I wish I could remember exactly how many years the Brill's and I have met to camp on the beach of Martin Bay located on the North side of Lake McConaughy. I am blessed to have spent most of my life near this lake, which is Nebraska's largest man made lake. Though blessed to live near, I've not utilized it's gifts as often as I can. In fact, over the years, regular visits to this lake have streamlined to just this annual camp out with the Brill's. I guess while my life ebbs and flows around constant change, this annual Brill camp out has kept me grounded to some things I take for granted, such as this beautiful lake nearby to play at.
We always meet in August and usually near Mark's birthday. I think one year he told his family he wanted to go camping at Lake Mac for his birthday and they did ... and they've been coming ever since. In those early years, when our kids were all still in school, we had quite a group that would gather. But over the years, the number of campers that gather has dwindled down to most of the Brill family, my daughter (all grown up now), with her family, and a couple of ole time regulars, myself and Gary, who comes here from Lincoln, NE. Mark and Co's sons, Jeremy and Kyle will also drive from their apartment in Lincoln for this years camp out. The last couple of years, Tanya Brill's 'family'; Cody and her dog, Kilo, and her friend, Becka, and her dog, Kira, have joined our camping clan. This year, Becka would bring an awesome tree climber, Mo. No matter who shows up ... it is always a super group of folks!
This year's camp out was held August 10-12. I believe Mark picks the weekend that coincides with the Perseid meteor shower since it seems to be the constant in our camping memories.
So ... on 08-09-12:
Tanya, Cody and Kilo arrived at my home early Thursday evening and after debating if they would spend the night or set up camp ... we all headed to the lake to stake out our camp sites. With Martin Bay nearly empty of water this year, we would have lots of beach to choose from.
This summer of 2012 will go down in weather history as the hottest and driest year for most of the United States. Nebraska alone broke temperature records this year with long running stretches of 3 digit temps. This years heat wave and lack of moisture, played a big part in the near empty Martin Bay. Last year we had no beach to camp on and listened to waves lapping outside our tent doors. This year, water front camping would be without shade and difficult to get to without a four wheel drive.
The choice was easy. We didn't want to camp by the water without shade trees. So to the trees ... oh, and a restroom had to be near for this old woman's needs, though not required. I have been known to pack a port-a-potty to avoid getting lost in the dark trying to find the potty house. This year, I brought my chamber pot. Ever seen one of them? No? You're too young then.
What a beautiful night! We set up our tents, quickly, before it got dark. No bugs or mosquito's! That was nearly more awesome than the sunset I took a picture of. I don't remember a time camping WITHOUT mosquitoes or bugs trying to ruin the experience! It was awesome and we marveled at that. Little did we know, that Sat night would bring about a change!
Cody started a fire pit and Tanya worked on bringing supplies into camp. When I left to go finish my lake packing, Cody had joined Tanya in retrieving their camping supplies. I left them to a peaceful, calm, beautiful night on Lake Mac and headed home to get some sleep. I planned on rising early to finish gathering, packing and hauling the rest of my camp gear to the lake.
Actual 1st day of camp out, 08-10-12:
After a fitful night of sleep, I rose about 5:30 am, brewed my morning tea, then settled in to my morning Bible reading and prayer time. When I finished my meditation time and turned on my cell phone, a message popped up from Tanya. Cody had locked the keys in her vehicle last night. I had to chuckle. That was usually my trick. I added hanger and pliers to my list of stuff to bring out. Then I called her to make sure they'd be fine until I made it back out.
Took time to take a shower since it was gona probably be the only one in a few days. Packed up my lake wear and was then ready for a cup of coffee.
