Tag: camping

Monday Messages…

Wiwohka4 Comments

It took nearly three days of paddling… upstream, I might add! But, now we’ve a bit of a walk, as the river could only carry us so far. It’s sort of funny how the brain works, at times. When we were only looking at the navigational charts, I couldn’t make heads or tails of which way to go, and nothing looked familiar, at all!

But, now that we’re actually standing on the path leading toward my grandson’s old house, I recognize everything about this place. Memories, like morning dew, began settling upon my skin like a warm, familiar blanket.

Though it’s been nearly three years since they’ve moved, I can still remember the path to their old house. I remember as if I’d been there only yesterday, or the day before. I have the utmost confidence in those memories bringing us straight to our destination… Peanut!

If we’re to get there, we best get going, right? Eustace insisted on carrying all the gear needed for the camping and cooking bit. While I know where to go, it’ll still take a day of travel just to get there… which means camping gear.

No worries! A little camping never hurt anyone, at least, not our crew! If you were surrounded by a passel of wild babies, with sticky fingers and far too much energy to be good for them… would you rather do it in a tiny boat, or the open woodland, where they can run squealing til they pass out from exhaustion!?

I’m not saying that I’m hoping for a reprieve while they disappear into the woods… I’m just asking for a friend.

If we want to get to Peanut before nightfall, it’s time we get moving down the trail. I won’t be able to send you any messages til we get back here to the boat, so keep an eye on things for us while we’re gone, if you would. I’d be ever so grateful!

And, there’s cookies in it for whomever takes on such a special task…

I don’t fancy having to walk all the way back the sea!

Hugs

What exactly do you mean by that?

Wiwohka6 Comments
Daily writing prompt
Have you ever been camping?
View all responses

I had to laugh when I saw this prompt, as it brought up a memory that had been lost to me… so thank you, WordPress!

I swear that I might have been born in the wild, because my earliest memories include riding bareback while still in diapers… ya, I have a mind like a steel trap!

Anyways, camping is something that came naturally to this girl, and so, I passed it on to my children. My daughters have been camping since before they were born, as I freely went camping during my pregnancies. When my girls began to grow, we began traveling with a group of about 4 or 5 other families during the summer months, camping and fishing throughout the great Northwest. From southern Oregon, across Idaho and into Montana, and even into British Columbia.

Needless to say, my family are avid campers, fishers, hikers and hunters! They weren’t always so experienced at this stuff, and it took a great deal of training and practice, especially in the bathroom department, if you know what I mean? I had three girls!

How does one raise a little girl to be a tough camper, and yet still be a little lady? Like I said, we traveled with a huge group of camping families, which meant cooking together, bathing in close proximity to others, and yes, using the restroom in groups, for security! With little ones running around, we grown ups thought it was easiest to make an appropriate code word, to signal our restroom intentions. If one needed to use the restroom, we simply said, “I have to go camping”, and anyone who needed to go, simply agreed to come along.

Now, this went on for nearly an entire summer before one of my girls finally asked, “Mamma, how come the grown-ups keep saying they’re camping and then disappear into the woods?” I explained that it was a polite way of saying that we needed to use the restroom, without saying it in front of others. She didn’t question me further, and seemed not to even understand what I’d said. About a week later, all the families gathered at our home to plan the next upcoming adventure.

There we all were, standing around my kitchen talking, when my daughter marches into the midst of the group and boldly announced, “Everyone, I need to go camping… that means I have to go poop!”

I nearly dropped the plate in my hands! The entire room went silent for a moment, and then erupted into laughter! All of the adults in the room knowing laughed themselves silly, while my daughter marched off to the bathroom. The rest of the day was filled with children running around the house, loudly claiming they needed to camp and then laughing about it!

I’m still laughing…

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