A Camping Interlude

Somehow the stars and planets aligned this week and b and I had 48 hours where no one required our presence.  And so we went camping.

Of course we took Pupzilla.

There was much needed rest and relaxation around a campfire.

And the occasional light refreshment.

There was also reading by b and grading by me.

Pupzilla spent most of her time sleeping in the tent.

She did go on a nice long walk with me on Saturday.

The fall colors in SouthLite are nowhere near as intense as UpNorth but they are pretty nonetheless.

I think the blue skies make up for it.

Regardless of where you live, it is always pleasant to walk through the leaves.

Of course, no camping trip is complete without b's scrumptious dinners.  This time he made ribs in the dutch oven.

Remnants

Two things have stayed with me from our camping/hiking vacation.  The first is my bruised toe nails:

They don't hurt anymore but every time I look at my feet I think about our hikes.


The other is this book that I read while hanging out in the campsite.  The book is written by the first boy to ever ask me out on a date.  It was in sixth grade and he asked me to go see Annie with him.  The date and the romance never happened (good reasons for both) but a good friendship did.  We were friends through middle school and high school.  After high school I lost touch with just about everyone.  Then last year he found me on Facebook.  He is now living in Australia and working as a psychiatric nurse and, it appears, writing amazing books.


The book was not available in the US when he first contacted me and then when it became available I was busy with the semester.  Since summertime is when I do most of my fun reading I thought it would be a great read for a vacation.  


The book is a series of connected short stories but reads more like a novel.  The protagonist ages across the stories and there is a sense of progression and of narrative throughout the book that is never actually stated.  Reviews mention the sparseness and the humanity of his writing.  I would say both are right on.  It is a post-apocalyptic novel/series of stories and sometimes rather grim but mostly what I took from it is what it means to be a survivor and how we are all struggling to survive in a world we don't quite get. 


If you are looking for something to read this summer, this is definitely it. 

Down From The Mountains

We're back from our hiking vacation.  We went west and north (to the state directly above us), where we hiked and camped on mountains.  I love the mountains and the coast but in very different ways.  I love the two combined the best.  (See last year's vacation).  But I live directly in the middle.

We spent the first two days at a gorgeous state park.  We weren't thrilled with the campsites themselves but the park was beautiful.  We had our best hike on our first full day of the trip.  We hiked 10 miles, mostly above the tree line, using loops (b hates going straight out and back).  The weather was perfect.  It was sunny and warm but not too hot and there was a gentle breeze in the air.  The trails were crowded but the people friendly.

View I from our campsite

View II from our campsite

Cocktails and snacks before dinner

b, as usual, cooked us delicious meals.  He concocted a dirty rice chicken dish the first night and a chicken/mac&cheese/string bean combo the next.  They may sound strange but they tasted wonderful.

Our next hike was shorter (6 miles) and not as interesting.  The section of the trail was quite lovely but it didn't vary much.  It felt like a long straight path through the woods.  It was also considerably hotter and muggier.

We generally intersperse campsites with motel rooms on these kinds of trips so that night we found a motel, showered and ate in a restaurant.  Finding decent places to eat when b wasn't cooking turned out to be the hardest part of the trip.  It was sad to see how many independent establishments have closed in the small towns, leaving residents with nothing but fast food options.

This was actually one of the better meals/establishments

We drove on a scenic, curvy parkway back down to our own state.  It was a pretty and fun drive and we saw a lot of bikers: both the motorcycle and bicycle kind.  There are also trails along the way, so we could stop and hike whenever we wanted.  One trail we hiked was very short but had lots of steep climbs.  It was a fun little challenge with some pretty views.

The trail we hiked the most was the AT.  We used to hike parts of it on a regular basis when we lived UpNorth.  We were very lucky to live close to a section of the trail.  The AT is my favorite place to hike and this was our first opportunity to hike it since we moved south.  One day we hope to do it completely but I would need to take a 6-month leave of absence and that is not happening anytime soon.  Also, Pupzilla is now to old to hike it with us and we wouldn't be comfortable leaving her for that long.

We ended the trip in a vacation/university town.  The town is known for its skiing (which in the South seems a little strange to me) and reminded me of a smaller version of Boulder.  We were able to get decent food here as well a perused a few independent bookstores and an outdoor equipment retailer (always a favorite past time for b).  It was very cute and charming and we were quite amused there.

