W 121.87111 - Memorial Grove and Amphitheatre (E)
N 38.68989 W 121.87202 - Redwood Barn (F)
N 38.68961 W 121.87289 - Visitor Center (G)

Hiking the Audio Tour Trail

The audio tour trail is a short loop (~1 mile) around the middle of the preserve. At 6 stops along the trail the audio provides information about the history and ecology of the preserve and the surrounding area. The big wetlands pond area didn't have many waterbirds when we were there, but the views of the landscape were nice.

We stopped by Cache Creek to eat some dried watermelon jerky and pumpkin spice homemade granola bars. At a minimal flow of 90 cubic feet per second (Cache Creek flow gauge at Rumsey) lots of sand and gravel bars were exposed on the sides of the creek. The water might have been just barely deep enough for a gentle canoe or kayak trip, but more flow would be better for boating.

The audio tour ended at the historic redwood barn where there are many antique farm machines on display.

The Visitor Center has a nice taxidermy display of wildlife native to the area.


Click on the photos to see the larger view. Use the back button to return.






More photos:
Cache Creek Nature Preserve - JimH photos
Cache Creek Nature Preserve - BRT photos

Slideshow:

Coming Home

On the way home I stopped at T & Y Strawberry Patch produce stand (see map above) and got some great fruits and vegetables.


Additional information:
• Hiking Trails in California - Davis Wiki.
• Hiking, Biking & Camping Trip Reports & Photos - BRT Insights.
• Digital Camera: Canon PowerShot A490. Photos edited with IrfanView and Pixtra PanoStitcher software.

Tags: hiking, trail, Cache Creek Nature Preserve, Yolo County, California.

Labels: hiking, map

These pumpkin flax oatmeal bars are rich in protein, fiber, omega-3 fatty acids and vitamin A.

This recipe was inspired by the recipe from tasty-yummies blog.
1 cup golden flax seed, freshly ground
1-2 cups pumpkin puree (or garnet yam, sweet potato, etc.)
1/2 cup oatmeal (or sunflower seeds)
1 tbs pumpkin pie spice mix (contains cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, allspice)
1 tbs vanilla extract
water as needed to make a spreadable batter

The batter was spread on a solid dehydrator tray and was dried in the food dehydrator for a few hours. Then it was moved to a screen tray, enabling the drying to continue on both sides. When drying was complete the homemade granola bars were cut, sealed in plastic storage bags and kept in the refrigerator. These bars can also be oven baked as described in tasty-yummies blog. These healthy homemade granola bars are raw, wheat-free, gluten-free, and provide a lot of protein, fiber, omega-3 fatty acids (flaxseed nutrition facts) and vitamin A (pumpkin nutrition facts). Pumpkin spice granola bars are a great healthy snack to eat while hiking. They are also good warmed up in the toaster for breakfast.







More information:
• Dehydrated foods for Indoor Snacks and Outdoor Activities - BRT Insights.
• Garlic rosemary flaxseed crackers made in my food dehydrator.
• Cranberry Walnut Flaxseed Cracker recipe made in my food dehydrator.
• Banana flax crackers and banana walnut crackers, omega-3 fatty acid nutrition.
• Raw Flaxseed Crackers made in my Food Dehydrator.

Tags: pumpkin spice bar, food dehydrator, healthy snack foods, homemade snacks, snack food recipe, tv snacks.
Tags: granola flax bar, homemade granola bar, omega-3, raw vegan, wheat-free, gluten-free.

Labels: food-drink

Savory crackers made with nutritional yeast or parmesan cheese can also be baked in the oven

This recipe was modified from fiddleheadscuisine blog.
1 cup golden flaxseed, freshly ground in a coffee grinder
1/4 cup nutritional yeast (or 1/4 cup ground parmesan cheese)
1/2 tsp lite salt
1 tbs fresh rosemary
1/2 tbs garlic powder
1 cup grated carrot
1 cup water, plus a little more to make a spreadable batter
The batter was spread on a solid dehydrator tray. The crackers were dried in the food dehydrator for a few hours and then flipped onto a screen tray, enabling the cracker to continue drying from both sides for the remaining hours. When drying was complete the crackers were cut, sealed in plastic storage bags and kept in the refrigerator. For those who don't have a food dehydrator these crackers can be oven baked as described in fiddleheadscuisine blog. These flaxseed crackers are a good source of the omega-3 fatty acid nutrition that is so often deficient in typical western diets.

