Camping Out

Hi everyone!

Happy 4th, or third as the case may be. This weekend is a big camping weekend for a lot of people. In fact, before we left on Monday, people were already staking out claims at the campground and planning to stay the week through the holiday.

So, I promised I'd post a couple of pictures of my weekend.

How can you beat that view? Ever since I was little I loved camping in the high Sierra Nevada mountains. This summer it was more thick and lush than I've ever seen it. The Sierras got a lot of water over the winter and it showed in the swollen rivers. The water was fast and turbulent, not very good for fishing, unfortunately.

However, the butterflies. Wow, you should have seen the butterflies. There was a massive flight of Western Tiger Swallowtails, Zebra Swallowtails, azures, brushfoots, sootywings, it was amazing.

I wish I could have gotten more pictures of the butterflies, but unlike the ones in my garden that get used to having me around, the ones up in the mountains were very shy. I couldn't snatch a picture of any of them. It was very frustrating.

I did get a picture of this guy though.

He was a handsome Steller's Jay that hung around camp. I think he was hoping for some of my S'mores. He didn't get any. They were too good to share.

I had a great time. I swear, I can still smell the campfire smoke in my hair, but it was worth it. It was nice just to be disconnected for a weekend. It's amazing how you stop thinking about all the things you "have" to do online when you can't do any of them.

It's good to be connected again, but a weekend of horseback riding, cooking over a fire, fishing, and just plain getting dirty was a whole lot of fun.

I hope everyone has a great weekend filled with friends, family, fireworks, and fun. And I'll keep my fingers crossed for no fires.

Keep it safe, and happy reading!

Jess