May, 2022
Woke up this morning, my last morning here. I had planned on hitching up the truck to the trailer early on and heading home. But I couldn’t. I just needed one more look around at this extraordinary place on this planet. It was another extraordinarily gorgeous morning.
Other folks too found this to be a perfect morning to get out and about … or go fishing. 🙂
It was a bit chilly out, but the skies were dry, so I bundled up and went for a walk around the campground. The photo below is of a picnic/gathering shelter, and a playground, and it’s where tenters can camp, all around the edge of this large area. Oddly, I kept hearing a “bang, bang, bang” as I walked into the area. I guess someone is doing some work on some equipment here. But … “bang, bang, then bang-bang-bang!” It was a Friday morning, mid-morning, so I figured work had to get done some time around here and so maybe the noise wasn’t so bad. But gosh it sure was loud!
On the back edge of this large area was access (below) to the lake. There were two tent campsites right there, that would have been super. There’s a walkway/ramp out onto a dock that floats on the lake (on the left) … and there’s a gravel “boat ramp” there on the right.
[still that “bang, bang …. bang-bang-bang!” … wish that worker person would take a coffee break.]
Mostly the boat ramp is for people to launch boats by hand, not for backing a truck/trailer into the water. As the sign below says “EXTREME DROP OFF”. I walked to the water’s edge, looked down into the water, and saw nothing, no bottom. But the reflections on the water, with a bit of blue sky above, were pretty cool.
I continued walking around that large picnic and playground and tent area.
BANG, BANG …. BANG-BANG-BANG! BANG, BANG, RAT-A-TAT-A-TAT, BANG, BANG!
What the heck is going on? It must be a huge, heavy hammer banging on something. The guy who is wielding that huge hammer must be exceptionally well-muscled, a big guy.
Oh well, work must be done. So on I went.
I approached the far south side of that picnic/playground area and finally, there on the edge … I found the “big muscled guy” … a Red-headed woodpecker banging away on a garbage can! Turn your sound WAY up before starting the video below … WAY up since I was still standing quite far from this musical garbage can.
I don’t know why he was doing that. Wouldn’t that hurt?!? He’d been at it for at least 30 minutes … constantly. I thought woodpeckers chunked away on trees in order to find bugs to eat or create a nest to use. But a garbage can? What’s that about? It was late in May when I was here, so maybe this bird was attracting a mate? The noise would not have been attractive to me. But then, I’m not a Red-headed Woodpecker. 🙂
Shortly after I took the video above, that woodpecker flew off. I would have watched him longer had he chosen to stay, but I was glad for the peace and quiet. Then I walked out along the southern walkway around the lake, part of the walkway that I hadn’t taken before. Here’s a little video of that area. Again, enlarge the video by clicking on the square image in the lower right hand corner.
And then it truly was time to walk back to my campsite and hitch up the trailer to the truck and head for home.
As I drove out of the campground, with the trailer in tow, I drove past the field where I’d seen just one white horse the other day … but several of them were there today.
And then I left that area, with trailer in tow, and headed towards Highway 12 in order to head home. But I didn’t get on that highway. I took yet another back road, and found this little gem down along that country road.
Life is great when you take the back road, when you take the road less traveled.
I still didn’t want to go home. But I did go home. And I was very happy. 🙂