Once I put on the coffee water, I went into high gear. Or at least as high a gear as my back would allow me. My back seemed better after the Dr had cemented the compressed L1 that I had fractured trying to move a desk over a month ago. But the worsened L4-L5 region was plaguing me with constant pain and electrical shock like jabs into my right butt cheek and down my right leg! In spite of my pain, I was determined to continue on and do ... Besides, I couldn't sit for long, stand for long, lay down for long and when I moved, it hurt ALL THE TIME. I really couldn't NOT do because it hurt, so doing, which in this case was preparing for camping and then camping, in the midst of pain, had to be. I had my doctor appointments in and relief wouldn't come until after this camping weekend. So .... grin and bear it? I knew camping was far better than moaning around the house, feeling sorry for myself!
After several breaks and lots of painful WORK, all was gathered for my family to carry and load. I was already in so much pain just gathering, no way I would be able to load it without help. This was really a bummer for me. And as the weekend wore on, I would finally surrender and determine this camping trip, at least this primitive camping, would be my last. It will take a miracle back repair to ever make this possible again. And relying on others, no matter how much they love you, to load and carry ALL that I pack is not fair to them.
Kids and grand kids arrived at 11 am to load up the car. I then ran errands in town and filled up the cooler before finally heading out to the lake by early afternoon.
I enlisted Tanya and Cody's help to unload the heavy stuff I brought and I made the SEVERAL PAINFUL steps, carrying all I had packed and thought necessary. Why couldn't I just take the bare minimum? :/
Oh, and those keys that got locked in Tanya's car? Well, after trying a few other alternatives, like road assistance ... the kids finally got the car door opened with that hanger and pliers I didn't forget to bring out. :)
While we were unloading my car, the rest of the Brill troupe arrived and then a mass flurry of unpacking and setting up camp began.
Look I already have visitors! :)
This was my living quarters that weekend. The tent, seen above, was stocked with a twin air mattress, piled with 4 quilts, 3 blankets, 3 body pillows, 3 reg pillows, 2 throw pillows and then 3 separate bags for all I thought I would need. 1 for my lake wear, 1 for my books and Nook and Nintendo DS and the like, and 1 for my bathroom stuff that had to be small enough, and easy, to haul up to bathroom when needed. The awning provided shade for my outdoor space and looks it's best in the above picture. Later in the weekend, it would .... well, read on and find out.
It took me til near sundown to get my camping space in order. I had to take breaks when the pain in my back was beyond bearable and probably should have taken more breaks than what I did ... ok, ok, I should NOT have hauled sooooo much out but doubt that would have made much difference, either. What I brought to my camp was not new. I've ALWAYS hauled a lot AND loved it. But I physically have ChANgEd! I'm nearly 60 now and in the last 4 years, my back has progressed from a broken tail bone to this constant pain in the lower lumbar region, that I'm told, is due to the consequences of my fall in 2008, the recent compression fracture didn't help and the normal aging process. Screw aging if it takes away my favorite activities! I understand now why some old folks are darn grumpy! I was grumpy from the time I got my camp up (surly not before?!) til ....
Anyway, camp was up and I was making my rounds visiting everyone's camp spot.
Mark and Co had gotten into a little tiff about where to place their sleeping tent. My dear friend, Co, is really not the camping type when it comes to bugs and non-FUNCTIONING restrooms and so, bless her, she comes camping anyway but requires a bathroom close by. For her, CLOSE by, is just a few paces from the tent. For Mark, a half a block away did not seem unreasonable. My dear friend, Mark, loves to celebrate his birthday with camping and has a mind-set on how he wants to place the tents. So, for a bit, it was uncomfortable, with many of us offering our two bits to fuel the flame. Eventually, as they have for years, Mark and Co finally reached a compromise, which included Tanya moving their tent next to Becka and Mo's, whom had arrived just before the tent location debate. We wouldn't learn, until a day later, where the kids relocated to, in between the protection of two old cottonwoods,would be a much safer spot.
By sundown, everyone had their spot set up and Jeremy and Kyle began working on the fire pit. I was impressed with each personalized camp spot I visited. The Annual Brill Camp Out had begun!
