Monday, August 1, 2011

West Pioneer Weekend

We decided to take the Airstream out on her post-renovation maiden voyage this weekend.  We picked the West Pioneers for the trial run figuring it was relatively close but still remote enough to feel like we were getting away.  We managed to find a good spot that was a little off the beaten path and quickly settled in and swatting away mosquitos.

The skeeters were really thick - which is no surprise considering the amount of snow/rain we got this spring.  The bugs were ravenous and relentless - very little seemed to work.  Bug spray worked for about 30 minutes to an hour and then the bugs would be all over you again.  We took the dogs for a walk in part to tucker them out but also in part to move so that the mosquitos would at least temporarily give up.  It worked until we saw a big storm roll in so we b-lined back to the tin can and settled in for a bit.

The tin can worked flawlessly!  There are a couple of minor things to do and figure out but it was a smashing success.  The biggest mystery to me at the moment is trying to figure out where the gray water goes - I am not sure if it currently feeds into the black tank and where that valve might be to divert it to or from the black tank...The challenge of these older airstreams is trying to figure out what prior owners did because there have certainly been a variety of updates and putting the puzzle back together is always interesting.  Most of the puzzle has been put together but there are a couple of pieces left to put in place.

As usual, the dogs had a grand time exploring, finding new scents to track, and their favorite camping pass-time of squirrel chasing.
All that squirrel chasing tired them out and they quickly found a comfy spot in the airstream to re-charge their batteries for the next round of squirrel chasing.
We checked out Elkhorn Hot Springs and did some further exploring along the Pioneer Scenic Highway.  We had a bear sighting - he was a little guy...small enough to think mama bear should have been around although there was no sign of her anywhere...we first though it was a black bear but we did not get a good luck at the face so hard to know whether it was a grizz or a small black bear.  I am leaning towards a black bear just based on location.  He/She seemed non-plused by us.


As usual, the views of the big terrain were spectacular:


All in all, it was a good weekend with a nice break in routine....

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