It’s Thanksgiving Day. I have a busy day ahead, but I had to get out for the 3.5 mile hike I think of as “a quickie to the lake.” I woke to snow flurries and a dusting of snow that was perfect for following coyote tracks. If I’d gotten out an hour earlier, I might have seen the coyotes themselves. It had just stopped snowing and the tracks were fresh.
I’m getting ready to celebrate this day like every other American enjoying a good meal with good friends. I’m blessed. Years ago I was privileged to share a wild Thanksgiving meal, cooked in a steam pit. This is no 30-Minute meal. It involves digging a hole in the ground and layering heated rocks, insulation, food and thoroughly sealing the contents. The food will cook without burning as long as the steam pit is air tight. The resulting meal was life-changing.
When I think of that Thanksgiving I can still smell the earthy aroma of the steam cooked turkey and vegetables. The taste of food infused with herbs, wood and warm earth is like no other experience - any prayer I could utter could not begin to express my deep sense of gratitude and nourishment.
That was one of the most labor-intensive Thanksgivings I ever spent, but it still stands out as one of the best days of my life. Maybe next Thanksgiving will be a steam pit Thanksgiving.