Last weekend, we got the bright idea to go camping. With the stake. At Cascade Park.
To many, this type of camping is outdoor adventure at its finest. To my husband, it ranks up there with scrubbing toilets and cleaning dust bunnies underneath the bed. "Car camping = not fun" in his book. So, as you can see, it was with a bit of persuasion and gentle coaxing that I talked him in to this opportunity to bond with our ward and stake.
The clincher was the food: Dave loves experimenting with all of his nifty camping gear so we decided to try a new method of cooking, specifically the "seal/boil" method. A quick press on the sealer and ta-da: tasty lasanga! But did we stop there? HA! - if you think so, you don't know us well. We also sealed some scrambled eggs with cheddar cheese & sausages for breakfast. This was getting fun! Oh, should I mention the ketchup? THAT was a bit of a mess, but we ended up with the world's largest ketchup packet. And, what meal would be complete without dessert, right? In two snaps, we also had the world's largest (& only?) packets of white chocolate & vanilla pudding. If you are having trouble imagining this, just think super-sized Go-gurts.
I bet you're asking yourself, "Why all the detail? Is it really necessary?" Oh yes - now we come to the moral of the story.
After packing up our food, I threw together some chocolate-chip bar cookies. Last year, our ward had a dessert potluck and I thought it might be happening again, so the cookies were a quick option. As Dave was packing the last things for the car, I was wrapping the hot cookies. He asked if there was anything left and I said, "I've got these."
Seriously, in my excitement I meant (and only saw) the cookies. But Dave meant the bag of food which was sitting next to the cookies - the bag that was our reason for going in the first place. Fast forward several hours: the tent is set up, sleeping bags in place... and no food. Hungry, tired & cold, I was near tears and Dave was too - from laughing. At that point, we had a lovely lesson on love, patience, and the importance of good communication. In case you were wondering, we did drive the 30 miles back home to get the grub. It may have been a waste of time & gas, but the food was really good. And even I can laugh about it now!
To make it up to him, we are heading on a backpacking trip to Goat Lake in a few weeks. It will be a wonderful time to gaze at cool, cascading waterfalls; listen to the lyrical sounds of the woodland creatures; and try, in vain, to find a backcountry toilet. Oh, and we will be sure to double check that the food gets packed because there is NO way I'm hiking back for it!
Wish me luck!!!
3 comments:
No comment... please don't make me comment... no I promise NO COMMENT..
(should I call you when your leaving for the next one and remind you to take the food... okay so I commented on this next time but I didn't about the last time) "}
Okay, so I know I shouldn't say it again...BUT, McDonalds!!!! 15 minutes away... food would have been okay... it would have waited for you. So enough said (by the way, I'm still laughing..)
In the last 10 years, we have never gone to a stake or ward campout at Cascade Park. For Bret it's in the same category as buying a sleeping bag or tent from Wal-Mart. Next summer I'll have to tell Bret that Dave went and he survived.
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