Friday, July 21
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Whew!  I'm a little sore from hiking uphill yesterday.  Another beautiful morning.  Actually the weather has been warmer than I expected, bordering on downright hot in the afternoons.  The afternoon temperature has been in the mid to upper 80's which is rather warm for 7100 feet in the Sierra-Nevada mountains.

Well the group is heading to Virginia Lake today but I decide to stay in camp with Denise.  After all, we had already been to Virginia Lake on Sunday.  This should be a good day to catch up on the website and just take it easy.  Maybe even play a few video games in the trailer while escaping the afternoon heat.

Well isn't this a surprise!  My aunt and uncle, Jane and Jerry, have arrived.  Mom had been talking with them in the evenings and they had toyed with the idea of joining us.  However, as of the last update, they had said it was unlikely that they would come.  But here they are.

So we help them get things set-up and they head for the shower.  Jane returns but Jerry is still gone.  Pearl begins barking so I look up to see what is the problem.  Well the smaller bear is sniffing their ice chest, right in our camp in middle of the afternoon.  I didn't think the bears would be bold enough to come out in the daylight with all of the people out and about.  

I stand up and grab a folding chair.  I've always heard that if you're faced with a bear, the thing to do is make yourself appear as large as possible.  So if I hold this chair over my head, I should look like I'm about 10 feet tall.  I yell at the bear and he looks up at me.  My yelling has drawn the attention of the other campers who rush to grab their cameras.  Why am I the only one who seems to be somewhat nervous that there's a bear in camp.  These people act like Regis Filbin has just come to town and they are swarming to greet him.  So I don't know if I scared the bear off or he just decided he was outnumbered and would rather try finding his next meal somewhere else.  But in either case, he disappeared leaving the ice chest intact.

Denise informs me that the toilet won't flush.  I check it out and find that it's because the tank is full.  We're talking so full that it is in the bowl.  I thought we had a 40 gallon tank?  We've only been here 6 days.  That's nearly 7 gallons per day?  Could this be true?

Throughout our week, we've seen the "honey wagon" on numerous occasions.  Bridgeport Trailer is in and out all the time, cleaning and servicing their fleet of rental trailers in the campground.  I enjoy the saying on their tank that says "Flag us down. We'll take crap from anyone!".  I could sure use them now.

We watch for the rest of the afternoon but never see them.  I've checked with the front gate to see if they've been through today and they haven't.  I try calling them but there is no answer.  I guess I'm going to have to handle this one myself.

Fortunately, I retained a 5 gallon drain tank from our previous days of tent trailering when we didn't have built-in holding tanks.  I dig it out of the bowels (pun intended) of the trailer storage and get the sewer hose.  I have never done this before and can only imagine this greenish-brown (tank chemical is blue, you figure it out) fountain spraying everywhere as I do my best to contain it to the drain tank.  I get everything connected, pull the valve, and hope for the best.  Immediately, the sewer hose jumps out of the drain tank and flies in the air.  Luckily, only the stench has reached the end of the hose.  The sewage hasn't made it yet so I quickly reconnect the hose to the drain tank.  Just in time!  Next I shut off the drain valve as I know the sewage will continue to flow.  Perfect timing.  The flow stops just as the drain tank is at it's maximum capacity.

I cap the drain tank an hike the hundred yards or so to the restroom, through the campground where others are enjoying their evening cocktail and assorted snacks.  Although it's just a blue plastic container I am carrying, it's familiar to anyone who's ever owned a tent-trailer or camper.  And if there was any doubt as to its contents, the aroma confirmed what everyone suspected. 

Once at the restroom, I dump my load into the toilet and return back for another.  I repeat the process 3 more times to ensure that I won't have to do this again before we leave.

The group returned from Virginia Lake in the early evening, somewhere in the neighborhood of about 5:00, with another load of fish.  Total fish caught for the camp is nearing 100.  Guess what's for dinner...


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 drew@mykitchentable.net.