Larabee State Park (Leaving)
I drove around the city for about 15 minutes before finding a Pennzoil oil change place. I got my oil changed and directions to the Supercuts which was in a trip mall not far away. I also noticed one of those local arts and entertainment newspapers in the lobby. They had had a contest called "Fiction 101" where they asked their readers to submit short stories of around 101 words. I just wish I could write a single days journal entry that short.
The mall had a laundromat and grocery store in addition to the Supercuts, so I had checked everything off my list and was headed back towards Winthrop by noon. I would like to have stopped at a Taco Time for lunch, but none was in sight so I settled for a Dairy Queen in Seldo-Wooley. It would be the last town with fastg food I would see that day. My plan was to stay at the KOA in Winthrop so I could get my web pages uploaded using their data port.
The trip over the galcier filled mountains was uneventful except for learning via voice mail that I had a past due notice for my water bill in Tucson. I stopped at Kilpchuck Campbround to get my records out of my trunk and to see if I would not rather stay there for the night. I had been impressed with it when I checked it out the day before, but it was a little crowded and hot when I pulled through. In getting my records out of the trunk my bag of tent poles and stakes fell out and rolled underneath the car. I did not pick them up right away, but reminded myself to get them before I left.
I stopped at the ranger station outside of Winthrop to get more information about the trails around Twisp. All the Forest Sevice agent could give me was their length. No information on difficulty, grade, or elevation increase. USFS is clueless when it comes to trails.
The town of Winthrop was packed with people. Every motel and resort had a no vacancy sign. There was a line to register at the KOA so I decided to head out to the trusty Mystery Campground. On my way through Twisp I mailed payment to the City of Tucson for my bill. Arriving at Mystery around 5 pm it was very hot. I quickly put on my trunks and headed for the river to cool off after paying my $3 to register. I did not even set up my tent which I have had a strict rule of doing first this whole trip.
When I returned to camp I started to set up my tent and discovered my bag of poles and stakes missing. After a few minutes thought I knew exactly where they were: on the ground in a campsite in Kilpchuck where they had rolled under my car. Kilpchuck was 40 miles away. The decision was easy. I quickly packed everything up and headed back the way I came in the stifling heat.
I arrived around 6:30 pm and asked the occupants of the campsite if they had found my tent poles. They said they had turned them into the host. I found the host talking to some other guests and he directed me to my bag of tent supplies. It had cooled down a little so I quickly found a nice little split level site near the creek and set up camp. I did a little bike riding and reading then retired under a clear blue and fading sky. It was absolutely peaceful. Everyone else in the whole camp had retired sometime earlier. There were no campfires, no loud guffawing. Nothing but peace. I thought I might stay another day if things went well.