![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
Kamp Kodiak
Aug. 19th, 2018 11:59 pmFRIDAY
Woke up around 7:30 after noticing Gary rolling into bed maybe a couple hours before. Showered and dressed and drove to the clinic for a blood draw. In the waiting room I sat next to a lady whose husband came out quite upset about his diagnosis. Almost immediately after that I was called back to get stuck. The young lady had some difficulty finding the right vein but once she did it went pretty smoothly.
When I got home we packed our clothes and such, then filled up the coolers, packed the car and were on our way by 11:30. We stopped at Safeway for ice for the coolers, burger buns, cheese, and some serving utensils to keep in the camping box. Then we hit the road, Gary noting in passing we hadn't seen an Amtrak train on all our trips when the westbound Empire Builder passed us not a minute later. I later learned it was about four hours late.
We made it to Gold Bar for lunch at La Hacienda by one. There was a woofy BNSF railroad crew in the corner booth, and the host wasn't bad looking either. Just after we sat down, a family was seated in the next booth behind Gary with a young otter-pop with a trim beard, mother, and two or three kids, one of whom was acting up badly enough to be sent back to the car (at least temporarily). Another family group seated across the restaurant appeared to be headed by a bigger bear with a beard going to silver and close-cropped hair to match. Gary had two tacos and a diet soda, while I had a burrito and horchata.
We arrived at camp about two-ish, checked in with Mick at central camp, said hi to Stan and John and all the dogs, and set up the tent around the corner in the site we'd used last year. Once that was done, we walked around camp to see where Gary and TJ saw the bear last year, then stopped by the shower area so I could climb down the bank and sit in the river for a while. Gary stayed firmly high and dry and got some nice pictures of me in the water. We got back to our site about four-ish, and Gary went in the tent and caught up on sleep while I decided to kick back in the lounge chair alfresco and write my journal.
After a while I put on a clean shirt and shorts and headed over to central camp to hang out with TJ for a while. Around 7 we all gathered at central camp for dinner of hamburgers, hot dogs, potato salad, beans and various snacks. I threw in our supply of burgers and buns for community cooking. After dinner we sat around the campfire and swapped stories until everyone was ready for bed, around 10 or so.
SATURDAY
I woke up about 5:30 to water the tree. It was cold enough that I realized that the secret to sleeping naked in a sleeping bag is that only the parts of you that stay in the bag stay warm, and it turns out not enough of me fits in my sleeping bag for that purpose. The CPAP works well with the new battery pack though. Went back to sleep and woke up again at seven to use the latrine and take pictures of the river.
Then I put on long pants, took my morning meds and woke Gary to help TJ with breakfast around 7:30ish. We had breakfast with TJ, Stan, and John. Mick, who had been doing most of the cooking, had left camp overnight; we later learned his dog, Buster, had eaten a lot of gravel from under the grill where it was coated in grease, and was seriously ill as a result. At breakfast TJ spotted a bee killing a caterpillar and all morning we watched it coming back to feast on its carcass.
We left around 9 to sit by the river at the picnic bench by the showers. By 10 we were back at the central camp in our comfy chairs by the fire. We discussed what to do for the day since no one in camp this year was up for the hike to Lake Dorothy, and we decided to have lunch at Stevens Pass. Gary and I rode with Stan and John, and TJ and James followed with Peter. We left just after noon.
Gary and John decided to forgo the chairlift ride to the top of the mountain, and since we are going to take a similar ride in an enclosed gondola next week I stayed with them as well. The mountain was practically crawling with bikers and hikers. There was a particularly nice-looking dude with a silver goatee, black shirt, day pack cinched to the small of his back, bright orange knee pants and black shinguards; I'm guessing the father of one or two of the other bikers nearby. We had lunch in the middle lodge of the three in the bar. I had a glass of Bad Granny Black Currant Cider with my meal, while Stan had a dark beer with a nutty flavor.