Shel and Patrick and grandson, Corban, arrived in time for sundown and supper. They weren't going to set up their camp until tomorrow. Gary arrived during the tent debate and without a tent of his own. This was his first year NOT camping. He had a motel room to retreat to. By Saturday night, Gary's motel room would be remembered as the best place to be when it storms. Storms? What? We were experiencing one of the DRIEST years, remember?!
Becka's back, Mo's legs, Tanya and Kilo standing, Cody sitting and Kiana's back at his feet. In the distance, is Jeremy's truck and camp.
To the left is Tanya, Cody and Kilo's digs. To the right is Becka, Mo and Kira's digs. Whose Kira? She's a white, with black speckles, pit bull that is taking a nap in their tent during this shot.
Below, the best fire pit ever! Brothers, Jeremy and Kyle Brill, were the fire pit bosses.
Supper time was a fend for yerself time. So everyone broke into their coolers and supplies and soon each had feasted on what they found. Then we sat around the campfire watching for some of those Perseid meteors until one by one we disappeared into our tents. Except Gary ... he had the motel room, remember?
08-11-12
Far left, that lil dark green tent and behind the two far left cottonwood trunks were the compromised locations of Mark and Co's tents. Nestled in between those six cottonwood trees, is where my lil camp site rested. The screened food tent was located mid ground, between all the camp sites. Far right, is part of Tanya and Cody's condo.
I shoulda moved over a bit in this shot to catch Jeremy's campsite. Or I could have set my camera to panorama to try and catch the whole camp site. This year we were spread out more than years past.
Woke Saturday morning around 5:30 am. I wasn't as sore as I feared I would be when I went to bed after
11 pm. When I trudged up to my tent, from last nights campfire, I hurt so bad I just wanted to crawl into bed and cry! After adjusting all the pillows, propping here and stuffing a pillow there, I finally settled in and fell asleep. Again, it was a fitful sleep but sleep I did. It was a beautiful morning. Cool and partly cloudy.
Took some campsite shots but didn't capture the whole camp in one shot as spread out as we all were.
Good morning Mark! And look who's keeping you company, Kira. This is the only picture I got of the camp from this angle ... before this day was done, those tents in the background and that awning in this picture would be no more ....
Anyway ... put my camera in that lawn chair (remember this for later) and got my propane camper stove up to heat a tea pot of water for my regular morning hot cup of green tea. Went to my picnic basket and got out some tableware and boxed cereal. To the cooler for some milk and a lemon coffee cake I picked up at the deli. (Sometimes fixing the food for a camp out is just too much. Thank heavens for deli's!) By then tea pot was whistling.
Hot tea in hand, I retreated to my tent, to a comfy spot on my air bed, and with pillows propped up behind me, I took a moment for my morning meditation. I don't always do this when I'm away from home but this seemed like a good morning to reflect on my Lord and His Blessings. Sometimes, I don't feel like doing this and with my painful back reminding me the Greatest Healer of All had not blessed me with relief, it can feel like a waste of time. Seems if one prays and meditates to hear an answer and the answer doesn't come ... might be easier to just quit. What's the use ... but I believe and so I just cling to that, even when the pain is still so great. Nothing good comes from focusing on my pain so on that morning, I reveled in where I was. I was camping on the beach of Lake McConaughy. There I was, blessed beyond compare. A camp full of people I dearly loved. Focusing on that, I knew I could endure and while waiting for God, the Greatest Healer, the Lord Almighty, to hear my prayers, I could value His gift in this gathering of friends and family.
6:30 am and I grabbed my bathroom bag and headed up the sand hill behind my tent to the restroom. On the jaunt to the restroom, I stopped and watched the rising sun as it spread out rays that would weave in and out of the cloud cover. After all the heat we had endured, this cool, cloud cover, with splashes of the rising sun reaching out was quite refreshing. It made me want to sing, so I did. I sang my
'This is the day the Lord hath made, I will rejoice and be glad in it. ...'
morning song to the sunrise.
