Arizona – WANDERLUST FAMILY ADVENTURE

Taste Test – Snack Crate (Road Trip – USA)

October 5, 2020 Joseph Candora Arizona, California, Florida, Hawaii, Idaho, Illinois, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North America, Ohio, Snack Crate, Taste Test, Tennessee, United States, Virginia, Washington State

This month’s Snack Crate is a USA box entitled “Road Trip”. These should be snacks we are somewhat familiar with, let’s see. A total of twenty three snacks this month including the drink.

New photo by Wanderlust Family Adventure / Google Photos

The drink this month is a standard ginger ale from Kentucky. Alex liked it but I do not care for soda. Alex-8 Joe-5

Cougar Mountain Peanut Butter Chocolate Chunk Cookie from Washington State was a classic case of something looking way better than it tastes. We were both anxious to try the cookie. I found the peanut flavor to be too strong for my taste and I just did not enjoy the texture or flavor. Alex-7 Joe-6

Sifers Valomilk from Kansas were chocolate cups with a gooey marshmallow filling. Alex-7 Joe-6

Better Made Barbecue Chips from Michigan – I do not like barbecue chips but Alex does. Alex thought they were way too salty. Alex-7 Joe-6

Owyhee Idaho Spud Candy Bar – fluffy chocolate nougat infused with coconut flakes. OK but I would have preferred without the coconut. The nougat was extremely soft almost marshmallowy in texture. Alex-7 Joe-7

Salt Water Taffy from New Jersey – typical of the type Alex-7 Joe-6

Cactus Candy fro Arizona were delicious gummy like candy with a delicious flavor. Flavored with real prickly pear cactus flavoring. Alex-8 Joe-9

Pumpkin Spice Moon Pie from Tennessee were graham cracker and marshmallow filling flavored with pumpkin spice. Alex-7 Joe-7

Joey’s Black and White were soft cake like cookies coated with a rich chocolate and vanilla icing, out of New York. Alex and I both quite liked these, the icing was very rich. Alex-8 Joe-8

Blu Monday candy out of Kentucky – Chocolate coating with a sweet filling. Think of a peppermint patty but without the mint flavor. Alex-6 Joe-7

Marsha’s Homemade Buckeyes from Ohio – chocolate covered peanut butter balls; delicious like a high end peanut butter cup with the proportion of peanut butter much higher Alex-8 Joe-9

Anastasia Coconut Patties from Florida – Key lime flavored coconut nougat Alex-7 Joe-7

Berger Cookies from Maryland had a thick fudge coating on a vanilla cookie. The fudge was very rich with a nice chocolatey flavor Alex-8 Joe-8

Pearson’s Salted Nut Roll – this crunchy candy bar with nougat center and covered in caramel and peanuts is from Michigan. Alex-7 Joe-7

Aunt Sally’s Creole Pralines from Louisana cluster of caramel and peanuts Alex-6 Joe-6

Annabelle’s Abba Zabba from California is a chewy taffy surrounding a peanut butter center Alex-6 Joe-6

Goo Goo Cluster – Candy from Tennessee caramel, peanuts and marshmallow coated in chocolate Alex-7 Joe-7

Little Boosie’s Louisiana Heat Chips – these rapper themed chips from Miami, Florida were actually not very spicy and were an OK rippled chip with very mild spice flavor.

Chesapeake Crab Chips from Virginia were crunchy nice tasting chips. I did not detect any crab flavor more of a crab seasoning flavor. Alex-7 Joe-8

Garrett Popcorn – a delicious popcorn mix, both the caramel and the cheese flavored corn were top notch. Best in Box! I don’t know if this is typical but the cheese corn outnumbered the caramel 5 to 1. Alex-9 Joe-10

Asia TransRainbow Belts from Hawaii sweet and sour sugary candy Alex-7 Joe-7

Tuna Jerky from Hawaii – The fish flavor hits you as an after taste, when you first try them the appearance and texture is like a piece of beef jerky Alex-6 Joe-7

Elk Jerky – Tastes like any other slim jim type of meat stick. Good but nothing unique, this one was from New Mexico Alex-9 Joe-8

This was our highest Snack Crate box and one of our highest overall boxes for both Universal Yums and Snack Crate. Maybe it is because it has flavors that we are more used to being from the United States. Be sure to check out our previous posts on Universal Yums and Snack Crate Boxes under Taste Tests.

