A camping review...
Just kidding! There was no poison ivy involved, thank goodness.
Nay, there were plenty of good times had by all despite the fact that I totally forgot my explosives. I'm still a little disappointed with myself about that, actually.
However I think it was a lovely time overall. We had a glorious camping site right next to the river, and the first night you could see the Milky Way. Mike and I searched for satellites and found a few, and I saw a couple shooting stars. We all sat around the campfire drinking beer (because stupid Wisconsin has changed their damn liquor laws) and other assorted malt beverages and laughing the night away.
Mike and I were almost fried inside my tent the next morning when the sun came up... which after its first runthrough I've decided is not sufficient for me. It's not completely useless, but it's got zero ventilation, there's not even a flashlight hook, and it's a little too bulky for backpacking.
I woke up suuuuper early on both days feeling very well rested, albeit nervous about my parents and the inevitable crazy they'd bring. All in all, they were both very well behaved. Mom kind of kept a distance from Mike, which must have gnawed at her considering how much she loves interrogating people. But Mike isn't running screaming for the hills yet so I'm happy.
It was nice to see the girls again, and it was also nice that both Carmen and Alyssa rolled their kayaks trying to get into them. That'll teach 'em.
Faith and I went camping for the first time on this trip! She's very hardy, holds up well. Needs a sleeping bag. And a pillow. I'm excited to go camping with her later this year. Although, we're going to have to work on those navigational skills.
It was also the first time I've camped with muhnipul8a, and though he's a terrible driving buddy, he's excellent fun around a campfire and on a river. Especially when he keeps singing. The same song. Over. And Over. And then Carmen throws carrots at him when he passes out. Good stuff. Thank you, resident photographer.
Mike and I had a little bit of a rough time getting into the groove of the canoeing thing. I'm not used to being up front, and as it turns out I'm terrible at spotting rocks. I can navigate around them on a dime when someone is telling me to, but being left-right dislexic and trying to tell someone else where to go is not my forte. Also, he's stronger than me and my stroke was totally outdone by his but that's to be expected, I suppose.
I was a little worried at one point that he was getting upset with me after we got beached in the shallows, so I got out of the canoe to pull and lost my Yves Saint Laurent sunglasses in the river. We both searched on hands and knees for about a minute before I, dejected, decided to give up. As we were getting ready to launch, Mike found them... handed them to me, and kissed my forehead. That still makes me feel a couple fuzzies.
When we got to the deadwater, Mike and I were ahead of the crowd and the views were breathtaking. There was no wind, and the water was a perfect mirror. You could see individual leaves in the reflections. It rained a few times, but the drops never seemed to hit me. It was like water was popping up from below. We perfected our stroke during this leg of the trip and we made pretty good time. My arms hurt that night though, let me tell you. Seven hours on a river will do that to you.
Wildlife seen:
- Bald Eagles: (4)
- Deer: (1)
- Turtles: (1)
- Water Striders: (179,289,351,742,895,923,001)
Overall, a successful venture rounded off with a morning brunch at the Back Door Cafe and cards with the grandparents. Tra-la.