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My thoughts released; a mind set free |
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These pages contain my thoughts, from meandering ideas and persuasions to deep cerebrations and serious mentations. Why, for what purpose? To release my mind and set creativity free. Somewhere inside the constraints of my mind dwells a writer, a poet, an artist who paints with words. In here I release those constraints and set the artist free. Perhaps, lost somewhere in the depths of thought, is a story or a poem, waiting to be written. 
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| After our first camping trip, we've been reorganizing, adding items, and removing unneeded items from our camper. We had some of it organized, but with the idea that our two teens would also be camping with us. Now, no teens, just my wife, the dogs, and I are camping. Also, much of our camping gear was packed in storage for the winter, with the intent to put it away properly before going camping. But, it's a pop-up, or as I like to call it, a mobile tent, so we didn't want it wet, and the weather ensured that we would not be opening it up before we left. So, we hastily threw much of the gear in the front storage compartment and in the back of the SUV. Once on-site, we hurriedly set up, since it was getting late in the afternoon, and things kind of got stuffed wherever we could find room. It was fine for the time being, but we knew we would have to go through everything and organize our camper. We also had more room since we didn't need extra bedding and clothing, and we only needed to pack one cooler for the two of us. (Of course, it would have been better to put most of the refrigerated food items in the little fridge in the camper, but that would require opening it, which we didn't get the opportunity to do. The cooler also doubled as a place to keep water and beverages cool since the camper fridge is pretty small. But, we have a half-sized fridge that I thought would fit in the camper, and we brought that out of storage. It fits nicely, and now we have no need to bring the cooler. Another issue was the vault toilets! They were pretty clean, but the flies were terrible. The shower and modern facilities were at the other end of the campground, so a long walk or the need to drive. During the day it wasn't as bad, but at night it's a pain to have to run to the bathrooms, or even use the vault toilet. I mean, by the time I get dressed enough to wander out, keep the dogs mellow, and slip out into the cool night air, I've woken my lovely spouse who will likely also need to use the toilet now. By the time I return, I doubt I'll be going back to sleep anytime soon. So, the only other option was to bring a portable urinal. Now, this wasn't anything fancy, just a glorified plastic jug that holds about a gallon. The lid screws on or off, and it works fine for me, but for my wife, it's another story. First off, the opening is about six inches if that. Another is it's only about a foot high, so she's practically sitting on the floor to use it. Actually, it's more like she's trying to squat over it; very uncomfortable to say the least. So, we decided to order a six-gallon portable toilet that doesn't take up a lot of room, is about the same height as a regular toilet, and is easy to use and dump. We also needed some squeeze containers for condiments, a padded mattress topper, and an awning. The camper had one, but it didn't survive well after a big storm hit during the night. See, the awning that a mobile tent has is in a bag that attaches to the roof. Once the tent is up, it's difficult to reach, so it's easiest to set it up before raising the tent all the way. The other problem is, the only way to take the awning down is to undo the legs and support ropes, then roll the canvas up into its protective bag, and zip it shut. This is a pain in itself, but once the camper is set up, it's impossible to reach the bag unless you have a stool. Well, two stools, since it's damn near impossible to roll up as stow the thing without two people. I found an awning that is designed to fit a porch or any type of overhang, it has a crank to close it up, and I think I can modify how it fits and make it work with the camper. So, now if a storm blows in, I just have to step out, loosen to screw knobs and crank it up. Tomorrow, we will finish putting everything away. Most of it's done, except for the new items and a few odds and ends we added. With all the stuff we took out we found we have ample room for everything and even some room to spare. It's great to have all our camping items (except perishable foods) already packed and ready to go. So, this weekend we finish organizing. We find out what it's going to take to put the awning up and make it stable, and then we are ready to hit the road and enjoy an organized and orderly camp trip. |
