Before we left home, we debated the wisdom of taking the second foam mattress layer. We bought it because Margo felt the single foam layer wasn’t enough. But when we used two, our bodies created such deep depressions that we struggled to turn over. So we left one at home. Slept pretty darn good on the single layer. Might have something to do with the wonderful cool breeze coming through the windows.
The morning began with the usual animal and people care. Cool, but shorts were the order of the day. Margo and I geared up and headed out on a southern hike that mostly followed the river. Only raccoon and deer prints on the trail so we let SpotDog off leash. At 10 years of age she still prances so pretty and thanks to a little less in the food bowl, she’s lost a slight paunch.
On the left was the riverbank full of trees and brush. On the right a strip of desert type plants butting against a cropland with dykes around the perimeter. Across all is an assortment of birds. In a mile we came to the trail end at a pecan orchard. Did a 180 and headed back to the dam.
At the campsite we relaxed under the combined shade of the awning and shelter. Sure wish the site had a tall western wall to block the afternoon sun which chased me across the slab. I’ve got a tarp in the hold and if I can find enough line I’ll string it up. In doing so we will join the ranks of most of the campers.
The ant numbers are awful. We’ve identified four different sizes so far: the really big red ones, smaller red/black ones, small black ones, and almost microscopic clear ones. The big ones don’t crawl up stuff. The little ones do. Fortunately, they aren’t much inclined to sting and can’t be felt on the skin until reaching a particularly sensitive spot. We brush them off again and again. I wish I’d brought bay leaves to scatter around camp.
The flies are not many, but they are persistent until they fall to our fly swatters. For me a swatter is a necessary camp item. I bought two more to stick in my personal camping stuff.
The gnats are bad within a hundred yards of the water. Walking along fine then we’re both throwing our hands around. They don’t taste very good. At times it makes for limited hanging out. On the other hand, the swallows are feeding most of the day.
Margo has acquired itchy bug bites behind her knees. Big, hot welts with hard centers. She was the champ of limited complaining as I threw the medicine cabinet at the spots. After watching her scratch, I dodged every bush and didn’t set down unless it was a bench.
A feral tabby cat is raising a single half-grown kitten under the repair shed and is keeping company with a black feral cat. None can be approached without them disappearing. I hope they trap them before they eat too many birds.
The camp host ran a Z-track mower for hours and didn’t appear to make a dent in the mowing that needed to be done. Even worse, was the need for trimming to keep down the weeds and tumbleweeds. Where’s there’s no grass, goat head stickers are abundant. You can tell who the newbys are by where they walk their dogs. We mostly stay on the roads. I carry small collapsible pliers to pull the stickers out of dog feet and shoe soles. The Funky Monkeys are the champs of collecting goat heads.
It’s quite the list of characters here. Next to us are the invisible people. A large 5th wheel hooked up to 50 amps. No activity. No towing vehicle. No steps. Beyond that is an old Class C in pretty good shape. Got the feeling the older woman has a lot of experience in camping. She tied up two tan tarps, south and west and her shade is full of bins and camping chairs.
Is shrinking RVs a new thing? Three Scamps, a Hi-Low, a couple of small travel trailer, a minivan with a trunk tent and a well-designed awning with custom walls on three sides and a portable AC tube. An older woman setting up a tent stopped to roll up her car windows to keep her dogs from jumping out at SpotDog. Margo said something polite and she stated she was suddenly homeless with no assets other than her car. She was trying to figure everything out. I told her about Cheaprvliving. He response was she had no internet access. I reminded her libraries have internet and she made another “can’t do” comment. Sometimes down the road she will understand her big pile of camping stuff was the best assets for the situation. She was actually quite “wealthy”. We moved on. We hope she does okay.
A promising, rumbling thunderstorm developed to the north then dropped it’s silver lines onto the eastern mountains. Drat. Missed the chance for a big cool down.
This campground was a birder’s paradise the last time we were here, and the bird count continued. Here’s a set of starlings on the trail. Lots of blackbirds as well. We were determined to get a better view of a phainopepla in the overgrown slough between regular camping and primitive camping. No luck. I went out at dusk making the circle of road, canal, river, slough, then back home. White-winged doves, ravens, black vultures, swallows, yellow-rumped warblers, yellow warblers. Still no phainopepla, but I did find a new to us birds. A black bird with a buff chest and tummy. A black phoebe according to our bird book. Then I saw a black head, tail and wings with an amazing orange-red body. Still don’t know what it is. I think it’s a mis-colored scarlet tananger. They don’t have black heads. Of course I get excited and maybe forget which colors go to which body parts.
Cleaning chores multiply in the littler rig. Every day is vacuum (sometimes twice) and disinfectant wipe day. We’re still trying to figure out where to put the stuff we use often, like our books, my old Kindle, puzzle books, headphones. We are getting in the habit of taking off our shoes that we wear “out there” and putting on our Funky Monkeys for the concrete pad and inside the rig. Keeps down the number of goat heads invading our happy place.
Trekking Tess 