If there was one lesson that we learned from last week's trip it was that a good supply of wood is essential to stay out on the Beaver Brook Road for any amount of time in the month of October. And, after a week of heavy rain, we needed some dry wood to create a good base of coals, so we stopped at the gas station on the way out to buy a few bundles of wood.
Since we were later than usual, we didn't make any stops on the Loop (read last week's story for a description of the Loop), except when we spotted an old blow down lying on the side of the road a few hundred yards from our campsite. The logs didn't fit in the trunk. So we left the trunk open and let the logs hang out the back of the car and hoped they would remain intact until we reached our destination.
You'd think that since we drive the Beaver Brook Road so often, that one of us would own a truck, but none of us do. Our normal Beaver Brook Road vehicle is a 1997 Chevy Malibu. With four people inside the car, and a trunk full of folding chairs, other supplies for the campfire, and a guitar - there's very little room for anything else.
When we arrived at the campsite it was totally dark and really cold. I was glad that we brought dry wood to start the fire. We made a big fire using the dry wood, and stacked the wood we had found on our ride in around the fire, so it could begin to dry out.
As the flames leapt four or five feet in the air from the pile of burning dry wood, steam poured from the wet wood that we had placed around the fire minutes before. The fire illuminated the trees around the campfire. The white bark of poplar trees around the campfire looked like a zebra's stripes dancing around us.
The large amount of wood we had gathered allowed us to stay late into the night. It allowed us to roast our kielbasa and cook our sloppy joes. And best of all it allowed us to have another great trip on the Beaver Brook Road.
Our Website: www.beaverbrookroad.net
"Rows of lights to illuminate lines. Why can't they turn them off and let us see night?" Isaac Brock - Modest Mouse
