Those of you who know me-well you all know me-would never consider me to be much of a camper. I have an aversion to most things involving the outdoors. Sure, I enjoy looking at beautiful mountains, lakes and streams, but please do not ask me to actually get out of the car to experience them in all their glory. All that dirt-all of those bugs-go to the bathroom where? Please! When mom gave Katy a sandbox for her second birthday, I am sure that she knew full well that I was not going to let Katy actually get in that thing. It took a lot of coaxing to get me to place my clean, germ free little girl into a box filled with what was essentially dirt. Luckily for Katy, cooler heads prevailed and she and Emma spent many fun-filled years (their fun-not mine) digging in the sand. I had Eric change the sand every year, though.
So, it comes as no surprise that we have yet to go camping as a family. Eric and I did sleep in a tent once at my family reunion, but I only remember all the years we spent in hotel rooms near the reunion.
Well folks, those days are over! Since last July, we have been owners of a pretty neat camper. Kem and Etta gave it to us as they were "downsizing" to a cute Airstream. Eric purchased a truck last fall to carry the camper. It was way too cold to try it out by then (whew!) so Eric set his sights on spring. Since my excuses for not going were running short, I booked us for an overnighter at the Bruneau Dunes. The dunes are located about 30 minutes outside of Mtn. Home. I had been before, but never as a camper. We had heard good things about spring camping there, such as generally mild weather conditions (no snow) and access to an observatory. It is out in the middle of acres of gorgeous farmland with nearly no lights or buildings to obstruct the view of the night sky. Only one problem-someone failed to mention the wind.
Look at the photos! It was crazy, non-stop, hair-raising wind. We had sun, we had a beautiful view, we had body-numbing wind! We were thankful for the shelter of the camper. Emma was so sad that we were unable to eat outside or build a fire. Seeing the stars was not enough for her. All she wanted was fire and a meal on the picnic table! We did not even get to wow the kids with Jiffy Pop! Next trip I guess! Yep, you read that right. I am already planning the trip the reunion and then Redfish Lake.
Seriously, though . . .we had a good time. We met up with a few classmates of the girls, hiked up one of the dunes, got tons of sand in our shoes and pants, walked a trail around the lake, listened to a presentation about comets, saw an awesome view of Saturn and 4 of its moons and spent a cozy night sleeping in the wind-rocked camper. We were near warm showers and almost clean bathrooms. The guy at the observatory said we were too early in the year to see the scorpions--oh, darn it all!--but we did see and hear many birds. It really was fun!
I am glad that Eric had/has the patience to deal with me and all of my quirky (ok, annoying) habits concerning the great outdoors. It might be too late to completely convert me, but the girls are well on their way to becoming camping enthusiasts. Thank you, dear!
