Monday, March 30, 2009

What's that smoky, burny smell?

Is that an ash in my food?

Last night the toilet paper in the crusty ladies room ran out after the office closed, and it hadn't been replaced by the time I left. I vented my spleen at the poor guy working the desk, which didn't get me any money back, but at least my complaint was heard. And probably ignored.

I rode off into another beautiful sunny windy day, which was fortunately a crosswind most of the day. Not the tailwind I had hoped for, but better than a headwind. Around mid-afternoon I reached the lovely Airey Lake Camp, which is free of charge, courtesy of the USFS. Thank you! It's nice to see my tax dollars come back to me. I have realized that, with a few outliers, my love of a campsite is inversely proportional to the price I pay to stay in it. Anywho, this place has everything I need: a dry little flat-topped hill on which to set my tent without fear of flooding, a pump with nice clean water, and a sturdy little brick toilethouse where I may end up weathering tomorrow's storms. The prediction is not good, so I figured I may as well hole up in the free campground and take a day off. No reason to push myself too hard too soon (in yucky weather!), since I'm kinda starting off cold again.

I got here early enough in the day to clean some stuff and make a nice dinner. For a little while I was smelling smoke, but a call to the fire people informed me that there is a prescribed burn a ways downwind of me, so everything is cool. The call also informed me that my meager cell reception here may be just barely good enough for slow internet, but talking is pretty much right out.

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

Glad to hear you made it to a better campsite.No deliverance experiences.LOL.gMaybe your reception will work better tomorrow.Talked to the powers that be and Austin is in the future for sure!
NB

Minnesotajo said...

Did you know that Grandpa was the person who implemented the prescribed burn requirement in Minnesota? They called it a controlled burn at that time. If I remember correctly I heard he had a lot of sleepless nights and stress because everyone was fighting against him on it. But, he knew what was right! You should ask him the details when you see him because it was quite a "to do" at the time. I think it must have been back in the 1940s or early 50s.

cheri said...

I think we talked about that when I was there. Or maybe it was on the video? I'll be sure to ask him about it. I have not spent any time discussing ecosystems with that man.