Monday, June 04, 2007

Still Alive,






Yes, my kin and blogging buddies, I am still alive. Even after last week’s events. Last Friday, it was time for a rematch...the annual father and son’s campout at Caprock Canyon State Park. For those who have followed my ramblings long enough should recall that last year’s event was very eventful, thanks to Mother Nature [who voted her into office anyway?].

My two oldest boys are very resilient. I was sure they would harbor ill memories of last year’s failure to ride out the storm. They were just plain excited. Before we headed out the door, I checked the latest weather report...T-storms were on the docket. Silent curses and prayers simultaneously ran through my mind, creating their own mental storm.

We made the drive that afternoon and were amazed at the difference in the scenery. It was green. Not brown like last year. Last year included a fire ban. This year was blazes ho! Factoring in the fact that the increased precipitation equaled more bugs [primarily mosquitoes] I brought both repellant and pesticide. Death to blood suckers [tics too]! My tent was rapidly deployed, the boys ran around as boys should do in the wild. We had a nice helping of chilidogs and s’mores. The boys continued to run around, while the adults acted like adults; we sat around the fire and chewed the breeze, cracked jokes and swapped manly stories [not the perverted kind].

Just as we were headed to our mobile dormitory, the thunder began to roll and lightning filled the sky. Dread seeped into my soul...would this be 0-2 for staying the night? I was determined to wait and see.

The youngest of the two offspring was sound asleep within minutes. The other expressed his concern about the approaching storm. I tried to reassure him and said that if it got bad like last year, we would make a hasty departure. Then, I heard the wind approaching. Do you know what I am talking about? You can actually hear it move through the trees and canyons as it approaches. To my relief, the wind was pulling her punches [I suggest divine intervention cause other parts of the region has very strong winds]. Even the rain that followed was tamed and only lightly drizzled for a couple of hours.
The coyotes were a frenzied bunch. I have heard them many times in my life, but this night was amazing. It was like a coyote frat party. Hoopin and hollerin. It was a wild rumpus and I was wondering who the king of the wild things were.

We made it through the night! I even managed to get about 7 hours of sleep [which is like a new record for camping on the ground as an adult]. So the score sits at 1-1. The next morning the boys were back to running around [acting like wild turkeys of all things]. Camp was broken down, packed, and homeward bound we went, with positive memories to preserve.



ps. I am still not fully blog functional [posting to other sites is still off in the distance. Thank you for your patience and support].

8 comments:

Cari said...

So glad you got to break away fromt he projects to go have some fun with the boys. I love father's and son's outings. Someone "dropped the ball" in our ward this year (according to the Bishop. Those were his words.) So a real campout didn't happen. They had a dinner at the Bishop's house and we had about 15 people campout in our front yard. It turned out kind of fun but I'm sure a real campout would have been better.

P.S.
Your boys are so cute! We sure miss you guys!

Pappy Yokum said...

Hey, that place looks wonderful - very unlike the place you described last year. Glad you had a successful outing this time. Did you teach the younguns how to cook pizza over a fire? One of my camping favorites.

Anonymous said...

Love the juxtaposition of "Silent curses and prayers."

Happy Summer to you!

Melody said...

Lyle! I was going to tag you, but I didn't think to check your blog.I'm very supportive of "blogging time off"... I practice it regularly.

Anyhoo, consider yourself tagged if you so desire, or not, if you so desire.

Loved this story. Congrats on your triumph over nature. "Blazes ho!" makes everything okay. Camping just isn't camping without the thrill of the fire.

Megan said...

My poor dad never got to enjoy a father and sons. He only had three girls. This sounded like a good time though.
Good to know you are breathing, but we can certainly be patient.

Sister Pottymouth said...

I am sooooo glad we don't have to do a mothers and sons/daughters campout. I do not get into camping. Sleeping in a hotel with the window open is my kind of roughing it.

Glad you had fun with the kiddos. Looks like that male bonding experience was successful.

Just curious, though. After swapping "manly stories," did anyone make waffles for breakfast?

Lyle said...

Camping in the yard...so sorry.

No cooking pizza over the fire...but there were those who tried to roast twinkies.

Happy summer to you to.

At least there wasn't a tribe of miny sloths wanting to make sacrifices.

Poor dad...but rich with daughters.

Much to our suprise, they opted for breakfast burritos.

Lyle said...

btw...someone remind me next year to protect myself better from chiggers. I failed to mention that lovely aspect of the campout.