Day 2 - Fall Getaway

Life with a teenager has many lessons to teach us old ones.  I cherish my morning times.... as does Hailey. She celebrates the morning by sleeping just as long as I can tolerate.  I choose to celebrate mornings with freshly brewed coffee and a morning walk.  So leaving her to her early morning dreams, I head out to the picnic and beach area.

 

The picnic area and beach is devoid of all human presence.  The hustle and bustle of children and their parents of summer are long gone.  The quiet envelopes me as I enjoy my morning ritual in this amazing place.  The rustling of falling leaves and the honking of Canadian Geese annoyed with my presence are the only sounds I hear.

 

The beach prints tell the story of critter occupancy, with geese and deer prints punctuated by only a few humans prints. 

 

So much of our lives is surrounded by noise, and technology, I take advantage of the quiet and drink in all the solitude.  I have left behind all technology for this trip.  Now cell phones turned on, no computer, not kindle.... just peace and quiet.  Hailey has surrounded herself with non-stop music but it is delivered via headphones so I enjoy the lack of auditory stimulation.  Ahhhh hhhhh

I watch as clouds begin drifting into the skyline.... looks like the sun will be gone shortly but I enjoy all the warming rays as I am soaking it in for as long as it lasts.  

Hailey at long last is up and we enjoy a cooked breakfast of hashbrowns, vegetarian sausage, (I know, its a oxymoron but surprisingly good) and eggs.   

 

Fall is the time of year that creatures large and small search for warm places to call home as the temperatures cool.   Flies stand guard near the door, ready to fly into the trailer, landing on my nose and then progressively slowly fly about the trailer evading the long arm of the fly swatter.
 

This battle continues the entire trip and I am armed with my weapon of choice.....

Hailey comes screeching back to camp.

She wants me to bring my camera to the rest room.......NOW WHAT?

I oblige and find a very large coal black spider.  

Hailey fetched a stick for me to check out the spider.

    

While blurry, it's red hour glass on the underside is visable...... I was done checking out this spider.

This is only the second black widow spider I have seen.  They normally hide in dark and moist places and I'll be just as happy if  they continue to hide in more distant places.

After the spider excitement, it begins to rain and I decide to postpone our hike into Northrup Canyon and hope for better weather on Sunday Morning.    We spend the rest of the afternoon reading and lounging in the comfort of the trailer.

Sunset is early at 6:30.  I am restless and tired of reading so we break my vow of no technology and break out the battery operated DVD player and watch a few episodes of Alias.  

We turn in early, listening to the soft pitter patter of raining falling on the trailer roof.