4th of July, Bennett style!

Why is it the last group to arrive at a group campground is always the loudest? It is a strange phenomenon but it has proved out, time and time again. We had this happen this weekend and so I checked things out, this is what I gathered from the scuttlebutt around the camp. The last group to arrive and take the last three sites had reserved the group site at the top of the hill. Once they pulled in and saw that they would have to hike to the lake, they moved down and signed into the last of the sites down below. This would not be a bad thing except that their group is comprised of a bunch of loud talkers and they have a dozen kids each. They stuffed the campsites full of tents and toys. When this group is together, you can hear everything they are talking about. Now I am not making this up, but I have not heard a peep out of any of the other twelve sites in the camp.

I know you are all saying, “That’s Dean, the old curmudgeon.”, but these folks talk so loud that we can hear them four campsites away. They are also the types that have to explain to each other what their kids are doing. “Oh look at Shiloh, she is running!”; “Jessie is eating a hotdog.”; “Maggie wants to hug grandma.” And so on and so on, every one of them speaking at a vocal level that would put Ozzie Osborn to shame. The only good thing is that they move in packs, thus they have spent every day down at the dock. While they are massed down at the dock, the rest of camp walks peacefully around enjoying the quiet.

On the 4th of July we drove into Harrison. Once we were there we discovered that we were so busy packing dog items that we forgot Linda’s purse, my wallet, and our lunch items. We had Kobi’s duck and everything he might desire, but we had no money or credit cards. So we decided to just do a quick walk and maybe pick up a geocache or two. I looked over the geocache information sheet and the cache we were closest to said to bring your own writing device. Without Linda’s wallet we could find nothing to write with, in the Jeep. We once again quickly changed plans and we took a walk up the Trail of the Coeur d’Alenes (TotC). As we walked Linda worked with Kobi and I looked for something to write with. We knew there was a geocache about a half mile out on the trail and I thought there would be an extra pencil in the cache box that I could “move” to a new cache. We got to the cache and I found it and looked into the container, but there was only one pen there and I could not leave the cache with nothing to log in with, so we put it back and headed back into town.

As we got ready to leave the big city, I looked under the lip of carpet by the car jack and found a pen wedged into this area. We were in geocache business again and we were then able to drive to a cache called “Narrowed Bridges of Kootenai County (GC16632)”. It was an easy find and we signed in while Kobi sniffed the area and peed. As we drove back along the road that parallels the TotC, we loaded another cache coordinates into the GPS. It turned out to be just off the road and along the TotC and we were able to pick it up as we went home. This cache was called “CDA Trail Cache (GC1DN56)” and it was a very easy find.

When we returned to camp we started the Bennett Camp Duathlon. This consisted of a game of Cribbage followed by a rousing game of Bolo Toss. Dean won the Crib game and Linda kicked butt in the Bolo Toss. So we had to have a playoff of one game of Solitaire, winner takes all. I know what you all are thinking, “Those Bennett’s really live on the edge, I wish we could have the life of extreme living that they do.” Dean won the playoff 6 to 4 and was crowned the champion for the day.

The evening was filled with loud booms and fireworks over the lake. Bell Bay was very quiet, the hosts had the Sheriff pay a visit during the day, I think that kept the sky rockets in check. We went to bed about 10:30 PM and about 11:00 PM; I got up and watched a parade of boats returning from the Harrison fireworks display. Everything quieted down after that and we had a cool night’s rest in our camper.

The next morning Linda got up real early and drove into Harrison. She rode the TotC up river about three and a half miles and then had to turn around due to the trail being closed because of flood damage. She turned back and rode the trail south to about two miles out of Plummer. When she arrived home Kobi and I were just having our morning moments where we lay in the sun, stretch and scratch. He likes the attention and I like to wake up slowly so it works out well for both of us.

I started my morning routine and Linda sat to play with Kobi. As I sat in the camper I could hear the two of them playing. Kobi makes Linda laugh by doing his little cute puppy things. It makes me feel good to hear Linda laugh like that. Her school year can be very intense and I don’t get to hear her laugh like that as often as I would like. She has a wonderful laugh and I am thankful Kobi is releasing it.

After breakfast we hiked and did some Kobi training. We returned to the camper and I beat Linda in Cribbage (that’s twice this weekend.)

Beth, Bill, Paige and Cheyenne came out in Bill’s boat. We met them on the dock and the girls got to see Kobi swim. We talked for a bit and had lunch. Someone said the word “ice cream” and that was all it took to get us loaded into the boat and cruising to Harrison to visit the Creamery.
Bill’s boat is a very nice vessel with a full cabin. It contains a kitchen, bathroom and two sleeping areas. I was impressed with the room and the amenities. Harrison was ahopping! The line at the Creamery reached the door and there was a large group of eaters standing outside on the front walk. Linda went in and lined up to order and I sat with Kobi and watched the spectacle of the small town unfold.

As we were getting our Creamery fix for the weekend, Fitz and Julie were driving out to visit us at Bell Bay. We were hoping that our timing would work out well enough that they didn’t have to wait very long for us to motor back.

While Beth and the kids, Linda and I were getting our sweet treats, Bill watched the boat and fished off the dock. It probably took us about an hour in Harrison and another twenty minutes to cruise back to Bell Bay. Steve and Julie were sitting up in camp when we arrived.
We talked and snacked telling stories and finding out we all had various friends and acquaintances in common. It was fun to see who knew who and how our lives had run in circles that intersected through different individuals. Fitz and Julie had to get back and we were sad to see them go.

Bill and I went fishing for a bit after things quieted down. I was in my little boat and Bill in his kayak with the two girls. I caught about three bass, nothing to write home about. I arrived back at camp and we made dinner, ate and talked around a campfire till about 10:00 PM. Bed called everyone and the camp was quiet by 10:30 PM.

Sunday is pancake day for Dean. I love to cook the little flat buggers until they are a golden brown. Linda perfers eggs and cheese over the cakes, but I've got to have my little butter and maple flavored friends.

One of my weekend goals was to read a book that Heather E. gave me. It is called The Art of Racing in the Rain, by Garth Stein. It is the story of a man and his family as told by their dog Enzo. Heather warned me about how it would make me cry and all that, she said I would enjoy it because of the authors weaving of auto race theory and driving technique into the story. I have to admit it is a real good book. Did I cry? How could you not? Many of the dog’s thoughts reminded me of Baka. I used to always wonder what he was thinking, what made him react as he did, and where he is now. I cried a bit, not as much as Linda did as she read John Gorgan’s Marley and Me, but I had my sniffles.

So now we are home, Linda and Kobi are asleep in the living room and I just finished chapter two of Marley and Me. I’ll let you know if I cry, I am a sucker for a good dog book.