AUTUMN SHOWERS & CAMPING IN THE RAIN

The weather was suppose to finally cool off over the weekend, our first real cool down.  The rain was suppose to move out by 10:00 a.m. which would have been perfect for our 2 p.m. check in time. Unfortunately, we lost a young relative in a freak accident a few days before and were going to attend her funeral before heading on to the park.  It rained all the way south to the funeral.  It rained at the cemetery.  It poured at the family meal afterward and poured all the way back to the park.

We finally got to the park, got checked in and found our campsite.  It was pretty crowded this weekend, as is always the case when the weather gets below 90 degrees in Texas.  The parking space was a good walk up an incline from the tent pad, fire ring and table.  The rain let up somewhat, so we grabbed the ground  tarp, the tent, stakes and hammer and took off to get the tent up.  It was accomplished in record time.

Everything in the back of my truck was soaked, including our wood and chairs.  We kept the bedding and food in the back seat or we would have been in trouble.  We still had daylight, so we took off for a 3 mile hike through the beautiful woods.  It was the perfect thing to begin healing our broken hearts.  We walked and talked quietly, only seeing a couple of other hikers.  We saw several deer scampering through the trees and could hear little critters rustling in the underbrush.  We saw several tall trees that had been struck by lightening laying beside the pathways.  We wondered what it would be like to witness the fury of a lightning storm in the woods.

The rain was subsiding and the sky beginning to clear when we walked out of the trees and down the road to the campsite.

I took Elisha fishing at the river the next day while his mom broke camp.  Not only does his mom have to play the role of mom & dad, I have to be na-na and pa-pa.  That's okay, though.  We have enough love and endurance to play both roles and play them nicely.

The campsite was wet, the wood was wet, we were wet, but we were camping.  Not as much preparation went into this camping trip as with the others, but we were determined to make do.  We ate corned beef hash and ate cheetos and tortilla chips with bean dip.  We drank colas instead of coffee the next morning.  Things can't always go as planned and that's alright.  We were in nature, enjoying the smell of damp ground and trees, listening to the coyotes from our pillows and the owl before dawn.  Sleep well, sweet princess.  We will see you again when the train of life makes another stop and one of us steps into Heaven's station.

FIVE NIGHTS AT BUESCHER!

It was actually two weekends totalling five nights of camping all together.

Buescher State Park (pronounced Bisher) is about 45 minutes from home and one of the prettiest parks around.  It actually connects to Bastrop State Park that was nearly wiped out in the huge Labor Day fires a couple of years ago.  Luckily, Buescher was spared.

It was another scorchingly hot summer weekend when we packed up and headed toward Smithville, Tx.  We picked out a campsite not far from the restrooms/showers and one where the vehicles would be closer to the campsite.  We learned well that carrying heavy equipment and supplies is not very fun in 100 + degree heat.

This part of the park is a "water only" area, meaning that there is no electricity to run a fan at night.  Never fear, I bought one that runs on 46 D cell batteries.  Well, maybe not quite that many, but we did discover that the batteries will last exactly one night and until 3:26 a.m. the following night.  That was Raven's assignment.....changing out the batteries in the middle of the night.

Another thing I learned was to maintain an acceptable amount of ice in the ice chests, they have to be kept in the shade all day and, preferably, covered up to further insulate them.  Before heading out the second weekend, I did some internet snooping and read about freezing containers, like coffee cans, full of water to make the ice last longer.  It really does work.  The second weekend ( a three nighter) the ice lasted much longer & I only had to dash into town for one bag.

Another nifty trick I learned is to keep things cold but dry, use one of those cheap plastic tubs.  It fit perfectly on top of the canned drinks and held the cheese, lunch meat and other food we would rather not eat soggy.  A couple of water bottles with frozen water in the middle kept it all nice and cool, but dry.  We're really getting the hang of this!

We had a blast in the evening playing "baseball" with Elisha and tossing horse shoes.  It was still a little warm for hiking for me and Daisy agreed totally.

Before the long weekend trip to Buescher, I prepared a menu of each meal, went shopping for what I needed and made "meal packets" the night before, freezing it all so it would stay fresh and help conserve ice.  I made chicken breasts stuffed with veggies and spices and wrapped in bacon, then wrapped in foil and all put in a gallon freezer bag.  There were double stuffed potatoes, hot dogs split and stuffed with cheese then wrapped in bacon  I made pancakes, johnny cakes and cinnamon toast for breakfast, along with cold juice and hot coffee.  We kept lunch light with summer sausage, cheese and crackers and sandwiches.  A good meal prepared outside is the best.

These were good trips.  As always, we met some interesting people and made some good memories.  Elisha is learning more about nature and how to live outside.  It's been an awesome summer.