Met this beauty in a bookstore

Painting in the bathroom of a local breakfast spot

Our last hike was right outside this little city, in a brand new state park that seemed to have nothing in it but this brand new trail.  The trail was only 1.3 miles each way but it was straight up.  The day was hot but luckily we were high enough to get a nice breeze.  The view at the top was spectacular and worth the climb.  The trail itself was too well maintained for my hardcore husband.

b taking a picture of the view

Very well-maintained trail

It is nice to be home but even nicer to look forward to our next vacation.  In just three weeks we'll be heading UpNorth to see friends and family.

Gone Campin'

Headed out to the mountains with my sweetie for a week.  I'll catch you all on the other side.

A Camping Interlude

Last month b and I realized that between both of our schedules we had not spent more than a day together (and usually it was an errand day) in over a month and we were unlikely to do so again before the end of the semester. So he put in for 2 days off in the middle of this week and I carefully guarded those two days on my calendar.

b rigs the tarp as I watch from inside the tent.

With only 48 hours to call our own we decided not to do the "longer drive-more gear" paddling version of camping and instead we went to our favorite nearby campsite. This spot is our home-away-from-home and where we sometimes do Thanksgiving. It is only a 20 minute drive and in the middle of the week the tent sites are pretty much empty.

We did almost all the prep the morning we left, including buying some yummy food at our local gourmet supermarket. We also finally bought new camping chairs. Then b loaded up the car, I grabbed Pupzilla and off we went.

I get some fiction writing done with Pupzilla by my side.

It was an overcast day and we got a little bit of rain passing through. We stayed warm and dry and soon the sun was shining. Our camping trips usually revolve around food and this one was no different. b cooked us scallops, cheesy potatoes and string beans for dinner the first night; an eggbake for breakfast in the morning; and lamb stew on the last night.

b prepared a lovely feast for two.

It was a relaxing trip. We spent most of our time reading trashy sci-fi novels and staring at the fire. We didn't even talk as much as we usually do but that was fine by us. Sometimes you just need to shut it all off.

Pupzilla keeps an eye out for intruders.

Last Chance

It is "the week before" this week. The week before classes start. The week all good faculty come home to roost. The week of meetings and orientations. This week is not a week I particularly enjoy. I will enjoy next week--when I'm actually in front of a class--more but really I like it when we're a week or two into a semester and I start to feel the groove.

b and I managed to have one last summer fling this weekend. We woke up early (well early for us) Friday morning and drove over 4 hours to the coast. It started raining and then pouring about halfway there but shortly after reaching our destination the skies cleared.

We packed our boats and started paddling.

We reached a pier that is fairly well hidden.

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We tied our boats to the pier, unloaded and carried our gear to the beach.

We set-up our tent and then b cooked us a lovely dinner (linguini w/ broccoli in a red sauce) while I drank a very cold Guinness. The beach was ours all night and for most of the next day. It seems the sea turtles hatch their young this time of year and no vehicles are allowed on the beach. We had a few people come by boat but they didn't stay long. We swam and lounged and swatted at flies (15 kills - most of the b's).

There was a small shelter with two picnic tables but b set up a tarp so we could lie in the sand and enjoy the shade.

Dinner the second night was salmon with green beans and yellow rice. Cocktails were whiskey and tequila. Dessert was Hershey's chocolate bars (dark chocolate for me). The next morning, after breakfast, we started the paddle/drive back to reality.

RBOC: Links Edition

• May has pretty much come and gone and I realize its been over a month since I've updated the blogosphere on the minutiae of my life.
• I've also noticed that my rate of posting this year is less than half of what I was doing last year. A while back I decided to use blogging as a reward for writing. That system never really got off the ground but I have been writing--academic writing that is--up a storm so there is just less time to blog. This is a good thing but I miss thinking in a bloggy way about my life.
• I have continued my Twitter experiment but find I use it more to follow than to tweet. I like to tweet but often get lost in other people's worlds and forget about my own.
• I'm using TweetDeck and can also follow Facebook friends.
• My Facebook friends are not as interesting as my Twitter friends.
• Personally I think Twitter is old news now that NIH is in the act.
• I've come to the conclusion that reward systems don't work well for me. I either get into the act of doing something and the doing is the reward itself or I just don't.
• I haven't gotten back into physical activity yet this summer--especially my core plans--but there is still time and hope.
• I have made some progress on my summer reading lists. I've read two of the fiction books, added and read a third, and have just started Always Coming Home by LeGuin. For the nonfiction I'm reading three of the books at once.
• You can keep up with the progress by joining me on GoodReads.
• I have a few Barnes & Noble giftcards and am looking forward to a day of shopping.
• Angel is home and working. There is much more to be said on that but I'll leave that for its own post.
• Termites are still swarming. It seems this can go on for 3 months after treatment. Unfortunately a colony seems to live in the attic directly above the bathroom. Termites in the tub--not so pleasant.
• Family news continues to be bad. There seems to be a cancer outbreak in both mine and b's families.
• The economy is hitting my family extremely hard. I find myself asking--where do people go when they are out of options?
• I'm working on grant #2. I need a full draft by Monday night so b and I can go camping for 2 days. The finished product needs to be routed by June 9th.
• We'd like to go back to the lake and spend two days paddling but b has just informed that it will be 90 degrees both days. Between the heat and the grant I may decide to stay inside.

