Saturday 9-4 Motorcycle Ride and Busy Holiday Weekend

 

Larry riding our motorcycle

When we woke up this morning the temperature inside the Minnie was in the high 40s. Most mornings the outside temperature has been in the 40's and inside it has been in the 50's but not this morning. Looks like we will need to setup our Wave3 heater.

The Wave3 works on propane, years ago when we got it the easiest place to tie into the propane line on the Minnie was via the stove in the kitchen which is in the very back. We have used it there for many years but because it was all the way in the back it was difficult to heat the front. Larry wanted to move it to the living area so last year he ran a new propane line directly from the propane tank to underneath one of the dinette seats. From there he put in a valve and installed a hose designed for propane that reaches the dining room table. This will be our first time using it in the new location. It should heat the living area much better. We can also pull the curtain in the kitchen area closed and the heater won't have to heat as much area.

We have been at Big Meadows Campground for a week. Each morning we have hiked three to four hours for 5 to 6 miles and in the evening we hike around the lake for about 3 miles. We decided to take the next couple of days off from hiking, it will let our bodies recover a bit and there are a lot more people here due to the long holiday weekend. We decided to take the motorcycle for a ride.

Before going for a ride we wanted it to warm up a bit. We walked to the overflow waterfall and back. While walking around we noticed that the lake was getting busy. Two guys were leaving and had caught a few rainbow trout. People were riding bikes, fishing on the banks and walking around the campground. A couple I met last night while I was walking stopped and we visited with them. They have three dogs of different sizes. The lady asked Larry about his hiking applications. While they talked I talked with her husband about traveling and paid attention to their dogs. They're on their way to Canada because the wife has a daughter living there. We had a pleasant visit.

When we returned to the Minnie we unloaded the bike from its rack. We got it ready and we got ready for our ride. Larry wanted to look at a couple of things. First we drove a narrow dirt curvy road about 3 miles up the mountainside from the campground to a small fishing lake. At the start of the road there was a sign that said "This is your decision point, when you decide to go beyond this sign you are entering an area with hazardous conditions". We had to drive over a few low water crossings and through a mud puddle. The road was rough. When we got to the lake I got off and we stretched our legs and I took pictures. I walked down to the bathroom to look at the scenery. I had to walk on the edge of the mud puddle. Larry drove through the puddle and picked me up. Then we drove back down the road. We were grateful that we were on a motorcycle because we had to pass a couple of vehicles. The road is two way but it was very narrow. From there we got on the main highway for a few miles to Tucker Ponds Campground. We drove through a tunnel. On the other side was where we turned left to get to the campground. There was a paved parking lot for people to unload their four wheelers. We followed another rough road for a few miles. Along the way there were dispersed camping sites, dispersed sites are free but they are simply pull offs next to the road that offer no services. Larry thought maybe it would be an option for us but we decided no way because the road was way too rough. When we got to Tucker Ponds Campground we parked the bike and walked around a bit. There are two ponds, we stopped at the first one. It was a nice fishing pond, it was narrow but long. We saw a few people fishing. Then we drove through the campground. There were 14 sites. We were very surprised that there were only three people camping there. The campground was very nice but no hiking at the campground. Then we headed back. When we got to the parking lot it was almost full of four wheeler trailers. We saw a group of 10 people in three different four wheelers. One had a dog in it and it looked like they were going to make a day of because they had tables and coolers. By the time we got back to the campground the day area by the lake was full of cars. It was a perfect day for bike ride.

 

Warning sign

 

Fishing lake

 

One of the two Tucker ponds

 

A creek that flows by the highway

Big Meadows Lake had people kayaking, fishing on the banks and in small boats, picnicking and hiking the trail. We had a full campground today. People left and others came in.

We spent the afternoon reading. 

After dinner I needed to get some steps so I walked around the campground for two hours. I ended up getting 25,313 steps, which put me in 5th place in my group. When I finished my steps I did the Solitaire Daily Challenges and Event: Two Game Tango Mini of 10 games (5 spider and 5 Tri Peaks). It took me 46 minutes and 41 seconds, which put me in 9th place in my group. We had a super day.