OK: let's talk about sprinklers. You know, the things that water the grass? That keep our lawns and parks green? The things that kids like to run through? The evil things that go on at 2 in the morning and wake us up, soak our tents & all of our belongings; the things that send us running for higher ground. I have learned to NEVER trust a grounds keeper that says, "of course I turned the timer off for the sprinklers". I can imagine many a chuckling grounds keeper heading home to a nice warm, comfy bed with no sprinklers to rudely send him flying out of his tent.
Last night was no exception. Other than it was about 10:00, not 2:00. I didn't wake up, of course. Jack reached out and zipped the fly and went back to sleep. Sprinkler drops falling on our tent! The tribe members around us were scurrying around finding rocks to put on the sprinkler heads, moving their tents to higher ground. Isn't that what a rain fly is for? Unless of course you're camped on top of the sprinkler.
One year in Chelan, Linda, Scott and I were camped at the City Park. 2:00 am and the sprinklers hit full force. These were mega sprinklers. We pulled up stakes and headed for the pavilion. Sleeping on cement is really not nice. We have had many, many a sprinkler issue. Setting up camp in Bisbie, Arizona last year the sprinklers went off in the afternoon. Tribe members were hauling our mixing bowls and putting them over the sprinklers. Flying bowls, anyone? Montana one year the whole tribe got soaked at the school in Missoula. Watch out for those evil sprinklers.
Today the tribe headed up the mountain to the Hiawatha Trail. Shuttle up, ride down, shuttle up, then back to camp. I have not done this ride, but have heard it is awesome. You have to ride through a long tunnel, a couple of short ones, over a few trestles. The tribe did great: only one casualty: a faceplant over the handle bars: what a trooper: got cleaned up and continued the ride!
Jack and I had the time to take a ride. We peddled back to The Cataldo Mission. On the way we encountered the big guy pictured above. A great moose sighting! A couple miles past the moose we stopped to take the picture of the river. The other side of the trail is a tall rock wall. As soon as we sat down the chipmunk brigade began. Chipmunks scurried out of every nook and cranny you could see. All in all I think we had 14 little critters running around our feet begging for our salty nutty granola bars. You don't think I shared, do you? We found that the chipmunks also like to line up on the cliff side of the path, wait till you're about 10 yards for them, then run into the trail in pairs and come to a dead stop. They wait until you're about 3 feet away and then they split and scurry off of the trail. Chipmunk Kamikazes. !
Another highlight of our day was the Snake Pit. If you're driving across I-90 in Idaho, you must stop at the Snake Pit. It is the exit past Cataldo, take a North turn. It is a charming old log building: restaurant. They have a pacman machine! The best huckleberry ice cream I have ever tasted. The Snake Pit is a must.
Dinner tonight will be the Honey spiced pork chops, Indian curry, a yet to be determined salad, boiled new red potatoes. I'm going to have to come up with new recipes again: don't want to bore you!
Well, time for a nap or a good book until the tribe returns! More tomorrow.
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