What Should You Use To Clean Your Coffeemaker?

You can use a cleaner from a store that is made for coffeemakers or from your coffee maker company. Easier yet, and less expensive, is to use undiluted WHITE household vinegar. If you do choose to use a cleaner from the company you got your coffee maker from, be sure to read the �Caution statement� of the side of the box very carefully before you use it.

Water can leave a whitish mineral deposit or a brownish deposit stain in the bottom and sides of your decanter from your coffee or tea. To clean these deposits take a solution of equal parts of White household vinegar and Hot, not boiling, water and leave in the decanter for 20 to 30 minutes then discard. Wash your decanter with regular dish soap, rinse and dry with a soft dish towel. NEVER use a harsh abrasive on your coffee maker.To clean your percolator, fill the percolator to the highest cup level with half water and half vinegar. Put a filter in the basket as you normally would, then run a full percolator cycle. When done, discard the water and the filter. Then run the percolator again with clean water. Discard that water and rinse out the percolator and rinse the stem and basket; dry with a soft towel. You can also clean an urn the same way. Be sure that you have enough vinegar to fill your urn half full; then, fill the second have with water. Be sure to put a paper filter in the filter basket when you clean an urn. Run it through a full cycle just like you would with a percolator. You can also lengthen the life and taste of coffee at your grange, social club or church that uses an urn. You will be surprised by the number of compliments you get after cleaning. This process always makes the coffee taste much better.NOTE: These are rules for cleaning your coffeemaker. Never use vinegar to clean your espresso machine. Vinegar CAN harm parts of your espresso machine.

NOTE: These are rules for cleaning your coffeemaker. Never use vinegar to clean your espresso machine. Vinegar CAN harm parts of your espresso machine.

New Orleans master plan review reveals spending discrepancies for

A question of equity is percolating among New Orleans educators, as well as the city's civic and business leaders. They are wondering how a $1.6 billion master plan proposal to rebuild the city's public schools excludes more than one quarter of the renovations and new buildings deemed necessary.

