Fun trip

[cjsmith]

I went camping! Okay, it wasn't backpacking, but hey: I still got to see the stars and sleep outdoors.

We will not mention the s'mores.

Backpackers have a phrase for setting up a tent without carrying it several miles first. They call it "car camping". Well, this trip was airplane camping! We had a total of four aircraft, and with a little shuffling of baggage we got all of them under max weight for departure. I got to ride over in a Yak, still fully labeled in Russian. The owner let me have the controls for a lot of the ride. He even did a couple of aerobatic maneuvers before we landed at Columbia Airport. Wheee!

It's probably been six years since I've set up that big car-camping tent. I got interested in backpacking right after I purchased it, and the dang thing weighs too much for that. So I couldn't remember how the ridge pole hooked up with the shoulders. Another camper, unburdened with the handicap of reading the labels, figured out how to turn the connectors (upside down works perfectly) and we got it set up. Woohoo -- now that tent's been used twice. :-)

We walked into town (about twenty minutes) for dinner. This turned out to be a mistake for me, but hey, we didn't have the useful load in the aircraft for stoves and all. It was good food though. Mmmm, enchiladas and margaritas. Afterwards a helpful restaurant employee gave two of us a ride over to the little corner store, most of the way back to the airport. Yay! We picked up some charcoal for the grill and... I will not mention the disaster that was the s'mores.

We talked and drank well into the night. I hope no other campers at Columbia that night come across this blog, or they'll know whose group was making all that noise. At least we were a ways away from the nearest other tent.

When it came time to go to sleep, rfrench walked back into town again. He was staying at the nearby hotel. He likes his clean sheets and hot showers, not to mention an AC outlet for the CPAP machine he uses at night.

The campground does have showers, as it turns out. In the morning I headed over and saw how nice the building was. They ask that you limit the use to five minutes, but there's hot water and there's a sink and a flush toilet and everything. For "camping" it was pretty luxurious. I hadn't planned to shower, so I didn't have a towel or anything, but since it was there I hosed myself down. My shower had an adorable little frog living in the cold-water handle. He was very cute.

We met Rob at his hotel in town and then headed to a nearby restaurant for breakfast. I knew I was going to pay for all this walking, and I did briefly consider just playing solitaire until the group came back, but I let peer pressure bring me along. Eh well, today I know what the cost is. Again I managed to wheedle a ride back to the airport (yay! People in this town are so nice). I yielded my seat in the Yak to another pilot who was eager to fly in the big Russian trainer, and we got home fairly quickly in Rob's Saratoga.

I haven't been camping in probably two years. I felt the reminder of what I used to enjoy mixed with the recognition that I can still do at least a little of it -- a poignant combination. I wanna go camping again, minus the walk into town, and sleep out under the stars. Mmmmmm.

Comments

[quasigeostrophy.livejournal.com]

Sounds like a great time.

We will not mention the s'mores.

Aw, c'mon. I'm sure it's a great story. ;-)

[cjsmith.livejournal.com]

Not even that! A good simmering pile of charcoal does *not* toast marshmallows well. Bleh. I now have leftover s'mores fixings for maybe thirty people. :-)

[quasigeostrophy.livejournal.com]

Mmmmm... leftover s'mores fixin's. :-)

[mactavish.livejournal.com]

fondue! :)

[cjsmith.livejournal.com]

What do I do with all those marshmallows though? I love chocolate fondue, particularly with fruit... maybe someone else likes the marshmallows. (I already know to avoid feeding them to the cats.)

[platypus]

Yay camping! I am a total wussy car camper -- I MUST shower in the morning -- but other than that, I'm at least willing to sleep in a tent and eat burned weenies and stuff. I don't even really need an indoor toilet, but the shower is non-negotiable.

Sadly, we missed the early camping season, and now it's hot in the mountains. I'm hoping we'll make it back in September or early October.

[cjsmith.livejournal.com]

Yeah, it got kind of warm for us as well, although not unbearable. Sept/Oct sound perfect.

