Camp Trip

 I took off camping last Sunday and just got back today.

Wasn't great, wasn't awful.  A mixed bag.

First two nights I spent at a campground on Crescent Lake.  I thought, it has under 20 sites, it'll be quiet.

How wrong I was.

It was quiet when I first arrived, I'll say that.  And so beautiful.  HOwever, it was nowhere close to the lake.   A very long stretch of delicately hued purple flower studded pumice sand stood between me and the lake and no boat ramp.   Could I really pull my kayak a quarter mile to water?  No.  

I set up my mosquito netted canopy, my changing room, got situated, walked out to the water.

Shortly thereafter the first huge rig arrived, a monster trailer, kids, every toy you could imagine, including electric toy cars kids can ride on---then came the generator noise.  This was 30 feet from me.  And the yelling they did at one another over the noise of the generator, to hear one another.  Soon more generator clad trailers arrived.  Sounded like a construction site.  I was fed up and also fed up the neighbors free roaming dog, who chased chipmunks birds, anything. Few seemed to pickup their dog's crap.  

The second day I went to a very beautiful day use area on the lake called Tranquil Cove.   Hardly anyone there either.  Unfortunately, dog poop was everywhere along that beautiful beach.  I picked enough up so I could have a crap free place in the pumice sand to lay out a blanket.  Thunder was sounding in the distance and at times, the sky looked menacing.  I went on a long kayak paddle and faced strong wind coming back to the day use area.   I enjoyed it though and did not want to return to the unpleasant campsite.   You have to take the bad with the good, I know.

I could not wait to get out of that campground.   I flew out of there Tuesday morning.   

I know there are people who camp differently.  They bring everything along, and don't go camping to enjoy nature, rather to enjoy drinking, toys, friends, family, whatever.   Tent campers are dinosaurs now.   I am a dinosaur in this age.

I should know better than to camp by a lake that allows motor boats.   Motor boat people have trailers and a lot of loud toys, I've obvserved over the years and are not interested generally in quiet camping or enjoying nature.  When you are tent camping there's no escaping generator noise from the trailer people.  While they can go inside their trailer to escape their own noise, their neighbors in a tent can't.

I decided to just drive up to Waldo Lake on a whim.   It's on the way home.  Shadow Bay campground was pretty much empty.  Just the way I like it.  So that's where I spent the next two nights.   Only one other TENT camper in the entire campground and nobody else.   I was virtually alone.  I don't think I spoke a word in the days I was there.    I battled mosquitos but they were not that bad, I didn't think, enjoyed the extreme black night stars, took walks, laid back in my chair just relaxing and paddled the lake.

I just got home.  Two bust days and two great days.   Even steven.