REWIND - Labor Day Lunacy

September 1-2, 2011

Kanaskat-Palmer State Park

(10 miles outside of Maple Valley)

Sites 46 & 47

"I have a great idea" I said to my friend Melain, "let's go camping to round out the summer! It will be especially fun with a 14-month old!"

Melain and I took a drive one afternoon to scout out the best sites at the park. We didn't want to be disappointed so we recorded our favorites, went home and reserved our combined tent sites. That weekend we packed up an obscene amount of gear for the overnight, allotted 22 hours and drove south by southeast.

The Blue's arrived in Blue style about 3 hours late and spent a good amount of the daylight left in the day on figuring out how to set up a 62-man tent while I set up "house."

My eagle scout and his fire.

We all had high hopes of a beautiful evening around the fire singing kumbayah in perfect harmony after the kids went to bed and up until about midnight it was just that. Maybe there was a more harping on each other and less singing but that is how it goes between friends after dark while inhaling smoke.

Shortly there after, as we snuggled into our sleeping bags, there was a stirring from the portacrib and Tatum woke to realize she was not gunna have any part of this thin layer of nylon seperating her from wild squirrels. Usually, we would let her hash it out while we fixed a warm bottle but as her terrified cries echoed through the neighboring camps, we rushed into action. It didn't dawn on us that heating a bottle for a picky eater, in the middle of the night, outdoors was going to be a stress-filled issue.

So, long story short, the coleman stove wouldn't light, Tate grew angrier and we did the only thing left to do when you go camping and conditions get rough....you go home. Rob lovingly buckled her into her carseat and sped off the wrong way down a one-way street, leaving me in a puddle of anxiety and guilt.

I was a texting fool finding out if she screamed her way into vomitville but she was fast asleep within a mile or two and she and Rob got a full night's sleep in the comfort of their own beds.

The Blue's and I ended up firing up the battery-operated heater and sang another round of insults infused with a few deep secrets. It was 5 in the morning before we had had enough of electric heat so we retired to the comforts of our 1" thick foam mattresses.

The morning came early with one of my all-time favorite camper girl Melain quotes, "shut up, you stupid squeaky toy bird" being shouted from the neighboring tent. I about released my filled-to-capacity bladder in my sleeping bag. It was worse than a rooster whatever it was way up in that tree but we started in on the pancake making in a cloud of sleep deprivation and smoke-scented sweatshirts.

It was no wonder we couldn't get the stove to light earlier, there was a serious leak that almost blew our campsite into Pierce County but Jon, the caveman, took the heat and we enjoyed raw sausage and doughy or burnt pancakes. Camp food at its finest.

As soon as the sun broke threw, it was time to clean up camp and survive the long ride home.

This is the "we forgot a broom" technique.

And the little piglet played with the fire. We are such good parents!