Portable showers! ;-)

[lesliepear.livejournal.com]

Sounds nice. Can you bring something along to ride in to and from town.

Extra smores stuff isn't a bad thing. You can always make some at home :)

[ericainohio.livejournal.com]

Yeah, just don't heat the marshmallows in the microwave! LOL!! I learned that the hard way.

[cjsmith.livejournal.com]

OK, I'm afraid to ask what happens.

[mactavish.livejournal.com]

It's really fun to do Peeps (chickens or bunnies will do) on paper plates, then let the results cool and dry. It's . . . art. Or something.

[cjsmith.livejournal.com]

If I had a powered scooter (and it didn't weigh much), or one of those cool Segway personal transport things, that'd be perfect. :-)

Maybe I should have a s'mores party! Woohoo, everybody go to CJ's and get REALLY WILD... making s'mores!

[abenn.livejournal.com]

That sounds like so very much fun! I love trips in small planes. I love the idea of airplane camping.

Glad you had a good time, except for the walking part.

[cjsmith.livejournal.com]

Yay for airplanes and yay for camping! You and I *really* oughta do more stuff together. :-)

[abenn.livejournal.com]

That sounds great to me!

[just-cyd.livejournal.com]

wheee!!! car camping is fun!! i hope you can do this again, and explore new ways to make it work for you. i'm picturing your wheelchair transformed (temporarily) into a rickshaw, and perhaps the use of a whip? ;-)

[cjsmith.livejournal.com]

A rickshaw would be suitably amusing. Y'know, I've actually seen one of those (ok, a couple)... those guys are very in shape.

[mactavish.livejournal.com]

I'm sure I can wrangle up a couple of rickshaw pullers (http://www.flickr.com/photos/42614915@N00/25506001/).

[cjsmith.livejournal.com]

Bwahaha! They'd probably have fun with it - for a couple minutes. :-)

[mactavish.livejournal.com]

Until the gopher showed up. :)

[cjsmith.livejournal.com]

Oh, THEY might still like it, but whoever's clinging to the rickshaw for dear life might have other ideas!

[cjsmith.livejournal.com]

(er, I suppose that'd be more "squirrel" than "gopher" -- I don't know how much gophers run before they hide.)

[lkeele.livejournal.com]

Wheee, camping! I haven't been in years. Sounds fun.

[cjsmith.livejournal.com]

I hadn't either, what with losing my backpacking partner and then the foot stuff. It *is* fun! I enjoy camping. It's good to be reminded that I can still car-camp -- I just have to find people who want to go! :-)

[mactavish.livejournal.com]

I pretty much have to car camp, anymore (I've been on ten-day backpacking trips, now I can do maybe 300 yards of light carry-in, less for heavier stuff, but oh well) and would be happy to camp with you. I'm good at it, and we have decent equipment. :)

[cjsmith.livejournal.com]

WOOHOO! This is awesome. I could probably do 300 yards too. OK, when/where? 8-) 8-)

[mactavish.livejournal.com]

It depends on whether you want to go rafting.

As unrustic as it is, Burke's Canoes near Forestville is great for camping overnight then taking a daytime canoe trip on the Russian River. For just camping, the state parks are nifty (Butano?), there's camping up the coast on state beaches. I used to love a campsite about a mile inland from Goat Rock in Sonoma County, but it's gotten more popular lately and isn't as rustic. There are 18 camp spots, I've been there a few times when it's been less than 25% full. The last couple of times, it was mostly full. At this time of year, if you don't want to drive four hours, the coast and redwoods are best. In the spring, the foothills are nice.

[cjsmith.livejournal.com]

I've never been rafting. Could try it -- it's at least something fun to do during the day, which is a challenge for me on camping trips!

I can't remember whether I've been to Butano. Gosh, my memories of parks and camping and hiking and backpacking are fading away.

Coast and redwoods both sound lovely (and a little bit cooler than here, I suspect)!