Teardrop Trail Log: June 13, 2016

Travel completed, we arrived at Lake Jacomo County Park near Kansas City and our cares dissipated. The place looks more like a city park than a camp ground with a well-manicured lawn and plantings, and a stylish restroom and bathhouse. Best of all, Marilyn had thoughtfully stashed a beer or two into the ice chest. I would have cold beer even though the solar fridge system had failed. We each began our setup and dinner tasks.

The weather was warm but not too bad, and I enjoyed setting up camp. Marilyn was already working on dinner — a chicken recipe that we both like. With the new stabilizers, I was done in no time, and sat down to enjoy a cold one while checking the day’s events. The prospect of a a leisurely dinner in the twilight beckoned.

As we sat down to dinner about 30 minutes later, we heard a crash by the camp picnic table. Investigating, Marilyn discovered the pasta pot had been knocked to the ground. This was new. There was no wind to speak of, and we weren’t near any other campsites. What was going on?

North American Raccoon (theivous cuteus)

I then noticed some movement near the tree. iPhone at the ready, I snapped a picture, the flash went off, and we had the evidence. There was a raccoon relaxing by the tree and apparently pondering it’s next move. Attracted by the pasta cooking water, it was unconcerned and seemed to say: “I’ll just wait here for dinner.” As we finished our dinner rituals, I spotted it outside of camp again — eyes aglow from my flashlight. Hmmm. Very persistent and comfortable around humans. Did we have a new challenge for our trip?

Patience and persistence personified