Looks like a rainy start to Memorial Day Weekend ahead

I was a a bit on fence about packing tonight and heading up to camp after work tomorrow. There is a good chance I’ll be setting up camp in the rain, and it could be a cold and wet night up in the woods. But I went to store this evening, got much of my gear packed, and even found some pallet wood along the road that I busted up for getting a fire started tomorrow night in the rain. I’m sure some of my neighbors thought I was nuts smashing up pallets out back with an axe but my good ol boy neighbor certainly understands. I tell you when I own my own land I will hoard pallets both for projects and to burn in bonfires. They don’t have a lot of warmth as they’re usually pine but they burn hot which is good for both starting fires and burning debris hot with less smoke.

It will be fine with the rain tomorrow, it increases the chance of getting the campsite I want. Saturday also looks a bit cold, cloudy and a bit wet, but it’s still late May and I packed the propane heater. Spend a lot of time reading, maybe some smoke some grass and a dart with a cold beer or two. Listen to some podcasts and audio books. Have some nice fires then Sunday and Monday look good. Hoping to have a campsite with enough sun exposure that I can keep the batteries charged while keeping the engine off on my truck and then Memorial Day I’ll ride a good portion of the day, before joining my parents for their Memorial Day Barbecue. With them at their age, you don’t really know if this one will be the last.

At times, when I first got behind my wheel of my truck I was a bit anxious, in part because my brakes failed on my previous truck when it was 13 years old or so on Memorial Day Weekend. But I think this year will be fine, I’ve learned a lot over the past nearly decade and half since then. Just enjoy things for the day, and I’ll have my bike if I have to leave the truck behind. And I don’t know, I’m kind of getting tired of these trips. They’re all the same, unless I can find and discover a new adventure along the way – I try to but there are only so many places locally to explore.

Things are mostly packed at this point but there are the things I need in the morning that I can’t pack until it’s almost time to go. That’s why I have the packing list. While it’s not critical to be in the office on time tomorrow morning, as after all, I’m the Director and my bosses work 5 miles up the road, I’m thinking of leaving early, and I don’t want to set any worse of an example then I normally do. I do need to get some audio books and e-books out of the library tomorrow at work, plus a bunch of podcasts. Not sure if I’ll have internet on my phone up at camp, depends where I end up staying. I am still undecided, as I really wanted to do Somerset Road FR 71, but it’s closed north of Airfield, and no way in hell I’m camping in a developed campground especially on a holiday weekend.

Well, it’s time to get some sleep, as tomorrow at this hour I’ll probably be sitting next to a campfire in the dark of the wilderness, bar of course Christmas lights and flags, listening to some music or a podcast, and maybe lighting off a few of those fireworks and sparklers for fun. Soon I’ll be able to get more at Walmart and other stores, though not in Albany County, because you know, the liberals don’t like fun.