Camping Fail

Turns out camping is not always a paradaisical journey.

Saturday's list of failures:
* Missed turn to get to Prescott. Detour takes an hour.
* Finally get to camping spot. Seems a little hot. Seems a little sparse. Seems a little --- bee-swarmy! A giant cloud of bees heading our way prompts us to pack up.
* Next spot is full
* Find a spot. Nice and shady. Bee-free.
* Neighboring camper pulls up with a license plate reading "ANTHRAX" and proceeds to BLAST 80s crap rock until 1 a.m.

Sunday went great. Weather was beautiful and we got in plenty of reading and eating of Fat-Free Pringles...anthrax-free.

Not ready to give up on my quest to be the ultimate camper.

That's how I Knoll

Over the 4th of July, we headed up to a campground near Knoll Lake. It takes a 45 minute drive in what basically amounts to piles of rocks, but the bumpy dirtiness was worth it! We got the last open space with a site near a trail leading to the lake.

I must say that we did SO WELL this time around:

• Brought the air mattress.
• Remembered the pump.
• Got brave and brought a propane stove (I have this little fear of things blowing up...hehe nervous laughter).
• Cooked eggs, grilled cheese sandwiches, sausage and hot dogs.
• Read two books that I've read before
• Had plenty of cold drinks

The weather was gorgeous and even though the campground was full, they were spread far enough apart that we couldn't hear much and only had to spy on the neighbors a little bit. AND we saw an actual deer! He was beautiful. And very tall - I'd say 7 feet. Amazing. His name was Dennis.

This camping trip was fab. Of course I want to go again, but I know I always say that and then it never happens. If we do go again, I am going to advocate for bringing some kind of boat or floatation device. We always stay by lakes but never really benefit. I was thinking maybe an inflatable kayak? Or can we just use the air mattress?

Lindsay, Unplugged

T and I went up to the woods last weekend. It wasn't easy. And it wasn't pretty. But it was incredible.

Lately our schedules have been so packed that we can't find time to think. So even though we had to miss three (count 'em) different parties to hit the road, it was a critical move.

Lately I have become way too connected -- Facebook, Twitter, my Blackberry -- and I check them constantly. It's almost become a tic. It had to stop.

So Saturday morning we set out to the Blue Ridge Reservoir, which has a very nice camping area overlooking a canyon/reservoir.

I optimistically did not bring any kind of mattress, so we got horrible sleep. But we got some great rest. We sat in the shade and read books, enjoying the quiet and the 70-degree weather.

I'm hoping as the summer wears on, and 115 degree heat sets in, that we will get even better at dropping everything and leaving town.

Facebook will still be there when we get back.