On our way out we stopped to play a round or two of cornhole, then I spotted a bald ginger-bearded cub with an orange shirt putting on socks or shoes standing up, and Stan spotted a youngish shirtless dude treating a rather gnarly bit of road rash, perhaps 8 by 3 inches, on his lower abdomen at his waistline. He said he had more up and down his leg and the fall had taken out his phone too. We stopped for ice on the way back and parked next to a cute young dude with a thick black beard, stuffing his face with some snack food.
When we arrived at camp, we restocked the coolers with ice, then Gary went in the tent and napped while I put the phones on the charger, sat in the river for a few minutes and air-dried in the lounge chair at our site. Once Gary was awake, I prepared the carrot-raisin salad and dropped it off at central camp as we made another circuit of the camp on foot, stopping to chat at the table by the river.
Dinner of burgers and a variety of salads followed at sevenish and we spent the rest of the evening by the campfire. Gary spent a couple hours in the car listening to the Seahawks get beat by the Chargers on the radio, but as we always say during the preseason, "it doesn't count." He returned to the campfire briefly before heading for bed around ten, and I followed about a half hour later.
SUNDAY
Gary was the first to get up to water the tree for a change, around five. I got up an hour later and went back to sleep for another hour and a half before getting up for the day just after 7:30. About ten after eight I woke Gary and we went over to the central campsite. A bear had been foraging over in the walk-in sites with Adam, James, and Matt, who had to chase the bear away with his Taser (it makes a very loud electrical noise) after the bear had upended his cooler and tried to open it by chewing on it. We had a very nice breakfast with coffee and pastries, followed by bacon, sausages, blueberry pancakes, and scrambled eggs with mushrooms and cheese. I also brought over the leftover carrot-raisin salad from last night. Gary went on an excursion to see if he could spot the bear, but no luck.
After breakfast we hit the showers, then struck camp and were on the road by one. Unfortunately it took far longer than expected to get home because of traffic and the closure of US 2 westbound at the trestle; fortunately we had mapped an alternate route through downtown Snohomish and along the south bank of the river. We were home by four. I caught up with Dad and after unpacking, fell into bed and slept.
Woke up around 7:30 after noticing Gary rolling into bed maybe a couple hours before. Showered and dressed and drove to the clinic for a blood draw. In the waiting room I sat next to a lady whose husband came out quite upset about his diagnosis. Almost immediately after that I was called back to get stuck. The young lady had some difficulty finding the right vein but once she did it went pretty smoothly.
When I got home we packed our clothes and such, then filled up the coolers, packed the car and were on our way by 11:30. We stopped at Safeway for ice for the coolers, burger buns, cheese, and some serving utensils to keep in the camping box. Then we hit the road, Gary noting in passing we hadn't seen an Amtrak train on all our trips when the westbound Empire Builder passed us not a minute later. I later learned it was about four hours late.
We made it to Gold Bar for lunch at La Hacienda by one. There was a woofy BNSF railroad crew in the corner booth, and the host wasn't bad looking either. Just after we sat down, a family was seated in the next booth behind Gary with a young otter-pop with a trim beard, mother, and two or three kids, one of whom was acting up badly enough to be sent back to the car (at least temporarily). Another family group seated across the restaurant appeared to be headed by a bigger bear with a beard going to silver and close-cropped hair to match. Gary had two tacos and a diet soda, while I had a burrito and horchata.
We arrived at camp about two-ish, checked in with Mick at central camp, said hi to Stan and John and all the dogs, and set up the tent around the corner in the site we'd used last year. Once that was done, we walked around camp to see where Gary and TJ saw the bear last year, then stopped by the shower area so I could climb down the bank and sit in the river for a while. Gary stayed firmly high and dry and got some nice pictures of me in the water. We got back to our site about four-ish, and Gary went in the tent and caught up on sleep while I decided to kick back in the lounge chair alfresco and write my journal.
After a while I put on a clean shirt and shorts and headed over to central camp to hang out with TJ for a while. Around 7 we all gathered at central camp for dinner of hamburgers, hot dogs, potato salad, beans and various snacks. I threw in our supply of burgers and buns for community cooking. After dinner we sat around the campfire and swapped stories until everyone was ready for bed, around 10 or so.
