Saturday, October 1, 2011

A Season of Cinnamon Rolls

Sticky rolls, cinnamon buns, call them what you will, I'm addicted. Many people need their morning cup of coffee. I crave sugar instead, usually in the form of a large glass of smooth orange juice, but I'm a sucker for the sweetness of sticky ribbons coated in subtle spice. Frosting or caramel, nuts or not, they are a perfect combination of butter, cinnamon, sugar and soft doughy goodness.

Living in Yosemite Valley, I have made a habit out of biking to Curry Village many mornings, racing the tourist rush at the coffee counter to score a $2 overly-sweetened but somehow most delicious cinnamon roll. This was a spring and summer filled with scrumptious cinnamon rolls on the road: indulging in the stacks piled pretty under glass and drizzled thick with caramel at the Garden Cafe in Mendocino; sampling locally-baked varieties at the farmers market in Squamish BC; remembering childhood Christmas mornings in New Hampshire when Dad would bake a half-dozen tin of quick-rise bites with icing for dipping... but my favorites are still those created by Morning Glory Bakery in Bar Harbor, Maine.

Making peace with the mountain goats in Leavenworth, WA

Sunset at Smith Rocks, OR

Solitude at Lost Rocks, CA

A lonely drive south from Squamish involved a quick surf session in Mendocino and my first skydive, in Lodi.
I arrived back in Yosemite in time for the Facelift (a big trash-collecting party sponsored by climbers) and then proceeded to rack up for my first El Cap ascent this season, only to be turned back before even beginning due to my nagging knee injury and now impending surgery which will take me out for six months or more. Not sure what's harder to heal, a busted knee or a broken heart. Each pain seems to amplify the other.

Six months on a rollercoaster road. A season of sweetness, a season of sadness.

1 comment:

  1. May I quote you Holly? "Holy Crap!" Banker smhanker, you go!

    Jeannine

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