Fourth of July and Apple Pie

Fourth of July in Jackson means starting the day with free hot-air balloon rides, a Jaycees pancake breakfast, and, of course, the parade.

I volunteered to gather quotes from onlookers during the parade as a way to learn more about the community. We saw plenty of blue, red and white sequin vests and cowboy hats. One family of about 10 wore multi-colored matching Old Navy T-shirts with the American flag on the front. 

My therapeutic release after writing stories for next week's paper on a holiday was baking Grandma Eckler's French apple pie. It's a favorite at Mom and Dad's. I learned the hard way that baking pies is different in the mountains. I totally forgot about the altitude and adjusting bake time and temperature. At first the crumbled topping baked fast and was on its way to burning, but the apples were still a bit crunchy. Our neighbor, Mikey, had the perfect July Fourth solution: grill the pie for the rest of the time. We let it simmer in its juices on the barbecue grill while we watched the fireworks.

And on to more fun...

Here's a shot of our neighbors on the "Lawn" over the holiday weekend. One of the older residents, Big Fred, summed up what we all think about our community, and how lucky we are to hang out and enjoy our evenings together.

"My contemporaries don't understand. By this time of night they would have had dinner and be falling asleep in their chairs," he said.

-tma