We met up with our West Coast Rendezvousers a bit ahead of schedule. They came down off a mountain (really) sooner/faster than they had thought they would. I had expected this, so we were ahead of sched. Worked perfectly!
We motored north past lakes and mountains, past valleys and swamps, sagebrush and trees.
The critter wish-list from the Western Rendezvousers no longer includes bears, as they were seen on the mountain trek. I am happy not to see wild, and possibly aggressive, bears. We saw pronghorns in the morning, but not after the meetup.
As the light begins to fade, the Nephews get the urge to have a fire, and absent the $12 or so it takes to buy a bundle of kindling and a larger bundle of firewood, they set off into the woods surrounding the campground to scout for loose branches. Soon, they are back with the happy news that there are elk down by the river!
We all trundle back to watch large creatures browse. At a respectful distance, which is what it’s all about here.
We climb into our tents as the temperatures really begin to drop. I wonder how much worse the smoke-haze will be on the morrow.
Title is a quote of Bro, trying to sharpen my camping knife, found years ago on a project I don’t remember. He made fair headway even with a not-so-good rock.