Dead Man's Campground.

Maybe if we had remembered this is Monsoon season our camp out wouldn't have been such an adventure. It was a ward camp out so there promised to be lots of fun people there. And the spot wasn't too far away from home, maybe a thirty minute drive. It was raining a little bit during the day but stopped before we left for the canyon. Once off the paved state highway the road was dirt only that was mostly composed of clay. It was so slippery and muddy our car slid sideways several times. We were stuck once but Gordon was able to work us out without having to get out and push. When we made it to the parking lot we were only the third car there and parked in the back knowing several more were following.

The other two families hadn't set anything up yet, wondering if we were really going to stay, since it seemed likely to get more rain. I decided not to wait since we were hungry and started a fire get our dinner going. While I worked on dinner Gordon set up our tent and bedding.

Dinner was delicious

In a Dutch oven:
Brown minute rice
Zucchini
onion
peppers (red and orange)
water
butter
salt
garlic

On the grill:
Steaks marinaded in Steakhouse sauce

Mmmm Mmmm

Dessert was harder to get going. I had forgotten our can opener and wanted to make peach cobbler. As each family arrived I asked to borrow their opener but it turned out no other families brought one. Most of them brought fast food they picked up on the way for their dinners. Finally Gordon opened the cans for me using a mallet and a steak knife.

When the bishop arrived he brought with him a huge canopy. It was complicated and took several men quite a while to set up. We teased them the whole time that setting up that monster was our rain insurance. Boy were we wrong. Half way during marshmallow roasting the down pour started. Thirty or so bodies crammed together under the canopy to try and stay dry. The rain kept going and going. We had thoughts of trying to drive home. But since the road was so bad coming in, we didn't think we could make it out, it being even wetter and in the dark. After about forty-five minutes or so Gordon and I decided we should try and put our children to bed. Our tent was soaked, lots of water had leaked in. So much so that we decided to move to our car. We layed the back seat down and pushed the middle seats up as far as they could go and set out for the worst sleep in our lives. Most of our blankets had been soaked, a couple were only damp so the five of us tried to lay together under the two damp blankets to stay warm. Lily eventually moved to sleep in the front seats with the small blanket. I had to keep Abigail on my chest for her to fall asleep and that took quite a while.

The rain finally stopped and a few adults wandered out to gather around the campfire. This is the part of camping I love the most. I love staring into the fire and watching the flames. I love chatting late into the night. I love gazing up and seeing stars. Two more couples joined our group late. Apparently one couple's truck had slid off the road and were stuck for two hours. They honked their horn but we never heard them. Cellphones had no service in this little canyon. So they waited and luckily another couple were coming late and found them and gave them a ride in.

Here we are around the campfire:





When Gordon and went to lay down it was a tight squeeze in the van. The sleeping pads didn't do much to hide the metal rivets where seats fasten to the floor. But I think the worst part was around two or three my cell phone started beeping with the low-battery warning. In the dark I couldn't find the thing. I tried two or three times to search for it without waking the girls. It beeped about every five minutes until six am when it was finally light enough that I found it hiding in a crevice between the passenger seat and the door.

The next morning dawned with beautiful sunshine. The bishop bric made us a hearty breakfast and the primary had games and prizes for the kids. We really loved playing and getting to know better our ward. We want to come next year for the ward campout but hope they choose a weekend a little less wet.



Our unused tent


Lily


Eve


Abigail


Our sleeping quarters


The survivors!