June 28th
WOW, I picked a great campground right here on the Taylor Reservoir with the view below. This site was a little more expensive due to the electric hookup but for this view I think it’s worth it. The boys and I went fishing one last time with Dad and Cyndi below the dam and Jacob caught his first fish with absolutely no help from my Dad and I. A 16 inch Brown Trout that had the most beautiful coloring and of course we didn’t have Laura or a camera with us. I was able to land a 24 inch Rainbow Trout that had me almost running back and forth across the river and was finally netted by Jacob after 15 minutes. Again no camera but I had two witnesses to it so I am ok with my great fishing prowess. For anyone looking at great camping there are three campgrounds along the Taylor River and one here at the reservoir, some with electric and some first come, first serve.
The last thing I wanted to mention tonight was that so far on our short time on the road a cable harness on the big slide broke off and I had to rig it back, the air conditioner has issues, the shower all of a sudden started to leak and the water pump needed a new fuse today. I have heard that things break when you are full time but this is ridiculous.
June 29th
So we went down to the lake this morning and were rained out just after setting up our area up. Laura was in a bathing suit and the temperature dropped about 15 degrees and they all got cold along with Molly, who has a new short haircut and isn’t used to being cold. I wish we had the camera (once again) since she was shivering. The nice part about our little rainstorm is that the truck and trailer were cleaned of all the pollen that had built up over the last week, which was causing all of us to have allergies.
June 30th
My turn! I am posting a picture of the water in the shower, you can see, crystal clear, it ain’t! So, I am going four days with just sponge bathing, a definite first. Alan is betting that I’ll break down and take a brown water shower, I’m not so sure…
Spending our grocery money on water was NOT in the plan but I don't care how many times this goes through the Brita, it's not going in our bodies!
Yesterday we set up the “sun” shade in the rain and tried to wait it out, enjoying the quick bursts of sunshine between clouds.
But after an hour or so it became apparent we were fighting a loosing battle and spending more time in the truck than on the beach. To stave off the boredom, (no electronics in the car unless it’s an hour or more trip,) the boys came up with a great new game, which combined mathematics and word play. After the first round consisting of the words Butt and Head, we changed some of the vocabulary and overall they were quite creative. I never caught on to the scoring part but they seemed to. We headed home and had our first indoor day consisting of popcorn and westerns and a quick nap. We all survived!
One would think that after setting up our beach day in the rain yesterday we wouldn’t be foolish enough to try it again, and yet… today we were there for a good hour before the clouds rolled in. Aiden befriended a dead fish he named Elliot…. We worry about him some days. They had a great time using sticks to rocket “Elliot” back to his watery grave over and over. Boys. Home again home again and I am off, to brave the brown shower. Miss K from Duck dynasty would be so proud… AND I am making antelope kabobs tonight- Jack!
July 1, 2013
We moved to a campsite on the north end of Blue Mesa reservoir. It’s not very shaded but it’s got electric and our little air conditioner is doing it’s best. We got the boys both National Parks Passports and they have been doing some academic work in the junior Parks Rangers booklets. Tomorrow they will be sworn in as Junior Park Rangers and get their first pins. In other news, I am loving my new electric skillet that allows me to keep the indoor heat to a bare minimum and also do non-grilling outside! YAY! Why did I not have this before???? Hoping to grill up a nice trout or two tomorrow if the fishing goes well. Julie’s Dad, Don raised us on fresh lake trout and mac and cheese up at Glacier Park. Now my kids just assume you can only have mac and cheese with fresh fish, the funny traditions we carry into adult hood. We have had VERY limited internet on this leg of the journey, won’t invest in satellite coverage until we are working online. Once we are further East I don’t think it will be as much as an issue. We’ll be more accessible soon! Two days till the Rally! Wahoo!
