camping by the flaming gorge, wyoming/utah border

_ all good trips start (or end) at wal*mart, so here we are, in a town outside the ashley national forest, picking up supplies as the sun goes down.

_ lamps for light and against mosquitoes. tonight we skip these; the moon's bright enough.

_ watermelon for dessert, necessary when the campsite water line's broken. if you're used to a glass of water on your bedside table: watermelon.

_ a difficult choice b/w beer brats & sweet.

_ corn barely shucked, kept on the edge of the grill for a while.

_ and, when sleeping in open air on hard ground, the illusion of a mattress.

_ we arrive and set up, the moon bright enough over the lake it's almost day. the tent rises without flashlights.

_ the site, by lucerne marina, is full. we're the only tent, but every other plot is occupied by a silent rv. the plots are rented for the entire summer, we assume, and over the night we only glimpse one distant figure moving among the campers, headed for the bathroom.

_ there are bushes down by the water, so we took the narrow path down, looking for firewood.

_ and so up comes the fire.

_ and then quickly to bed. the night passes...

_ until morning, and we're up with the sun.

_ we swim.

_ and, for the first time in days, do nothing but stare into space for a while.

_ and then we're off again, to steamboat springs with still-wet hair.