Through The Mud Clearly

A cool picture near "Columbus Creek"
Daniel and his log at The Red Rock River
Skunks' view of camp.
Daniel
Bethany


The Red Rock River

Wednesday...and what a Wednesday it is! As usual; we sit around the fire, drinking coffee and thinking about breakfast. Kathy makes some awesome breakfast burritos for the occasion. After breakfast Bethany and Daniel go on a bug catching spree, play in the water and just have fun. Snacks are involved. The last of the oatmeal pies have been eaten and I think Danny has hidden the pecan swirls in a secret location. There is talk of buying much more Little Debbie snacks for the next camping trip! (Hey!!! I just remembered I only got 1 brownie....hmmmm...wonder who ate 'em all). Lunch time is approaching. We dine on chicken & shrimp quesadillas, black beans and probably something else. At some point during the meal it becomes evident that none of us would be able to finish their food. Danny comes up with a great idea. He suggested we save the leftovers and about the time the skunks are due for their nightly visit; we spread the leftovers a short distance from camp. The critters will find the food before they find us. Brilliant!!! Fast forward....the food is spread out along the rocks for our little friends. We cook hot dogs over the fire for dinner. So far no skunks in camp. We stoke up the fire and Danny plays guitar while Kathy sings Dutch Oven songs(kinda like Silly Songs With Larry). Laughter abounds. There is a skunk sighting. Not to worry though; its scurry through camp to join its pals at the "skunkateria"(credit to Kathy for the name). Danny gets the spotlight and shines it into the skunk zone. We see at least six skunks chowing down! Yay, we are skunk free! Danny, Bethany and Daniel commence to story & joke telling. We eat "PUD cake minus the P" which was made earlier in the day. A great night!

Thusday morning I take my coffee and wander down to the skunkateria and find nothing left except a part of a green pepper! Someone said(I think it was Daniel), green peppers give skunks gas and we sure don't want skunks with gas!! Too funny. Breakfast consists of Dutch Oven pancakes and turkey sausage. Leftovers are saved. I pack up my stuff and get ready to leave camp(after lunch of course). The Wrights are staying another night. Danny makes lunch..burgers, sauteed mushrooms and beans. Also, leftover "PUD cake minus the P"(skunks were not getting that!)
Its time for me to hit the road..The Skunk Chronicles have ended(for this Year).

Its now Tuesday. We discover that skunks love bread and we would not be having french toast on this camping trip because they managed to get to and eat half a loaf of the bread. We sit around the fire drinking coffee and warming up. We eat a huge breakfast of steak, fried potatoes, scrambled eggs and garlic bread. We sit around the fire some more (which goes all day), snack on Little Debbie Oatmeal Creme Pies, Pecan Swirls, chips n dip etc. There is a daytime skunk sighting. Bethany and Daniel go play in the creek. Its almost lunch time but no one is hungry (I wonder why)so we opt to skip lunch. Danny & Kathy decide to drive their mail in ballots to the nearest polling place in our county; Bethany goes with them. Daniel and I go in search of more kindling and small logs for our never ending fire. We then go to "Columbus Creek" (named by Bethany & Daniel)where Daniel decides he wants to relocate a large log to "The Red Rock River"(also named by B & D). Not an easy task but, he is determined. I help get the log through a rough spot. We take a short break and Daniel goes back to work. I supervise. Later he decides to wait for Bethany to return so they can work on it together. Good plan! The voters return. B & D work on moving the log and dinner is started. Soon we feast on grilled chicken, baked potatoes and sauteed spinach. The skunks arrive as dessert is being prepared. One of the varmints wanders directly beneath Daniel's chair...he could have reach out and touched it. It finally moves away and Danny and Daniel throw rocks in the skunks direction. They scatter. We take out dessert(banana boats)into the trailer to eat them. Stay tuned...the Chronicles continue!

It was Monday afternoon when I arrived at the campsite. After unloading and setting up; I wandered off into the woods in search of firewood. Not long into my journey (about 50 ft or so) I noticed a skunk! I immediatly headed back to camp. But wait!! Aren't skunks nocturnal creatures??? This daytime skunk sighting could be a bad sign. More later. Fortunatly, I had the forsight to bring wood and kindling from the big city and I also boughtt a bag from the camp host.
Expecting the arrival of the Wright family around 6:30pm; I fire up the grill at 5pm. It was about 6pm and dinner was almost ready...steak, potatoes, garlic bread and spinach ready to be sauted in garlic and olive oil! At 6pm a text message was received. "No running lights, Hm to fix. May have to leave a.m. if cant fix tnite, very sorry. We'll keep u posted." Bummer I thought. We will have steak, potatoes and eggs for breakfast then. I let the food cool, wrapped it up and put it away. The steak in the cooler and the bread and potatoes in my car. 6:58 text message: "we should be heded that wy shortly." I reply: "ok call when u get to camp verde...in car hiding from skunks!...mite fall asleep." About 20 minutes later I can't see any skunks lurking around so I grab my crossword puzzle book and bravely step out of my car...so far so good. I throw a log on the fire, light my lantern and see a skunk about 2 feet from me. Slowly and silently I step onto the picnic table bench. How high can skunks spray I wondered. With that thought in mind I them stood on the table top! Must have been quite a sight...me, standing on the holding a lantern while a couple of skunks fearlessly nosed around the totes and coolers. After a while they departed. However, I wasn't really sure they were gone so I just sat down on the table and worked on my crosswords. 8:53pm text message: "1 Mi from xit." Yay, the calvary is coming!! Stoke up the Fire!! Soon after; the Wrights arrive, set up etc.. I relay the daytime and evening skunk stories.
To be continued....