Nutritional Yeast or Parmesan Cheese provides the yum-yum factor

Nutritional yeast provides a savory, nutty, cheesy flavor (Bea Rue blog) comprised of protein and b-vitamins (Nutrition Facts).

Parmesan cheese provides real cheese flavor comprised of mostly protein and fat, including a lot of saturated fat (Nutrition Facts).

More information:
• Banana flax crackers and banana walnut crackers, omega-3 fatty acid nutrition.
• Cranberry Walnut Flax Granola Bar recipe made in my food dehydrator.
• Raw Flaxseed Crackers made in my Food Dehydrator.
• Dehydrated foods for Indoor Snacks and Outdoor Activities - BRT Insights.


Tags: flaxseed crackers, food dehydrator, healthy snack foods, homemade snacks, snack food recipe, tv snacks.
Tags: flaxseed crackers, nutritional yeast, omega-3, hors d'oeuvres, appetizers, raw vegan, wheat-free, gluten-free.

Labels: food-drink

These raw dried crackers are a great source of omega-3 fatty acids.

Banana Flax Cracker Recipe

Banana flax crackers are simply made by mixing 1/2 cup flaxseeds with the puree from one banana and then dehydrating. The recipe is even better with a little lemon juice added. This adds a little zip to the flavor and should help reduce browning of the banana. In this recipe the banana puree provides the glue that holds the flaxseeds together to form the cracker. I spooned the batter onto a solid dehydrator tray lubricated with Crisco Canola Oil with Omega-3 supplement. The crackers were dried for a few hours and then transferred to a screen tray to complete the drying. Any flaxseeds that are not thoroughly chewed when eating may pass through our bodies undigested, so much of the nutrition potential of the flaxseeds may be lost.

Banana Walnut Cracker Recipe

I made banana walnut crackers by replacing the flaxseeds in the recipe above with chopped walnuts. Coarsely chopped walnuts produced thick crackers that looked more like cookies, but they tasted great! Finely chopped walnuts could be used to make a thinner cracker that would dehydrate faster. The banana lemon walnut crackers did turn somewhat brown during dehydration, so more lemon juice must be needed to prevent the browning reaction.




I added 1/4 tsp of ascorbic acid powder (= vitamin C) to the next batch of banana walnut cookies and eliminated the browning problem.

Omega-3 Fatty Acid Nutrition.

Oh Mega: Part I, Part II and Part III describes why we all should be watching the omega-3 vs omega-6 fats in our diets. All of us who don't eat a lot of oily fish (salmon, sardines, herring) need to get our omega-3 nutrition from plant sources. Flaxseed and walnuts are two of the best plant sources for omega-3 fatty acids (flaxseed nutritional value)(walnut nutritional value). On those days when I don't eat fish I plan to eat some banana walnut crackers or flaxseed crackers to be sure I get the omega-3 nutrition that I need.


More information:
• Garlic rosemary flaxseed crackers made in my food dehydrator.
• Raw Flaxseed Crackers made in my Food Dehydrator.
• Cranberry Walnut Flax Granola Bar recipe made in my food dehydrator.
• Omega-3 Fatty Acids - Your Nutrition Questions Answered - Harvard School of Public Health
• Discovery Health - Top 10 Foods High in Omega-3
• Dehydrated foods for Indoor Snacks and Outdoor Activities - BRT Insights.

Tags: flaxseed crackers, banana flaxseed crackers, food dehydrator, homemade snacks, snack food recipe, healthy snack foods, tv snacks.
Tags: banana walnut cracker, flaxseed crackers, omega-3, raw vegan, wheat-free, gluten-free, hors d'oeuvres, appetizers.

Labels: food-drink