6-21-12 Thursday evening camping

Thursday before dinner Mom, Bob, and I returned to Maroon Lake to take in the sights. Nothing beats the early morning light, but the heat of the afternoon sun did make the clear water even more sparkling.

I had to kick off the flip flops and wade in the water here, too. Nothing like cold mud between your toes in a place like this to make you happy to be alive. The emerald color of the water shines in the afternoon sun in ways you don't see in the early morning.

On our way back, we crossed paths with more marmots, only one of whom was slow enough to capture on film. Below are a few pictures of the road back to the campground.

 

We had all neglected the sunscreen in one spot or another and were discovering/remembering how quickly you can burn up here. Well, those of us who don't immediately turn tan... As dinner was in the works, there were more turns wading in the water and rock hunting. I've discovered that once I pick up a rock out of the water, I never put it back. I might move rocks underneath the surface and leave them, but if it catches my eye enough to pull it up, into the pocket it goes.

 

Dinner was the rather non-traditional camping fare of spaghetti with salad and garlic bread. Something about camping makes everything taste so much better. Maybe it's the slowing of the senses and the lack of stress. 

After dinner, everyone got into their PJs (Bob's tri-hero ensemble at left) and we had a fireless circle,  recording Dad telling stories from his childhood. My favorite, which we didn't get around to this time, was the story of my great-grandfather driving to the State Home to visit his son, my great-uncle, Price, in the middle of the sweltering Texas summer heat. In those days, you wore a suit and hat for such business. But my great-grandaddy's only suit was made of wool and the car had no A/C, so being a practical man, he took his pants off for the drive. Unfortunately, the Saltsman-Lead-Foot gene got him pulled over, pantless.

As the evening wound down, we were treated to a beautiful sunset through the trees.

 

Our second and, unbeknownst to us, last night in the tent was spent happily burrowed under with books and lanterns. Or, in Bob's case, just burrowing.