Monday, August 4, 2008

And Camping It Was...


Sunday morning came and went... shortly after noon we set off for our overnight camping experience. We arrived at the campsite sometime after 3:00 PM. Then the fun began...
We purchased the tent pictured here LAST summer, thinking we were going out the same week we picked it up. Hah! Not only did we NOT go camping that same week, the tent was still sealed in the box a year later... until yesterday afternoon (sometime after 3:00 PM).
The instruction book was somewhat helpful, but having not put this particular monstrosity up before I was soon at wits end, and the forest creatures were hearing new, frightening phrases being uttered by this [now over the boiling point] camper. We finally got the tent most of the way up, and then went into town for a few items... one of which was better tent stakes than the ones that came with the tent.
With the tent problems finally behind us, we took off for a bike ride along the Harriman Trail. We didn't have time to ride the whole trail, but got in about five and a half miles of it, and then returned back to the campground on Idaho 75 (both paved and downhill). It was a couple of ticks short of 10 miles, but was a very pleasant ride nevertheless.
The evening sky was dark thanks to the absence of the moon, and the display was breathtaking. Even though we see a lot of stars from our own home, the darkness from our campsite provided us with an even more brilliant celestial panorama than we normally see.
Morning came, I made the run into Ketchum for Valerie's morning coffee and then we set about the task of waking up fully and slowly getting ready to return home. I made a quick breakfast of pancakes (store bought mix, just add water) and then got busy in earnest for breaking camp.
Breaking down the tent was much less frustrating than putting it up, but next time we'll have a better understanding of what-goes-where when putting the tent together!

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