Camping-Take One-Day One

We pulled into Cunningham Falls State Park, a little after 6pm, and were immediately struck by its beauty. Having never heard of this place, I was not expecting much; just hoping for a decent place to set up our tent and let the kids explore. My expectations were immediately exceeded. The scenery was so lush and green, woody and rocky. The air was different, partly due to the slight change in altitude; light and sweet. After days of feeling anxious and hours of frantically packing, I inhaled deeply and let go every pesky worry. I was soothed by the varying shades of green-- from the treetops to the tickling fern to the thick layers of moss covering logs and boulders. We were going to be okay-- maybe even better than okay.

As we drove onto our campground loop and saw the tents and campers, kids running around, climbing all over the massive rocks jutting up and out of the earth, the calm gave way to excitement. I knew that shortly we would be one of those families, settled in, a member of this make-shift, temporary community. "Number 40; that's us." With all of our extensive planning and multitude of lists we somehow managed to forget the fire wood. Adam wanted to go check out the camp store before it closed, and I wanted to get started on the tents before the sun went down. He was very trusting of our R.E.I. tents, and of our ability to pop them up, lickety-split. So his dad, aka Papa, Luna and I got to work on that, while he and Sol went for some wood. He was right, the tents proved themselves to be just as easy to "pitch" as they had been in our living room weeks before. We had our brand new, sleeps four, family dome for us, and our honeymoon, sleeps two, for Papa. Sol was very funny in his "setting up the tents" gear, which consisted of a yellow hard hat and a pair of latex gloves he'd gotten from the dentist. The tents were up, as dusk descended. I believe, at this point, I did a little dance. It was a tiny, imperceptible one; more like a coordinated shudder of excitement.

"I'm hungry." Oh yeah, food. Okay, so smart dogs and corn-on-the-cob over the fire. I didn't want to press our luck with the camp stove in the dark. I remembered it being an ordeal when we used it before. Maybe my worries over the propane tank lugged across the country, nestled among my undies, overshadowed the actual experience of warm food after a day of peanut butter sandwiches and granola bars. I preferred the idea of cooking over a fire. It felt more like camping, and since Adam, as the fire-starter in our family, would be doing all of the work, why not go all out? There they were, three generations, nursing that fire, while I nursed a bare- and sore-bottemed (diaper rash) Luna. And although the wood was wet, and the kindling noticeably absent, they were able to keep it going into the night. We cooked our dinner over the open fire, and then roasted marshmallows and sang songs while Adam strummed his guitar. Okay, the singing and the guitar did not actually happen, but the rest is true. Sol loved it. And Luna was very much in her element; the outdoors, wide-open space, a small fire, ripe with possibilities for daredeviling stunts or at least terroroizing the grown-ups.

Then it was time to sleep, and Sol was a bit apprehensive about that part. We'd seen the notices around about black bears spotted in the area and reminders not to leave food out or do anything that might attract them to the site. And while he never said he was afraid, it was clear bears were on his mind. He woke several times during the night with strange requests for rearranging the sleeping bags. Between this, the unexpected chill in the air, and my very amorous husband who must have been reminded of the last time we went camping, pre-Sol, because he couldn't have spooned me anymore if I were actually flatware, I didn't exactly get that much-anticipated, outdoor, under the stars deep sleep. But I have to say, the quiet was true quiet, the darkness was true darkness, and as I watched the black turn to gray, then palest blue, I was truly awake.

Comments

[bexn]

dude
i'm so glad you're posting again!
love
b

[coloredhoney]

yay! it's always great to read you. i'm glad you're enjoying your family life and have not lost your linguistic flair.

peace n love to your fam

[david]

fantastic writing.