Tuesday, October 04, 2005

To all the grills i've loved before

If you've ever been camping without a Coleman grill, good for you. If you HAVE been WITH one, you'll never want to fan a flame with a whimpy paper plate again!! I was amazed. No more lighter fluid (this really doesn't help...kinda like carmex. you think you need it, so you put on more just to lick it off and have to then reapply more....its a vicious cycle.)
No more turning blue in the face just to get a little spark fly up and singe your eyebrow.
Dinner was ready in 5 minutes! I was excited, ney, amazed! This gadget ventured into our lives as a wedding present from brian and laura and we have never been so excited to eat outdoors.

Yes, we went camping. And you can't spell camping without "ping". Eric and I really *PING*ed Oklahoma when we discovered Great Plains State Park. The actual park didn't seem that big, but it was situated on one big, beautiful lake, complete with Canadian geese and all! Since it was there down season, the only other people in the park were RVers, leaving us to have the tent campground all to ourselves!! We frolicked like Queen Frostine through candyland and threw our frisbees without reservation. It was amazing.

We decided that instead of buying a house next year, we could just become full-time campers. The two actually have more in common than one might think.

Both consider the waterfront property to be primo.
Both's appeal goes up with a built-in fireplace.
You always want the one with enough room between you and your neighbors.
and finally
both are gonna give you problems with silly raccoons....

thats right. except in one, they rumage through your garbage, in the other, they just go straight for your food!!

at about 1:00am i woke up to a loud rustling right outside our tent. I jolted up and tried to rouse eric, but he must have been too worn out from our earlier trek. as i scrambled to locate my glasses, the first thud came. now this thud was the most significant because it brought the goods down to a manageable level for the little creatures of the night.
luckily, i found my glasses and flashlight, and soon, my light display was enough to scare off the raccoon....i think the geese quite enjoyed it too. all was safe, all was quiet, so i turned back over in my nylon shelter and drifted back to neverland.

At about 2:30am, the rustling once again came back. I'd had enough! I wasn't going to stand for this anymore! Because of my successes earlier, i was on a bit of a knightly trip. This time, i thought i'd be a bit more bold. I showed my little light saver, but the varmit was smart enough to be on the other side of the pic-nic table this time. I decided to take fierce meausres. So, i started clapping loud...he still didn't run off....in a desperate measure, i began to violently shake the side of our tent....that's when i saw him.

around the corner he came, dressed this time not in a ski mask, but a full body blackened cover...this was no racoon, it was a skunk!! yikes! BAM, i shut off the flashlight and dove under my cover...as if the thin layer would have saved me from his foul defense. I felt like a hostage. "Please don't shoot me. Please don't shoot me!!" I felt so defenseless. I'm going into combat with nothing and this thing's got a freaking bayonette! truly, one of the most anxiety inducing animals of the night.

by morning, our campsite was a blooded battleground. mrs. baird's lay helpless close to the pit with only a meager crumb oozing from her torn side. In the first night, we had lost ALL of our bread...sadly, the ONLY thing we had forgotten to lock in the car.

Perhaps next time we'll see if they have a bit more respect for 'ole Sara Lee.

They can take our bread, but they couldn't take our tastiest treats. Eric and i speared up some marshmellows and slapped them between some crackers and chocolate. It was heavenly enough to leave us asking, Please, sir, can i have s'more? Why is camp food so exciting?!

In all, it was a fun trip with exciting trails and peaceful views. Eric is a great little camper and is so great about taking care of all the little things. He's a human compass AND a pac-mule...except cuter....and easier to talk to....and he's ok with facing south....

Happy trails to you!

2 Comments:

At 9:18 PM, October 04, 2005, Blogger Courts said...

OMGOODNESS! I laughed so hard my little eyes are filled with tears. I WANNA GO CAMPING! COME CAMPING IN AUSTIN!!! Please! Courtney misses you two!

 
At 8:45 AM, October 05, 2005, Anonymous Anonymous said...

So, you're lucky your little trip didn't turn into a horrible 'Deliverance' experience (maybe not so graphic, but definitely with the people with the weird teeth....and the banjo), ya know, being in Oklahoma and all. (teehee) Glad to hear you guys are having fun with your free time. I'm SO jealous. Between school and work, we manage to catch an episode of the Simpsons and that's about it. Boooo for growing up.

 

Post a Comment

<< Home