RBOC: Rainy Day Edition

• Its a rainy chilly Saturday here at SouthLite and b has to work. I'm wearing old sweatpants, a fleece and some flipflops (soon to be replaced with socks). I'm planning a full day of writing and grading papers with a big pot of coffee by my side.
• I'm such a nerd that the above bullet sounds exciting to me. I don't know why I love my work so much but I often plan whole days with it the way others might plan to slip away with a lover.
• NIH has issued "challenge grants" as part of the economic stimulus package. Last week I decided I'd write one. They are due on April 27th. I may be insane.
• I've pulled a great team together for the grant. This was actually pretty easy since everyone knew they should be writing one but no one wanted to take the lead.
• Writing NIH grants was a huge part of my life for many years but I've yet to do one in SouthLite. I definitely have a love-hate relationship with them.
• Camping was great. We went right after I decided to write the grant and that gave me some quiet time to collect my thoughts on it.
• This was my first kayak camping expedition. We only went for one night but are planning a longer trip after the semester. We paddled to an island in the middle of a lake. No one was there but a mess of deer.
• I really prefer the ocean.
• Angel spent the week on his first backpacking trip. He's not back yet so I don't know how it went but I remember my backpacking days in my late teens. It was my first experience of truly getting away to nature and I loved it. I loved hefting a weight on my back. I loved making it to the top of a climb; taking it off and enjoying the view. I loved having to be efficient with all that you do. I hope he loved it too.
• b has slowly been getting bad news about his brother. We found out he has colon cancer a few weeks ago. Surgery was successful but now tumors have been found in his brain. Information is still coming out piecemeal and he appears to be refusing any aggressive treatment. b is being a wonderful brother and son (I do feel the worst for his mother) but would like to be able to do something. It is hard to come to grips with the fact that all you can really do is be there when someone needs you.

Leave No Trace

b is a "Leave No Trace" master. In addition to the the impressive title, it means he gets to spend the next two days training people to become "Leave No Trace" trainers. To conduct the training he must, of course, go camping. So tonight he is out there sleeping in our new tent while I am here snuggled in our new bed. Pupzilla, who generally has mixed feelings about camping, was not allowed on this trip.

I'm not really sure what occurs at the training but I do know the seven principles of Leave No Trace are covered. They are:

1. Plan ahead and prepare
2. Travel and camp on durable surfaces
3. Dispose of waste properly
4. Leave what you find
5. Minimize campfire impacts
6. Respect wildlife
7. Be considerate of other visitors

I think most of these work as well indoors as outdoors.

Easter Camping

We like to camp on holidays. Thanksgiving is probably the best. b is an amazing dutch oven cook and can create an entire Thanksgiving spread in the woods. He spends the day cooking, while Boy, Pupzilla and I laze around the campsite. At some point we all go off for a nice hike. After dinner it's apple cobbler and cocoa around the campfire while b reads from A Christmas Carol.

This year our state had a burn ban and there was no Thanksgiving camping.

So with our new tent arriving last week and the ban being lifted, we were very psyched for an Easter camping trip. We keep things simple and go to a pretty campground not far from home. The complications this year was b's work schedule and my mother's visit. b was scheduled to work until 4 pm on Saturday and needed to be back to work very very early Monday morning. Mom's flight came in a 5:30 Saturday evening.

It took some hustling but we managed to get everything and body (except Boy who was working all weekend long) to the campsite before sunset. We had cocktails and talked and b cooked spinach lasagna. A beautiful spring day turned into a crisp and chilly night but we had a raging fire to keep us warm. The new tent is a dream. It's comfortable and roomy without being large and it has a very cool vestibule and lots of vents and windows. In the morning b made his famous egg bake and then it was time for a hike.

Normally we would have spent Sunday night but it made no sense with his schedule. So we packed up and came home. We were pleasantly surprised that Boy had a 3 hour break and could meet us for lunch. The day ended with a very late but yummy supper and some cobbler. We are all stuffed and sleepy and Pupzilla is passed out on her bed.