Camping Trip, Day Two

Tuesday, Sept. 21: We were up early, and after breakfast, Hubbie and I rode our bicycles to the river, to see if it was low enough to go fishing. It was, so we donned our waders and other fishing paraphernalia, hopped in the truck, and headed to the river. We had everything with us except bait, so Hubbie had to return to the campsite for the whole kernel corn we needed.



We fished for a couple of hours, and I caught one rainbow trout. Hubbie caught nothing. About 11 a.m., the sun was high in the sky, and I was getting uncomfortable, so we returned to camp. When I took off my waders, I found that my right jeans leg and sock were soaking wet, thanks to a leak in my waders.



Later in the afternoon, Sis arrived. She stopped at the registration office. We could see her from our campsite, where we were seated outside. I called her cell phone and told her to look out her window to her left. I stood up and waved, and she finally caught sight of me and drove around to the site...going the wrong way on the one-way road. Fortunately, she didn't meet anyone coming in the opposite direction.

She joined us sitting in the yard for a while, and then she, Hubbie, and I walked the short path around a wildflower meadow that features two pergolas with benches. The meadow itself features a variety of wildflowers nestled in tall grasses. In a couple of places, the grass was mashed down and dried, and we wondered if these might have been hiding spots for fawns.



From the meadow, we drove to the river again. Here, there is an overlook with informational plaques, and a water fountain. Sis had brought along her dog, so we were glad to see that the fountain not only had places for adults and children to drink, but it also had a low-to-the-ground stainless steel watering dish with fountain. Sis's dog seemed fascinated with this device as she lapped from both the bowl and the arching water from the fountain.

We also visited a fishing pier, where one man was trying his hand at fishing. The pier is high above the river and not an ideal fishing spot. Near the boat dock, we saw two really large trout swimming. Hubbie estimated their weight at three pounds each. He commented that if we could see them, then they could see us, and trout, being the wily creatures that they are, would never take bait from a fisherman that they could see. There have been times, when we've dangled bait right under the noses of trout like that, and they completely ignored it.


At this spot on the river there is a spring, the cold water of which flows down a deep, but narrow channel out to the river. Along the bank are wooden swings for visitors to use in enjoying the cool breeze off the water.


Later, after a supper of chicken noodle soup and pimento cheese sandwiches, we attended an 8 p.m. program sponsored by the park. A young interpreter, only five months into her job, presented a slide show program about our unfavorite animals and how they benefit the environment. The animals included spiders, snakes, bats, and the like.

Before she started the program, she treated us to a music CD of a Bob Dylan song, called "Man Gave Names to All the Animals," sung by Jason Mraz. Cute lyrics, with verses like "He saw an animal that liked to snort; Horns on his head and not too short; It looked like there wasn't nothing that he couldn't pull; Ah, I think I'll call it a bull." And, "He saw an animal leaving a muddy trail; Real dirty face and a curly tail; He wasn't too small and he wasn't too big; Ah, I think I'll call it a pig."

The second program she presented was about identifying animal sounds. Sis did pretty well at this one. First we listened to a sound, then tried to identify it, and then the interpreter showed us a slide of the animal. We were amazed at how wimpy a bear sounds. A bull frog has a scarier call. Katydids, crickets, and cicadas were some of the sounds, as well as frogs and birds and a fox.

In the middle of the second program, the interpreter suddenly disappeared behind the amphitheater screen and turned the lights on. She wanted us to see an armadillo leisurely strolling past the seated visitors to the lawn beyond.