Full Moon and Solstice and Campers! Oh My!

Last night, for the first time since 1948, the Summer Solstice was ushered in with a full moon. As you can expect, the ruckus up on the North Ridge was impressive.  Those of us that live on the ridge line had few options but to raise a glass of your sedative-of-choice if there was any hope of getting a wink of sleep.

The natural world is pretty exciting, but some folks really don’t have a sense of proportion. You might liken it to living next to a Portland frat house the night after finals. But with less clothing and much, much louder.

The noisome revelry scared up a covey of Boyscouts who seem to have gotten too far north from their permit site. They had snuck out of their tents to play flashlight tag when the growing commotion got them all turned around. Terrified, they found themselves running for their lives thinking they were being chased by Hell itself. They eventually found an old dilapidated cabin to hole up in and catch their breath.

Then they saw it. A distant, hulking form, slowly approaching in the darkness. They tried to convince themselves it was their imaginations, but it kept coming closer, growing ever larger. They shivered and whimpered, and then a blinding light back-lit the horrific beast that had come to kill them: “Big Paul” Barrister, who wondered why he had a bunch of kids hiding in his wood shed.

Happily, Big Paul didn’t eat the kids (though he could have, as anyone around here knows. Big guy, big stomach), and they are staying at the motel while Fish and Game and the Sheriff’s office look for the scoutmaster and other scouts and make sure everyone is OK.

Tonight is slated to be a second night of celebration up on the North Ridge, and Edna’s is staying open late tonight for anyone looking for black coffee, runny eggs, and a respite from the hard-partying lifestyle.