July 13th, 2020
First thought on waking: New car and life worries woke me early.
Final thought of the day: How much I’m going to miss these arms while away.
The day goes fast
Today is the last day before I leave for the Basin. Work is busy attending to last minute details. It always seems when you are about to travel, everything you submit to your boss comes with an extra question or two which slows down the goal of task accomplishment. People also always want to know where you are going, for how long, what you plan to do etc. Moreover, traveling in today’s pandemic-laced world comes with many discussions about the virus, the current case count, safety concerns and more. I assure everyone that where we are going is secluded and safe. Or, at least, safer than they will be back here at home.
Upon returning home from work, the attention quickly turns to some last minute quality time with my family. Smoked brisket hits the table followed by a bit of Baby Einstein on Youtube watching. It’s my youngest daughter’s favorite media and the classical music instantly calms her. Moreover some rare snuggles are served up.
After the episode was complete, I put my daughter to bed. It takes a few tries. Normally, I will say a prayer over her and close the door behind. She will acknowledge bedtime, roll over and go to sleep. Tonight was different and she was agitated and uncomfortable so I picked her up and rocked and snuggled her for a bit in the rocking chair. We say our prayers once again and I kiss her goodnight.
About 9 months ago we made a donation to a local church and won a dessert of the month club. Once our youngest goes down to sleep, the rest of us enjoyed the remnants of a lemon pudding cake that perfectly hits the spot. Next, we enjoyed a rousing game of Phase 10. I won!
I finish packing and weighing my gear. Total pack weight is 31 lbs. This is a bit higher than I would like but bad for 8 days worth of food and some extra dead weight for camera gear and batteries. After the trip, I will go through what gear works and what didn’t perform so well.
Tomorrow morning will come very early, with a before sunrise start time, so my comfy bed is in order. I fall asleep thinking about how much I will miss my wife and kids.
