MY THURSDAY

Started off cleaning the inside of our truck. It was a mess. You know what? I've tried just about every gizmo advertised and sold for removing pet hair from upholstery but you know what works better than anything else I've found? A damp washcloth. Amazing.

Next was my coach-scheduled 20-mile ride. I planned an out-and-back but, my out-trip being uncomfortably hilly, it dawned on me that the same route back would also be uncomfortably hilly, so I took a hilly route to a flatter final 4 miles, photo. This is a relatively flat road around here. Next time I'll shoot a hilly one. It was a good ride, bringing my total for the year to 852.4 miles and putting me within a hundred miles or so of leaving Nevada and crossing the Utah state line.


Then, after a PB/banana sandwich, on to my "job" -- cleaning campsites. I don't think they've been cleaned since Steve and I left last September. Luckily, they haven't been used much either.

I get this cool Kawasaki Mule to drive around in. Steve and I did it together last year, but this year he's a "seasonal ranger" (next thing to a white-collar job) and I'm on camp-host-cleanup myself. Well, not alone.... I'm going to be known as "that woman who always has that black dog with her." Journey liked riding in the Mule once she got used to it. I like the Mule, too. It goes over logs, through ditches, everywhere.... the woodland version of the dune buggy.











Here's the backside of the Mule, after I cleaned about a dozen fire rings. I carry an ash can, a trash can, a shovel, leaf rake, garden rake, and broom. See the firewood? I collected it from sites where campers had left it. I could have left it for the next campers, but that wouldn't be fair to those who have to buy theirs... or to the local guy who makes a little extra cash cutting and selling firewood. The rule for staff is, finders-keepers. So I unloaded all this firewood next to our own fire ring, then drove the Mule down to the ash-dumping place, pulled out the screwdriver holding the transom on (the cotter pins disappeared long ago), pulled the ash can off while simultaneously dumping it upside down on the pile, dumped my trash, swept out the Mule, and put it and all the tools away. I only did about 25 sites... there are 200 here. It's going to get tough when more people start coming. However, another campground worker is supposed to be coming, too, and the 2 of us will split it, or the park maintenance guys may do some of it.

Long, busy day. I'm a little tired. Tomorrow is a 45-minute ride, then take my bike to the shop for a spring tune-up, then more campsite-cleaning. Saturday is long-run day, 15 miles. My Hatfield-McCoy Marathon is only 5 weeks away.