A proposed revision of the master plan released last month calls for 54 school construction and renovation projects in two phases. A third phase with $422 million for 19 schools would require additional public investment, according to the proposal.White's determination to steer away from a single methodology may frustrate critics who say the plan suffers a lack of coherent policy.A group of civic, public policy and business organizations led by the Bureau of Governmental Research sharply criticized the proposed plan this month, calling for a "more utilitarian approach" with fewer "architectural dreams and luxuries."Estimates in the plan for renovating or replacing 26 currently occupied buildings are 68 percent higher in the master plan than costs that consulting firm Jacobs/CSRS Program Management provided in a summary analysis for the RSD. A CityBusiness review of the summary adjusted for soft costs, such as architectural and engineering fees, at 10 percent of the total budget.The settlement, combined with other assistance, brought in more than $2 billion in federal disaster funding for schools. About 20 percent of that was spent on post-hurricane needs.Other circumstantial realities need consideration, White said, including the demand for health services and vocational education.White also emphasized the FEMA settlement is to "fund what was destroyed" by the hurricane and "not to be the capital plan for the school system ongoing." He was responding to the BGR group's criticism that taxpayers will have to foot a bond issue to pay for what the plan doesn't cover.RSD spokeswoman Siona LaFrance explained the discrepancy as the cost of building "21st century schools" instead of simply replacing what existed before the hurricane. The master plan defines 21st century schools as those with media centers, performing arts spaces and competition gymnasiums, among other specifications."No charter school in America would ever build this building with so much common space that we have to pay for," Padian said.New Orleans College Prep Director Ben Kleban, who helped gather the data, said planning for more high schools with smaller footprints is more equitable and efficient.Padian, who participated in the peer review, said common areas such as hallways and maintenance rooms comprise 52 percent of Hughes, which opened in 2009. Monthly utility bills are averaging about $12,000 as a result, Padian said.But White's point could also be taken to question spending the FEMA settlement strictly on 21st century specifications, especially with so many buildings excluded."We have asked time and time again, over a period of years, for the districts to put forth the criteria that they used to put schools into phases. None have been forthcoming," O'Neill said.There are other problems. Moisture inside Behrman is causing paint to peel everywhere, especially in the un-air-conditioned main stairwell. The Recovery School District replaced part of the school's roof as a "critical recovery" project after Hurricane Katrina, but it didn't happen until 2009, Carter-Lewis said."From the time of Katrina until then, it just rained in the building," she said as she stood in the school's auditorium, where a puddle formed on the stage underneath a steady drip."You can build more of them, serve more communities, serve more kids, and, at the same time, save financial resources in perpetuity," Kleban said.A few blocks away, the new L.B. Landry High School was recently built for $59.2 million. Lake Area High School in Gentilly came in at $39.3 million. Langston Hughes Academy near the Fair Grounds cost $30.1 million.The proposal awaits public comment and state approval, but RSD Superintendent John White, barely three months in office, is slowing the process for more consideration. He says the plan should cover more students but is not guaranteeing money will be spent at every school."There is a legacy of neglect and in some cases prejudice that made school facilities a historically undervalued resource," White said. "That's not a factor that can be disregarded."White disputes such criticism. To the contrary, he said, the plan relies too heavily on demographic predictions of where students will live in the future to determine school locations, resulting in mismatches between building plans and school programs.Seven projects in the plan have already been completed at a cost of more than $200 million, and 19 others are in construction or design with combined estimates of more than $580 million.But the consultant's cost summary provides a glimpse of savings that might accrue with scaled-back plans. For the 26 projects alone, the difference between the cost summary and the master plan is $244.7 million, or 58 percent of the current proposal's unfunded portion.For some, the proposal reflects shortsighted planning that resulted in elaborate designs for certain schools at the expense of others. And for those critics, the problem is about economics as well as equity: oversized schools are unsustainable, they say.Tara O'Neill, policy manager at the Cowen Institute for Public Education Initiatives, favors a "roofs and windows first" approach that prioritizes basic needs in all buildings before elaborate plans. White said this is worthy of consideration but not as a single premise from which to plan.Martin Behrman Charter School in Algiers is currently slated to receive nothing, but it undeniably needs attention. Termites have carved windowsills and cupboards into sharp edges and devoured flooring throughout the 89-year-old building. Craters in the library floor render a large portion of it unusable. Until recently, layers of chewed wood in the basement cafeteria exposed students to soil underneath the building."All we ever heard was 'with this FEMA lump sum settlement, every child in New Orleans will be in a 21st century school,'" Padian said. "I think everybody knew from the get go it wasn't going to happen."Four high schools are currently in design at 204 square feet per student for an estimated cost of $236 million. Building one or two additional high schools at 175 square feet per student would save 25 to 37 percent on annual operating costs, according to an analysis provided by Paul Flower, the peer review chairman and president and CEO of Woodward Design Build.These are the first new schools built after Katrina as part of the School Facilities Master Plan, which was initially released in 2008 and relies on a Federal Emergency Management Agency settlement."What we should avoid is being dogmatic," White said. "It's not that there is a right premise or that there's a wrong premise. It's the idea that there's only one premise. That is a problem."Critics, including Hughes Academy board member Kathy Padian, say the new schools are excessive. The 95,000-square-foot Hughes building is designed for 556 students, or 171 square feet per student. That's about 20 percent more than what a peer review group consisting of educators and architects recommended for elementary schools in a March report.No one is arguing that New Orleans schools were wholly adequate before the storm. Lewis-Carter attributed Behrman's deficiencies to "years of institutional neglect," and LaFrance noted that building assessments after the hurricane found $1 billion in deferred maintenance across the city.

"There is a legacy of neglect and in some cases prejudice that made school facilities a historically undervalued resource," White said. "That's not a factor that can be disregarded."

An easy walk to Zion's big waterfalls - Zion National Park, Utah

At the head of a small box canyon in Zion National Park, Utah, are two big falls, which really gush after a rainstorm; you can get to either by an easy walk from the main canyon road.

Generally, the food trends discussed in this column trickle down. That is, they begin in the finedining sector of the industry and gradually become popularized, eventually reaching dinnerhouses and occasionally fast feeders in some altered form.The Radisson Suite Hotel's Sugar House restaurant in New Orleans serves a form of chicken nuggets. Dorothy Krupnick, a New York caterer, dusts them with sesame seeds and serves them on bamboo skewers as sesame chicken.Other chicken retailers have begun producing similar specialties. And there are signs that chicken nuggets are achieving acceptance in fine-dining and independent operations. In New York, Ottomanelli's Meat Market on the Upper East Side has created a variation on the chicken nugget called Chicken Rings. These are small donut-shaped pieces of chicken breast meat, lightly breaded and deep-fried. They are made by cutting circles of the meat from breast cutlets. The retail price is $4.50 a dozen, and they are also served at the three Ma-Ma Ottomanelli Cafes, also on the Upper East Side, at $3.95 a portion.

