Evicted! (and the $5 Solution)

Parking the trailer at Chuck and Aaron's Sun Valley condo lasted less than 24 hours.  They got a polite email informing them the trailer must move - immediately.  Sensing the condo parking lot was not going to be friendly to our little Chalet, we had already decamped to a nearby Forest Service campground.  Bubbly Kathy, the campground host, was only too happy to have us to replace the noisy family that had just departed the site in a huff.

Ben was anxious to flex his 62-year-old muscles by becoming a lifetime Forest Service Senior pass holder.  For 10 bucks, he got his card.  This now entitled us to a 50% discount on campsites.  The $10 per night campsite was now $5.

We settled in and fluffed up the pillows.  We now have the best of both worlds - long hot showers at the condo, sleeping to the sound of the creek at the campsite.

We have a goal of hiking to Alice Lake on Friday.  Last year it seemed too daunting.  It's 11 miles round-trip with a 1600 foot elevation gain, starting at over 8000 feet.  

We did nothing in SLO to prepare, so this morning we head out early for an easy 6 mile easy hike from our campground.  About mile 4 I develop a blister.  My trusty hiking boots are to blame as I have worn out the lining. This is not a good omen for the Alice Lake ascent!  Back downtown to buy new boots, merino wool socks and to apply TLC to the blister.

But the morning starts out cool and dewy.  A doe nibbled just outside our camper window and gave us a wide-eyed stare before bounding off.  The wildflowers dot our hike with ivory whites and grey to sapphire blues.  

This mushroom was one of the discoveries along our trail.  And bear scat.

I enjoy my $2 book from the SLO Library sale bin and we are looking forward to the USA-Germany Women's Soccer semi-final at 5 PM.  Ben is scouting for bread at Farmer's Market.

We laze about escaping the afternoon heat and Chuck beats Ben by a move in their first backgammon game.

Our camper "house batteries" started making a dreaded beeping sound this morning, indicating battery mayhem.  Ben confirmed this with testing and they are now in the back of the truck, destined for replacement.  Good thing our campsite is only $5 a night, now that we will be spending hundreds on two batteries.  Another sigh.