By the time I had gotten back to camp and put on another tea pot of water for my instant coffee, folks were starting to stir. I thought of em as early risers but then I remembered they were all from CST. So to them, my 7 am is 8 am. Not early after all. :) Jeremy was already in the food tent rustling up another camp stove to heat up some water for coffee.
I grabbed my lemon coffee cake and added it to their breakfast buffet they were setting up in the food tent and settled in by the fire to eat my breakfast. Gary arrived from his motel room in town, with a paper and coffee. I would smile and remember that even when he camped, he would run into town that 1st morning up and grab a paper and coffee and return to camp just as the rest of us would be up heating our coffee water.
The rest of the morning was spent just hanging out around the campfire, sweeping sand out of my tent and re-organizing my camp site or brief visits to various camp sites.
Around mid day a game sheet and teams were drawn up and an area raked and cleared and made ready for some game time. Under a cloudy sky, our horse shoe and rope golf tournament began. Shel, Patrick and Corban arrived about this time and set up their tent and joined in on the games.
Right off the bat, the red rope balls got stuck in the tree branch. First, we tried the 'up on brother Kyles shoulders' to try and reach those balls. Whose balls were those, anyway? I was glad Gary did this first, because I was positive I would have, when my turn came up. :)
When the balls were still out of reach, Mo, showed us his talent at tree scrambling, which must be done with bare feet and a cigarette hanging from the mouth. The balls were retrieved and Mo was our hero. The games resumed!
I played, I lost and then I got to sit and join the cheering section.
We played games until mid afternoon when the sun broke through and it suddenly became unbearably hot! Time to get into the water. We loaded up into the Schellpeper Jeep and Jeremy Brill's awesome truck and drove to the beach. My back was soooooo appreciative. If we had hiked, as slow as I was walking, by then, I would have just made it to the water by the time the swimmers were headed back to camp. :/
To the beach!
I don't know how long we played in the water before we drove back to camp, but it was long enough to cool us off and sooth some dogie paws. The beach sand and frequent sambers were making the paws of Kilo and Kira raw and sore. Last year, Kilo's paws had even started bleeding. To avoid bloody paws this year, Tanya and Cody ran into town and bought a package of baby footie's. I wish I would have taken a picture of their paws in those socks! :) It sure helped.
Once refreshed, we headed back to camp. Saturday night was going to be our communal supper. On the menu was: baked white & sweet potatoes, grilled steaks, corn on the cob, potato salad (my contribution), calico beans (also my contribution) and watermelon (again, I brought the melon). Once in the camp, the cooks engaged in supper preparations while watching the sky. There was even a corn shucking circle.
Supper preparations were moving along and so was an impending thunderstorm that loomed closer over the northwestern sky. I hadn't even finished preparing the sweet potatoes before Patrick announced to the camp that the storm we were watching was heading right for us! From his smart phone and it's radar, we could see that we weren't in the middle of the path, more on the edge but we were definitely alerted. I put the potatoes aside and started securing my camp site.
From the food tent, Jeremy had turned up the radio and Josh Mackey, a local radio announcer, was alerting the public to the impending storm and it's path and the possibility of 1 1/2 inch hail and 70 mph winds. Once Jeremy turned down the radio the whole camp went into high gear and secured all they could. When we thought we had everything tucked and packed, some of us went back to food preparation and others sat around the fire pit and watched the approaching storm.
I took my now seasoned and foiled sweet potatoes to add them to the rest for baking on the coals. For a bit I stood at the fire pit and watched the dark clouds as they moved closer and closer to us. I remember mentally pleading with the sky to take the storm around us. But when a slight breeze picked up, I headed to my camp site to lower a little shade umbrella so it wouldn't blow away. The awning? I thought about taking it down but .... didn't. When I reached my tent and looked out over the bay to the west, I could see the HEAVY rain coming. The little water in Martin Bay was calm and still on our side of the bay but as the wall of rain approached the water behind it was churned with splashing. I wish I would have taken a picture. Instead I yelled, "HERE IT COMES! YOU CAN SEE THE RAIN COMING!"
