I tried for two days with no luck to download my pics of Dillon State Park. Today, they went without a hitch, so now I can update you on the remainder of my stay at Dillon State Park, my rescue of Russ in Zanesville, and now Buck Creek State Park.

What I really wanted to show was “The Portal” that I discovered while kayaking.

Totally into another dimension! For one thing, there were Great Blue Herons everywhere:

Then, drifting in a side cove, I suddenly saw a deer, then a second, a third, and a fourth, trot silently down a hill, stop for a sip, and just as silently move off, their coats shining cinnamon-brown in the sun.

One of my favorite things about kayaking is the ability to do silly things like paddle under trees:

Does this life vest make my butt look fat?

Back to reality (fortunately this magic portal stays in place) and camp, and just in time, because I got a frantic text from Russ saying that he’d nearly passed out in the 95 degree heat and was waiting to be rescued at a cemetery in Zanesville. Off I went, picked him up, and promptly got some cold sodas into him. He was feeling punky all the next day: he’d probably come close to heat stroke.

Then it was time to head to my next campsite at Buck Creek State Park. I dropped Russ off at the Panhandle Trail for his next leg, and arrived at camp just in time to set up before the rain, which brought some blessed cooling.

The next morning (today, Sat. June 14), I took Moe for his morning constitutional, and we followed the Lakeside Trail for a while under overcast skies. I noticed a movement to my right, and we watched a raccoon walk headfirst down a tree and squeeze itself into a nest cavity. I waited a bit and was rewarded with the sight of its masked face peeking back at us from the safety of its home. (Not the actual raccoon, because of course I didn’t have my camera.)