Zion is 43 northeast of St. George; from Interstate 15, take State 9 east 33 miles to the park. Admission is free now through March. The Weeping Rock Trail parking lot is off the main Zion Canyon Road, about 5 miles north of the visitor center (open 9 to 5 daily).

Chicken nuggets trickle up to tablecloth establishments

Chicken nuggets trickle up to tablecloth establishments

The more spectacular, called Weeping Rock, sheds unending tears as water percolates down from the headlands through the rock's thick sandstone layers. In spring and late fall, however, these tears become a torrent, as thundershowers send a cascade of water over the rock. The Weeping Rock Trail is an easy walk, just 1/2 mile round trip, and pleasant in fall's 65[deg.] days (summer temperatures reach into the 100s). The trail gets rather wet and slippery at the end; walk carefully and protect your camera from spray.Zion is 43 northeast of St. George; from Interstate 15, take State 9 east 33 miles to the park. Admission is free now through March. The Weeping Rock Trail parking lot is off the main Zion Canyon Road, about 5 miles north of the visitor center (open 9 to 5 daily).Now the company is rolling out a similar item called Chicken Tenders made only from the filet portion of the boneless breast. Preliminary market reports from Maine and Philadelphia are extremely positive.It appears that the industry is not going to be content to limit the breaded finger food segment to chicken. The U.S. Department of Agriculture ruling that will permit chemical binders in meat products has been reported as opening the door to restructured roast beef and meatloaf products and also to battered or breaded and fried products, similar to the chicken nuggets. But it is doubtful whether beef items could find their way into better tablecloth operations unless they are made with filet. Some operator might try foie gras "nuggets," however.The popularity of chicken may also revive the fish finger category, which has long been available in fast feeders, supermarkets and, as gougonettes of sole, in top French restaurants, such as Le Cirque. Surimi nuggets are a likelihood and, following on the heels of McDonald's Shanghai promotion, variations on the chicken theme can be expected to proliferate. Cajun nuggets, Indian nuggets, Italian nuggets with marinara sauce and MExican nuggets with salsa, sour cream and guacamole are all beginning to come into view in my crystal ball."McDonald's educated the consumer starting in July and August of 1983 with its multi-million-dollar investment, and we have now reached what I call a critical mass, with 25 to 30 chains serving some form of boneless chicken finger food and supermarkets coming along as well,c he said. "We have to be more creative about selling dark meat now." He added that the supply can meet the demand.But the most upscale interpretation is at the Casual Quilted Giraffe, Barry and Susan Wine's "grazing" restaurant in New York's AT&T building. The fried chicken nuggets are all dark meat because, Wine said, they have more flavor. They are batter-fried, peppery and sell for $12 a small portion or $22 a large plate with potato salad and a creamy honey-mustard dressing. Wine said they represent about 12% of all the orders in the appetizer or small- plate category. "People rarely order them as a main course," he added. "Usually it's a side for the table."Supermarkets have been selling nuggets frozen, and now Perdue has introduced a line of fresh prepared chicken nuggsts called Perdue Done It Chicken Breast Nuggets. These are all-white-meat flat boneless chicken pieces, batter dipped, breaded and then flash-fried so that all the consumer has to do is heat them briefly in the oven. According to George Murray, marketing director for the line, they are selling extremely well. Recently, the product was reformulated to eliminate sugar and MSG.The park itself is lovely in fall, cool and unhampered by the crowds that clog its main roads in summer. And the falls are an added reason to detour here if you're traveling on nearby Interstate 15 anytime in late fall or early winter.Blackened redfish is one example that comes to mind; pasta salad is another. Designer pizzas sporting atypical toppings, such as zucchini and eggplant, also qualify, even though the category began with a popular budget base and eventually reached the tablecloth market via California.Roy Rogers, Burger King, Wendy's and others have added some form of boneless breaded chicken to their menus. Some chains use a processed preformed chicken product, while others use cuts of chicken meat, mostly the white meat. The impact on the chicken industry has been enormous. According to Bill Roenigk, director of economic research for the National Broiler Council, more than a billion pounds of chicken will be made into nuggets in 1986.

