Wednesday, July 25, 2012

Bowdish Lake and Attempting Waste-Free Camping

Set up the new tent.  Started a fire.  Hot dogs, chips, S'mores.  Our giant figures overlapping the pines in front of the Coleman lantern.  Shadow puppets.  Stories.  The story of the chipmunk who stood up to the bear and called in the light to the forest.  Talking.  Sleeping on an unyielding field.  Awake a dawn and another fire.

Three days of camping in the middle of the week.  We were the only people in the field.  apparently, if you want the sports activities, karaoke, art shack, etc., you need to come on the weekends.  But we did have animal encounters...

Chipmunks left my story and scurried in and out of the rocks nearby, the bear claw stripe scars still fresh on their backs.  A million dragonflies, in green, gold, and brilliant blue: the true summer Olympians.  A hummingbird quick quick over the playground slide.  At the small beach we also had to ourselves, some school of small fish that followed us in the water.  A heron.  Ducks.  A mother duck bringing her babies over to us, with one duckling running over my foot.  We learned to bring bread to the beach.

Breakfast was oatmeal, cocoa, and coffee.  Most of our food involved boiling water.  I made a homemade bread, wrapped in foil.  Brought peanut butter, nuts, granola, salsa, chips.  We burned the oatmeal and cocoa packets, then the boxes.  A short walk, and we disposed of the hot dog packaging.  We don't buy many convenience foods, but camping while keeping kids happy makes it difficult.  Marshmallows only come in plastic bags.  I could have made granola bars instead of buy them, but Job Lot had them and my daughter had camp the previous week on her own and needed a daily snack.  Couscous was one of the best suggestions we got from a friend, cooked in 5 minutes after adding boiling water.  A large bunch of bananas.  Homemade apple sauce.  Cloth napkins, of course.  They do a much better job than paper towels any day.  We also foraged, finding wintergreen and white pine to chew on, and high bush blueberries to add to the oatmeal.  I couldn't catch any fish.  I only tried a net and we foolishly did not bring a knife except the one to slice the bread. 

All our food and gear were in reusable shopping bags, which also made it all easier to carry.  We had one cooler and reused four gallon water bottles and five small water bottles.  Plastic silverware and plates with lips were washed and reused.  The plastic containers you get from take-out are perfect to use as a plate or bowl, and then the lid used to save unfinished portions.  

We tried out our crank radio.  Success!  More than two sleeping bags and a pile of blankets would have been more comfortable for five people.  We collected pine cones, branches with bark beetle trails resembling Elvin runes, one root that looked like dancing faery legs, interesting rocks, and the wings of a red admiral butterfly found in the woods.  We swam several times.  I found a blueberry gall.  At night, bats.  By day, a phoenix rises.

TEN DAYS TO GO!!!  KICKSTARTER NEEDS $3723.  Donate if you can.

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