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Campfire Tales:  What was your most memorable camping trip as a kid  |
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Elizaray
outspoken
680 Posts
Elizaray
680 Posts |
 Posted - Mar 29 2008 : 08:31:29 AM
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My most memorable camping trip as a kid was one I took with my dad. Just him and me. It had to be right about 1995 because we had just moved to town and he had gotten a new GMC Jimmy. I remember the Jimmy very clearly in this memory.
Anyway, we found a spot to camp up in the mountains. We were close to a little creek to fish in, but I think we mostly just hung out in the meadow talking and taking nature hikes.
We slept in our tents and in the morning my dad was lighting the propane stove when suddenly I see my dad flap his arm a few times and then drop and roll. His whole arm and part of his chest was on fire! I remember screaming loudly "Dad! Dad!" and the only thought was that I was going to have to get him into the car somehow and drive him about 10 miles down the road to help! I was maybe 12 at the time and had never driven any vehicle before.
Dad tried to convince me that he was never in any danger- that he had just spilled some propane on himself. Looking back, I think he was a bit shook up too- but was being brave for his daughter that was obviously FREAKED out!
So what are some of your memories?
Elizaray |
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Libbie
outstepping
157 Posts
Anne E.
Elsinore
Utah
USA
157 Posts |
Posted - Apr 17 2008 : 9:48:05 PM
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One of my most wonderful memories is going on a camping road trip through Montana with my Dad - just the two of us - when I was around 6 or 7. I LOVED it. Everything about it. One night we camped in a campground next to some other folks, and in the morning, I went over and commented about how good their breakfast looked, and they invited us over! I think my Dad was embarassed, but we ate with them and had a good time anyway. That was my first "real" camping trip and I have been hooked ever since. Thanks, Dad!!!
XOXO, Libbie
"Farmgirl Sister #10," and proud of it!!! |
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June Bug
outstepping
75 Posts
Traci
75 Posts |
Posted - May 16 2008 : 12:44:00 PM
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I was pretty fortunate growing up because I have MANY memorable camping experiences. We used to camp out in Hells Canyon for weeks at a time every summer, back when camping regulations weren't so strict down there, and it was some of the best times I've ever had in my life! Most people don't know that Hell's Canyon is actually the deepest naturally cut gorge in North America, even deeper than the Grand Canyon! I caught an 8 foot sturgeon, with my Dad's help of course, when I was only 10 years old! We used to have big BBQ luaus and rafters traveling by would stop and join us for dinner and we would meet some neatest people out there. We used to go above the fork, where the Snake and Salmon rivers meet and bathe naked in the pristine, crystal green waters of the Salmon river while my Dad would fly fish down stream. On one of our outings, a huge Sikorski helicopter with a 1,000 gallon bucket used for transporting water for wildfires came down and dipped it's bucket in the river right in front of us! We had to get down really low, almost laying on the rocks because of the wind it created. It was sooo cool!
But, my absolute most memorable camping experience was when a mountain man living off the land for the summer stumbled upon our camp and my parents invited him to have elk burgers for dinner with us. Little did we all know that the man who called himself "Animal" would end up saving my life. I had gone off to go #1 and just as I pulled up my shorts I heard the infamous rattle of the rattle snake. I froze and just started screaming "Rattle Snake!!!" over and over again. Animal was the first one bounding up the hill and before I knew it, a hatchet came flying from behind me and chopped the snake's head off! I couldn't quite beleive what had just happened and Animal ended up eating the snake for dinner that night. He stayed with us one more night and then went on his merry way. Thanks Mom and Dad for such amazing experiences growing up, I only hope I can do the same for my son Joey. |
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Libbie
outstepping
157 Posts
Anne E.
Elsinore
Utah
USA
157 Posts |
Posted - May 17 2008 : 9:11:19 PM
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Holy cow, Traci! Not only the long stretches of amazing camping, but the rattlesnake, too? I would love to hear more of your stories - the "Animal" one is awesome - and an 8-foot sturgeon? WOW. I can totally appreciate your "thanks" to your parents for those experiences - I, too, hope I can give some wonderful ones to my two boys.
And another thing - I didn't know Hell's Cyn. is deeper than the Grand - that's crazy!
XOXO, Libbie
"Farmgirl Sister #10," and proud of it!!! |
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June Bug
outstepping
75 Posts
Traci
75 Posts |
Posted - May 19 2008 : 09:54:34 AM
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| Thanks Libby! I often thought I should write a book about all of our adventures in the canyon. Yeah, Hells Canyon is deeper but not many people know it because it is so wide. The Grand Canyon is so narrow that it is more of a phenomenom. From what it sounds like, I think your boys will be just fine in the heart-warming, soul-feeding categories of growing up. Farms and just being outdoors have a way of doing that. Traci |
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Jen
Expedition Leader
1384 Posts
Jennifer
Calico Rock
AR
USA
1384 Posts |
Posted - May 19 2008 : 10:00:07 AM
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That IS an incredible story, Traci. Once of those crazy, right place / right time stories that spans the ages. What fun you all must have had. I can't wait to make some camping memories with my kids this summer...I have so many from my own childhood - mostly in the Ozarks - that they're hard to sift through. My absolute fondest are of camping along the rivers while on canoe trips. Just felt like absolute freedom!
Jen
Farmgirl Sisterhood Member #9
The View From My Boots: www.bovesboots.blogspot.com
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LindaEllen
outbound
25 Posts
Linda
Missouri
USA
25 Posts |
Posted - Aug 21 2008 : 8:02:23 PM
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Great stories everyone.
