Last Day

This was our last full day camping.  We decided to make oatmeal and hot chocolate for breakfast again so that we’d have a substantial breakfast for the next morning’s drive home.  I was not in the mood for oatmeal again, so I only managed to eat half of it.

We drove to the scenic Browne Lake that had a beautiful backdrop of the mountains.  It was deserted up there so we got to enjoy the scenery by ourselves.  After that, we took the scenic Sheep Creek Geological Loop to Manila.  The road was full of potholes and loose rocks.  It was the worst road I’ve personally driven on.  The view was worth the trouble.  Rattled but still in one piece we arrived in Manila where we surprised Crystal’s aunt with a visit.  Once they’d caught up, Crystal and I decided to go find a picnic area for lunch.  We remembered seeing one on the scenic loop so we headed back that way.

The Palisades picnic area was in a shady copse of trees tucked far back in the loop.  We settled down at a picnic table and helped ourselves to some sandwiches with turkey, ham, and cheese as well as salt and vinegar Boulder Kettle chips.  I drank a Horizon chocolate milk.  The temperature was perfect and it was a beautifully calm and secluded spot for lunch.

We drove back to camp and started a big fire.  We had lots of firewood to get through on our last night there.  It was still afternoon on an unusually hot day so the fire was far from comfortable.  We’d planned on watching the solar eclipse that evening but clouds came in and made that impossible.  We drank Woodchuck ciders and ate beef jerky as a happy hour appetizer.  When it got closer to dinner time, we heated up some Campbell’s light chunky chicken corn chowder on the stove.  We finished off dinner with a cookie and watched the fire burn.