Little Indian in the Big Woods

Determined to keep up with my new policy of expanding my horizons and making new friends, I accepted an invite from a friend to go on a camping trip. This was really taking a leap of faith as (1) I knew said friend in a very remote fashion and hadn’t even met him in the past 2 years and (2) I didn’t know any of the other people going on the trip.

Still, the mere prospect of finally participating in yet another truly “Canadian” summer experience” just thrilled me to the bones and I was all gung-ho with my preparations. Even the daunting forecast of thunder showers for Friday night and most of Saturday was not enough to deter me from enjoying my weekend.

I was supposed to get off work at noon on Friday and armed with all sorts of helpful hints from my camping savvy coworkers, I proceeded to Canadian Tire to pick up all the handy dandies I needed. Good thing everything was on sale coz as a Camping Virgin, I needed it all! Ropes, tarps, air mattress, sleeping bag, lantern, torch, insect repellent and more…. I piled it all into my cart. Next stop – the grocery store where I bought so many provisions that one would have suspected I was barricading myself in a bunker for the next 5 years! And last (but by no way least) a trip to the LCBO!!

By 6:30 when friend and friend’s friends came by to pick me up, I had 2 coolers, 2 folding chairs, 1 sleeping bag, 1 air mattress and 1 knapsack ready and waiting on my front steps. The car was already filled to the brim, so I had to leave one chair and one cooler behind, but I did manage to squeeze all the beer into various nooks and crannies. Wasn’t about to go off into the middle of nowhere with a bunch of strangers with out some backup!

Most of the folks were easy going and nice enough to get to know. Of course every rule has its exception and in this case the exception was Très Bossy Girl who’s constant nagging and whining and bitching about every little thing made me want to pitch her head first into the lake with a very LARGE rock tied to her feet! I’m sure I would have done the world a great service.

In spite of Little Missy Bossy Two Shoes, I did have a wonderful time. Not even the gloomy and wet weather could put a damper on our sprits. We indulged in game after game of Bluff and Snap; Charades provided hours of entertainment and we nearly brought down the tent with one hilarious game of Twister!

And of course there was the FOOD. Honestly, we’d hardly finished one meal before we’d get planning on the next! Food DOES taste so much better in picnic form. And the stranger the combinations, the better things tasted. And I’ll bet it was the ultra delish smells that brought a baby skunk a-sniffing round our garbage one night. Trying to shoo away a skunk and not alarm or annoy it in the process is a delicate science I tell ya! Fortunately there was no spraying incident and we did get a good laugh and pictures of Pepe perched on the bench delicately nibbling at a left over burger. I’m sure he went back to his friends telling them about how nicely the Two Feets treated him and how they should ALL drop by on the other Two Feets for a friendly visit! That probably accounted for the panicked yells we heard from other campsites later on at night!

I was back home Sunday night – exhausted, sleepy and a bit grimy. I was really glad that I could say that my first ever camping experience had been a tremendous success, but was equally happy to be back to my comfy bed and hot shower!