We arrived at campsite 78 (no hookups) about four in the afternoon. Across from us was another Casita. After docking Helen announced that the camper battery was almost dead. This means… no water pump therefore no shower. We couldn't understand why the battery was not charging during the trip from Sink Canyon. Could it have been the 10 miles of bumpy gravel road construction we traveled? Could it have been the propane gas tank cover blowing up, off and over the top of the camper in the middle of road construction? Could it have been the mile deep pothole we fell in tossing camper contents from bed, bath and beyond? Whatever it was… it was not my fault. So we filled water jugs for flushing, washing, and the brushing of teeth and took a stroll around the camp. Upon our return we opened a bottle of Kendal Jackson, gazed at the growing dusk and considered our options. Naturally we took our time.
Later we met a young couple, Dionne and Aaron and their two little girls, Maggie and Mary. They noticed our North Carolina license plates and told us that they had completed their graduate work at UNC-Chapel Hill School of Public Health. Originally from Canada they currently work in Bozeman. Maggie and Mary were delightful. One was teaching herself how to fly fish with a new fishing pole her father had given her, the other was busy getting marshmallows all over her face and in her hair. The fishing pole was from North Carolina.
Later that evening a ranger rode by in a golf cart announcing a BEAR sighting in the camp. This sent the girls sprawling early to bed. We kinda strolled inside ourselves. In a little while there came a rapid tapping at our camper door. Breathless, Dionne, Maggie and Mary tumbled into the camper and told us a mother and baby moose were on the loose just behind our camper. We crowed on the bed and peeped out the back window. Sure enough, a very large mother and her calf emerged slowly from the undergrowth munching willow leaves as they went. I took pictures though the window. Outside I found Aaron tracking moose with his camera. About 20 other people traipsed down the road after the moose with their cameras. As moose dissolved into the underbrush the crowd slowly disbursed… another night in the great outdoors.