| As I mentioned in my previous post, this was our first camping trip of the season, the first with Max, my Husky, and with Bellah, my wife's Australian Shepard. It was also our first time camping without any children since we started the adoption process back in 2018. As I think I mentioned in the previous post, my wife and I have been camping together since 2002 first with my Golden Retriever, Klarissa, and in time we added her Golden Retriever, Hyko. After they passed, we had Hannah, a Labradinger. But now I'm wandering off into other tales and adventures. We had planned on leaving early Friday, June 23, and returning home on Tuesday, June 27. But, with the mess with the kids, we had to postpone leaving early and do a Zoom court hearing on Friday at 11:00 a.m. before we could head out. We were meeting up with another couple we try and camp with at least once each year, but with the delay, they arrived much earlier. Even so, the results of the hearing were to our desired outcome and we still arrived at the campsite by late afternoon. It didn't take very long to set the camper up (it's a pop-up with one slide-out) but it did take a bit longer to get everything situated since we didn't have time to fully organize before we left. Quite a lot of our stuff was packed into the back of the vehicle and needed to be hauled in after we arrived. This was largely the result of rainy weather and not wanting to open the camper in the wet weather, and some because we were reorganizing for our two dogs and no kids. But, again, I digress. We arrived, set up enough to get through the first night, and joined our friends around the fire they already had going. They took to the dogs right away, and Max and Bellah also took to them after a few minutes. They had slept most of the drive, about four hours, so they were loaded with energy and rearing to run and burn it off. Luckily, we had rented two camping sites for our use, since originally our younger daughter would be along with a couple of her friends. The plan was, she would bring a friend, which soon became two, and ended up with three. Since we still have our big cabin tent, we planned on bringing that, a portable cookstove, and all the gear these kids would need to camp out in the site next to ours. Instead, it was now a place for the dogs to run and frolic, as well as our site, and our friends. The park was pretty busy over the weekend, so it also provided us with more room and a bit more privacy. We did get rain, but it arrived after we were in bed Friday night. It boomed, flashed, and rained, but nothing bad. Well, except for the fact that Max and Bellah had never heard thunder. Bellah was the first up on the bed, Max jumped up shortly after. But, the bunks are very roomy and we had plenty of room despite a couple of extras in them. Max, being a Husky, soon got too warm and made himself comfortable on the couch, while Bellah snuggled up next to me. Normally I wouldn't be concerned with her on the bed, but we had removed the foam padding from the camper mattress and replaced it with two twin air mattresses, and anytime she moved, I braced for the devastating sound of air leaking out as the bed goes flat. As I said, we had camped with dogs ever since 2002 and had plenty of punctured air mattresses. But, the heavy material of the camper mattress cover was enough to keep even her sharp claws from doing damage. Also, I had the foresight of this catastrophe and had left the second foam mattress on the back bunk, just in case we needed it. Saturday we did some hiking, but since it was hot, I didn't go far with Max. We drove over to the disc golf range while the other's walked, and played a round. We don't play for score but just for fun, and nobody else was over there, so we let the dogs run free. Although we anticipated them chasing and hauling off the discs, they didn't. Max chased the first few throws but didn't bother the discs at all, and soon tired of this and went on exploring the area. Bellah, on the other hand, let her shepherding take over and chased down every disc but didn't really mess with them. She did pick them up once in a while if they landed in taller grass or brush, but she would only move them out onto the mowed area. Mostly, she just chased them down and sat by them until the next disc was thrown. Saturday evening was again spent relaxing around a fire, eating food cooked outside, and enjoying the coolness of the evening. The days were pretty hot, but the nights cooled significantly and by the time we retired it was actually chilly. Chilly enough we contemplated starting the furnace. We also had some rain move in during the night, but no thunder or lightning. Actually, it rained during the night each night we were there, but only once did we get any rain during the day, on Sunday for about an hour. We didn't do any kayaking, since we have never had Max or Bellah out in them yet, and we didn't do a lot of hiking like we normally do. Instead, we spent most of the time relaxing and visiting, and just enjoying the peace and quiet. Most of the other campers left Sunday, and by afternoon there were only a few other campers in the park. We relaxed and enjoyed watching the two dogs play and explore since we seldom had them on their leashes (only while hiking). They minded well and we just didn't need them. We also thought about various ways to organize the camper better, made a few notes, and then packed up early Tuesday afternoon and began our drive home. Since there wasn't any hurry, we took the scenic route home and didn't get back until almost 9:00 p.m., unpacked just what needed to be taken out, and relaxed for a bit while the dogs checked out the backyard. Rhonda had to return to work Wednesday, so we didn't get started with any of the alterations and reorganization of the camper until Saturday. We spent the day getting things set up to be more user-friendly and enjoyed watching Max and Bellah follow us into the camper ready to go out for another adventure. We now have everything set up, so all we need to do is pack up a few clothes, food, and hit the road. Oh, I didn't even mention where we went; we camped at Oakwood Lakes State Park in South Dakota. It's one of our favorite parks and one we have camped at a few times many years back with all of our previous dogs. In fact, it's where Hannah went after a skunk, but that's another story for another time. |
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