“Nothing shocks me. I’m a scientist.” – Harrison Ford, as Indiana Jones
Friday, September 20, 2013
Cabin Arrival - 2013
Well, we are here. 1826 miles, 2-1/2 days, an unabridged book on CD, two motels, multiple MacDonalds, dog walks every 4 hours or so, and we are here.
We made good time, arriving in Laramie ahead of schedule. Lynne had prepared a well-ordered shopping list, so our visit to WalMart for food was brief. We always shop for 3-4 days on our way through Laramie so we are provisioned for a few days at the beginning of the visit. Then, we have several days to prepare a plan for the rest of our stay. And, we'll go into town, probably on Monday, to do a more thorough shopping trip.
Already we have a few things on the list: 9V battery (the smoke detector was beeping at us); salt licks (those from last year are gone); a bulb for the flashlight; drill bits... We'll work on the food items this weekend.
My greatest fear upon arrival was an infestation of pack rats in the cabin. This happened last year, and it was a mess. A dear friend opened the cabin for us last year and cleaned up most of the mess. And several days were spent rat-proofing the place last year. I was a bit worried when I saw two piles of pack rat "stuff" -- one on either side of the door on the stoop. It was like they had created some kind of symetrical offering for us--preparing us for the magnificent nest inside.
But, when we opened the cabin, there were no pack-rat nests. They had NOT gotten back in the cabin! I was thrilled.
The usual infestation of cluster flies were everywhere. Thousands of dead flies. Since they are all dried up, they sweep up easily enough and Lynne went to work on cleaning them up.
I got the water on, the water heater running, and the propane refrigerator started. Next came the Internet connection which always requires an hour-long call to HughesNet technical support. And, once we have the satellite Internet working, I can reauthorize the DirecTV service. So, we now have electricity, propane for cooking and heat, Internet service (or I would not be able to post this), TV--all the comforts of home.
We did a walk to the bottom with Bella and Hailey (both of whom are acting weird, probably because Alex is not here to guide them). Then, cooked up some "trailer spaghetti", and old stand by for a quick meal.
Now, we have a fire in the fireplace and are sipping on a whiskey.
I don't think we'll last much longer. It is almost 8:00 here, but that is 10:00 back home and I don't think we've fully adjusted. Plus, we are both road weary.
That's it for tonight. More later, stay tuned for details of our two-week-long vacation.
Posted under: Cabin News • by Rick on 09/20/2013 at 07:26 PM
Permalink • eMail this article