What a nice time we had with Ken & Maryanne Watson and their family! Maryanne is an excellent cook, and she directed the various kitchen helpers in preparing and serving a wonderful spread of yummy food. 
Don’s son Craig and his wife Liz joined us here also.
The Watson’s place has two full hookup sites for RVs in the back yard, and another can park in front of the house, with water and electricity. In the photo below, you can see Craig & Liz’s Allegro motorhome parked on the left of the building and our Phaeton on the right. The building contains an apartment and shop for Ken’s wood projects.
Ken & Maryanne’s Discovery motorhome is parked in front of the house in the circular driveway.
Joining us for dinner were:
Eric, Maryanne’s son 
Ken’s son Ken Jr. and his wife Julie 
Ken Jr’s son Matt and girlfriend Becky
Ken’s daughter Nellie, shown here trimming her friend Anna’s hair
Nellie’s 3 daughters:
T.J. 
Amber
Angela and daughter Skyla
… and Scott, the baby’s Dad
Ken is a proud great-granddad!
Last but not least, Dennis & Susan Mittleider, long-time friends of the Watsons’, rounded out the group.
Don brought his Orion smoker to cook one of the turkeys. He brined it overnight (soaked in a salt/sugar/water solution), then stuffed it with fresh lemon halves and covered it with herbs and olive oil. The bird went into the smoker on a poultry rack surrounded by cherry wood chips.
Don then loaded the smoker with match-light charcoal, reserving a few briquets for the cup on top, which creates the heat convection. He lit the charcoal, and set a timer for 2 hours and 20 minutes for the 20-pounder.
Craig helped pull the bird out at the proper time, and Don removed the rack. What a beautiful outcome, and the taste was superb! And it’s such an easy way to cook a turkey in a remarkably short period of time.
Accompaniments included two types of dressing, green bean casserole, mashed potatoes, giblet gravy, homemade dinner rolls, pumpkin bread, corn pudding, cranberry gelatin mold, three pies (pumpkin, wild cherry and lemon meringue) and lots of deviled eggs. What a feast!
We even had wine tasting, with almost everyone declaring the $2.99 “Two Buck Chuck” Charles Shaw Chardonnay the winner over a $6 Barefoot and a $20 Washington Hills.
Besides eating this marvelous dinner, we enjoyed sitting on the patio, enjoying beautiful desert views and perfect weather and watching hummingbirds hover around the feeders.
We ended this wonderful day with a bonfire.
The next day we spotted a Javelina rummaging around the trees near the house looking for food.
Sue Pace, who visited the day after Thanksgiving with hubby Ken, also took some photos of this unusual animal.
As if we hadn’t eaten enough on Thanksgiving Day, Sue, Maryanne and I posed for this photo with a tray of thick, juicy steaks that we grilled outdoors and enjoyed later that evening.
All in all, it will be a holiday remembered for a long time!
Man, that turkey looked good! If we hadn't already cooked two turkeys for Thanksgiving and spent all of yesterday making turkey soup from the carcasses, we'd be drooling! Holidays with your friends are delightful!
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