The Moon Lake Disaster

People are always trying to get us to go camping, but Charles has the requirement of running water. So, when our greyhound friends decided to do a group cabin camping trip to Moon Lake the last weekend in August, we were in. After about a week of making lists, packing, and cooking everything we could possibly need for two adults, one baby, and two greyhounds (we were dog sitting for our friend Emily) I felt prepared for four nights in the high Uintahs. This is what the back of the mini-van looked like.


The drive to Moon Lake was scenic and smooth. Claire slept for most of the three hour drive. Dug spent the first half of the trip perched atop the luggage in an attempt to get to me, but relaxed in the back of the van for the second half of the trip.

The cabins were pretty rustic, but they had running water, stoves, beds, and heat. We thought we were all set. We unpacked the van, fed the dog and ourselves, bathed an exhausted Claire in one of the big plastic bins we had used to pack food. She had the hardest time falling asleep and we couldn't figure out why until we discovered what looked like a huge bloody gash behind her ear, which ended up being a buffalo gnat bite that had really bled. We gently cleaned it, gave her some Baby Motrin, and she calmed down and went to sleep. Once Claire was asleep, we hung out at the campfire with the dogs until we felt our very squeaky bed calling us to sleep. As I was picking up before going to bed, I noticed some little black things in one of the dog's bowls. I tried to convince myself that it wasn't what I thought it was.

Around midnight, Claire woke up crying, which didn't surprise us, since we were in a new place. What did surprise me, was the fact that she wouldn't fall back asleep until three in the morning. Awesome. She woke up the next morning fairly happy and had a great time crawling around the cabin while playing with the dogs' leashes. I wasn't so happy when I discovered more black things in our skillet, and I could no longer deny we had little visitors. Despite being exhausted and a little grossed out, we had a nice day walking along the beach, taking a short hike up above the lake, and playing in the dirt. I don't think Claire had ever been dirtier or had ever had quite so much fun.





At bedtime, she fell asleep easily, and we spent a great evening hanging around the campfire with friends and the dogs, keeping our fingers crossed for a good night's sleep. No such luck. Claire was up at midnight, 1:30 , 3:00, and it took me 30 to 45 minutes each time to get her to fall back asleep. When she got up at 5:00 there was no getting her back to sleep, so we sat around the cabin and played until we saw a mouse scurry across the kitchen floor. We had been contemplating the idea of going home early because we were all exhausted and cranky, but actually seeing the mouse sealed the deal. Around 7 am, Claire decided she was ready for a nap and we all slept for about three hours. We spent some time playing on the beach before loading up the car to go home.




The ride home was uneventful, and while disappointed to be leaving early, we were glad to be home and away from the mice. Claire slept through the night, and there were no mouse droppings in my skillet in the morning. Charles now has a new requirement for accommodations - running water and no rodents. I discovered that I have gotten soft in my old age. I no longer have any desire to go camping. I'm fine with rustic, and I think I would have been okay with the rodents if Claire hadn't been sleeping so close to floor and crawling all over it. Moon Lake was beautiful, and it reminded me a bit of the mountains in Northern New Mexico where my family camped when I was growing up.

Despite the mice and lack of sleep, we had some really great moments and a lot of fun with our friends, and the dogs had the time of their lives. We haven't ruled out cabin camping in the future, and maybe we'll try again next year.