Quickly, I lowered the little umbrella and just had time to grab my chairs and get them under the awning when the rain hit. Hard. It was a hard, near straight down rain. I pulled up my rug by my tent door and threw it under a table and jumped into my tent as quick as my back would let me. From inside the tent the rain was hard and heavy. I pulled things away from the tent walls to keep them dry, and tried to prop out the rain cover so the rain would drain away from the tent.
It was a good, wet, hard rain and I don't know how long it went on before it finally let up and we all clamoured out of our tents, laughing and checking on one another and our food that was still cooking. The Brill men had the meal protected under a slab of plywood, strategically placed and weighted over the fire pit of hot coals. Yep, the potatoes were still there and dry. :)
I began to shake things out so they could dry and my awning had big pools of water weighing down all four sides. I proceeded to push the canopy up, to spill the water out. Later, I would wish I left the heavy pools of water in it. The extra weight might have helped. Once I got my camp shook out, I went back to the fire pit and we sat around and laughed about what we just experienced, thinking we were done for the evening.
It was still sprinkling a bit and lightning and thunder were still rumbling but I was so sure we had missed the bullet by being on the edge of the storm. Just when I thought we could now focus on supper, the wind started blowing. A bit more than a breeze and darn me, I'd put that lil umbrella up again, so back to my camp I went to lower that umbrella down for the second time that evening. This time I had just got it lowered when ... WHAM! BAM!
Wind hit me so hard I fell to the side on one of my lawn chairs. That awning took off, straight up, like a rocket, and then flipped sideways and crashed across the top of my tent. I yelled, "WATCH OUT, THE AWNING!!!", and scrambled over the lawn chair I had fallen against, to my tent, which was just getting ready to blow up and off. All the stakes on the west side were pulled up and out. I jumped on the threshold opening to the tent and sat down, at the same time, grabbing hold of the two tent poles on either side of the door and held on with all I had in me while the tent whipped away from me and acted, several times, like it was going to lift up and dump me out and fly off!
How long did I sit on the threshold of my tent (on the outside of the zipped rain cover, mind you!), with my arms extended up and apart, with my hands gripping those tent polls and holding on for dear life! I was battered mercilessly by a heavy rain and sparks from the pit fire, directly west of my camp site, that Patrick and Shelby had dug and lit, just before the 1st storm wave. The fire had survived the first heavy rain and the kids had just stoked it after, what we thought was the end, of the rain. Luckily the sparks were not burning anything because the rain was too heavy and I have no idea when this storm wave put it out, but out it was when this wave passed. I wouldn't have been able to burn anyway as I was drenched within minutes and sitting in a pool of water, just inside the threshold of my tent ... that was blowing near over by the force a steady slamming wind, with gusts that seemed equal to that of a hurricane! Ok ...I can be quite the drama queen.
The wind and rain seemed to slam me forever. When I was able to see through the torrents of rain drenching me, and my tent was near prone to the ground, making the screened food tent visible. It looked like Jeremy and Mark were trying to hold it and the tables that had the food, near ready, from all blowing away.
In fact, everyone that was in their tents, were bracing the west side of their tents against the violent wind.
I would learn later, that Kyle had taken refuge in Tanya and Cody's tent just seconds before the awning blew by the front of their tents, right after it had crashed into the tree that they set the tent behind. Co had just made it to her and Mark's tent, was zipping the door when the wind hit, It blew the tent right out of her hand. She ran back to the food tent, right by me sitting and clinging to my tent and showed the fellas what was left of her tent. She was clutching a piece of one of the tent poles, all that was left, when it blew the tent upward and into the tree behind it. As the storm raged on, Co then sought refuge in Tanya and Cody's tent.