The popularity of chicken may also revive the fish finger category, which has long been available in fast feeders, supermarkets and, as gougonettes of sole, in top French restaurants, such as Le Cirque. Surimi nuggets are a likelihood and, following on the heels of McDonald's Shanghai promotion, variations on the chicken theme can be expected to proliferate. Cajun nuggets, Indian nuggets, Italian nuggets with marinara sauce and MExican nuggets with salsa, sour cream and guacamole are all beginning to come into view in my crystal ball.

Author: Florence Fabricant

Camping Enjoyment For The Entire Family

Camping can be a wonderful and relaxing getaway for the whole family. If you prepare and plan before your departure, your whole family will enjoy what nature intended.

The most massive cone volcano in theCascade chain, Shasta juts abruptly from the landscape just north of Redding, dominating the region for a hundred miles. The 14,162-foot peak and its 12,330-foot sidekick, Shastina, even affect weather-- 70 inches of rain fall yearly on the wetter south slopes, only half as much on the north. Rivers are born here, fed by snowpack and a five-glacier wreath that slowly melts and percolates into the porous lava. Shasta has even spawned a crop of legends and mystics.Fishing areas usually require a fishing license. Bring a current license for that area if you plan on fishing. Conservation officers consistantly check these popular fishing areas. Getting caught without a license could ruin a fun family getaway.A good late summer getaway right off I-5,Shasta requires little advance planning (except for houseboat rentals). Sitting above Redding's blowtorch heat, the area has temperatures that vary with elevation: an August day could be 90| at 1,070-foot Shasta Lake, 65| at timber line.We outline a triangle tour from the bigmountain to Shasta Lake and the east-side parks, fishing streams, and small towns. You could fully explore the region in a week or more, based in a houseboat, campsites, or small area motels. Area code for telephone numbers listed is 916.The "fire mountain' of lava and ice: day-hiking, camping, summit climbingSecluded coves, water-ski fun at four-armed Shasta LakeDay-hiking on Shasta's shoulders is aneasier option. Carry plenty of liquids and dress in layers (cold winds can pick up). The Bunny Flat trailhead area, on the southwest slope at a cool 6,800 feet, is one good starting spot. A trail leads 1 1/4 miles through white pine and Shasta red fir to the Sierra Club's hut at 8,000-foot-high Horse Camp. From there, a causeway of giant stones leads 3/4 mile into Avalanche Gulch and great views of the valley below. The trailhead is 11 miles from the town of Mount Shasta on the Everitt Memorial Highway.

Before your next camping adventure, look into what your family would like for an enjoyable camping trip. Planning ahead and taking everything your family needs will make memories to last a lifetime.

Author: Suzanne Theriac

Will livestock drug cause dung crisis?

Will livestock drug cause dung crisis?

Its timber brought loggers and trains, andtowns sprouted beside mills and railroad junctions. Visitors find the area still sparsely populated, the towns slow paced (with jobs gone, some are fighting for survival), the high lakes and fishing streams uncrowded. Even busy Shasta Lake offers solitude in coves and draws.While feces of nontreated calves wereimmediately colonized by dung beetles in the field--sometimes by hundreds per "pat'--and later by earthworms, the dung of ivermectin-treated animals remained largely devoid of such invertebrates, according to a report in the June 4 NATURE by zoologists Richard Wall and Les Strong of Bristol University in England. Within 100 days, the researchers say, the control pats had "largely disappeared,' whereas the drug-containing dung samples "were still largely intact.' This situation could spell a serious, impending problem, especially to livestock farmers, Wall believes, because "for every pat [of dung] you have, you reduce available pasture land; cows won't graze up to the edge of their cow pat.'

Bill Hill, a spokesperson for theRahway, N.J.-based MSD-AGVET (a division of Merck & Co.), the drug's maker, says there have been no anecdotal reports from ivermectin users of problems with dung degradation. Moreover, he says, because the drug is registered only for infrequent administration by injection or as a paste, its effects on dung beetles would be limited to feces passed in the few days after each treatment. But Wall says while that may be true today, it would not be true if the drug were administered from a controlled-release implanted pellet, which he says is now under development--an application that would shed the drug into the feces daily for months.

