First off…we apparently slept in too late…I was up by 8:15, went and did the campsite registration, filled the gas tank, came back, woke Brandy, made coffee, and got to the group site only to find out that they’re all early risers — we’d not only missed breakfast, but everything had been cleaned up and put away.
No problem, we poked around and mingled…I already told the story about the Switchback and Warbonnet hammocks, although I didn’t mention that I thought the custom tarp the Switchback guy had was really cool…room for two hammocks next to each other, with dark blue walls, and a translucent white stripe directly overhead to let in ambient light.
We watched a gentleman saw through a piece of wood and discover an angry carpenter bee while he was prepping for a friction fire demonstration. While there, I had my whetstone out and turned UncleMJM’s (the host) knife from a dullness like it was meant for butter to a properly sharp instrument. I tried a few times to see if I could find people interested in learning some games, but that just wasn’t meant to be, it seems…I never got any takers.
Lots of people expressed interest in the Trail Sling chair, and everybody was either petting or asking about Huyana. Brandy and I basically did our own things all day…sometimes she was with the group and I was at camp…sometimes vice-versa. Due to my frequent trips to the restroom, not to mention the nap, she had Huyana the majority of the day.
One thing we definitely didn’t miss was the potluck supper and the Stone Soup, which turned out pretty good. These people are masters of dutch oven cooking. Pineapple upside-down cake, bread, chili, banana pudding, black forest cake….mmmm….
Our names were entered in the drawing, and there were so many donated items, it seemed everyone won something twice. I won a prototype of a wood-burning stove, and a new multitool, while Brandy won some red whoopie slings and a bottle for distilled alcohol, if we ever do another alcohol stove. We hung out around the campfire for a long while, discussing a multitude of things, although I went back to camp for a bit to use my new stove to make some hot water for cocoa. Eventually, it was time to turn in…so far, I’d say this trip has been a good and educational one.
