Thursday, August 24, 2006

Entry for August 23, 2006

 

This week I have read several blogs on camping and the great outdoors. I read about Angie's love of fishing, Spotty's boyscout camp days, Poss's unplanned campsite. Somehow camping and I have never gotten along. I don't know why, I love the outdoors, but mention camping and I cringe.



As a kid, my family camped out a few times. The first time I remember camping was at a small state park just a couple of hours from home. We packed so much for that week-end of camping ....a tent,sleepbags, cookstove, coolers,food,clothes,fishing gear,...so much stuff. We arrived and set up our tent, it was one of those old canvas tents that came in a large metal box and it weighed a ton. It was only after we set up the tent we noticed all the bees,... lots of bees. So we gave up on the campsite and went fishing. You don't catch much fish when it's over 100 degrees out. We stuck it out though, till someone spotted a snake, and that was enough for my mom. Between the heat, the bees, the whining kids, the snake was the last straw and we went home. Our camping adventure had lasted a whole 4 hours.



Our next camping trip was to Vedauwoo, Wyoming. We were going to visit relatives and of course we packed all of our paraphenalia again.....everything except coats. It can still snow in the end of May in Vedauwoo, Wyoming. We tried to tell our parents that the cold and wet seeps thru the tent floor when it's snowing. Being safe and dry on a mattress in the back of the camper they didn't seem too concerned. It didn't snow much, just enough so that we packed it in and stayed at a hotel the rest of the trip.



One year my mom was brave. My dad couldn't get off work so she was going to take us to western Nebraska and we would camp along the way to save money. We were older then, we were wiser. Maybe we were too old by then. My youngest brother whined and complained the whole trip. He wanted a tv, a radio, video games, and a swimming pool ...with a diving board. It had to have a diving board. Our vacation and camping trip couldn't get over soon enough that year. Today my youngest brother is a boyscout leader and camps out almost every other week-end. I like how some things come full circle like that.



A few years later I went camping with a group of friends. We camped out on a very secluded spot on a farmer's land. It was woodsy, and on a hill, that just off in a short distance you saw the bluffs near the Missouri river. Down the hill was a small creek fed pond. It was beautiful.



So untouched, our little wilderness spot.....except for.......the cows.....or the evidence of cows. But the spot was beautiful and it took us forever to get back here on that winding,twisting dirt path, so we stayed and set up camp. We didn't see any cows,  but we felt we could deal with them. We pitched our tents and unpacked and quickly got to fixing dinner as the sun was setting. We had our lanterns lit, our hot dogs roasting, a huge kettle of baked beans cooking.



It was just the softest sound in the encroaching darkness.....a "plop"..... and then they came.



In the hundreds..... june bugs.



Attracted to our lanterns, the plopping sound was them hitting the lights, and falling into our kettle of baked beans. You just can't eat baked beans once you have seen a june bug doing the back stroke in them. Dinner was over quickly.



We slept out under the stars, the tents seemed too hot. There are so many strange sounds in the dark, out in the wilderness. Rustling sounds, that make you wonder is it a raccoon? Is it a snake? Is it a cow?

Somehow scrunching up your eyes really tight and sticking your head under the covers helps. It does, trust me. You don't want to yell or make a sound, because we all know in those slasher movies the chicken sh...(bleep) t....gets it first.



It's an unwritten rule of camping, that the darkest time of night, you will need to pee. As you reach for your flashlight you hope you will not run into any wild creatures or ...a fresh cowpie.



Come morning, if you have slept thru the sounds of the whipporwills, the raindrops will surely wake you. We ended up being towed all the way down our now mud path, in the pouring rain, by the farmer and his tractor till we hit a paved road.



I don't know why camping and I don't mix. Maybe it's me? Maybe it's Mother Nature? Maybe I just need to give it another chance? I see pictures of other people's camping trips and they are smiling broadly, holding up their huge lines of fish they have caught at the bottom of some mountain stream and I think....why can't that be me? I try fishing, but I don't catch anything, well except for that time I hooked someone behind me.



I like nature. I sit out on my deck and watch the butterflies, and listen to the birds, and it's so peaceful, so calming...... Camping shouldn't be so hard.



I have thought it over, and I have revised a list of things to pack. I don't think I need all that stuff, it might be part of the problem. Too much stuff bogging down my camping enjoyment, life should be simple...camping should be simple. So this is my new camping list....



Revised List:



1. Pack one of those tents that you can just throw and they automatically pop up. No poles or directions needed.



2. No need to pack a coleman stove. Buy a disposable bic lighter instead. If you still are unable to light a  fire, you can always hold the flame from the lighter under the hotdogs.



3. Stop at the Kwik shop along the way and pick up a package of weiners, doritos, box of donuts and a carton of chocolate milk. This is all you will need for a week-end of camping. It won't last that long anyways,...trust me.



4. Bring a very large flashlight with new batteries. You will have to get up in the middle of the night to answer the call of nature.



5. Bring a book. Your enthusiasm for fishing will wane after the first hour of no nibbles.



6. Camp out only in the month of June. In May it can still snow, and it gets too hot after the end of June.



7. Eat before dark so you actually know what you are eating.



8. Bring an air mattress. The ground is hard and if it starts raining and your tent is leaking, you can use it as a floatation device.



9. Bug spray, bring lots of bug spray.



10. Don't camp with cows.



One day I will try it again...this camping stuff.......and if it's not meant to be, I will continue to clip coupons for the Holiday Inn..






Comments

(26 total)

Hey Vic!! Come go with us....we'll have sooooooo much fun....I'll show ya how to catch one of those fish...and if they're not biting...we'll go exploring...We never go hungry even if we can't get the fire lit...always some nice fellow from nearby campsites that'll help ya get a huge fire going :D...and I'll even save all the chocolate for you:D

Wednesday August 23, 2006 - 01:42pm (EDT)

Ah, so that's what I am doing wrong...I need to camp next to the cute nice fellow! lol, I will keep that in mind next time,lol,lol.

