July 6, 2001

This is Arizona???

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7-5-01 After waking up this morning, we decided to call an end to our camping trip one day early. Both Calvin and Marie got very sunburned while out on the boat, and Marie had blisters from all the chopping she did, tackling fallen trees. To her credit, she really supplemented our firewood supply. So we ate a quick breakfast and headed back out in the truck to do some more exploring. A person could really get lost with all the different roads and trails among the trees. We stuck to the Forest Roads, which are mapped, and stopped a few times to go off into the trees and do some exploring. We happened upon a fenced field with these two horses. It was strange to see these two animals, obviously well cared for, out in the middle of nowhere. We stopped to say hello, and they were briefly polite before going back to lipping at the grass. They were in no way interested in the corn nuts or sunflower seeds we held out for them. I was glad to get a horse fix, though. Calvin and Marie turned their noses up at their smell, but I breathed it in deeply. I love their sweet smell, and the softness of their muzzles. It brought back to me, sharply, how much I miss having a horse. We continued along the way and explored a stream (finally!), and headed deeper into the woods. We camp upon a sign that said "Big Lake L.O.", and while we puzzled over that acronym, we followed a less-maintained dirt road. It lead upward abruptly, and Calvin was about to turn around when we spotted a building. We went the rest of the way up the slope, and discovered the Lookout Station for the area. The sign said visitors were welcome, but we were reluctant to interrupt the ranger at his or her work. I would have loved to get a picture from the top of the fire tower, though. We got back to camp at about 12:30, and immediately started breaking things down. I must say that it's a much quicker task to de-camp than it is to set everything up. We even managed to consolidate things well enough that we didn't have to strap anything to the roof of the Suburban, like we did on the way up. We pulled out of the campsite at 2:45. We made a quick stop at the camp host's site to let them know we were leaving early, but they weren't around. So, with a little regret, we turned our backs to Big Lake and headed back out to the main road. We made really good time on the way back home, stopping once for Taco Bell (which was a sudden acute craving for all of us) and gas. Calvin cracked Marie and I up, because every time he would pass cars on the single-lane-each-way road, he'd scoot in his seat like he was trying to urge the truck faster. He was completely unaware he was doing it until we teased him about it. We all felt totally gross, and couldn't wait to get back home and to our own (clean!) showers. We got home at exactly 7:00. We unloaded the truck like fiends and made a mad scramble for the showers. What a wonderful thing hair spray and makeup is!! A quick check of the mail revealed another letter from Michael, which you can read below. Then we headed back out again to purchase a new monitor for the computer - ours died last Saturday night, and I couldn't upload the new Storyteller topic like I promised that Notify List I would. Dammit. We also purchased Styx Greatest Hits album, and hollered along to "Mr. Roboto" on the way home. That song totally rules, and Marie knew the words because of that Volkswagon commercial. It was great to sit down at Chili's and have a meal we didn't have to cobble together ourselves. We were beginning to feel civilized again by the time we finally headed back home and to bed. 7-6-01 Which catches us up to today. We woke up at 7:00 this morning - too used to getting up early when we were camping, I guess. Plus the damned car alarm mocking bird that wouldn't shut up this morning. Calvin's mom brought Gadget and Gypsy down with them to the restaurant, and we went to pick them up. Kye was beside herself with happiness to see them, when we got home. She "talked" continuously to them, filling them in on her week, I guess. Many sniffs were exchanged. I have three million tons of things to do - all the laundry, plus washing the blankets we used. Unpacking the rest of the food, cleaning the house in general, and grocery shopping. But I can't get myself to do any of it. Instead, I've spent the entire day (it's 3:00 now) writing this, and futzing around with all the pictures we took during the week. The camera held up excellently, and we still had a half-hour of power and one blank disk when we got home. Fill me in on anything juicy that's been going on with you guys while I've been away! And check out the rest of the pictures that I couldn't fit into the entry. I regret the return to "real life", but it is good to be clean again. Don't Stop Now! There's More Pictures! Back To Part 1! Back To Part 2!