Alex 7.22 out of 10
Joe 7.13 out of 10

Alex favorite snacks – Elk Jerky and Garrett Popcorn
Joe favorite snacks – Garrett Popcorn

Lake Mead National Recreation Area – Boulder City, Nevada

August 31, 2020 Joseph Candora Arizona, Camping, Canoeing, Dam, Hiking, Lake/Pond, National Parks Service, Nevada, North America, United States

Lake Mead National Recreation Area is a U.S. National Recreation Area located in southeastern Nevada and northwestern Arizona. Lake Mead NRA follows the Colorado River corridor from the westernmost boundary of Grand Canyon National Park to just north of the cities of Laughlin, Nevada and Bullhead City, Arizona. It includes all of the eponymous Lake Mead as well as the smaller Lake Mohave – reservoirs on the river created by Hoover Dam and Davis Dam, respectively – and the surrounding desert terrain and wilderness. Formation of Lake Mead began in 1935, less than a year before Hoover Dam was completed. The area surrounding Lake Mead was established as the Boulder Dam Recreation Area in 1936 and the name was changed to Lake Mead National Recreation Area in 1947. In 1964, the area was expanded to include Lake Mohave and its surrounding area and became the first National Recreation Area to be designated as such by the U.S. Congress.

At the marina be sure to walk out onto the docks, not only can you admire the boats but the swarming fish waiting to be fed are a sight to behold.

Although boating is the main attraction there are hiking and camping opportunities available.

Hoover Dam – Nevada/Arizona

August 31, 2020 Joseph Candora Architecture, Arizona, Dam, Historic Sites, Lake/Pond, Nevada, North America, Rivers, United States

Hoover Dam is a concrete arch-gravity dam in the Black Canyon of the Colorado River, on the border between the U.S. states of Nevada and Arizona. It was constructed between 1931 and 1936 during the Great Depression and was dedicated on September 30, 1935, by President Franklin D. Roosevelt. Its construction was the result of a massive effort involving thousands of workers, and cost over one hundred lives. Originally known as Boulder Dam from 1933, it was officially renamed Hoover Dam for President Herbert Hoover by a joint resolution of Congress in 1947.
Hoover Dam impounds Lake Mead, the largest reservoir in the United States by volume (when it is full). The dam is located near Boulder City, Nevada, a municipality originally constructed for workers on the construction project, about 30 miles southeast of Las Vegas, Nevada. The dam’s generators provide power for public and private utilities in Nevada, Arizona, and California. The heavily traveled U.S. Route 93 ran along the dam’s crest until October 2010, when the Hoover Dam Bypass opened.

Navajo National Monument – Shonto, Arizona

August 30, 2020 Joseph Candora Architecture, Arizona, Caves / Caverns, Hiking, Historic Sites, Mountain, National Parks Service, North America, United States

Navajo National Monument is a National Monument located within the northwest portion of the Navajo Nation territory in northern Arizona, which was established to preserve three well-preserved cliff dwellings of the Ancestral Puebloan People. The monument is high on the Shonto plateau, overlooking the Tsegi Canyon system, west of Kayenta, Arizona. It features a visitor center with a museum, two short self-guided mesa top trails, two small campgrounds, and a picnic area. Rangers guide visitors on free tours of the Keet Seel and Betatakin cliff dwellings. The Inscription House site, further west, has been closed to public access for many years.

Glen Canyon National Recreation Area – Arizona/Utah

August 30, 2020 Joseph Candora Architecture, Arizona, Beaches, Bridges, Hiking, Historic Sites, Lake/Pond, Mountain, National Parks Service, North America, Rivers, United States, Utah

Glen Canyon National Recreation Area is a recreation and conservation unit of the United States National Park Service that encompasses the area around Lake Powell and lower Cataract Canyon in Utah and Arizona, covering 1,254,429 acres of mostly rugged high desert terrain. The recreation area is named for Glen Canyon, which was flooded by the Glen Canyon Dam, completed in 1966, and is now mostly submerged beneath the waters of Lake Powell.
Glen Canyon NRA borders Capitol Reef National Park and Canyonlands National Park on the north, Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument on the west, Vermilion Cliffs National Monument and the northeasternmost reaches of Grand Canyon National Park on the southwest, and the Navajo Nation on the southeast. The southwestern end of Glen Canyon NRA in Arizona can be accessed via U.S. Route 89 and Arizona Route 98. Arizona Route 95 and Utah Route 276 lead to the northeastern end of the recreation area in Utah. Click the links below for posts on individual sites within the Recreation Area.

Marble Canyon

Glen Canyon Dam

Rainbow Bridge National Monument

Lee’s Ferry

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