Sly Park Recreation Area - Day 1

We left town around 2pm and made quick time up to Pollack Pines area. We did stop at a Starbucks in Placerville to grab some coffee for the evening. We were in the Sierra Spur Area of Sly Park Recreation Area in Site 63, which is a small area with sites close to and with a great view of Jenkinson Lake. The sites were a little slanted so it took some doing to get our tent in a position where we could at least sleep level. The rest of the tent was on an angle. Granted, we did use our REI "Queendom" Kingdom 6 so it's not a small tent to maneuver.

We got everything set up and Bozo pulled out the chicken fingers that she had prepared and a fresh salad. That definitely made things easier than setting up and then having to cook right away. It took us a little while to be able to relax but eventually we had the fire going and rested. We were waiting for Natacha and Rachel to get there knowing it would be a little later in the evening when they would arrive. Eventually we got a text from them that they were having car trouble and would be coming up in the morning.

The weather was perfect! It was in the low 70s when we got there and the low 40s at night. Perfect!

During our relaxation, a group above us on the hill became louder and louder. Eventually the music was so loud that they had to yell at each other to talk. I felt like I was at a bar instead of camping. Instead of hoping they would quiet down, which we often will do, I called the gate house and complained. They got to the group really quickly and things quieted down pretty well. But then through the evening people from the group would be at the bathroom near our site and would make comments. The ones I heard were, "Wah wah wah" and "Oh, those are the people that don't like us." So nothing really significant but I thought it was strange they knew who had complained. People can be vindictive so it didn't feel safe that they knew who we were. They continued to be noisy through the night off and on but nothing like the "bar scene." The best was "Shhhhh" periodically through the night. lol Oh... and these people were in their 30s! lol I guess we stereotyped and assumed they were 20-somethings. Sorry 'bout that!

Stayed up until midnight...  HAPPY BIRTHDAY BOZO!

When we went to bed, I listened to my iPod to help me sleep and block out the noise. But I made the cardinal mistake regarding listening to relaxation mp3s. I had only listened to them when I couldn't sleep and felt somewhat anxious. So I had trained my brain to feel anxious and wide awake when I turned on that particular music. I switched over to the book "Blink" and with the reader's calm voice, I was asleep very quickly!