We did it - we went camping. Just for one night - one very cold night. We made our decision to go and packed up quickly, each of us working independently - first mistake! We were headed east to an area in the Ochoco mountains that we had not been to before. As we were driving through the mountains we realized that it was getting late and that we probably should cut our losses and get camp set up in an area closer than we had planned to go. When we got off the highway and headed out on gravel, it wasn't long before we hit snow. The north side of the mountains still retained the snow we had last weekend. Fortunately we have a very big truck and 4 wheel drive. But we decided this was not where we wanted to camp and worked our way south to drier land. We ended up near our favorite prairie and were treated to the sight of a flock of turkeys before we set camp.
As soon as we had camp set up we started the coals to cook with our dutch ovens. (This was mistake number two - next time we will start the main meal in the morning on the next day when we can enjoy the heat from the coals and cook in daylight.) We cooked up a nice beef stew and a fresh peach crisp. It all turned out okay but a bit late. While we waited, we sat in the dark hunkered down next to the warm coals. We were in the dark because the lantern had broken a mantle on the drive and we did not have a spare one with us - another mistake. We were planning to use that lantern for light and heat... We were in our pop up camper that has a furnace but if it didn't work, we had no back up. We were unable to use the water system as something went wrong with the pump - which we just repaired in August and was working the end of September. But we did okay and learned some valuable lessons.
For next time - we will be making a better check of our equipment and packing together. We are going to pull together a tickler list that we can use to be certain we have what we need. It is a lot more enjoyable when things go right.... But we did have a great time and recharged our mental batteries and enjoyed some very crisp fall weather.
7 comments:
Actually sounds wonderful. One of the things that I love about camping is that it's when things go wrong that they so often seem to go right.
There's an old joke that the only thing better than an absolutely perfect meal at a fabulous restaurant is a nearly perfect meal at a fabulous restaurant that gives you one little thing to talk about with your company for the rest of the night.
The turkeys must have been quite a sight. Much better to see them before you bed down than to be awakened quite suddenly by a LOUD gobble a few feet from your camp. That happened to me a few trips ago and it's quite disconcerting as an alarm clock. I sat straight up from a dead sleep and it took my brain several seconds to catch up.
If you look around on the internet, you'll probably find quite a few templates for camping checklists - that's where I started for backpacking, but I have to imagine they have them for RV's and Campers too.
It's a shame you had a few mishaps, but sounds like you still had a good time......
If everything goes right, you wouldn't remember that trip half as well. Hubby and I always have a chuckle (much later!) over our "mis-adventures".
Despite the few mishaps it sounded like a very nice trip together. The food sounded good. You have those great memories too.
Rangersquirrel,
Yes, the turkeys were grand to see as they headed into a grove of aspen. Our noise at night came from an owl and cattle that were ranging in the area.
Sue and Leslie,
Mishaps are norm for us, so we don't sweat thing much. We enjoy ourselves just about everywhere we go. But light and heat are such a treat...
I'm glad you were able to recharge your mental batteries! Sometimes, even when things don't go as expected, it's all worth it anyway.
Judy
Judy,
While driving home, we talked about how we both felt we had been gone a week, not just barely 24 hours. To us, that is a sign that time was well spent.
The time spend together is by far the best thing! Of course, having a few things that make you exercise the old gray matter is good also!
If nothing else, it gives you blog fodder, right?
Post a Comment