Tuesday, October 2
By mid-afternoon the crew and I are set up in our waterfront campsite.
We’re at Merrill Campground on the south end of Eagle Lake, northwest of Susanville, California.
It’s short-sleeve weather with clear skies.
We walk on the beach and I take photos, making sure to snap a pic of Spike soaking at the lake’s edge (slideshow below).
Back at our campsite, Spike, Bridget and I share some deli slices of roasted chicken. Two stellar jays eye our picnic table and scold us for not sharing before flying off.
I lean way back in my anti-gravity lounger and the crew settles down in their pen for a doze. Tilted back in my chair I watch as pelicans cross the blue sky, making great swirls in gentle motion. Pelicans may be dorky-looking on land, but they are surprisingly graceful fliers. My activity — or lack of it, I should say — takes up the rest of the afternoon!
Wednesday, October 3
After breakfast and a walk on the beach, the crew and I get comfy in the Best Little Trailer. I have blogging to do and the crew has napping on their agenda. It’s another beautiful day. I realize I haven’t experienced rainy weather in months!
Around five or so, the three of us go down to the beach again.
I carry my about-to-fall-apart, five-dollar camp chair, my camera, and my monocular (Tasco 10 x 25). After exploring the beach, Spike and Bridget sit next to my chair at the water’s edge. In the morning the lake is calm with a surface smooth as glass. Now that it’s late afternoon, small waves appear, depositing foam on the sand, and soothing us with their soft, rhythmic sound.
My monocular is great!
I amuse myself by observing the various birds and waterfowl. I see about forty coots (they’re tough to count because they keep going underwater and appearing again some twenty feet away!), four gulls, two meadowlarks (waterlarks?), two sandpipers, two northwestern crows (?), one grebe, and six pelicans.
A gaggle of Canadian geese waddle the beach near the wide strip of golden grass between the beach and the campground. Spike sprints toward them and then realizes, when one stands tall and flaps his impressive wings: oh, excuse me, never mind, just passing by.
No one is on the beach.
All those campers within walking distance and no one is interested in this abundant natural beauty? This morning I saw a young man jogging and a guy racing his motorboat. That’s it! Now, right before sunset, no one but me, my crew, and the birds are here to enjoy this gorgeous spot.
Thursday, October 4
This is our last day at Eagle Lake and I don’t want to waste it! Back to the beach we go with camp chair, camera, monocular, and, this time, my kindle. The pelicans are busy scooping up fish, pointing their beaks skyward to swallow, sometimes clacking their beaks together . . . pelican for yum-yum? Coots also enjoy breakfast, making less commotion. I read, enjoy the scenery, watch the crew, the birds . . . until around noon when the wind begins to blow.
“Let’s go home for lunch!”
Eagle Lake, California
rvsue
rvsue and her canine crew 