The KOA Rostykus
Sep. 2nd, 2007 10:38 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
liralenAbout four or five days ago, John and Tonya started calling around for campsites. They went as far as Wyoming and all the way out to the Western slope and found, practically, nothing. Not a single camp ground had two sites open for reservations. A few had first come first serve spots, but they were the ones that were the furthest out.
So, on Saturday, around 4pm, four families and a few other kids showed up at our house and they all pitched tents in our backyard. Six tents, total. Two kid tents and then one for each of the adult sets. Seven adults and eight kids, total. John bought a thirty dollar fire pit from Lowe's and so we had the essentials, tents, kids, and a fire to roast hot dogs and marshmallows for s'mores and lots of seats for everyone around the fire. Four or five other adults wandered through, sat for a while and talked.
The kids were up in pajamas and flashlights until nearly 10. Then, when everyone went down, it was completely silent but for the sound of the trains wandering through town and the traffic right on one of the busier streets in town. But we could hear the crickets, the birds, and, in the morning, the soft sound of a little bit of rain hitting the tents. It was very cool. It had also been quite cold during the night, but the sleeping bags really worked out well.
Breakfast burritos and pancakes for the burrito challenged. Then I had to go off and do coffee at the church. Everyone else was planning on fishing and then hiking. I feel a mite reclusive after the big invasion, and everyone's staying tonight, too. There will likely be a trip to the "lake" after hiking, as the neighborhood pool is cool and open and easy to walk to and the "natural hot springs" in Tonya's backyard may get fired up as well, for the after swim soak.
It is kind of cool in a lot of ways, and Jet really loves it. And it sure is easier to camp with a four top cook range, an ice maker, and a dish washer. *grin* Plus having houses and parents close by has been a lot of fun for all the kids who have been working through the transition into school, much less being away from home for too long.
So, on Saturday, around 4pm, four families and a few other kids showed up at our house and they all pitched tents in our backyard. Six tents, total. Two kid tents and then one for each of the adult sets. Seven adults and eight kids, total. John bought a thirty dollar fire pit from Lowe's and so we had the essentials, tents, kids, and a fire to roast hot dogs and marshmallows for s'mores and lots of seats for everyone around the fire. Four or five other adults wandered through, sat for a while and talked.
The kids were up in pajamas and flashlights until nearly 10. Then, when everyone went down, it was completely silent but for the sound of the trains wandering through town and the traffic right on one of the busier streets in town. But we could hear the crickets, the birds, and, in the morning, the soft sound of a little bit of rain hitting the tents. It was very cool. It had also been quite cold during the night, but the sleeping bags really worked out well.
Breakfast burritos and pancakes for the burrito challenged. Then I had to go off and do coffee at the church. Everyone else was planning on fishing and then hiking. I feel a mite reclusive after the big invasion, and everyone's staying tonight, too. There will likely be a trip to the "lake" after hiking, as the neighborhood pool is cool and open and easy to walk to and the "natural hot springs" in Tonya's backyard may get fired up as well, for the after swim soak.
It is kind of cool in a lot of ways, and Jet really loves it. And it sure is easier to camp with a four top cook range, an ice maker, and a dish washer. *grin* Plus having houses and parents close by has been a lot of fun for all the kids who have been working through the transition into school, much less being away from home for too long.
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no subject
Date: 2007-09-03 02:54 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2007-09-03 06:18 pm (UTC)Lots of them, too, as there are four in the house, so everyone could find what they needed pretty easily. Whew.
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Date: 2007-09-03 07:30 pm (UTC)An enduring memory I have of camping as a young teenager in the cascades is treking off through the trees by myself, in the pitchy black with my weak flashlight, to use the outhouse before turning in for the night. The trees LOOMED and there were BIG, knobby roots across the little winding path. When I got to the outhouse I had to set my flashlight down to unfasten my jeans. I set it on the only available dry spot (a little bitty space in back of the seat). As soon as I let go of it, it fell off and broke plunging me into the darkest dark you can imagine. I peed anyway because I had put off the trip past the point of comfort already. The experience was made more scary by a cold breeze blowing up out of the hole I was sitting on. Whoever had laid out the campground had thoughtfully tucked the outhouse out of sight of any of the campsites so I couldn't see where I was going on the way back, tripped over one of the roots and fell down. Then when I did make it back to a land where there were campfires and people and laughter, I was scolded for being careless and breaking a flashlight.
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Date: 2007-09-04 01:26 am (UTC)