Bento #95... I did go camping

And it was interesting.  At least I think so.

This is the first time I've ever been camping on my own, so I was a bit nervous.  I'll admit that.  When I got to the lake, it was drizzly and overcast.  Check-in wasn't until 2:00, so I found a little turn-off that looked over the lake and spent a couple of hours reading a book.  At 2:00 I went to the campsite, paid my fee, and started settling into my spot.  I made lunch first.  Chicken, noodles, and zucchini.  I got my tent up, and then it started pouring.  Buckets.  I got soaked.  And I discovered that neither my tent or my umbrella are waterproof.  Great.

As soon as the torrential downpour turned to just a drizzle, I decided I should move to another campspot.  One where my truck would be parked much closer to my firepit.  Just in case the weather stayed gross.  It didn't, of course.  I could have stayed where I was and been just fine.  But that's what I get for being careful.

I spent a few hours just walking around by the lake and sitting at the dock.  I met a guy who invited me back to his firepit for beers, but... I'm kind of like a good little Mormon girl.  He offered me marshmallows instead. When I got back to camp, I got really tied up reading a book though.  I didn't even build a fire.  Or eat dinner.  Somewhere around 11:00 I realized that A) I was hungry and B) it was late.  I munched some fruit from my ice chest and went to bed.

It was at some point in the middle of the night that I realized... even though it wasn't raining, it still would have been nice to waterproof the tent.  The condensation on the outside was seeping through where my sleeping bag was touching... My socks were wet.

I did make myself a decent breakfast.  I boiled a potato (that was supposed to have been baked in the fire the night before) and then poached an egg.  And had hot chocolate.  Really good hot chocolate.  I make my own mix that is sugar-free, fat-free, and really good and creamy.  And then I added a caramel-vanilla marshmallow to it.

After I cleaned and packed up my camp, I went fishing.  Kind of.  I baited the hook twice.  But I was reading, and couldn't be bothered with actually putting effort into the fishing thing.  I spent hours out there, and baked my shoulders to red crispy bits.  Even though I really was using sunscreen.  I promise...

*****

This bento contains lemon-pepper chicken (that I cooked while I was camping), green beans, lots of tomatoes from my plants, plum slices, peach slices, a bit of mango, and a cantaloupe ball.

The green beans were steamed in my microwave steamer and then tossed into a saute pan with some garlic and hoisin sauce.  They turned out really good!

*****

And now... Two of my favorite camping pictures...

I did not use the zoom with this picture at all...  I saw this gal near camp, started snapping pictures, and she walked right up to me.  I could have touched her.  But there was this nagging voice that said touching wild animals would get me killed.  Even if it was just a little deer...

The area around Strawberry Reservoir is covered with these little neon orange flowers....