We are chilling in camp Willa tightly gripping the nearest available finger and practicing her walking — something she did A LOT of this week. “A bear”, I hear Tracy call out. No way, I think and assume she is messing with me. Nope! It is definitely a bear intently devouring berries in the site right next to us. He seems unfazed by people watching and we get to watch for quite some time before he moves on, in search of another tasty berry patch. What a great start to the day. We hang out in camp relaxing with the only interruptions being a rousing game of bocce (tall grass, mud puddles, tire ruts and tree roots – some unusual course challenges)
and the fun of watching Willa with a few toys we found in the motorhome: a purse full of bling from great grandma Wasik, crayons, and the airport Mike played with as a kid. We hang out as Mike gets his campfire cook thing on. By the time the week is over he gets in a good bit of open fire cooking…..yummy. He chars eggplant and builds a great bed of coals for our Dutch oven supper. We end our day with a herd of cow and young elk moving just past camp. Yearling males play-spar and the youngest members run and jump among the adults. Good night.
We are chilling after the Johnston Canyon hike and the elk move right through camp. They peacefully graze for over an hour all around us sometimes within 7 meters of the picnic table. Who needs TV or internet when we have this kind of live entertainment?!
Camp cooking is a highlight. Grilled portabella burgers and ear corn. Veggie burritos. Homemade pizza…Pizza Friday on Saturday! Dutch oven vegan chili. Richly smoky baba ghanoush made with open-fire charred eggplant. Grilled cauliflower steaks that add to a hearty quinoa vegie stir. Pineapple/tofu kabobs with grilled sweet potato fries. Homemade rustic (read lumpy ‘cause no super blender) hummus. Potato leek soup. Eggplant marinara spaghetti. Charred jalapeno that add flavor to many dishes. S’mores. Blueberry pie-iron pies. Thanks Mike, for all the open fire cooking and the delicious contributions to every meal.
Willa takes great delight in the dogs around camp. She masters woof woof whenever they make an appearance. Elk and bighorn sheep illicit a similar reaction. It is great fun to watch. She and I investigate my medallions every morning and that is where she learned more animal sounds: “meow”, actually her own adorable version and a variation of cluck cluck for chickens. All so very cute!