07-24-09

The days seem to fly by on the mountain. I feel like I’ve been here for three or four days, but it’s been eleven. No matter how much I do, or don’t do the days go by. The nothingness is good for now. I feel like I’m still decompressing. I am embracing the simple tasks of life, like cooking, eating, sleeping and roaming the countryside.
We had coffee right away in the morning, then again later in the morning.
In the afternoon we went for an aggressive hike where I had climbed up days earlier while waiting in cell phone range. Then we went for a drive up the mountain past our campsite. There’s a nice state park hiking trail at the top that we’d like to check out.
I cooked brunch in the bus, blueberry pancakes, sausage links and country potatoes. The light over the stove is on the bottom of the microwave, so it only works when the generator is running if you’re off of the grid. I cook with my flashlight if it’s too dark.
We had coffee for a third time then spontaneously decided to drive into town. Trinity wanted to bake monkey bread and I wanted wine.
We talked to Jack and Beverly. They told us they were leaving in the morning. Trinity got advice on convection oven cooking at high altitude from Beverly. I learned about driving over Beartooth Pass and through Yellowstone and Jackson. He’d been over those roads dozens of times. They were headed to Jackson again next.
The convection oven worked great. The monkey bread was heavenly. We struggled to not eat all of it.
We had accumulated a great deal of dishes from brunch, monkey bread and three coffees. I was in desperate need of a shower. The faucet sputtered. It seemed too soon to be out of water. I checked the gauge. I went outside and thumped on the tank. We’re empty. It would have to wait until tomorrow.