We so often create checklists in advance of going on camping trips. So I thought I'd create a post-camping checklist detailing the proper packing in of experiences:

1. Injuries (Designate experiences with Yes/No)
Cuts (Y)
Scrapes (Y)
Welts (Y)
Bug Bites (Y)
Bruises (Y)
Sun Burn (Y)
Fatigue (Y)
Achiness (Y)
Bone Fractures (N)
Heat Exhaustion (N)
Altitude Sickness (N)
Snake Bite (N)
Dog Bite (Y)
Death (N)

2. Activities
Bear Wrestling (N)
Swimming (Y)
a) with all kinds of water bugs and spiders (Y) *If yes, please detail below
b) with teeny tiny frogs (Y)
c) with snakes (Y) **If yes, please detail below
d) with giant squid (N)
e) in dirty gross muck (N)
f) in a shockingly pristine 25 foot deep pond (Y)
g) in the early morning (Y)
h) in the late morning (Y)
i) in the early afternoon (Y)
j) in the late afternoon (Y)
k) after night fall (N)
Sleeping in a tent (Y)
Cooking on a portable stove (Y)
Axing and digging up nefarious black berry limbs (Y)
Machete-ing nefarious black berry limbs (N)
Watching a cowboy-hat-wearing teva-clad testerone tornado machete black berry limbs (Y)
Gathering pretty rocks (Y)
Clearly delineating a new trail with said pretty rocks (Y)
Clearing brush (Y)
Napping (Y)
Number of cool new earthy hard working people met: 11
Number of canine companions: 3
Number of sticks/pine cones/pieces of bark thrown for doggy entertainment:" ~3,000

3. Sounds Heard:
Buzzing chain saws (Y)
At least 10 different species of bird calls (Y)
a) including hawks (Y)
b) including jays (Y)
c) including hummingbirds (Y)
d) including lovely unidentified songbirds (Y)
e) including wild dodo (N)
Mid-afternoon snoring (Y)
Splashing (Y)
Robins tromping around underfoot in the brush (Y)
Snide jokes (Y)
Wild yeti call (N)
Ambulances going by (N)
City cacaphony (N!)

4. Food consumed
Egg, sausage and cheese scramble (Y)
Belgian Waffles with fresh Strawberries (N)
Olive Bread dipped in Balsamic Vinaigrette (Y)
Melba chips and duck pate (N)
Fresh salad with red bell peppers (Y)
Venison Jerky (N!)
Sausage Stroganoff Soup (Y)
Liver and Onions (N)
Egg, Sausage, Cheese and Potato Scramble with Lemon Pepper (Y)
Chocolate Croissant (N)
In-N-Out Burger on the way up (Y)
McDonald's (N)
Rick's Freezette's (founded in 1960) infamous Nacho Cheese Dog (Y!!)
Quinoa (N)

5. The Drive:
Hours spent driving up there: 5
Number of hours added by SF/Sacto traffic: 1.5
First use of 4W Drive option in Pick up truck (Y)
Hours spent driving back: 4
Number of hours added by traffic: 0
Number of hours added by Nacho Cheese Dog Consumption: 0.5

Overall Impression: AWESOME, can't wait to go again!!!

*I've had a heck of a time figuring out what kind of spider we saw. It was big, sleek, and sharp-toed, looked black with yellow stripes. I think it must have been a kind of wolf spider -- family lycosidae -- since they are known for being comfortable with water surface locomotion. But I can't find any pictures that match what we saw. We also saw lots of dragon and damsel flies, including their nymphs; water boatmen (very cool); and what looked like a large beetle with big pinchers. And plenty of tadpoles too.

**This is the common garter snake, eastern subspecies. It's the closest in appearance to what was swimming around with us in the pond. Very docile and not the least bit concerned about our company.