we gathered

"It will take hold of you and you will resent its absence."

8:17 AM MDT. I read my e-book for a while. It warmed up. The Sun peeked through the trees.

Ian and I went to Trading Post. Got wood and ice. Sadly there was no wi-fi. No postcards. I grabbed some local reading materials. Noted the store had emergency stuff, camp supplies, sandwiches, booze, etc. They clearly catered to people fishing. Deep cycle marine batteries.

Amidst big fish photos, we spotted some astro pix: rho Oph, the Bubble, Jupiter, and Mars.

I changed the time again in the truck, subtracting another hour from the clock.

We got more water on the way back.

I made brunch. My tasty breakfast sandwiches with pan fries. Washed, dried, and put away dishes.

1:06 PM. Read some more of James Bond's exploits at the water's edge.

Spotted a new bird, black and white with rust-coloured head. Learned it was a Canvasback.

Verified the reservoir is spliced by the time zone line.

1:40. Moved my stuff out of the truck. Borrowed the foam pad. That would make sleeping a bit more comfortable as my old Thermarest had a slow leak.

We learned the rest of the party arrived at the Denver airport. Yeh. Car 1 with Lora, Phil, Sue, Grace, and Tony departed shortly after. Car 2 didn't get away until two hours later.

Ian and I fixed the trailer's Oregon Scientific weather station: the sender was water-logged.

3:33. I enjoyed a Nooner Pilsner by Sierra Nevada based in both California and North Carolina. It was a nice taste, light. A good hot-day beer.

Ian was feeling better. Shaking off the cold. I was pleased to hear that. Not long-lasting.

We heard from car 1. They were an hour away.

5:04. Katrina pinged us. Car 2, with Dan and Chris, were having dinner. They were on Eastern time, so hungry. They had yet to shop for some supplies so we wondered when they'd arrive.

I checked our local coordinates. 42:36 by 100:53. Our elevation was 900m. We were -6 from UT.

After car 1 arrived, we set up tents. I figured out Dan's while Ian did Katrina's.

We made our dinner. Pine nuts! Yum.

A big storm rolled in suddenly and we had to batten down the hatches. Lots of lightning. I was worried the big wind would carry off the dining tent.

Car 2 arrived while we cleaned up.

7:33. Pinged rho with a shared hotspot. She was packing for her "yakking" trip. I noted my smartphone location came up as Crookston... Almost due north, on the 20.

People started heading to bed.

8:25. I heard Ian helping Chris with his tent as I read.

Some time later the rain stopped.