Author: Janet Raloff

User-friendly Shasta

User-friendly Shasta

North of Dunsmuir at 3,280 feet, LakeSiskiyou is a bit cooler and is popular with families because of its sandy swimming beach, 50 picnic sites ($1 entry), and 299 campsites ($9 per night). It also offers a launch ramp, marina, and fishing for brown and rainbow trout and bass. It's off Barr Road 4 miles southwest of the town of Mount Shasta.On hot days, plan to finish hiking bynoon; leave afternoons for fishing, swimming, tubing, or picnicking along the Sacramento River--a 2-mile stretch meanders through the park.Camping. You can camp anywhere onshore with a fire permit, or in one of 1,200 campsites (the Forest Service is spending $750,000 for improvements). Don't expect wilderness--the roar of a ski boat might be your reveille. Your best shot at peaceful camps are on the McCloud, Pit, and Squaw arms. Boat-in camps are private and scenic but high off the water.Dung beetles and earthworms don'ttend to get a lot of respect--except when they're not around. Ecologically, these invertebrates provide a valuable housekeeping service. Not only do they break down and carry away dung, but in the process they also aerate soil and enhance the ability of water to percolate into the ground. For these reasons, growing veterinary use of the drug ivermectin in livestock to control parasites--such as roundworms--could have unintended environmental repercussions. A new British study shows that the drug, excreted in the feces, can exert a dramatic insecticidal effect on dung fauna.Hiking granite slopes, lazing along the Sacramento in Castle Crags parkRainbow trout draw fishermen to the upperSacramento. Besides the park's access, you can fish in Dunsmuir, where the river winds through City Park.East-side historic towns, trout streamsQueen of lumbermill days was McCloud,a company town founded in 1827; the millworkers were paid in scrip, spent it at the company store, lived in houses made of the pine they had milled. Today, the 1890s Mercantile Building on Main Street bustles with a hardware store and a cafe with great milkshakes.Water sports. The calmer waters of the Pitarm and Jones Valley area are best for skiing. Mike Suyderhoud's water-ski school offers 1-hour private lessons ($55) to one-week clinics ($395); call 275-3665. Wednesdays at 7 P.M. June through Labor Day, Silverthorn Resort near Jones Valley offers a free hour-long water-ski show; arrive early for best viewing. Or take a boat tour to the Shasta Caverns ($9, $4 for ages 4 through 12); call 238-2341.Bill Hill, a spokesperson for theRahway, N.J.-based MSD-AGVET (a division of Merck & Co.), the drug's maker, says there have been no anecdotal reports from ivermectin users of problems with dung degradation. Moreover, he says, because the drug is registered only for infrequent administration by injection or as a paste, its effects on dung beetles would be limited to feces passed in the few days after each treatment. But Wall says while that may be true today, it would not be true if the drug were administered from a controlled-release implanted pellet, which he says is now under development--an application that would shed the drug into the feces daily for months.Fishing. Of 22 species here, bass, catfish,and crappie are what you'll find most, June through August. Bass fishing (Pit River Arm is the best) is better now thanks to habitat improvement. As for trout, when the water warms they go deep; still, you can deep-water cast in front of the dam or try the cold waters farther up McCloud Arm.Before your next camping adventure, look into what your family would like for an enjoyable camping trip. Planning ahead and taking everything your family needs will make memories to last a lifetime.Plan your meals ahead of time. Breakfast can be as easy as disposable bowls, spoons, cereal and milk, donuts and juice/milk, or cooking eggs and bacon on a grate over a fire or on a propane stove. If you are a coffee person, plan ahead and bring a percolator that will make coffee over the fire or a propane stove. Lunch can be an easy lunchmeat sandwich and chips or a hotdog cooked over the fire. Dinner can be barbecue ribs on a grate over the fire with a stock pot filled with water and corn on the cob. Wash up can be easy with a plastic tub and some dish soap. Water service is provided at each lot. You might want to plan on bringing along a garden hose and sprayer. Local businesses frequently deliver pizzas if you plan on meeting the delivery driver at the campground entrance. Usually local businesses also have take out meals that would be easy to pick up in your golf cart. No matter your taste, plan ahead and take the necessary utencils.Long popular for houseboating, waterskiing,swimming, and fishing, Shasta Lake is big enough (30,000 acres) to offer secluded anchorages. In dry years like this one, the lake may be drawn down as much as 110 feet, but you can still enjoy water sports--just be more watchful of obstacles. Low water can harm crappie, blue-gill, and bass that spawn in the lake; warm-water