Sunday, Jul. 15

Jeannie & family got a fairly early start back to Sacramento. Donald announced he would like to take the long drive through the Park, which is estimated to add about an hour onto the trip. I settled back into my blue lounger, having sent the anti-gravity thing with them, and figured I would have a quiet day to reflect on my trip. It's Sunday, the campground is emptying out, and it should be quiet as a tomb - right?

A family drove in around Noon and began examining sites all around me. There was a Casita in the site next to me, but they were parked far enough away and I never heard a peep out of them the entire time they were there. The Mom of the new family had a very loud and projecting voice, and was extremely picky about whatever it was they were looking for. I later found out they were meeting another family or two, all having driven a good distance, and they wanted something that would accommodate them. Unfortunately they found it in the campsites behind me. Oh, that voice!

The other family or families arrived and tents were set up. The men must have been sitting together while the women and kids set up the tents, and they laughed loudly throughout the rest of the day. A tent was set up for several of the young teen boys which came close to encroaching on my site. The children themselves, a whole bunch of them, had no problem cutting through my site close enough I could feel the swoosh of air as they went by. This continued throughout the evening.

The boys went back and forth to the lake with their fishing gear, each time walking through my site, but I figured their parents were to blame for not teaching them proper manners, so I engaged them in small talk for a few minutes about the fishing prospects. The girls went back and forth to the bathrooms, and some of them tried to avoid walking through my site while others were clueless.

The men got louder and louder and one had a laugh that set your nerves on edge - sort of like when someone scrapes a blackboard with their fingernails. I think most readers will remember blackboards. When the hosts came around in early evening I mentioned I thought it would be a long night. "Nah", he said, "they've come from a long distance away and have been drinking heavily, so they will pass out early and crawl into their tents". He was spot on about that!

Two young women drove up to my site in a National Park truck and introduced themselves as camp hosts at Summit Lake South. They were sent over to meet me and request that I try to stop by the Manzanita Lake entry station in the morning to talk to Sheryl. We chatted for a while and they went on their way. It was so nice to meet them.

Also I noticed a police car driving past the entry station, but it wasn't close enough for me to see it was a CHP car. Later, Andy told me it was the officer who was so nice to come and check on me when I had the problem with the thugs who brought a "church youth group". When the officer, Mike, mentioned me, Andy told him I was camped just a little ways into the CG, but I evidently was not at my site if he drove by. The local county police and highway patrol were a great comfort to me after that fiasco.

I made a nice small campfire and enjoyed the evening. The next morning I woke early as I usually do, and didn't worry about being too quiet so as not to wake the the neighbors. I did that for my kids for an hour or two, but these campers didn't inspire so much care on my part, although I would never intentionally disturb anyone. I took my time, mainly folding my tent and packing all the gear into the car. There is no way to unlock the bear box without making a lot of noise, and of course you have to lock it back up each time because the eagle-eyed chipmunks are waiting hopefully.

I did stop by and spoke with Sheryl for a while, then drove Donald's route through over the park road. These are some pictures I took along the way, mostly views of the Peak. I also used my film cameras but of course I won't have those photos until I finish the film rolls and get them developed.







The first couple of days back in Sacramento were fairly nice ones, not too hot, and breezy. The last two have descended into hell and it looks like that will continue for the next week. I'm going to try to wait until Tuesday and leave in the afternoon after the trash pickup. As hot as it is I don't want the trash can sitting in my driveway percolating. The trucks don't necessarily arrive early (there will be two this Tuesday, one for recycling), so I might leave on Wednesday morning. My hope is to find a place to camp for a night or two.