After a busy morning of camper packing and traveling, both LC and I were a little tired, so the seven mile trip back to Challis was brief.
I wanted to take pictures of the down town area, but decided as we were driving that the pictures would have to wait for another day.
With such a small town we easily found the place I would be going to the next day, and then easily found a store to pick up a few groceries to last us for the next couple of days.
On the drive back to the camp ground we stopped briefly so that I could take these pictures.
It was late afternoon by this time.
The sun was already beginning to make its slow decent, shadows were beginning to lengthen, and the vivid colors that we had enjoyed a few hours earlier were even more vivid now.
Leaving LC and a tired puppy in the Tahoe I climbed out, walked over to the edge of the river bank, and stood for a few moments looking in both directions.
Reds and yellows everywhere, mountains close by and mountains in the distance, and a clear Salmon River slowly but irrevocably snaking its way north....................
Within 10 minutes of our return to the camp ground I kissed a bundled up LC and a curled up puppy, and climbed out of the camper hoping that both man and dog would rest well.
I was tired as well but (as usual) was also running on nervous energy and needed to move.
The plan was to explore some more, and then wake up man and beast in time for man to cook woman some dinner.
For the second time in a couple of hours I walked to the far end of the campground, turned left and wandered down to the boat ramp.
In June all of this rocky shoreline was under water, but now that there was a place to walk I headed in the direction of the bridge, curious as a little kid to see what was on the other side..................
I smelled him before I saw him.
As I was readying to duck underneath the bridge I smelled the skunk and quickly looked around me, hoping that I was not in close proximity to one of these little black and whites beasts.
He lay dead in the grass.................
An interesting picture taken from underneath the bridge...............
Once on the other side of the bridge I continued walking the newly exposed shore line, curious to see how far I could go.
Not far as it turned out, and once I had quickly hit a fence that cordoned off private property I made the instant decision to head back the way I had come, walk up to the two lane highway and take a couple of pictures from on top of the bridge...................
Private property on the opposite side of the highway from the campground................
A view looking south.
Challis was seven miles south of the camp ground................
I was heading for the middle of the bridge to take some unobscured pictures of the river.
As I climbed the small rise leading up to the bridge I looked down at the gravel road that had just been traveled - the one that led down to the boat ramp.
There is a camp site there. Only one
As we had pulled in a few hours earlier and realized that our homeless friend was still here, I had forgotten about this site.
It is separate from the rest of the camp ground but anyone wanting to launch their boat would need to pass right by campers.
It would have been a good place to camp on this trip (or at some other quiet time of year), but certainly not during the summer..................
So far I was having very low key and quiet experiences at this campground.
In truth we had come to Challis with no agendas what-so-ever other than my attendance at an event the next day.
We had no idea whether we would do much serious exploring. No idea how many days we would stay. Nothing.
And somehow none of that mattered.
It was somehow freeing and incredibly relaxing to just take whatever was in front of me at the time and just go with it.
And so I walked a rocky river side and then turned back when I ran out of shore. And then I walked up to the road and crossed over a bridge.
And saw this.................
And this....................
Sights on the way back to the camp ground.
A small ladder to cross up and over a fence..............
By the time I got back to the camp ground cows had made their appearance in the adjoining field.
Walking quietly (so as to not make a lot of noise in the gravel and disturb Kory, who I knew would immediately begin to bark) I walked over to the jake fence, put one foot up on the lowest rail, and stared at the cows who were already staring back at me.................
An estimated 75 cattle were spread out over an estimated 20 acre parcel of lush ground, but the cattle close to the fence immediately became more interested in me than they were in grazing.
As I silently watched them I thought of LC.
He had raised cattle both as a boy and as a man, and had told me many times how relaxing it was to watch them.
He was right.....................
Glancing over at the camper I reached into the side pocket of my pants and pulled out my cell phone to check the time.
They had been sleeping for about 90 minutes and it was time to wake them.
There was little daylight left and although the day had been very warm, I could already feel that it was going to be a very cold night.
We needed to start a fire. To heat some coffee. To heat some food. To dig out layers of clothing and blankets to get through both the evening and the overnight.
I love this picture.
Not necessarily because of the content of it, because generally the truck, the camper and some trees are pretty mundane subject matter.
Rather, what I like is the "feel" of the picture.
The blues and greys and flowing clouds in the sky against the colors on the ground.
The remnants of a beautiful day and the promise of a cold night.
The shadows extending further and further into the campground..................
I thought that when I climbed into the camper LC would immediately wake up and my pup would immediately stand up on the bed to greet me.
LC continued to sleep.
Kory was curled up on the bed beside LC, and although she looked up at me she did not move aside from a quick tail thump.
Oh boy! These two were VERY tired.
I gently reached down and raised the ever present daytime-nap-baseball-cap and a tired and still half asleep man looked up at me and smiled.
I smiled back.
Time to get up. To make a fire and heat some water and dig out some food and dig out some extra blankets and jackets.
It was going to be dark soon..................
Let us step into the night and pursue that flighty temptress, adventure.........JK Rowling
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