By msiduri in Personal April 17, 2015, 8:42 AM 17-04-15

Journal 04-17-2015

Good morning or whatever part of the day it is for you. Today is Friday April 17, 2015. The temperature is 5405°F and the humidity is 39% at 4:44 a.m. PST (-8 GMT). Weather Underground shows sustained winds at 0 with gusts of 0.7 mph. The sky was clear when I looked out this morning. Saw the Big Dipper, but no moon. Weather Underground is predicting a 0% chance of precipitation and a high of 84 today.

We got back from camping in Joshua Tree yesterday. The initial forecast was for 90° during the day so I brought a pair of cutoffs for the day and a bunch of light jackets for the evening. The day we left we noticed there were wind advisories for 25 mph winds. That meant that more than likely, the tent would be slapping us in the face most of the night. It was. Both nights— though the second night wasn’t as bad as the first. The first night, I barely got any sleep. Mr. Siduri, of course, slept the sleep of the righteous. He always does.

We board Gremlin when we leave for more than overnight. He doesn’t like it. He tried to use me as a springboard a couple of times when he realized there was a carrier around and scratched me up but good. I feel so awful when I see him like this and hear the meows on the way down. But the vet can check him out while he’s down there, make sure he’s healthy and all the organs are in the right places so the trips to the vet are minimal and the trauma of getting into the carrier and going into the car is minimal. I was upset when they told me when we got back that he wouldn’t eat. They first thing I did when I got him home we try to feed him. He wouldn’t touch the stuff from the vet’s. The stuff I usually give him he devoured as if it was the last cat food on earth.

But anyway. The one full day we were in Joshua Tree, we only got one relatively short (3 mile) hike in. Everyone but Mr. Siduri was exhausted for not having slept. One guy, the same guy who was his best man at our wedding, had not been feeling well when he came up. He slept in his car in the morning. In the afternoon, he dozed in his camp chair. I dozed in mine, covered by a jacket. I was surprised how thoroughly and completely I slept. The car was showing a temp of 65° in the sun, a far cry from 90°.

Toward evening, the best man got worse and worse. He was shivering. After dinner, but before nightfall, he left. Even though there’s no cell coverage in the park, I asked him to send us a text when he got home just to let us know he got there. Next morning as we were leaving, there was a single word on Mr. Siduri’s phone: “Home.”

One interesting thing about the time, though, was the number of critters. We saw rabbits running through the campsite quite a few times. And squirrels. They didn’t seem particularly afraid of us. We had to make doubly sure our food was cover and sealed at all times and our trash was where they couldn’t get it. Mr. Siduri said he heard a coyote howl as about sunset the first night we were there, which is not uncommon, but I didn’t hear it. I’ve heard them quite frequently. One time they were close enough to the tent that I heard them growl. Another time one followed us for a short distance but scampered off as soon as he realized he’d been spotted. They don’t normally attack adults, but will, upon occasion, attack small children if they can get close enough. We didn’t have any in our party so I wasn’t frightened, but again, we had to make sure to keep a watch on food and trash.

So. Back home to a good hot shower and a good night’s rest. And back to writing.

We’re going to visit the friend today who was my maid of honor and show her wedding pictures then take her to lunch.

With regard to walking, I’ve walked a total of 19.84 miles, which leaves me with a mere 80.16 miles to go in the SpringintoAction Challenge, with idea of walking 100milesin90days .