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Campout at TRC
Aug. 21st, 2022 11:59 pmFRIDAY
We left the house about 1:30 and stopped by Jersey Mike's for lunch. After we ate, we picked up ice, fruit, and cheese at Safeway. We were on the road by 2:30 and arrived at camp at 3:30. After checking in, we unloaded our stuff, Gary parked the car and we had the tent up by five.
While we were making the final adjustments, our site mates arrived: Lyndon, Brendan, and Brad. They're all thirtysomething and from the Seattle area. Lyndon is black with a moderately athletic build, Brendan has short, partly bleached-blond hair and furry legs (and a tattoo on one of them memorializing his late dog), and Brad has really long brown hair and a swimmer's build.
We set up the Christmas chairs and took a break, while the trio went in search of a party. I went to get us drinks since the cooler had to stay in the bear locker. Gary fell asleep briefly. I met a bearish dude named Larry with a tiny dog on the way back to the campsite. I set up the table, grabbed the dinner fixings, and cooked the bratwurst - unfortunately the heat was a bit too high and the brats were burned on the outside and undercooked in the middle. I ate them anyway but Gary took a couple bites and threw his out.
After dinner we accompanied the trio to the Meet and Greet over at the Bottoms Up seasonal site. Tom who we met at the Fireplace was bartending. We chatted with Greg (who reminded me of Jerry Lewis from SMC only shorter), Bill (with a Santa beard just like Alan Braden), Mike (our host, tall and blond wearing a Hi tank top with the Big Island dotting the i), and Tom (who reminded me of Aaron from Olympia).
We returned to camp about quarter to ten. After helping me set up my cot, Gary went to bed and I sat up and watched the fire with the trio. I went to bed about ten after eleven.
SATURDAY
I didn't sleep well. I thrashed around trying to get into a comfortable position, got up briefly at five to readjust the covers, and then the CPAP battery petered out by 5:30. I decided to get up to use the bathroom and then try to get some more sleep. I gave up and rose for the day about 7:30 as I heard the other guys getting up to make coffee. I went to the bear locker for breakfast food and drinks, and sat by the fire with the guys chatting about Foley artists and audio production until Gary awoke around nine.
We had some coffee and I fixed bacon and cheesy scrambled eggs, using the bacon grease to fry the eggs because the cooking spray in the camp box didn't work. (Note: pull that out of the box when we get home.) The griddle made loud screeching noises with the gas any higher than minimum so I kept it low for the bacon and used the same burner for the eggs. With that settled, we had the leftover blueberries from home with breakfast and I grabbed a couple of granola bars.
Brad wore a silk dressing gown, at first by itself and later over sweatpants, and put his hair in a ponytail; the others wore what they had on last night.
We chilled out in the Christmas chairs while the guys finished cooking their breakfast (burritos) with potatoes on the campfire. About 10:30 I disposed of the garbage, returned food to the bear locker, and had a pee, then returned to the campfire.
Around 11:30 we headed to the beach. It was set up a little differently from last year as the river had changed course, but we found a couple of good swimming holes next to each other. Brad and I were the only ones to get in the water though, and it was quite cold. After we got out of the water we sat and listened to music on the Bluetooth speaker, first from Brendan's phone and then from mine. Lyndon expressed interest in joining the Chorus so I got his contact information on my phone. Around one I took a second dunk, dried off, and dressed, and we returned to camp around two.
By 2:30 we were on the road, headed for the White Chuck Overlook on the unpaved portion of the Mountain Loop Highway near its north end at Darrington. There were many cars parked at the end of the pavement and several families camping along the way. At one point a pickup truck was parked askew in the middle of the road; between that and the rough surface, we decided to come back the long but paved route through Darrington, Oso, Arlington, and Granite Falls. We parked at the overlook about quarter to four, got some good pictures of White Chuck Mountain and the valley below, and had a late lunch of oranges, apples, and grapes.
We left about four and got back to camp about quarter to six. By the time we were done, my phone and Gary's were fully charged and the CPAP battery was above 75%. Lyndon was sleeping and Gary soon followed suit, and I had a nice chat with Brad about Forks (which was printed on his hoodie) and Bothell (where he and Brendan live). Brad left to split some firewood so he wouldn't disturb Lyndon, then rekindled the fire.
