Tuesday, June 20, 2023
Clifford and I are camped at the Willow Creek Campground in the Ward Charcoal Oven Nevada State Park. The day we arrived, we discovered a leaking wheel bearing on our old Suburban, which has been in Ely for repairs for the past week. My cell phone was accidentally left in Ely when we dropped the Suburban off. Yesterday, we got a ride to pick up the Suburban. We are glad to have our vehicle back and I am especially happy to have my cell phone back
This morning with my phone in hand once again, I go for the morning walk, past the bench alongside the creek and on to the old bridge. I take more time with the iris, as they are abundant now, but soon they will give way to other flowers.
Mornings are often calm and that is the best time to go, as walking in the wind is too energy draining. This particular morning, I leave later than I want for the morning walk and it is already getting gusty, so have to cut it short. Flowers photos don’t work well when the flowers are whipping around. Ah well, there are plenty of indoor projects – working on blogs, taking care of email, meals and dishes.
Saturday June 24
We are still at Willow Creek even though we are at the 14-day limit. Without having the Suburban for over a week, our travel itinerary has changed. The park ranger is understanding and we are given permission to extend our stay for a couple days, which I take good advantage to walk to the bench again. Acres of wild roses in bloom, columbine, and flax have replaced the wild iris as objects of my attention.
Back at camp, working on a blog, writing in my journal, tai chi, and sharing a few photos keep me busy, and fiddle comes out before it is too dark to see the music. This is Amateur Radio Field Day, so the radio has Clifford’s attention much of the day.
Sunday is filled with taking care of mundane projects. Looking ahead at maps and weather app, it looks like Wednesday or Thursday will be the day to leave. The temperatures have been in a range of about 50 at night to 70-80 high and it is time to move north. One of these last days at Will Creek CG, I discover a tick biting me. The head is not embedded fortunately and it was easy to remove, bur it doesn’t make me too comfortable with hiking off-trail for photos of flowers and the creek.
Interesting light at sundown catches my attention.
Wednesday June 28 is our last day here. Despite the forecast for a high wind day, it is the calmest day we have had in quite a while. I take photos of the white prickly poppies along the road and then walk to the bench. Despite the tick bite, I still walk off-trail, but shower and put on clean clothes when I get back to camp. In the evening, I pack up as much as I can to make tomorrow’s leaving easier.
This has been a very good campground for us and we hope to return on a future journey through Nevada.