Camping. There is something refreshing, relaxing, and rejuvenating about camping. I love being in nature. But there are several things about camping that I don’t love : Being too hot, Being wet from RAIN, Horseflies, Bees, Flies, And Rodents.
Overall, however, the good outweighs the bad, and I thoroughly enjoy a relaxing camping trip. Maybe it’s because I can curl up in a camping chair with a good book and read until dark…Maybe it’s because Michael does a large part of the cooking…Maybe because it’s just nice to get away from “normal.” Whatever the case, I usually love it, except for the previously mentioned list.
I think I get so annoyed at the list because I don’t like being uncomfortable. And it seems as if the list goes out of its way to try and rob me of my comfort. I think Michael secretly wishes he had video footage as he watched me do a crazy dance to avoid a horsefly while camping. I’m also sure our campsite neighbors wish they had one for the following story…better yet, they probably wish they could remove the haunting mental images….they were sleeping, anyway (I HOPE!)
Quiet hours= 10:00 p.m.
The setting of this story= 10:30ish.
The campfire had died down and Michael and I were lying out under the stars. Zippy was about 15 feet away, snoring comfortably on a Tupperware, without a leash. I started getting antsy, playing the “what if” game. What if…a rodent came and tried to scrounge around and get some of the cobbler we had just made? what if…he woke Zippy up? What if…the animals got in a fight? What if…what if…what if? I decided perhaps we should move Zippy to the tent, which we did.
It was then that Michael and I debated what should be our next course of action to get ready for bed.
Option #1: Going to the bath house would require the car BUT since it was ‘quiet hours,’ we wanted to be respectful of the neighbors.
Option #2: Taking sponge baths in the spigot adjacent to our campsite– convenient and quiet, but COLD.
The sponge baths won.
I was at the spigot, taking a ‘fairly significant’ sponge bath, when Zippy decided he didn’t want to be in the tent and grumbled a little (not a full-fledged bark, but if you ignore it, it will become one.) Michael proceeded to the tent to quiet Zippy. I walked to the car and used the hood as a ledge to store my clothes while drying myself. All of the sudden, Michael turned ON the lantern. Now, remember, I was still in my FAIRLY SIGNIFICANT status (Now, in case you are scratching your head: Fairly Significant and lights DO NOT MIX)! This very brief moment of revelation caused me to drop to the ground and give Michael the best “quiet hours” scolding that was quietly possible regarding keeping the lights off while I’m fairly significant. Meanwhile, Michael started whispering and frantically pointing to the spot where Zippy had been, not 5 minutes prior! He shone the Mag-lite to the area, and RIGHT WHERE ZIPPY HAD BEEN is a S-K-U-N-K eating the remains of Zippy’s dog food–and only 15 feet from MY CURRENT LOCATION! eek!
This put me in a little bit of a hysterical tizzy, quickly debating if clothes were worth the effort. Deciding against them, I scurried to the tent, still in my ‘fairly significant’ state but with an improvised towel. Michael and I stayed banished to the tent for quite some time as the skunk enjoyed the remnants of my dog’s dinner. He was in no hurry to help with my comfort, and I was in no hurry to bother him for my clothes!
And that my friends, is why rodents are on my “Reasons-I-DO-NOT-LOVE-CAMPING” List!
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