Into the Groove

No hiking today.  In trail-speak, that would be a zero day.  We are shooting for a schedule of hiking 2 days then take a day off.

Taking a “day off” is only a day off from hiking, not from work. Today was chore day.  Gene rubbed on the trailer some; even put on some wax.  He emptied all of our holding tanks.  Even the fresh water tank needed to be refreshed.

He also helped me with the laundry.  I fully intended to do laundry at the campground facility, but all the washers were being used when I got there just after 9 am.  Of course, that’s because there are only 3 washers for a campground of over 200 sites.  How crazy is that?  We loaded up and went downtown.

While out to do the laundry, we also stopped by the post office, bank, and grocery.  Didn’t get home until 1 PM.  Besides laundry and grocery shopping, my chores consisted of the routine housekeeping things--cleaning bath and kitchen, vacuuming.

We have both been busy all day--not much of a rest day.  However, I think we are getting a routine established.  If the schedule of hiking 2 days then taking a day off, works well for our bodies (and I think it will), then I can separate laundry and grocery shopping to different off days.  That should give us some real rest time on the days off.

I am getting a little better organized with my cooking, as well.  I normally like to prepare food from scratch.  Since we have been hiking so much, I have kept a couple Stouffer’s meals in the freezer.  It’s easy to just throw one in the oven to bake while we shower after a day on the trail.  Tonight, I made extra salad to go with the lasagna I’ll bake tomorrow.  Other meals consists of a piece of meat (chicken, steak, or pork chop) which Gene grills and I add a baked potato or Lipton noodles and a salad.  That’s pretty fast to prepare, but makes a mess to clean up

We still have about an 80 mile drive to the trailhead.  That long driving distance makes for a very long day.  However, each day the distance will be reduced and by the end of next week, we should be able to get to the trail in less than an hour.

On a more personal note, we have had a new addition to our extended family this week.  My nephew and his wife have a new son, born Monday evening.  The whole family is doing well, and my great nephew, Brayden, is happy being the big brother.

That’s all for today.