Around seven I started dinner and by 7:30 it was ready and I woke up Gary. This time I took about 15 minutes to make sure the brats were cooked all the way through. Around quarter after eight I went to return the food to the bear locker, dispose of the trash and use the bathroom.
When I got back to camp, Gary was done for the night and Brendan and Brad were elsewhere, but shortly afterwards Brad walked into camp and Brendan emerged from the tent, and they headed for the gazebo around quarter to nine. I sat in the Christmas chair and listened to the sounds of the river, traffic passing on the highway, and dogs barking. But I didn't want to go to sleep just yet because there is no way the battery would last all night. So I headed for the Gazebo myself, around nine.
At the Gazebo I met Gary, an older gentleman from West Seattle; Winston, the bartender, who hails from Vancouver, BC; Jabriel, the assistant bartender:and a gaggle of bears from Portland including David who was involved in setting up Bear Town for several years; Nick, a hot bear we saw passing by our site a lot: David, in a plaid shirt and camo cap with a thick, curly brown beard; Nick, a scruffy, balding bear in a thin gray T-shirt with a large dog on a leash; and his partner Trevor who's a hot brown bear. They were all staying in Site 1. Josh and Mike from last night's Meet and Greet were there too. Later on I had a nice chat with Brendan from the XL Bears who produced last weekend's party, and Bill with the Santa beard. Met Steven (a hot dude in a sawed-off denim shirt) and Mark (who lives on the Everett waterfront), and finally AJ and Chris who had been hanging out all evening. After the bar closed, I had a nice chat at Bill's camper with him and Gary, which wrapped up at one with Gary turning off the generator for the night. I made my way back to the campsite and quickly went to sleep.
SUNDAY
I woke up about six to use the bathroom and sat briefly chatting with Brad and Lyndon, while Brendan kibitzed occasionally from inside the tent. I returned to bed for another hour until Gary got up about eight, when the other guys packed up and left. We packed the contents of the tent by about nine and fixed breakfast around quarter after.
We had the tent struck and everything packed away by eleven, and were on the road by 11:30. We took the car through the car wash (with a hot bear working the front end) on the way home, and arrived around twenty to one. Half an hour later we were unpacked and parked in front of the TV for a Mariners game.
We left the house about 1:30 and stopped by Jersey Mike's for lunch. After we ate, we picked up ice, fruit, and cheese at Safeway. We were on the road by 2:30 and arrived at camp at 3:30. After checking in, we unloaded our stuff, Gary parked the car and we had the tent up by five.
While we were making the final adjustments, our site mates arrived: Lyndon, Brendan, and Brad. They're all thirtysomething and from the Seattle area. Lyndon is black with a moderately athletic build, Brendan has short, partly bleached-blond hair and furry legs (and a tattoo on one of them memorializing his late dog), and Brad has really long brown hair and a swimmer's build.
We set up the Christmas chairs and took a break, while the trio went in search of a party. I went to get us drinks since the cooler had to stay in the bear locker. Gary fell asleep briefly. I met a bearish dude named Larry with a tiny dog on the way back to the campsite. I set up the table, grabbed the dinner fixings, and cooked the bratwurst - unfortunately the heat was a bit too high and the brats were burned on the outside and undercooked in the middle. I ate them anyway but Gary took a couple bites and threw his out.
After dinner we accompanied the trio to the Meet and Greet over at the Bottoms Up seasonal site. Tom who we met at the Fireplace was bartending. We chatted with Greg (who reminded me of Jerry Lewis from SMC only shorter), Bill (with a Santa beard just like Alan Braden), Mike (our host, tall and blond wearing a Hi tank top with the Big Island dotting the i), and Tom (who reminded me of Aaron from Olympia).
We returned to camp about quarter to ten. After helping me set up my cot, Gary went to bed and I sat up and watched the fire with the trio. I went to bed about ten after eleven.
SATURDAY
I didn't sleep well. I thrashed around trying to get into a comfortable position, got up briefly at five to readjust the covers, and then the CPAP battery petered out by 5:30. I decided to get up to use the bathroom and then try to get some more sleep. I gave up and rose for the day about 7:30 as I heard the other guys getting up to make coffee. I went to the bear locker for breakfast food and drinks, and sat by the fire with the guys chatting about Foley artists and audio production until Gary awoke around nine.
