Camping Trip, Day One

Friday, June 5:

We left home about 9 a.m. on a gorgeous sunny day. A jet plane flew overhead, leaving a vapor trail against the blue sky. A sizable herd of horses of various descriptions grazed in a field, cattle grazed on rolling hillsides, and at one point, a deer bounded across the highway.

A variety of wildflowers grew in profusion along the roadsides...wild pink roses, Queen Anne's lace, bright orange Butterfly Weed, Purple Cone Flowers, Black-eyed Susans, orange Day Lillies, Wild Begamot, Evening Primrose, Ox-eye Daisies, and a tall blue flower that I haven't identified.

Along the way, too, we noticed the damage to trees from last winter's ice storm. Like broken necks and arms, tree tops and limbs lolled toward the earth, a thick covering of green leaves barely camouflaging the breakage.

We were surprised at another point to see a crew of prisoners, clad from head to toe in white, breaking earth and stone with picks and shovels. An armed guard, in police uniform and a western hat, sat astride a horse. A rifle was holstered on the side of the horse.

On a lighter note, we passed a cluster of small houses, with a sign out front proudly declaring the area as "Pappyville...Population: 10." Passing through one town, an overhead sign at a stop light identified the cross street by the rather unlovely title of "Buzzard Roost Road."

We stopped at a rest area for lunch, where I discovered I'd forgotten to bring my vitamins. We arrived at the campground around 2 p.m., and shortly after setting up the camper, went to the WDCS and a health food store to replace my vitamins. Mother opted to stay at the camper, since she was feeling under the weather with bronchitis.

We stopped by Daughter's house on the way back to the campground. Granddaughter and Great-Grandsons from another state arrived while we were there. After a while, we returned to the camper to feed Shih Tzu and pick up Mother to go back to Daughter's for a supper of grilled chicken, scalloped potatoes, salad, veggies and dip, fresh fruits (blackberries, blueberries, cherries, kiwi fruit, oranges) and desserts of fruit and angel food cake trifle, and a fruit pizza.

We went back to camp around 9 p.m. A full moon against a clear, velvety sky followed us. At camp, Hubbie read his novel, Mother worked puzzle books, and I played on the computer until bedtime. There was no Internet service at this campground, however. Phooey.