Steve and I are back from our trip to Lost Creek Lake! What a great time we had. It's hard to believe that such a lovely campground is a mere 45 minutes from our house. It really felt like a place for the elite and well-to-do, and yet, it was a state park! We paid only $24 each night, what an incredible deal!

After lunch yesterday, we planned on going on a long photo walk, but as we were about to leave, our plans abruptly changed.

RVs have three tanks that need to be monitored: the fresh water tank (50 gallon), the "grey water" tank (42 gallon) and the "black tank" (26 gallon). "Grey water" is from the sinks and shower; the "black tank" is just what you are thinking it is! There's a gauge that gives a readout on how full each tank is and they are notoriously inaccurate. Still, we have no other way to read the amount, ugh.

We were surprised to see that our grey water tank was nearly full at mid-day on our second day. Then, when we were about to leave on our walk, Steve checked it again and it was reading full. ACK! That put the brakes on any other plans and became our top priority.

Not that it was a huge deal. The campground had a dumping station that was only a couple of minutes' drive from our site, but it did mean hooking the trailer back up to the truck and driving it over there and back. Our initial thought was, OMG what a Pain In The A**!! But it only took a few minutes to stow anything that might fall over. I put a few things on the picnic table--including Pumpkin in her travel cage! Before we knew it, the trailer was hooked to the truck, the wheel chalks were out of the way (in case there was any slope, "chalks" anchor the tires to keep the trailer from rolling) and Steve left me to guard the fort with Molly in her outside pen and Pumpkin on the picnic table. We were all happy as clams. The last detail was our walkie-talkies! We have a pair of very powerful walkies that are sensitive to more than a mile away!

I chilled out in our super-comfy bungee lounge chairs while Chicken chortled at all the things she saw. I was working on a crossword puzzle when I heard Steve over the walkie..."I'm done and heading back!" It had been just 15 minutes! WOOT!

A couple of minutes later he was backing the trailer into place and soon we were all settled. Hooray!!

We decided that dinner was in order so Steve fired up our grill for a pair of burgers and I set the table with all the condiments a person would want—avocado slices, onions, mayo, ketchup, spinach leaves and just in case, dill relish! The burgers came covered with melted cheese to die for—and we'd forgotten what grilled burgers tasted like! What a delicious meal we had. This camping business seems to suit us I think. :)

With our hunger out of the way, we rounded up our gear, stowed the chicken (Pumpkin, of course!) and Molly in the camper and headed off for our little hike.

We ended up heading out to the same area we'd been cycling on our first evening and it was just wonderful. I was hoping to get some pictures of three things:
1) I'd found some plants that had tiny white flowers sitting in a bed of great big green leaves.
2) There were some plants with lovely stalks of white flowers that I wanted pictures of.
3) Ferns!! I saw lots of them on our bike rides and hoped to get some pictures

In the end, I was 100% successful! And then some! Steve and I had such a wonderful time. We strolled along, enjoying the incredible beauty of this place and I got so many lovely images! We had marvelous conversation as we went and soaked up the soothing atmosphere aw we went.

The funny thing is that we both knew and enjoyed this place in the past. But it was only as a very temporary visitor. As a several-day resident camper, we could know this place at a different capacity. It was so much more. Both of us could see what it was like as a drive-in hiker...it was like a watered-down cup of coffee compared to this new experience. How amazing to have a new understanding of this place. And the revelation that, as RV campers, we would have deeper connections with all of the places we stopped at in the future. Something to think about...how awesome.

Today's picture is my choice for Happy Fence Friday! It's really a "double fence". Ok, it's a pedestrian bridge, starring Steve! We went on a walk from our campsite and down to a view of Lost Creek Lake. There was a beautiful little bridge nestled in a deep forest of ferns and thick woods and I asked Steve to walk to the far side and pose for me. Voila! My Happy Fence Friday picture! :)

Pam, I did a search for "fence" and found some of your "ice storm" images...this one with ice-laden branches and a fence in the background were just right for a HFF image but still...*shakes head*….what a shame. I hope that you had a good day. Thank you so much for your enthusiastic comments about our trip. *BIG HUGS* You're the best! :)

Explored on 5/10/19; highest placement #9.