Under the Stars

We had tried to go camping earlier in the summer but that hadn't worked out so we had been thinking we weren't going to be able to get a camping trip in this year.  Then, surprise, surprise, our ward put together an activity at a nearby campground to have a day trip and use some of their facilities.  But the surprise was that, for those that wanted to, an over night camp trip was included.  So we signed up!  Pretty soon Schwatrzbeere and Maulbeere and their families were also planning on camping with us.  This was turning out to be pretty fun!

The day of the camp out arrived and we all got there in time to be able to put the tents up while there was still day light.  That was a nice thing!  That hasn't always happened over the years.

Our tent has two rooms so we were sharing the tent with Schwartzbeere and family.  Maulbeere and husband brought their own tent.

We were the first ones in the ward to arrive so of all the spots that had been reserved for our group, we got first choice.  Sweet.

Once we got the tents up we set to building a fire.  Our dinner was going to be tin foil dinners so we needed to get the fire going so it could build up some nice coals to cook with.  Brombeere has always been better with getting fires started than me - there's a (now) funny story behind that but that's one we'll save for a different day.

Anyway, we eventually got dinner on the coals, cooking.  Maybe we should have done all the cutting and wrapping at home, before arriving at camp.  It might have gone a little quicker if we'd done that.

It wasn't entirely bad, though.  There's something very relaxing about a camp fire.

Anyway, we got it all cooked and the dinners turned out very nice.  Brombeere decided to try throwing some cherry tomatoes in with the usual tin foil fare and it added a real nice touch to the meal.  We will probably do that again.

It was pretty good.  Something very nice about dinner cooked over an open flame.  Or at least over the coals.

Very yummy!

And, of course, we roasted marshmallows.  Maulbeere was the chief marshmallow cook, and she did an excellent job.  None of that burnt black stuff.  She was getting them soft and warm, lightly golden brown.  Just right.  Perfection.

And we had also borrowed Blaubeere's dutch oven.  Schwartzbeere made an apple crisp that turned out, oh, so good.  He threw a bunch of caramels in with it that added a really nice touch.  It was worth the wait.  Then, the best part of camping - sitting around the fire, watching it burn.  Throwing an occasional log on to keep it going.  Talking and having fun.  That's the best part of camping.  It was so fun we were the last ones in the ward to turn in and call it a night.  Except maybe for the tent full of Young Women in the spot next to us that were singing, laughing, talking, and clowning around until after we'd gone to bed.  We were able to tune them out well enough to sleep pretty good.

I'm not sure what it is, but it seems that no matter how late you're up, when you're camping you're pretty much up with the sun in the morning.  I thought I had slept in pretty late until I looked at the clock - 7:30 am.  Maybe its the soft sunlight playing on the walls of the tent.  Maybe it was the chilly night - it got down to 40.  Good thing we brought lots of blankets.

So, up early cooking breakfast, and getting the day started.  We'd had some leftover from the night before, and Schwartzbeere tried his hand at cooking pancakes.  That would have gone better if we hadn't kept running out of fuel for the propane camp stove.  Ran out twice, finally had to take the tank off the lantern but we figured we wouldn't be needing any more on this particular trip.  Despite the stove stopping twice, he still turned out some pretty good pancakes.

Then some more sitting around, relaxing.  Lunch was a potluck with the whole ward.  There had been about six families that had camped, plus all the youth, even those whose parents hadn't come.  The Young Women were on one side of us, in a tent.  The Young Men were on the other side of us, in the bed of a pickup truck, under a tarp.  That arrangement worked out well enough.  Then all the families that hadn't camped showed up for the potluck lunch, which turned out to be a pretty nice feed.

The youngest member of our camp party, turtle.  He did quite nicely.

Lots of people willing to hold him.  Must be nice to be so irresistible.

Part of the package deal was access to the swimming hole.  Frankly, with an over night low of 40 degrees and a high only in the sixties, I wasn't sure anyone was going to be brave enough to get in the water.  But they are made of sterner stuff than I am.

In they went, and swim they did.

Including basking in the sun, which wasn't providing all that much warmth.  After having been wet, this is where I think they really would have gotten cold.  But they didn't seem to mind at all.

It was a good time, sliding ...

and jumping.

He said it was harder than it looked, climbing on some of that stuff out there in the water.  Too deep to touch the bottom, and the equipment was big enough that getting up on it proved to be a bit of a challenge.  But they did it and enjoyed it.

It was a good time, While I had, at one point, had my doubts, particularly as we watched the weather coming and saw that it wasn't going to be any too warm, it was still a good time.  And we broke tradition! It didn't rain!  Everyone was able to relax and enjoy the camping.  And it was a good "dry run" for the reunion next summer, when we'll again be camping under the stars.  And the real plus is that next summer it will be warmer.  That will be very nice!