My folks loved to fish and if the fishing fever hit them they would close up shop, send their workers home early with pay and us four, Dad, Mom, sis and I would gather up the rods and reels and head out to the fishin hole.
We always stop by and get a couple of cans of worms. They use to come in cardboard oil cans. The bait shop would dump the worms out and everyone would look and see they were still alive and good bait.
Now this one trip we took, for some reason Mom packed a full staionwagon. Good thing cuz it rained and we were stuck down in a road that we could not get out of , 3 days stuck. It was the best stuck we ever been in and we have been in a lot of stucks ,lol.
Mom had the iron skillet for fryin taters & onions, fresh fish we caught and always a can of pork&beans.
Mom put out a cloths line from tree to tree and our clothes hung until dry. She had everything we needed for our campout for three days that was just suppose to be a day fishing trip.
Now to this day I wonder if we were really stuck or maybe they just didn't try hard to get us out of the mud : )
Locust Trail Homestead
http://www.homesteadblogger.com/walkabout/ |
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HuckleberryWine
outbound
21 Posts
Michelle
Rosalia
Wa
USA
21 Posts |
Posted - Aug 22 2008 : 11:59:28 AM
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What fun stories.
We had lots of camping trips, and the most memorable was in the desert. We drove for hours, then up a little dirt road and around a hill to an oasis. Fort Paiute outside of Las Vegas. I hear it has changed a lot in 20 years, but back then we had the place to ourselves.
Dad and my 2 brothers and I explored the ruins of the fort, went up the canyon to where a dam had been, watched tons of hummingbirds (must have been migrating). We were in some tall grasses, following an animal trail when we heard the javalinas coming. They are not to be messed with, so we climbed up on a stout limb caught along the canyon wall (lots of cottonwoods) and waited for them to pass us by. We didn't see them, but we didn't need to!
Dad and I roughed it in the old canvas tent outside, and the boys slept in the van on the cushy benches. I thought that was funny. Next morining, I set off walking back down the dirt road towards the paved road, maybe 10 miles, just to stretch while the others packed and got ready to go. Pretty soon, instead of having them catch me up in the van, here they came on foot. The van wouldn't start, the battery was dead because the light had been on all night long. It was April, if I remember right, and not hot yet that early, but it certainly got hot as we walked along. Dad had brought the milk-jug ice block he used in the cooler, and as it melted we took turns staying hydrated. My walk went from a fun time trying to catch lizards to trying to choke back panic (I was around 10). I just knew we had a hot walk, and then the prospect of hitchiking once we got to the road scared me too. The nearest town was an hour down the paved road.
After some time, we heard someone coming along. It was amazing. Nobody used the "road" that was mostly a sandy riverbed. We hadn't seen any tracks but our own, it wasn't marked on maps, Dad had found out about the place by word of mouth...I couldn't believe it when a beat up old pickup with a beat up old desert rat (affectionate term) stopped and asked us if he could help us. He gave me the coolest can of 7 up I've ever enjoyed. As we bumped along, he talked to Dad in the cab. After he jumpstarted our van, he stayed and enjoyed the fort himself. Dad laughed and said that coincidentally the guy who asked us to call him "Bum" had been looking for that fort about 7 years or so and just chose this route to explore that day. Lucky for us all. |
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June Bug
outstepping
75 Posts
Traci
75 Posts |
Posted - Aug 22 2008 : 6:30:34 PM
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I love it!!!! I absolutely love hearing these stories.
Linda, it definately seems like you parents weren't in too much of a hurry to get out of the mud! How perfect!
Michelle, I love how those people, "Bum" in this case, show up randomly as if they were angels or by some divine intervention. I always wonder what will be my son's most memorable camping trip or why certain memories stick the way they do....Thanks for sharing everyone....great topic Elizaray!
Traci |
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HuckleberryWine
outbound
21 Posts
Michelle
Rosalia
Wa
USA
21 Posts |
Posted - Aug 23 2008 : 08:52:39 AM
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Once I got to return the favor "Bum" did for us. Not my own camping story, but a good one anyway.
One morning we drove out to do some hiking in the Superstition mountians in Arizona. Gorgeous country. When we got to the parking area not long after sunup, two men came over to the car. They had gone out for an easy day hike the previous day, went too far, a storm came up at dark, they got turned around somehow and ended up spending the night out there in shorts and no emergency gear. Very cold and I'm sure scary for them. We shared our supplies, got them warmed up, and drove them out to find the other trail access where they had parked. It always feels good to be able to return the favor to help someone out. Much better than being on the other end of a rescue! |
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Elizaray
outspoken
680 Posts
Elizaray
680 Posts |
Posted - Aug 23 2008 : 7:20:20 PM
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One of my favorite camping memories was actually from college. After we got our backpacks all adjusted- it was so much fun to be out on the trail. We followed the tracks of a bear along the banks of a river, at lunch next to a stream, and practiced low impact camping.
It was a great 3 days in the Beartooth Mountains with a class from my college at the time. It was amazing to see how different people reacted to the wilderness. Some people really stepped up to challenges, and some were only happy to follow. It was in the middle of fall- right before winter really started to chill the mountains. We saw tons of wildlife. I would love to go out and do it again!
Elizaray |
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Campfire Tales: What was your most memorable camping trip as a kid |
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What was your most memorable camping trip as a kid