Why didn't I just let go of my tent and seek refuge in one of the kid's tents?
Well, it was my husbands Cabela's tent. It would have been a real bummer losing his tent. That tent had history! Memories! It's been my camping tent for near 20 years. I also had my Nook, Nintendo DS, purse, and so much stuff! I didn't want to lose in that tent or my stuff! (And I didn't think I had a materialistic bone in my body. Ha!) It seemed important, at the time, to just hang on and wait out the storm ... as long as my arms held out ... but, man, they hurt! And I started to shake. Shaking for me, with my back burning in pain ... not good. I wanted to cry. What a bummer!! We suffer all summer from hot, dry, 3 digit temps and on the ONE WEEKEND WE CAMP it storms like a hurricane!
When the lightning and thunder seemed to surround me I began to panic!! I was in a pool of water, holding onto metal tent poles and it was really lightning, ... BIG TIME!! Everyone, who know me, knows how terrified I am of lightning! I clamped my eyes shut and began praying profusely from that moment on!! I begged God to forgive me for all my sins that would wrought such a punishment by Mother Nature. I begged Him to protect all the campers. I prayed that no one would get struck by lightning and I was hoping He would include me in that request. I pleaded with Him to make the storm end because I wasn't sure how long I could hold on. And when the storm raged on, I began begging that He would help me endure.
Finally my arms were screaming at me to change position. As the storm still raged, I squirmed my way under the rain cover and in through the tent door that I had left unzipped so I could get in quick. I grabbed a blanket with one hand while still holding on to one tent pole, and stuffed it under me to absorb the building pool of water. I then worked my way into a standing position, on the inside of the tent, where I could then hold the tent poles, on either side of the door, with my arms lowered. FINALLY out of the rain! What a relief that was! And so ... there I stood, for who knows how long, until the storm lessened in intensity and then, finally abated.
WHEW!! I sat down on my soaked blanket and thanked the Lord that He finally moved the storm on. Before I could whine, I heard voices from Shel & Patrick's tent and then voices from others as we all, once again, emerged from our tents and took stock of the storms damage.
Wow.
Mark and Co lost two tents. I lost my awning and by the Grace of God, it didn't injure someone. I took pictures the next morning because ... remember that lawn chair I put my camera in? Yep, it got rained on so I had to wait to use it. And THEN when it was all dry, I folded up that lawn chair and dropped my camera in the sand. The lens won't close now.
And that communal supper? I think I was in a daze. I don't remember eating and my potato salad, beans and melon never made it to the meal.
I do remember scrounging for tent stakes to re stake the west side of my saved tent. Then I went about shaking everything out. I hung the soaked blanket on a tree limb. Didn't have to worry about it blowing away as there was only a strong breeze lingering after that battering wind! The calm after the storm.
I remember changing out of my wet clothes and into layers of warmth. A long skirt, with leggings under and a sweat shirt and a blanket to wrap up in by the fire. Then I trudged back to the fire pit with a body pillow to put on my lawn chair I had drying by the fire. I wrapped the blanket around me, put my body pillow under me and laid on that chair ... close to the fire ... watching the clearing night sky for the meteor shower.
I remember all the darn mosquitoes and bugs around the lanterns! From nothing at all before the storm, to hoards after! And I forgot my bug spray!
I remember being tired, cold, hurting ALL over and dazed. I may not have been struck by lightning but I sure felt zapped!
I went to bed after seeing at least one awesome falling star (I know it wasn't a falling star but still...) with my friend Co. Everything I read and posted to my Facebook wall, reported the Perseid shower would have 60-100 meteors an hour at it's peak. For those of us watching the skies that night, August 11 to after midnight August 12th ... we only saw about 6 - 8 an hour.
