Just got back. Truck is unloaded, laundry, well, it's still in a pile, coolers emptied, and adult beverage in hand. Time to report.
Friday arrived just about 5pm and found a spot we haven't had yet, #37, and made camp. I put a tarp over the tent to help insulate it since it's a summer tent. Bought a ton of wood, and roasted breakfast sausages for a snack.
Saturday morning, the in-laws arrived to join us for the day. We went to the river to fish. We all bunched together on the edge by the bridge. My mother in law struggled to catch a trout but wasn't patient enough. We caught a mess of fish. I had to keep the bait jar in my pocket as I was using it so often. Good thing I brought that fleece with the big front pocket.
We took a lunch break at the campsite and returned to fish more. I was determined to help my "MOM" get her fish on. Sure enough, we figured it out, she kept on with her slow, bass style, retrieve. You have to put it out there and let it sit a few minutes. They will school by it and WHAM.
We ate like kings, as I'm sure everyone in the park had trout for dinner. We had cobbler after dinner, thanks for the recipie Troop198, and I didn't burn it! Tin foil lined DO, great tip! After cobbler, the in-laws left for a nice warm room at the Best Western.
Sunday We woke to find out that it was 24 degrees that night. The in-laws returned to say goodbye before returning to SA. The ranger came by to chat with us for a few minutes. This ranger is the park interpreter. My son approached him Saturday while he was crossing over the bridge to ask him where he could get a minnow catcher like the ranger had. The ranger told him, here have one of mine, I have plenty. That was so sweet. My son played with that all weekend.
Back to the river. A couple that was camping next to us came up and asked what we were catching. I asked if they would like to fish, and handed them my rod. They caught a few fish and were pleased. I invited them to have dinner with us, potluck. We stayed for hours down there, and so did they, just enjoying the sun and gentle breeze. ( it wasn't so gentle on Monday)
That night we had a big fire, great dinner and pleasant company. Turns out that this couple from Austin had never camped before. I think they might be hooked.
Monday morning it was just us. We had talked with a college student who was camping a few sites down. He came over to apologize if they had kept us up. He noticed my Cubscout sticker and told us he was an Eagle scout. We talked for quite a while. I even asked him if we could take all their aluminum cans for our scout fundraiser. Well, Monday he came to borrow a spatula for their pancakes, I also gave him the rest of the eggs I brought and didn't need. When he brought the spatula back, he was just in time to help me take my tent down and fold the tarp.
We asked the rangers about the hike to the small spring and got directions. It took 30 min to get there, and 30 back. My son was more impressed with the composting toilet up on stilts than the spring. After that, more fishing. Every other cast I had a fish. I had to stop, it was to much for the 4 other anglers to bear. I asked the young kids what they were using. Cut up minnows on a huge hook?! Oh no, here, use this stuff. I don't know if they realized trout's mouths are tiny. I gave away the rest of my bait. My shoulders are aching and now I have a nice sunburn. I sat and watched the kids fish.
There was something that everyone was talking about. A couple from Switzerland was in the park, in the most unusual looking
rv/
ATV/hummer/ urban assalt house thing I've ever seen. The name on it was Evolution. The tires were huge and it must have had 4 feet of ground clearance. The back was a box, with just a small window on each side, but the roof lifted up and had a skylight. Between what other people asked them, and what I asked them at the river, here is the story. They gave up everything, bought the
rv, shipped it over here ( because for the price to ship it, they could ahve rented an
rv for a month), they have a 1 year visa, have seen the entire east coast, and are making their was across the southwest, to finish their journey in Alaska. I'd love to know what this 30 something couple did for a living prior to self induced retirement to be able to afford such a journey. I know the Euro is strong, just how strong is it?
oh yes, they caught their share of trout today.
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