The magpies roust us from sleep this morning.
A family of five of the long-tailed birds make this section of the Madison River their home. From their raucous calls I gather they don’t approve of late sleepers.
Flying from the trees to the picnic table and to the logs that define the parking area of our campsite, they squawk their heads off. “Get up! Get up, you sleepyheads!”
Bridget and Spike stumble out to do their business.
I keep an eye on them so I can clean up any deposits they make. This is the view from our door.
A fire swept through here last summer. Red Mountain, if it ever was red, is now tan and scarred with the blackened remains of trees and shrubs. Traces of green promise a recovery, but not any time soon.
Once the coffee is in my cup, I join the crew outside.
Swallows soar and dip over the water in great flocks. An occasional loner swoops through our campsite. A bird of prey floats in circles above us, and two gulls follow the course of the river downstream. Last summer I saw otters in the river, but I haven’t seen them this year.
Yesterday I was feeling “out of sorts,”which is a strange phrase for an unsettled feeling. I finally pinned down my trouble. Besides being cut off from the internet, I don’t have any idea where we are going this summer. I thought we’d go to Glacier National Park. Then I changed my mind and set my sights on the area of Coeur d’Alene. The name alone has an allure.
However, I can’t seem to come up with a good plan to get from here to there.
On the way campgrounds are few and far between. I’ve eliminated several because they are for tent or truck campers only, or they consist of only a few sites at the end of long, bad roads, or for other reasons. I could devote a few days to grueling, interstate driving up long, wearisome grades, like I did the day we crossed Salt Lake City. Ugh.
What it comes right down to is this.
I’ve lost interested in driving that far. That’s the cause of my funk. Now that I realize this, I resolve to get back to living in the moment.
Right now the crew and I are content where we are.
The mornings are perfect.
When the afternoon becomes hot, we cool off in the river. Pretty nice!
Even though it’s not the weekend, people on rafts and in boats frequently drift by with a wave or a funny comment for me as I watch from my half-submerged camp chair.
By driving to the town of Norris, I can go online to post and read comments and emails, as well as to load another book on my kindle.
It’s a pretty drive in spite of some of the hills having been burnt. It curves with the river upstream, and then cuts across ranch land, passing the “Water of the Gods” hot springs.
Have you looked at the page, “House-warming for Rusty and Timber,” lately?
(You can access it from the header.) Rusty sent me a photo of his new kitchen table covered in gifts. I posted it on that page. I love that photo! His kitchen looks like home, thanks to the generosity and thoughtfulness of several readers of this blog.
I’ve said it before and no doubt I’ll say it again . . . I love my readers!
rvsue
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