In years past, we use to lay on our lawn chairs, all eyes on the sky and two people had to see the 'falling star' to be able to count it. Seems there was a year we saw many but could only count more than 20. 60-100 an hour on that 'calm after the storm' night would have soothed my weary storm fighting bones. So, after one spectacular one that Co and I both saw, together, I headed painfully up to my tent.
Off to bed. My tent was amazingly warm and dry and standing tall again. I loaned Mark and Co a pillow and blanket as they now choose to bunk in their vehicle.
And did anyone remember Gary? Gary disappeared that night and he never returned. I've yet to find out his side of this experience.
08-12-12 Sunday morning
My awning
See my green tent, WAY over there? Amazing how it is wedged in this tree.
Two tents lost from this direction. Only the tents that were manned, stayed in place. Note Patrick's tent here the morning after the storm. He and Shelby and Corban had a rough time holding their tent, together. Later, he would cut up my broken awning and use some of the legs as stakes.
Now note the tent stake. And can you miss the contraption over the fire pit? No, we didn't try it. But it was interesting to try and come up with ways to salvage the pieces of what was once the awning. :)
Sunday morning I was up early after hardly sleeping. I had decided to stay on one more night. By now I was hurting so bad that I did not have the energy to pack up my camp. I was surrendering to the fact that this camping venture might be my last. And so I thought staying one more night would give me time to refresh and be more prepared to take down my camp ... one last time.
Breakfast was a creation of leftovers from Saturday nights stormy meal with french toast. I do remember eating breakfast and how good it was! Thank you, Jeremy! And anyone else that worked on that tasty treat!!
It was sad to watch the Brill troupe pack up and hit the road. What a sap I can be. It wasn't like I was never going to see them again. They are my second family, after all. But weathering the storm out together and all sharing the memory ... probably from very different perspectives but none-the-less, a bonding experience and maybe a foreboding feeling that more change was coming made for the blues that Sunday morning. Change can be good. Change can be bad. Next year I won't be primitive camping. And that really made me sad. :(
Good-byes were said and Shelby and Patrick and Corban also took off for town. So for a couple of hours, I was all alone, on the sandy beach at Martin Bay, listening to Mrs. Woodpecker feed her chicks and banter with a couple of other woodpeckers in the nearby cottonwoods. If it wouldn't have been for the biting flies, my time would have been very tranquil. And they were biting me with a vengeance! Only around the ankles ... why was that?
The Schellpeper clan returned. We loaded up the Jeep and drove over to a point where Martin Bay squeezes into the big lake. The wind had picked up, which kept the biting flies at bay. But the strong gusts would send a whirlwind of sand blasting. Out on this point, we could avoid both the flies and the blowing sand.
After swimming and returning to camp, Patrick and Shel went home. They both had to work Monday. They left their tent up, re-staked with bigger stakes. Grand-daughter, Justice and friend Chloe and Grand-son Corban were going to camp out with Nana for her last night. Should have been a lot of fun right?
Sunday evening
The kids and I put together a picnic meal of all the things I had forgotten to contribute to the Brill communal meal. I was glad I camped one more day to use up most of my food supplies. :) So our picnic had; potato salad, beans, ham sandwiches (for the kids), hummus/pesto sandwiches (for me) and chips with picante, pico de gallo, and french onion dips. It was truly a feast.
After we cleaned up our meal stuff, it was early evening and we changed into our suits again and hiked down to the water for a swim. At this point the attitudes of the girls began changing and from that time on they would be difficult. In all fairness, I, too, had an attitude that was becoming difficult. The constant pain in my back was making me one heck of a bitch! They could scamper off at a faster pace and I would complain. They wanted to swim longer and I complained. The walk back was long and full of whining from ALL of us. In spite of all that ... it was beautiful night for an early evening swim. Hardly any wind, the sun was setting majestically and it was the kind of night I would have wished ... one night earlier, minus the biting flies.
Once in camp, Chloe got a fire going in the fire pit and both girls worked on lighting the tiki lamps and citronella pails. They had little effect on those darn biting flies. But when it got dark enough, the flies quit biting. Do they go to sleep for the night?
