b goes camping, pt. 1

It seems like B never gets to do anything anymore: she has to stay at the house when we go up Big or Little Cottonwood Canyons for hiking or skiing; she's too old and too poorly behaved off-leash to go MTBing; it's too hot in the summertime for car rides even.  When we were talking about going camping again before the snow starts falling, we thought that if we went back to the Uintas, where we just were at the end of June, it would be cool enough and dog-friendly enough for her, plus being late in the season meant it shouldn't be so busy.  We knew that taking her along would mean a relaxing weekend - no hiking because of her age (we think she's around 11 although we don't know for sure, having rescued her as an adult stray with no history) and the altitude, which she would be unused to.  But we could take short walks, and go fishing, and read in the sun.  So off we went to the Mirror Lake Scenic Byway, B stuffed into the backseat of the truck with all our clothes.

A little catnap before dinner

We stopped at Cobblerest, the campground we were at last time, around 11:00 a.m. on Friday and were thrilled to see no one else there in any of the eighteen sites.  We quickly claimed our old site (#7) and started setting up.  The skies were clear and blue, sun filtering through the trees to make it a comfortable high 60s.  I don't know if this happens every year at this time or if it's because of the low snow from last winter, but the Provo River behind our campsite was flowing at a fraction of its late June pace - there would be no backyard fishing for us here!  Instead, I walked up the river a little ways on the rocks, gathering driftwood for the campfire.  B wanted to come with me but the river rocks were difficult for her to walk on; she's become such an old indoor dog that the footing made her nervous.

Mmmmm - kindling

Instead, she contented herself with eating grass, chewing on the kindling H had collected and charging at the brazen chipmunk who seemed to realize that she was tied up and couldn't quite get to him.  We spent the afternoon reading in the peace and quiet.  A few cars drove through the campground but luckily no one moved in near us: a group of about six campers and two dogs took a large site near the campground entrance and two other small tents popped up on the far end of the campground - so we were virtually alone.  B, who is used to spending most of her days napping, finally crashed just before dinner, scraping out a little hole under the picnic table.

Nice evening light at Cobblerest #7

Because of the mountains all around us, the sun set around 6:30 p.m.  We had an early dinner of chicken and broccoli alfredo (B perked back up when food became available) and H got a very nice campfire going so I could try bacon s'mores (s'mores with a piece of bacon between the chocolate and the marshmallow - mmmmmm).  Unlike our summer sojourn, there was no moon and when the stars came out, they came out in force.  The temperatures plummeted quickly though, so we doused the campfire and were snug in the tent before 10 p.m.  B got to sleep in the cab of the truck - one of her favorite places on earth - and she sacked out as soon as H locked her in.