Our unexpected campsite

Always in a game of catch-up with my photojournal...

July 17-18, 2011:

On Sunday, I was all ready to go camping, but Lucas wasn't feeling well. Still, I prodded him to, just to get out of the house and away from the humdrum everyday life.

Rusty sez: "Humdrum? I'm not humdrum!"

Lucas and I set out for Goat Lake Trail, although he wasn't feeling good at all, what with intestinal/ankle trouble. He got me to drive all the way up to Arlington before a woman at the Food Pavillion told us it was in Granite Falls.
` At about this time, I got a call from Anthony. Turns out, HE had just tried to call Lucas' phone, and it was at the Safeway we had just stopped at!
` It was a good thing, because Lucas had thought he'd left it at home!
` As the Safeway was along the way back, we went back there and then continued to the Mountain Loop Highway. Lucas begged me to take him back home, so we wound up compromising and just stopping at a car campsite. Boring!
` But, as it required no walking, and it had a regular bathroom, yet was far away from our house, I thought it was a good place to stop. So, in lieu of hiking, I put my boots on and then jogged around the place for a little while.

Our campsite was next to this river:

As usual, Wonkyfoot has followed me:

The trees around there were all so covered in moss:

Home is where you hang your sleeping bag:

The sun has finally come out!

This picture is up the river:

Another one several minutes later:

We only had enough wood for one small campfire, so we saved it for morning. In the meantime, we had an interesting night light:

By nightfall there was, as usual, Wonkyfoot-associated UFO activity. Yawn.

The river the next morning:

Evidently, there was some sort of scuffle during the night:

Lovely morning:

The river again:

The shiny water:

Me on a big rock:

Looking up the river again:

Looking back toward the shore:

The trees:

Our tent:

It's not very far from our car!

Trees, trees, everywhere!

More trees:

Bye, river!

Back to my plane-makin' civilization:

And when we got home... no comment, LOL!

It was not long until we realized that Rusty had been missing since the night before, and I got worried about him. Even so, I stopped to pick the raspberries.

Here's the large variety:

Have some, Vada!

Come on, now! Let's go find Rusty!

But then, some barking poodles scared her away, all the way from up here!

Then, hours later, who should show up at the door? Rusty! He gave a meow and did a little dance, jumping by lifting his paws off the ground one at a time. Very strange! Wherever he's been, he's glad to be back!
` Then he went to join Vada in staring down our neighbor's cat Mr Yoboshi:

He doesn't know why she stares at him with such hostility, as you can probably tell.

She must have the loudest stare of any cat I know!

Boring!

Rusty was like, "Hey!! But I like him!"

After this, however, Rusty disappeared again and hasn't come back. I suspect that Vada has chased him off, perhaps with that very stare!
` Poor Rusty. I love the fuzzball. And his piles of debris.

Also, I realize this post has very little substance -- I mostly just crammed in as many photos as probably would not crash the average browser. For the rest of my July photos, click here!

There'll be a lot more next time!