Boxing Day Morning on Frazier Mountain Parkway

I once heard a comedy routine about how dumb it is to realize you are cold enough to need another blanket but somehow be unwilling to get up and get the one that is folded up at the foot of the bed.  Why does that happen?  I think it happens when you are almost warm enough to go to sleep, but not quite.  You somehow think if you just curl up tight enough, it will be ok.  It took me a long time to brave the full cold and pull down a second sleeping bag to go over the down bag.  The down bag would have been warm enough if I'd been zipped up in it, but I just had it opened up like a blanket and cold air was leaking in around the edges.  When I finally gave in and spread the 40 degree bag over me as well, I was a lot more comfortable.  And in case you are wondering why Mr. Heater wasn't doing his duty, it's because he had run through the partial cylinder I put on and then gone out, signaling to me it was time to go to bed.  And I've been sternly admonished to NOT go to sleep with the heater running.  Several times.  Which I wouldn't do anyway.

 

I don't have plans to do any real cold weather camping in KD, which is a good thing because she really isn't set up for it.  But there are things I can do to improve the cold seepage, including insulating the floor when I have it redone next spring.  And sealing out a few drafts around the door, and adding more insulation when the ceiling is done.  KD is still a work in progress (like me, for that matter).

 

Had a hot Flying J shower and decided to have breakfast at the attached Dennys.  This Dennys doesn't get Five Trees.  Service is well-intentioned but a tad slow.  And the first year we stopped here on our way to the Slabs, our T-bone steaks looked like a something out of a child's play food set, a grimly putty-colored item that had been painted by Chinese slave laborers who had never seen a steak.  Food this morning a bit better, though the sausage was cold.  Still, they get points for putting me in the only booth that has an electrical outlet, and inadvertently encouraging me to get wheat toast instead of white. 

 

Getting ready to head out.

The View Of The Surrounding Mountains Is Striking. There Appears To Be A Visitor Center Of Some Sort, But It's Not Complete.  No Information On The Sign Boards, And The Touch For Information Sign Is Not Live.  Impressive Sculpture Of What Seems To Be A Condor Or A Vulture.