SATURDAY
I woke up about 5:30 to water the tree. It was cold enough that I realized that the secret to sleeping naked in a sleeping bag is that only the parts of you that stay in the bag stay warm, and it turns out not enough of me fits in my sleeping bag for that purpose. The CPAP works well with the new battery pack though. Went back to sleep and woke up again at seven to use the latrine and take pictures of the river.
Then I put on long pants, took my morning meds and woke Gary to help TJ with breakfast around 7:30ish. We had breakfast with TJ, Stan, and John. Mick, who had been doing most of the cooking, had left camp overnight; we later learned his dog, Buster, had eaten a lot of gravel from under the grill where it was coated in grease, and was seriously ill as a result. At breakfast TJ spotted a bee killing a caterpillar and all morning we watched it coming back to feast on its carcass.
We left around 9 to sit by the river at the picnic bench by the showers. By 10 we were back at the central camp in our comfy chairs by the fire. We discussed what to do for the day since no one in camp this year was up for the hike to Lake Dorothy, and we decided to have lunch at Stevens Pass. Gary and I rode with Stan and John, and TJ and James followed with Peter. We left just after noon.
Gary and John decided to forgo the chairlift ride to the top of the mountain, and since we are going to take a similar ride in an enclosed gondola next week I stayed with them as well. The mountain was practically crawling with bikers and hikers. There was a particularly nice-looking dude with a silver goatee, black shirt, day pack cinched to the small of his back, bright orange knee pants and black shinguards; I'm guessing the father of one or two of the other bikers nearby. We had lunch in the middle lodge of the three in the bar. I had a glass of Bad Granny Black Currant Cider with my meal, while Stan had a dark beer with a nutty flavor.
On our way out we stopped to play a round or two of cornhole, then I spotted a bald ginger-bearded cub with an orange shirt putting on socks or shoes standing up, and Stan spotted a youngish shirtless dude treating a rather gnarly bit of road rash, perhaps 8 by 3 inches, on his lower abdomen at his waistline. He said he had more up and down his leg and the fall had taken out his phone too. We stopped for ice on the way back and parked next to a cute young dude with a thick black beard, stuffing his face with some snack food.
When we arrived at camp, we restocked the coolers with ice, then Gary went in the tent and napped while I put the phones on the charger, sat in the river for a few minutes and air-dried in the lounge chair at our site. Once Gary was awake, I prepared the carrot-raisin salad and dropped it off at central camp as we made another circuit of the camp on foot, stopping to chat at the table by the river.
Dinner of burgers and a variety of salads followed at sevenish and we spent the rest of the evening by the campfire. Gary spent a couple hours in the car listening to the Seahawks get beat by the Chargers on the radio, but as we always say during the preseason, "it doesn't count." He returned to the campfire briefly before heading for bed around ten, and I followed about a half hour later.
SUNDAY
Gary was the first to get up to water the tree for a change, around five. I got up an hour later and went back to sleep for another hour and a half before getting up for the day just after 7:30. About ten after eight I woke Gary and we went over to the central campsite. A bear had been foraging over in the walk-in sites with Adam, James, and Matt, who had to chase the bear away with his Taser (it makes a very loud electrical noise) after the bear had upended his cooler and tried to open it by chewing on it. We had a very nice breakfast with coffee and pastries, followed by bacon, sausages, blueberry pancakes, and scrambled eggs with mushrooms and cheese. I also brought over the leftover carrot-raisin salad from last night. Gary went on an excursion to see if he could spot the bear, but no luck.
After breakfast we hit the showers, then struck camp and were on the road by one. Unfortunately it took far longer than expected to get home because of traffic and the closure of US 2 westbound at the trestle; fortunately we had mapped an alternate route through downtown Snohomish and along the south bank of the river. We were home by four. I caught up with Dad and after unpacking, fell into bed and slept.