Dusk was a good time to heat up some water and take a spit bath in my tent. Spit bath? Well, ya fill a tub or bucket with water hot enough to wash in. I put the tub (small one ... only big enough to put my feet in) on tent floor and pour water from a pitcher til about 1/4 full. Then, from the camp stove, I poured the hot water from the enamel coffee pot until it was the temperature I wanted. So, while sitting on a towel on the air bed and using a wash cloth, began washing from the face down. A bar of organic soap to clean with and a hand towel to dry off with. May not have been a shower but it still felt great to wash up, put on some lotion and put on clean lake wear for the night. Ahhhhhh ...
After getting cleaned up and the girls had returned to camp with some more water they retrieved from the water spigot off the north side of the restroom house, I heated more water on the camp stove for a hot foot soak. I added a few drops of lavender oil and some Mary Kay Foot Bath and soaked some of my tension away while watching the kids as they sat around the fire. My ankles were bleeding from all the fly bites so it was especially soothing to them!
The girls thought my spit bath idea was cool so they took turns taking their own baths in their tent, while I gave Corban his own spit bath right in front of my tent. He could stand in the middle of the tub while I soaped him up and rinsed him off. Who needs the luxury of a home tub and shower?
After the kids cleaned up and had on their night wear, the girls decided they wanted to try the foot soak, too. So we heated up more water and each had their own foot soak. I think this was kinda fun for them and made camping without showers a bit more manageable.
We sat around the fire and Corban told us his ghost stories that included snakes eating crocodiles. :) I tried to apologize to the girls for being so grouchy and that it wasn't all due to their attitudes as much as it was trying to deal with my back pain. I thanked them and especially, Chloe, for the times they did pitch in and help. I would never have gotten the fire going and without them hauling water to the camp, no foot soaks. So we ended our evening fairly early and put out the fire and off to our tents for a good nights sleep?
08-13-12
Monday morning. What a cold morning! At least it kept the biting flies at bay. It was also a slow moving morning. I sat in my tent and drank a hot cup of green tea and read a page out of a prayer book I brought with me. (Anne Moore's 'Praying God's Word') Then I just sat there, all snuggled on my pillow laden air bed and listened to the early morning sounds around Lack Mac. Seagulls were squealing and the breeze was gentle and cold. For just a moment, I felt totally content.
I grabbed my bathroom bag and trudged to the bathroom. I didn't feel any less pain, staying one more night, but I did feel refreshed.
Back in camp, I heated up some coffee water and retired to my tent, for what I believed would be the last time, and read a USA paper that Gary had left behind. Gary? I wondered what happened to him? For a brief moment, I got scared. What if he got hurt ... lost ... or ... ??? But no, surely he was ok. No news is good news, right?
Justice woke up sick. Sucks to pack and load when you feel crappy. Later she cut her foot, just digging her toes in the sand. Needless to say, it took forever to pack up everything. No one felt good. If someone wasn't puking, running to the crapper all the time, or bemoaning a back that was driving them (me) to want to DRINK, then they were making others miserable with constant complaining.
It was such a relief to get everything packed up, loaded and back home. The first thing I did was jump in the shower and run hot water for a long, long time down my back.
Next year, for the Brill Camp Out, I will be in a camper.
Or a cabin by the lake.
Good bye primitive camping.
Years of memories of good times.
I've grown old camping in a tent.
In spite of the biting flies that made my ankles bleed,
In spite of attitudes that made me swear,
In spite of back pain from hell,
I'll miss the feeling tent camping can bring,
When you wake to seagulls squealing,
And a calm, gentle lake breeze.
In spite of Justice cutting her food on trash in the sand,
In spite of family feeling sick from who knows what,
In spite of the hassle to load my camp gear up,
I'm glad I spent one more night out.
Now I'm ready.
Good bye primitive camping.
.JPG)
