El-Town: Camping Trip #2

As soon as Memorial Day weekend was a subject of conversation, I wrote on Paul's calendar: "Take El away!" It didn't matter where, just somewhere out of town. Our summer schedule is very full, and it would be a shame to not take advantage of any/every opportunity to spend some "us" time.
With our recent compilation of camping gear, we talked about taking a backpacking trip somewhere, and then, this happened:

Paul got a big boo-boo. He fell on his hand during a basketball game 2 1/2 weeks ago and ended up fracturing his wrist. We were thinking he'd be put in a half cast, and our jaws dropped when we found out it was going to be this extensive. Although the fracture is at the base of his thumb and index finger, they had to completely immobilize his whole right arm (yes, he's right handed). Apparently, it's a really important bone in his wrist that must heal properly. He's in this bad boy for 4 weeks, and then they'll put him in a different one (hopefully less obtrusive) for another 4 weeks. The worst part is that we're just beginning the busiest season of the whole year, and 4th of July means manning the fireworks tent and moving big boxes. Camp is also approaching, which is the biggest, most extensive event Paul puts on. We're optimistic the cast will be off by the time we leave for Thailand August 3rd.

Paul gave the nurse a good laugh when he took of his jacket and revealed the slogan on his t-shirt, just before they put the cast on.

"Broken"

Paul was a great sport and took me camping anyway, despite my offer to go to Hawaii instead. :) He got his cast Thursday, and by Friday at 11am, we spontaneously decided to camp, looking past the wet weather. 2 hours later, and after a quick stop to buy a tent pole for our rain fly, we hit the road and drove North.

We were lucky to find a campsite along the Elwha River, and pitched our tent during a break in the rain. We made spaghetti for dinner, and drank hot chocolate for dessert.

Dinner

Dessert :) (plus licorice)

Madison Creek Falls

Though it rained through the night, we stayed dry! The JetBoil boils water in 60 seconds, so cooking was pretty easy. The rain had ceased by the time we got up, and we continued our drive around the entire park with a several sightseeing stops along the way.