I got back from Maryland on Friday and Aaron had everything packed and ready to go. I did a quick packing of warmer clothes, showered (yes, I know it doesn't make sense to shower before camping, but traveling makes me feel icky), and we headed up!
Friday night was a quick night. We got there around 7, set up camp, and make campfire pizzas in our new (crappy Walmart version - I want a nicer one someday) campfire iron! (Disregard the burned part... it tasted fine!) Then we were lame (and I was on East-coast time) and we went to bed a little earlier than normal.
Saturday morning started at 5:30, when the pups internal clocks said "this is what time we go outside, so since we are not contained in crates, we will sit on your faces until we can go outside." Literally. Gus took over my pillow while he licked Aaron's face... Lucy took over my shins and whapped her tail back and forth on Aaron's knees. So outside we went... Luckily, they were convinced to go back to sleep until 7.
Aaron made egg-in-a-nests for breakfast while I packed us up for hiking. While we were cleaning up from breakfast, we saw some elk on the other side of the ravine from our site. Gus was determined to make it known to all in hearing distance that there were large animals over there. We got it. They were big. There were 3 of them.
So after all of the excitement, we headed out for a "hike". Turns out, the trail was about 100 yards and led to more campsites in the area that you cannot access by car. Cool, but not really enough hiking to tire out the pups or us. So we walked down the Fire Evacuation Route. It was nice... Gus chased lizards and ate all of the plants, Lucy tried to stay in the shade and shied away from any 4-wheelers or dirt bikes.
Once we got back, we napped, ate snacks, and I read my book. Sometime in the snacking segment of the afternoon, Gus and Aaron simultaneously spotted one of those very large elk right next to the Jeep. Lucy was NOT thrilled. She shimmied out of her harness and ran to my feet, realized the elk was closer in that location, and ran to the tent. Aaron let her in while I grabbed Gus and climbed into the Jeep with him (mostly so that he would be quiet and not scare that very large animal into doing something not good and also because I was equally NOT thrilled with the enormous wild animal in our campsite). Aaron originally climbed mostly into the tent with Lucy, and then decided to make a couple trips back and forth from the picnic table that housed our snacks) to the Jeep so that the elk would not consume our evening snacks. The elk, clearly accustomed to humans and camping and whatnot, mostly just hung out and disappointed-ly watched Aaron relocate the food... and then tried to eat our paper plates. Aaron was on the other side of the picnic table the whole time. He is a brave man. I would not have stood there.
So once everybody was calmed down from that, we went for another walk. Not long... it was hot, but enough to help the pups release some pent up elk-inspired-energy.
After the second walk, we got back to camp and had a few brews while we waited for a more appropriate time to start dinner. As we were sitting there, the damn elk came back with its friends! Once again, Gus and I got into the Jeep, accompanied this time by Lucy, and my brave (and slightly delusional) husband, took video of these gigantic things while they surveyed the site, decided they didn't want our beer bottles (they missed out... it was a Raspberry Brown Ale and some Founders IPA), and moved on.
We then decided a fire would keep them away and started making potatoes and hot dogs for dinner.
A few un-eventful hours, some more brews, and some s'mores later, we went to bed.
Around 5am, Gus woke up and barked at something (cue all of the possible worst case scenarios my mind could come up with... random people, elk, mountain lions... I'm nothing, if not reasonable and sane). About 2 minutes later, an elk somewhere not-too-close-but-close-enough made their weird calling noise. Well, let me just say that my paranoid mind jumped straight over the reasonable "they are elk and they call each other and they are not going to come near us" to "there is a mountain lion outside of our tent and the nearby elk are scared of it and we are going to die." Paranoia, it's a thing... I have it. Also, to make matters worse, I had to use the bathroom. So being the super nice and normal wife that I am, I woke up Aaron, leashed up the pups, and forced them into making a group bathroom trip with me! There were no elk... there were no mountain lions...
After a few hours of very interrupted (thanks to many subsequent elk-calls and fidgety puppies) later, we woke up, had breakfast (College Street Brewery's Sweet Devel Stout mixed with some iced coffee and some egg-in-a-nests shaped like Browns and Redskins logos, in honor of the impending NFL season), and headed out.
I have to say it was the most eventful camping trip that I can recall; but we survived and I would totally go back again! Plus, it tires the pups out for about 2 days...
I don't know what kind of wild animals Virginia has in it's campgrounds, but I'm sure my mind will imagine something insanely unrealistic when a harmless bunny hops by...
Aaron made egg-in-a-nests for breakfast while I packed us up for hiking. While we were cleaning up from breakfast, we saw some elk on the other side of the ravine from our site. Gus was determined to make it known to all in hearing distance that there were large animals over there. We got it. They were big. There were 3 of them.
So after all of the excitement, we headed out for a "hike". Turns out, the trail was about 100 yards and led to more campsites in the area that you cannot access by car. Cool, but not really enough hiking to tire out the pups or us. So we walked down the Fire Evacuation Route. It was nice... Gus chased lizards and ate all of the plants, Lucy tried to stay in the shade and shied away from any 4-wheelers or dirt bikes.
Once we got back, we napped, ate snacks, and I read my book. Sometime in the snacking segment of the afternoon, Gus and Aaron simultaneously spotted one of those very large elk right next to the Jeep. Lucy was NOT thrilled. She shimmied out of her harness and ran to my feet, realized the elk was closer in that location, and ran to the tent. Aaron let her in while I grabbed Gus and climbed into the Jeep with him (mostly so that he would be quiet and not scare that very large animal into doing something not good and also because I was equally NOT thrilled with the enormous wild animal in our campsite). Aaron originally climbed mostly into the tent with Lucy, and then decided to make a couple trips back and forth from the picnic table that housed our snacks) to the Jeep so that the elk would not consume our evening snacks. The elk, clearly accustomed to humans and camping and whatnot, mostly just hung out and disappointed-ly watched Aaron relocate the food... and then tried to eat our paper plates. Aaron was on the other side of the picnic table the whole time. He is a brave man. I would not have stood there.
So once everybody was calmed down from that, we went for another walk. Not long... it was hot, but enough to help the pups release some pent up elk-inspired-energy.
We then decided a fire would keep them away and started making potatoes and hot dogs for dinner.
A few un-eventful hours, some more brews, and some s'mores later, we went to bed.
Around 5am, Gus woke up and barked at something (cue all of the possible worst case scenarios my mind could come up with... random people, elk, mountain lions... I'm nothing, if not reasonable and sane). About 2 minutes later, an elk somewhere not-too-close-but-close-enough made their weird calling noise. Well, let me just say that my paranoid mind jumped straight over the reasonable "they are elk and they call each other and they are not going to come near us" to "there is a mountain lion outside of our tent and the nearby elk are scared of it and we are going to die." Paranoia, it's a thing... I have it. Also, to make matters worse, I had to use the bathroom. So being the super nice and normal wife that I am, I woke up Aaron, leashed up the pups, and forced them into making a group bathroom trip with me! There were no elk... there were no mountain lions...
After a few hours of very interrupted (thanks to many subsequent elk-calls and fidgety puppies) later, we woke up, had breakfast (College Street Brewery's Sweet Devel Stout mixed with some iced coffee and some egg-in-a-nests shaped like Browns and Redskins logos, in honor of the impending NFL season), and headed out.
I don't know what kind of wild animals Virginia has in it's campgrounds, but I'm sure my mind will imagine something insanely unrealistic when a harmless bunny hops by...
Exciting but scary!!!!!!!#
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