Wednesday August 23, 2006 - 12:54pm (CDT)

always here to help ;) haaaa....

Wednesday August 23, 2006 - 01:58pm (EDT)

hehe Vic I totaly agree with you...for me camping sucks big time! I have had a few experiences like yours myself. Latest and last one was when Lee traveled and wanted me to go with him on a job in Virgina at the beach. He wanted to camp at a local camp ground for some insane reason. to make a long story short , it came up the most dreadful storm and ruined a new screen house/tent and blew away all our camping equipment agggggg I love a great hotel with all the perks!!!

Wednesday August 23, 2006 - 02:00pm (EDT)

ohhhh Ms. Dixie...the beach and camping...gawd...that's the REAL thang :D...I'd rather be in a tent on the beach or in the mountains than any 5 star hotel in the world...:D

Wednesday August 23, 2006 - 02:05pm (EDT)

One word for ya Angie if I camped on the beach.....TYPHOON....

Wednesday August 23, 2006 - 01:11pm (CDT)

GRAB the dang chocolate!!!! Runnnnnn!!!!! :))

Wednesday August 23, 2006 - 02:12pm (EDT)

If my bloomers start taking on water I am a goner.....

Wednesday August 23, 2006 - 01:16pm (CDT)

hmmmmm....get rubber britches:D

Wednesday August 23, 2006 - 02:18pm (EDT)

No way! You will all tease me that I need training pants,lol,lol

Wednesday August 23, 2006 - 01:22pm (CDT)

hmmmpffff...better than wet...droopy...drawers :D

Wednesday August 23, 2006 - 02:23pm (EDT)

But...but....the rubber pants will make it sound like I squeak when I walk...

Wednesday August 23, 2006 - 01:27pm (CDT)

but..but..but....at least you won't leave a wet little trail....haaaaa :D

Wednesday August 23, 2006 - 02:32pm (EDT)

lol,lol, ACK!......

Wednesday August 23, 2006 - 01:40pm (CDT)

  • JD
  • Offline

Well, ain't YOU just the smart-butt. Next time me and Cyn go campin' I gonna drag you out there, make you eat possum and bugs, clean ol' nasty fish and run around behind the dawg scoopin' up his offerins'.

You'll be reachin' fer them bloomers and prayin' fer a flood time I'm done witcha ...

Wednesday August 23, 2006 - 03:49pm (CDT)

LMBAOPIMP! Ya'll are too much! I can understand why Angie wants to go camping, seeings how she turns it into a social even and maybe Vic should follow her advice. ROF..I still take a fantastic suit with all the luxuries please! LOLLOL
JD's version of camping is a prime example of why I do not like the great out doors hehe

Wednesday August 23, 2006 - 05:11pm (EDT)

Nooooooo JD ya can't make me.... me and my squeaky rubber pants are running like the dickens. Gonna join Dixie by the pool of one of those fancy resorts and eyeball all the cute guys in speedos....lol

Wednesday August 23, 2006 - 04:19pm (CDT)

  • JD
  • Offline

You might wanna squirt some WD-40 on them squeaky drawers, it got my ears hurtin' and the dawg howlin'. Y'all can have them cute guys in speedos. I ain't never been accused of bein' cute and if I tried to get into speedos I'd probly pass out and have to be toted off fer lacka oxygen.

Wednesday August 23, 2006 - 04:31pm (CDT)

Vic now don't draw attention to us with em squeaky drawers. Folks might look at me funny. I think JD would be a knock out in speedos! Hubba hubba!!!!

Wednesday August 23, 2006 - 05:55pm (EDT)

I used to LOVE camping, now its a chore. Pack everything up, drive long distances, unpack everything, pack everything up again, drive long distances home, and then unpack everything again. <rolls eyes>

I used to love doing that! Hahahahahaha! So then we bought a trailer. The only thing that gets packed is food. And its usually gone when we get home, so nothing to unpack.

Wednesday August 23, 2006 - 04:19pm (PDT)

Vic.. You have'nt been camping in the right places,come to NZ and I'll take you back to nature.On top of a mountain next to a crystal blue stream watching the sunset on the horizon, the hawks diving for their supper, and before retiring to the makeshift shelter of palm fronds we'll toast marshmallows sprinkled with chocolate on the campfire and listen to the sounds of nature in the bush telling us she will keep us safe....leave ya rubber pants at home.

Thursday August 24, 2006 - 03:12pm (NZST)

Ah sounds awesome Gloggy!! You have got a deal!.....

Wednesday August 23, 2006 - 10:33pm (CDT)

Gigglin at Vic's soggy baggy bloomers.
Agreein with Angie. Sleepin in a tent under the stars with only the night sounds whispering in your ears (plural here...two sets of ears) just has to be the ultimate adventure.
Gotta admit though i love your revised list.
Somehow your blog reminds me of the scheme in... Parent Trap... LOL

Thursday August 24, 2006 - 12:39pm (EDT)

Lol Vero.....um...er...you have "two sets of ears"?... funny I couldn't ever tell! lol,lol

Thursday August 24, 2006 - 01:40pm (CDT)

LOL Vic. You look just like the lil coppertone girl when your lil bloomers get full of water and drag the ground. Get some sun on that hiney, please. That's worse than my lilly white legs.

Thursday August 24, 2006 - 05:49pm (CDT)

you guys are nuts and I LOVE it!!!! dang Vic....still got drippy drawers? :P hugssssssss

Thursday August 24, 2006 - 09:55pm (EDT)

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