It’s hard to sleep when you’re coming down off of exhaustion – add the fact that it’s a strange bed – and there’s more to do before leaving for the final leg of the trip, and even after reaching the end of the road, still a huge menu of chores. A tent to set up, cots to put together, camp stove and tables, chairs, fine dining at the picnic table which ends up decorated with plastic table cloths, utensils, and paper/Styrofoam plates and cups. We really know how to rough it. *laughing*

We threw the last minute touches on making sure everything was locked up and loaded – Vickie’s truck was loaded, I had to stop for gas and wash a zillion dead bugs off of the windshield. I know I took out so many of them on the trip up that there shouldn’t be any left in the world, but there they were, stuck all over the front of my truck and blocking my view…and just to give an example of how nature works, the wasps were thronging to the front of the truck to eat their dead buddies.

Out of the hotel and road hopping by 10 a.m. Mountain Time. We gain an hour when we hit the Panhandle of Idaho…Pacific Time. We raced up I-90 until we hit a few construction zones and the aftermath of a forest fire at Alberton. Down right damn scary. That highway was closed recently due to the fire. When the news said the fire was being fought right at the edge of yards and residences, they weren’t kidding. The burn was broken – in some areas the trees were scorched and dead, in some areas only small patches of grass along the highway were burned. The cause of the fire is thought to have been a vehicle that was dragging a chain or something that created sparks. That would make sense with the strange patterns of the fire.

We made it! Registered for our campsites, which we reserve on the internet the first part of May, and started the big ‘download’ – that would be all of our gear preparing for set-up. Two of our brothers live here…well hell…come to think of it our only two surviving brothers live here. They are both younger – but not by a lot. Ken is the older of the two and lives about 30 miles from the campground. He’s our main ‘wood’ man. He delivers a ton of split campfire wood for us each year…poor guy. And Vickie manages to burn almost every stick of it before we leave the campground. She’s a little pyro.

Ken showed up with a pick-up truck of wood and started unloading at my site and Vickie’s. Our sites are side by side and we pick the same spots every year. Of course we are conveniently located by the bath house. We had most of our camps set up and ready by around 6ish and Ken had to head for home. His sweet wife’s birthday is today. Her name is Vicky too! She works at the local hospital in Sandpoint and won’t make it to the campground until the weekend.

I was really running out of steam. I’d gotten up at 5 a.m. and been on the go for hours. I opened my first brew when we hit the campground but kept unloading and working as I slugged it down. Oh…and of course I blew bubbles in the middle of unloading and camp set-up. The wonderful ‘catch-a-bubble’ that hang in the air and live in the trees for hours. When the camp was pretty well set, Ryan, Kayanna, and me walked down to the lake so Kayanna could jump off the dock a few times. We didn’t stay long because din-din was almost done. Time for more tomorrow.

Our other brother, Kevin, lives about two miles up the road from the campground and works for the phone company. His wife, Gayl, works also and they arrived when the Chicken Parmesan and pasta salad was hot off the BBQ. Not to worry Vickie thinks she’s the Creative Chefette of the campground. And she is. She creates dishes like Rock Cornish Game Hens and asparagus with hollandaise and a few other things that most people couldn’t build at home let alone at a campfire. So we dined!

We hung out, next to the campfire, visiting, languishing in the fact we were together again – quality time in a serene setting – blanketed from the noise and stress of the world. As it should be!

Then I hit the wall. Time to sleep. Time to escape the body stress and escape into Sand Woman Land with my two traveling companions and my campmate. G’nite Vickie. G’nite Ryan. G’nite Kayanna. G’nite Linda.