Throughout the year there are some iconic camping weekends, with campers scrambling to obtain a reservation in a State Park before all the campsites are spoken for.
We camped with Cindy, Steve, and Eric, with plans to have other members from both families join us for a Saturday potluck, but Friday night it was just the five of us, and the weather was close to perfect. I had made a large batch of "Puppy Breath Chili," and all we had to do was heat and eat and gather closer 'round the roaring campfire as the temperature dropped into the 40’s. Saturday morning began with one of Steve’s legendary breakfasts; he is always prepared with whatever you might want off the outdoor griddle, and he doesn’t hesitate to cook and serve breakfast to order. I settled for sausage patties, toast, two eggs over easy, hash-brown potatoes . . . we were offered pancakes on top of that, but nobody had the room! There was nothing to do after a breakfast like that but walk it off! We crossed the lake spillway from the South Campground to the North campground and did a tour of all the loops to view enthusiastic Halloween decorations. These campsites are large and grassy and provide beautiful settings for large and detailed displays. Look carefully and you will see Charlie Button hiding in this beautiful fall display! Back at the campground we took pumpkins and knives in hand to carve our own masterpieces for the parade of trick-or-treaters scheduled to tramp the camp at 4:00. Finally, as predicted for the weekend, rain moved in for the afternoon changing our plans for a big pot-luck dinner. Cindy's Mom and Dad had already called to say they could not come because of illness, and Micah, Caleb, and Grandma arrived just as the sprinkles started. We had set up the Paha-Que awning, and there was room for us all to squeeze under, but the damp cold didn't make for a very pleasant time for our guests. Instead, Tom took Grandma for a drive around to see the campground decorations, and then we released the three to head back to Van Wert, to fix their own supper and watch the 8:00 Ohio State Buckeye game.
With plenty of room for our original five, we sat down to eat at 5:00: Steaks and Barbeque Chicken, corn cake, baked beans, croissants, three-layer pumpkin cake cooked in the Dutch Oven and homemade ice-cream! Serious rain moved in by 6:30 and we retreated to the camper to listen to the Ohio State Buckeyes play Indiana University. It was supposed to be an easy win for the Bucks, but the game lasted almost 4 hours and was an up and down roller-coaster with lots of exciting scoring. Sunday morning we headed for home early having had a great weekend. One piece of unfinished business was that our carved pumpkins were never lit! At home we set them on the wood-burner and lit them Sunday night; I'll leave you with pictures of our masterpieces.
1 Comment
10/17/2013 11:57:27 pm
Just reading up on some of this lately, was interesting.
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October 2021
We don’t go camping any more . . . we go ‘streamin’ ! The “SIlvermine and His” is our 2018 25' Airstream Serenity with Salsa interior and front twin beds., and ‘streamin’ is the name we use to describe our adventures. Stream along as we document everything from weekend trips to longer summer excursions and full-blown vacations. You know what they say: if you’re not in an Airstream – you’re just camping!
Tom & Ella Brown |