Alex has a compatriot who shares her love of camping: our sister-in-law Bethany. I have a compatriot who fails to see the value in sleeping outside while a perfectly good bed can be had: my brother-in-law (Alex's brother) Arnold. This past weekend, the women won. This is not to say it was an unpleasant experience, admittedly, a good time was had by all, just to varying degrees.
Alex and I arrived at the campgrounds first. We pitched the tent, got situated, and went for a walk along the lake. It was a beautiful evening, and we were chagrined to turn back due to the fall of evening. We then sat out in lawn chairs reading until Arnold and Bethany arrived. After helping them pitch their tent (our headlamps were a real asset here), Arnold started up a fire, the tending of which, along with fishing, would be his primary occupations for the weekend. We stayed up a couple of hours catching up before heading off to bed.
Next morning found me refreshed and quite comfortable. Alex and I had brought our blow-up air mattress, and with a sleeping bag that fit me (though barely) I drifted off, oblivious to all the apparent noise that occurred during the night. My dear Alex, I fear, did not fare as well, saying that she really didn't sleep well at all. Arnold probably fared even worse, and with nothing between him and the ground except his sleeping bag and the bottom of the tent, he was probably the most justified in his misery (though apparently his wife slept well). I crawled out of the tent to see Arnold had already given up on sleeping and was trying to catch something for breakfast.
We quickly ate some granola and yogurt, then headed to town to watch Bethany's sister run a half marathon. Then, after congratulating the wearied weekend warrior, we headed to a coffee shop. We really had but one plan on the agenda for the day: we decided to head to a local town to see a Grand State Champion burr oak.
If you are unfamiliar with champion trees, the concept is basically to track where the largest examples of types of trees are. This particular one had a trunk 19 feet in circumference and was over 80 feet both in height and branch span. While amazing in its own right, the poor oak was actually dwarfed by a cottonwood not more than 50 yards from it. The Grand Champion cottonwood must be something to behold (there are actually 3 species of cottonwood), but this one was massive: at least 30 feet in circumference and easily 100 feet tall. We were all really impressed.
The rest of the day was spent at the campsite. Arnold and I saw a downed log of an oak tree and decided to chop off a piece of it for firewood. Taking turns with an axe, we cut off a section and rolled it to the fire pit. Much of the rest of the day was spent chopping this section, perhaps 700 lbs altogether (because you can't have too much firewood), into enough firewood to keep us through the day. Arnold was very intent on this and I helped enough to get an incredible full body workout in.
Alex and I took a walk around the lake while Arnold and Bethany tended the fire. It was a lovely evening with the temperature just right and a wide assortment of bird life serenading us with a song as sweet as any a violinist has strummed. Back in camp, we prepared a feast of hobo packs of us and some friends who joined for the evening. They were delicious; I couldn't believe how good it tasted.
I once again slept peacefully; my full-body workout providing the sweet sleep of the laborer in Proverbs. I do not think that sweet sleep was had by all; but I think that everyone had a great weekend. Alex and I have already started planning future trips with our tent, so she has succeeded in passing here love of camping on to me. Omnia Vincit Amour.
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