We left last night to go camping at the fabulous Cuyamaca Rancho State Park and Casino last night well after the sun had set. When we got there, everyone had gone to sleep so there was no one manning the sign-in desk. Fortunately for us, they allow you to camp and pay when you check out. We set up the tent in the dark which proved to be a little tricky since it was Joe's tent and he'd never seen it put together even in the light.
We fumbled around with it for a while and got it to stand. Right or wrong, it made for a fine place to sleep. We sat and drank and played games and had a lengthy discussion about issues far to unimportant to remember several hours later when I have access to my blog.In the morning we made oats and watched the birds fly around our camp hoping for some food. This was the kind of place that people camped at often so all of the animals were pretty brave around people, seeing them as their ticket to an easy meal. Afraid of what revenge they might seek if we didn't comply, we broken out the walnuts and the camera. I set up my camera on the large rock near our campsite and put the food out to see if I could get some close-ups of the birds. What I got a battle scene.
Turns out a militant squirrel by the name of Colonel Spotty Fregan, lives underneath said rock and knows full well that a large congregation of excited birds means food is not far away. As soon as I backed away from my offering to the bird community, the birds swooped in and got their fill. But shortly there after, Colonel Spotty Fregan made his way over and cleared them out, taking what remained for himself and that little tummy he was named for. After more iterations of this than you might expect (and certainly more than my edited video indicates) Joe and I got bored and went hiking.
The hike was really pretty; it went up to a rocky peak in the middle of a burned-down wooded area. It's the second time I've been through the site of a large forest fire on this trip and I must say it's pretty stunning. The pictures don't really ever do it justice. Something about the parallax movement of the endless rows of leafless wood is really beautiful. I can't quite put my finger on it.
When we got to the summit we could quite a ways around in all directions. The landscape was a pretty baron forest that we were told was once full of amazing foliage in the autumn, but was now gone due to the fire. We could see a long winding road coming up the hills bellow us that were rather steep. At one point we watched a long traffic jam unfold before us as a sixteen-wheeler tried desperately to break the 30mph mark as it chugged up the hill. I got several pictures as more cars pilled up behind him.
I got a picture of my self up at the summit looking surly. Truth be told I'm quite a bit of pain right now. My shoulder hasn't gotten much better, I haven't been sleeping much, and when I do it's out in the woods on the ground. It's all worth it though. Only two more days to go.
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