We had some coffee and I fixed bacon and cheesy scrambled eggs, using the bacon grease to fry the eggs because the cooking spray in the camp box didn't work. (Note: pull that out of the box when we get home.) The griddle made loud screeching noises with the gas any higher than minimum so I kept it low for the bacon and used the same burner for the eggs. With that settled, we had the leftover blueberries from home with breakfast and I grabbed a couple of granola bars.
Brad wore a silk dressing gown, at first by itself and later over sweatpants, and put his hair in a ponytail; the others wore what they had on last night.
We chilled out in the Christmas chairs while the guys finished cooking their breakfast (burritos) with potatoes on the campfire. About 10:30 I disposed of the garbage, returned food to the bear locker, and had a pee, then returned to the campfire.
Around 11:30 we headed to the beach. It was set up a little differently from last year as the river had changed course, but we found a couple of good swimming holes next to each other. Brad and I were the only ones to get in the water though, and it was quite cold. After we got out of the water we sat and listened to music on the Bluetooth speaker, first from Brendan's phone and then from mine. Lyndon expressed interest in joining the Chorus so I got his contact information on my phone. Around one I took a second dunk, dried off, and dressed, and we returned to camp around two.
By 2:30 we were on the road, headed for the White Chuck Overlook on the unpaved portion of the Mountain Loop Highway near its north end at Darrington. There were many cars parked at the end of the pavement and several families camping along the way. At one point a pickup truck was parked askew in the middle of the road; between that and the rough surface, we decided to come back the long but paved route through Darrington, Oso, Arlington, and Granite Falls. We parked at the overlook about quarter to four, got some good pictures of White Chuck Mountain and the valley below, and had a late lunch of oranges, apples, and grapes.
We left about four and got back to camp about quarter to six. By the time we were done, my phone and Gary's were fully charged and the CPAP battery was above 75%. Lyndon was sleeping and Gary soon followed suit, and I had a nice chat with Brad about Forks (which was printed on his hoodie) and Bothell (where he and Brendan live). Brad left to split some firewood so he wouldn't disturb Lyndon, then rekindled the fire.
Around seven I started dinner and by 7:30 it was ready and I woke up Gary. This time I took about 15 minutes to make sure the brats were cooked all the way through. Around quarter after eight I went to return the food to the bear locker, dispose of the trash and use the bathroom.
When I got back to camp, Gary was done for the night and Brendan and Brad were elsewhere, but shortly afterwards Brad walked into camp and Brendan emerged from the tent, and they headed for the gazebo around quarter to nine. I sat in the Christmas chair and listened to the sounds of the river, traffic passing on the highway, and dogs barking. But I didn't want to go to sleep just yet because there is no way the battery would last all night. So I headed for the Gazebo myself, around nine.
At the Gazebo I met Gary, an older gentleman from West Seattle; Winston, the bartender, who hails from Vancouver, BC; Jabriel, the assistant bartender:and a gaggle of bears from Portland including David who was involved in setting up Bear Town for several years; Nick, a hot bear we saw passing by our site a lot: David, in a plaid shirt and camo cap with a thick, curly brown beard; Nick, a scruffy, balding bear in a thin gray T-shirt with a large dog on a leash; and his partner Trevor who's a hot brown bear. They were all staying in Site 1. Josh and Mike from last night's Meet and Greet were there too. Later on I had a nice chat with Brendan from the XL Bears who produced last weekend's party, and Bill with the Santa beard. Met Steven (a hot dude in a sawed-off denim shirt) and Mark (who lives on the Everett waterfront), and finally AJ and Chris who had been hanging out all evening. After the bar closed, I had a nice chat at Bill's camper with him and Gary, which wrapped up at one with Gary turning off the generator for the night. I made my way back to the campsite and quickly went to sleep.
SUNDAY
I woke up about six to use the bathroom and sat briefly chatting with Brad and Lyndon, while Brendan kibitzed occasionally from inside the tent. I returned to bed for another hour until Gary got up about eight, when the other guys packed up and left. We packed the contents of the tent by about nine and fixed breakfast around quarter after.
We had the tent struck and everything packed away by eleven, and were on the road by 11:30. We took the car through the car wash (with a hot bear working the front end) on the way home, and arrived around twenty to one. Half an hour later we were unpacked and parked in front of the TV for a Mariners game.