Finally–the 4th of July!

So the 4^th of July arrived on schedule—July 25^th. The aforementioned celebration that fizzled on the 4^th and had to be rescheduled went off as planned on Saturday night. Once again we took dogs and blanket and warm jackets and took up our post at the mall.

It wasn’t nearly as crowded this time. Perhaps it was because it was 3 weeks after the fact, or maybe it was the lack of advertisement, but the atmosphere was definitely low-key. The dogs, tired from an earlier trip to the pet store, flopped down on the blanket and snored through most of the show.  And what a show it was! Well worth the 3-week wait! Even worth coming out in the rain that thoughtfully stopped just in time.

So the 4^th of July may have been a bit behind schedule this year—at least in our town—but it reinforced the truth that good things really do come to those who wait!

Camping Ain’t for Sissies!

So we made it–our first tent camping experience in over 10 years! I was a bit worried–I am Not an “outdoorsy” type, and neither is Rick. But it worked out fine. Better than fine in fact–It was Glorious!

We couldn’t have picked 2 better days. The monsoonal rains stopped and the skies were that blue seen only in Colorado. We set up camp without incident (other than having to untangle the dogs tie-out chains frequently), and settled in for a 2-night stay. We were glad we had decided to get a bigger tent.

The campground wasn’t crowded, since we had chosen to stay a Tuesday and Wednesday night. During the day, we drove the surrounding area, checking out another (tent only, slightly more primitive) campground nearby. We also toured our campground, checking other sites for future use. We decided we had chosen a perfect spot! This campground’s website had the advantage of being able to see photos of every site–great idea!

At night, we toasted hotdogs and marshmallows over an open fire and agreed that food tastes best when done that way! We even tried “Hobo popcorn”–where you put a little oil and popcorn on a foil square, fold it into a loose bundle, then  hold it over the fire until it pops.  The result was more fun than food but that was okay by us!

We had brought a portable DVD player along and had movie night–just like home! We could hear elk bugeling, and the howl of coyotes  nearby but no actual sitings. There was a communal trash bin with a “bear bar” across the lid, and we carefully locked away any food in our car at night. But the only wild creatures we saw were ground squirrels, who seemed to take great pleasure in darting across in front of the dogs, just out of reach of their tie-outs.

We came home sore and tired but also happy, relaxed, and already planning our next trip!

Happy 25th of July!

Looks like the 4th will be delayed this year. The “largest fireworks display in the state” kind of fizzled Saturday. We took the dogs and a blanket (totally forgetting those new folding chairs we bought for camping…) and went to a local mall. We used to be able to see the show from our front lawn but there is now a duplex in the line of site. So we parked behind a store at the mall and made ourselves comfortable on the lawn. The rain had let up for the evening, it was pleasantly sweater-cool, surprisingly uncrowded–perfect!

The show did get started with some fireworks. A group of kids sat in a row on a low wall, all chanting “Oooh!” in unison. The dogs had finally settled down. Idyllic!

The fun lasted all of 10 minutes then the fireworks stopped. We could see other fireworks in surrounding towns, off in the distance. They kept going. And this had happened last year–where the show suddenly stopped, then just as you thought that was the end, started up again. So we waited. And waited. Everyone else cleared out and we reluctantly left. Almost lost Ralphie when he took off after Something! I’m not a lightweight, but I’m no match for 110 pounds of determination, and I only slowed him down enough so that he spun and pulled out of his collar. Rick and Malia ran after him and I followed, both of us shouting “Ralphie!” Fortunately he stopped – no harm done. “Good doggie!”

The fireworks event (or lack thereof) made the local news. Turns out something had gone wrong with an electrical system, causing problems with not only the fireworks but a big concert scheduled for that night. Good thing we didn’t pay to watch! The event was rescheduled for July 25. On the way home we passed the flood of cars heading home from the event. They will all get into the July 25th show, as will we. I already reserved our lawn seats!