Wednesday, July 14, 2010 – Late Night/Early Morning Excitement before Drive to Idaho

Just as Hubby was getting wet in the shower last night, a terrific blast of wind came out of nowhere and blew our awning all askew, so he had to quick jump out naked and help me roll it up. (no, we didn’t have any neighbors!) The wind continue through most of the night, but seemed to be gone before dawn. We were both sound asleep when just after 7:00 we heard a terrific crash from the corral, then moments later, before we could even register what might have happened, we hear horse hooves running across the campground. Knowing that wasn’t good, I jumped out, threw on a nightshirt and ran out the door, only to see the corral had come apart and our horses were running away toward the trailhead. I called to them, but they were having none of it. As I turned around to get Hubby to come help me, I was nearly face to face with a giant buffalo, trundling along toward me, coming between the corral and the RV (which, as you can see from yesterday’s pic, is only a few yards away!) I leaped back into the RV and let it pass, at a pace so slow I never thought it would get by. Meanwhile, Hubby got dressed, and I said, “Well, I know what spooked the horses,” and pointed toward the passing buffalo, which, unfortunately, was heading in the same direction as the horses, who had continued to trot and canter away from the critter, and thus us. Hubby started after them while I ran inside and dressed, then drove the pickup truck to the trailhead. Hubby had almost reached the horses by then, (they’d gone at least a half mile from the campsite) and we walked them back to the pickup and loaded them into the trailer, while the bison look on from afar. We decided to skip breakfast for now, and quickly finished packing, out before 8:30. Headed up the highway, stopping at a Flying J in North Ogden to dump, get propane, have breakfast, and do laundry (which started out slow as only one of the four machines was working.) The manager came after a while and fixed two more, and generously paid for my first two loads, so at least he made up for the inconvenience. After breakfast, while I continued washing, Hubby ran down to the nearest Walmart to do some shopping, so we’d be all set until Monday. We stopped once more in the little town of Malad to pick up water at a gas station, then arrived at the campground shortly thereafter, with Gracie (my Verizon GPS) showing me almost all the way. When we reached the developed campground, I sent Hubby up the road to check out the camping spur that the Ranger here had told me about, which he said was big enough for us and where horses were allowed, and where there were no fees. Hubby called back on the radio a few minutes later, saying the spot was “perfect.” I drove up with the RV and saw it was very nice, the only problem was the turning radius, it would take several K turns to maneuver around, but after a few attempts, we managed to get it situated perfectly, just several yards from an abundant creek, trees that were perfect for high lining, and what seemed like a very quiet spot. We soon learned all but the last was true, apparently this road is a popular one for ATV’s, hikers, and just plain casual drivers. Not too bad, though, just a few a day. Just three miles off the freeway, I get a pretty good cell phone signal, but it’s far enough away as to have no traffic (or any other) noise at all. Hubby managed to get a satellite signal, the horses are munching away on some long grass, the dogs are off exploring, so we’re all in 7th heaven! Looking forward to seeing what the trails are like!