releases can harm spring and fall runs of salmon in the Sacramento."Lonely as God and white as a wintermoon' was how early California poet Joaquin Miller described Mount Shasta.Keeping a portable toilet in your tent is a wonderful convience for night time needs. If you are camping with children, a trip to the shower house in the middle of the night is never convenient. If your campground does not provide a shower house, plan to take along a portable shower too. They are discrete and provide a luxury to the wilderness camper.Some wild areas once eyed by lumbermennow have protection. In 1984, the 36,615-acre Mount Shasta Wilderness and the 8,961-acre Castle Crags Wilderness were both declared. Before that, the Nature Conservancy secured 6 miles along the McCloud River.The old McCloud Cookhouse, 424 Main,serves up lumberjack breakfasts and Mexican dinners (open 8 to 8 daily except Tuesdays). Saturday nights through October, amble in to watch square dances in the hall next door-from 8 until the fiddler flags. Up the hill, the beautifully restored 1907 McCloud Guest House is now a bed-and-breakfast inn ($65 to $85); its restaurant serves dinner Wednesdays through Sundays (964-3160).Weekly rentals run $1,040 to $1,160 (6-sleeper),$995 to $1,725 (8-sleeper), $1,260 to $1,750 (10-sleeper), $1,550 to $1,850 (12-sleeper), with 30 to 40 percent discount from September 25 through May 7; see map for toll-free numbers. A week's gas might run around $60.If you plan on camping during hot weather or for several days, check on a location that sells ice. Usually ice is sold at the entrance to the campgrounds. Most campgrounds allow you to bring your own golf cart or provide rentals. Always choose the gas powered golf carts over the electric/battery powered ones. The electric/battery powered ones are slow and have low power. Most campgrounds have hilly areas that are almost imposible to climb with a low powered golf cart. The golf cart will provide you with easy transportation to shower houses, campground activities, swimming areas and much more. If you have a golf cart, most campgrounds will let you come and go from the campgrounds without an additonal entrance fee.Eight miles farther up, on Castle LakeRoad, is tiny Castle Lake. Studied by limnologists from UC Davis for 29 years, Castle Lake now serves as a "control' for gauging the clarity and health of Lake Tahoe. In a granite cirque at 5,475 feet, it's a cool and pretty spot for picnicking under Douglas fir.A landmark off I-5 near Dunsmuir, thegray granite outcroppings of Castle Crags State Park are carved into snaggletoothed fins. If you're in shape, try the short, steep Crags Trail--2 3/4 miles one way, 2,250-foot elevation gain--that begins in shading pines, ends in waist-high manzanita; wear sun protection and carry water. The 8,544-foot Crags fromation is in the wilderness area beyond.Each year, 7,000 hikers attempt the summit,but that takes planning and conditioning. For an information packet, call the Forest Service: 926-4511 or The Fifth Season Climbing Shop at 926-5555.In 1875, John Muir climbed the mountainand wrote, "Shasta is a fire mountain . . . built by successive eruptions of ash and lava pushed outward and upward like the trunk of a knotty, bulging tree.' (Shasta nearly killed Muir; caught in a snowstorm, he saved himself by huddling near a boiling sulfur spring--freezing on one side, roasting on the other.)When camping in a tent, you must prepare for dew/moisture to settle on the contents of your tent. To prevent wet bedding, place a tarp under the tent and place a box fan inside the tent. Most campgrounds provide electric service at each lot. Don't forget to bring your extention cord. An air mattress provides a bed as comfortable as yours at home. A portable air pump will have it at your desired firmness in a matter of minutes. Hammocks and cots also provide a restful night. To be comfortable, plan on bringing plenty of blankets or a good quality heavy sleeping bag. Even in the hottest days of summer, tent camping is always chilly. When camping during colder months, exponent tents and sleeping bags will keep you warm even in freezing temperatures.Houseboating help. In summer, Shastasports up to 600 houseboats--but with 365 miles of shoreline to explore, they really spread out. Our crew found a houseboat easy to drive but a bit slow to respond and a wind-catcher: compensate for wind when setting course and placing tie-up stakes. Newer models have microwave, wet bar, showers. Ask about two- and three-day packages, and reserve early--some dates are booked a year ahead, but you shouldn't strike out if your date are flexible.

The old McCloud Cookhouse, 424 Main,serves up lumberjack breakfasts and Mexican dinners (open 8 to 8 daily except Tuesdays). Saturday nights through October, amble in to watch square dances in the hall next door-from 8 until the fiddler flags. Up the hill, the beautifully restored 1907 McCloud Guest House is now a bed-and-breakfast inn ($65 to $85); its restaurant serves dinner Wednesdays through Sundays (964-3160).