I live!!! (I went on my first camping trip...)

[Larry_OHF]

I wanted to let everyone know that I am happy to be back online with all of you, and I have a camping trip story to tell.
Never been camping before. And I did not have such a great time, at it. My wife and I dumped the baby off at my dad's house, the we went to Linville Falls, (up in the Blowing Rock area, almost to the Tennessee border for those that know a little of the state.) We went on a hike throught the woods to see the waterfalls, and where the biggest fall dumps into a large river, there is a sinlge large, square rock in the middle of the river. We made our way to the rock and with effort, climbed up on top to the astonishment of on-lookers. It was nice. However, the trip went bad from then on. On our way back, it began to rain and so we wnet into the cavers to see the big cave...hoping it would be dry in there. It wasn't. Then we got to our camp site to discover our tent was leaky. Then some other campers set up near us with some freaking stupid barking dogs (4 of them), and were acting up all night so we could not sleep much. This morning, we ended our trip early to come home and rest from the terrible day. And I didn't even mention how we could almost not get a campfire started to cook on. Hopefully, if I decide to go camping again, we will go to a better site, and have more preparation and needed items with us, before-hand.
Does anyone else have a camp story to tell, now that I have opened it up for conversation?

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Devoted member of the Ironworks
Loyal guardian of the OHF
Member of the Ancients' club
Witness of the 4,000th post by Cloudposter
Currently engaged in the Trials of the Luremaster downloadable expansion set

[John D Harris]

Larry_OHF,
I'm glad to hear of your camping trip. don't give up on it. I love camping been doing since I was a kid, camping in the woods behind the house, or on Eglin military reservation. Nothing like waking up at dawn with several helo's flying at tree top level. Here is a more recent camping story that I posted in May.

http://www.ironworksforum.com/ubb/No...ML/000917.html

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"the memories of a man in his old age,
are deeds of a man in his prime"

[This message has been edited by John D Harris (edited 08-12-2001).]

[Sazerac]

Ohhh, Larry! Man, I feel for you!

Well, I think in a previous thread (actually I think it's on User Defined Polls) I recounted one of my "vacations from h***" that involved camping, among other things. The worst part was being with someone who was running the whole show who was a control freak and ruined it for the rest of us.

However, let me tell of a previous camping experience, back in 1988 (the first time I went camping) and why I would definitely try it again.

A friend of mine and I went up to Rocky Mountain National Park in Colorado. We found a campsite on the far side of the park (miraculous, since we got there after noon and didn't have a reservation). Even though it was in July, it was colder than heck because we were just under the timberline and, if I remember, it got down into the 30's that night (0 degrees Celsius). We were well-prepared, however, since he had done that kind of thing before.

Well, that evening, as we were sitting out on the picnic table near our tent, drinking and watching the stars, we heard the wolves in the mountains calling to each other. Man, it was so intense! I swear I could hear their language, and how each howl had syllables and intonations. It went on for about 15 minutes, and then all was silent...just as we do when we call someone on the phone to meet them somewhere and then go off. I realized then how deeply intelligent wolves are, and what a complex, interwoven society they have.

I shall never forget that. Of all my travels, that's one that will remain with me always.

Cheers,


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Welcome home from the camping trip from hell!
Life wouldn't be complete without one!
I've had a couple LOL...on holiday weekend me and some friends packed into their van and went up into the mountains. It started raining as soon as we got out of the van and did not let up til the next morning. The dumbass with the tent forgot the stakes and we had to sleep under the picnic tables to get out of the rain...sitting up and huddled together, we all woke up cramped and hungry only to find out that the food had been left in a cooler in the driver's kitchen. I was never so glad to get away from a camping trip in all my life.

We would set up our tent in the backyard as kids and spend our 25 cents allowance on a 6 oz coke, a bag of chips, & a comic book to sustain & entertain us til the morning.
I've spent many a night camping at fishing lakes in Ohio and Indiana & up in the Catalina mountains or down in secluded valleys behind the Rincons in AZ.
I love camping...waking up to the scent of the morning dew in the grass is still with me and I have not been in over a decade.

Moni

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[This message has been edited by Moni (edited 08-12-2001).]

[Cloudbringer]

Hey Larry! Good to see you back! Leaky tents.. oh boy can I commiserate! LOL Had one in girl scouts and we were miserable one night when it poured!

Cloudy

[Neb]

Hope you have a less leaky tent next time Larry .

Must have been wonderful to hear the wolves howling Saz, I would have loved to hear that, I love wolves and I think it's horrible that the norwegians are hunting them just because they ate a few of their sheep, it's the norwegians who placed their damn sheepfarms in the middle of the wolves natural habitat anyway.

[Sazerac]

Originally posted by Neb: Hope you have a less leaky tent next time Larry . Must have been wonderful to hear the wolves howling Saz, I would have loved to hear that, I love wolves and I think it's horrible that the norwegians are hunting them just because they ate a few of their sheep, it's the norwegians who placed their damn sheepfarms in the middle of the wolves natural habitat anyway.

I hadn't heard about that, Neb. I agree, that is beastly (no pun intended). Here in Texas it's the coyotes the ranchers hunt. I hear that they offer $5 a head for coyotes in the surrounding area, so you get all these hunters out shooting a creature who has lived here for thousands of years. Ridiculous. Not to mention the fact that the coyotes, who have a great deal of natural guile and intelligence, have now moved into Denton where they run through the streets at night, upending garbage, preying on pets, and making a general nuisance of themselves. One can hardly blame them, though. It is a bit unnerving, though, to be walking across the university campus at night and see a rather large pack of coyotes running along the sidewalk in front of the Music building! Best to keep one's distance, I'd imagine...Nature in the raw is seldom mild.

Cheers,



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[Sir Taliesin]

Oh where do I start... When I was growing up my family use to camp a lot. We would go to Cades Cove in the Smokey Mountain National Park. One night we went to a Ranger show. After the show it was quite dark as we walked back. When we got back to our camp site we found we had been raided. Now this was back in the late sixties, when they made ice chests like vaults. You know the kind; big and heavy with lots of steel and aluminium. There was a big black bear in our camp. He had picked up the color and thrown it against a rock and busted it open and was calmy setting there eating our food. Needless to say we let him a lone until the rangers came. That same trip about ten sites down on the end of the row, a black bear decided to make a couples tent his. They made a new entrance out the back as he came in the front.

Before my wife and I got married we were camping in Fall Creek Falls State Park, here in Tennessee. We found the perfect spot. Nice flat and sandy (sandy should have been a tip). It started to rain about ten that night. HARD! I noticed out tent was leaking along the bottom seam, and the door seemed to puching in. When I opened the door about two inches of water came in the tent.
Everything was soaked! Turned out we were camping in a run off area. But it was really part of the camp site.

But Larry, don't give up on camping, based on this one experience. Most of the time it's really fun!

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Sir Taliesin



If they take my gun can I still use my Axe?

Larry and all, I will keep this in a civilian style response. To many wild excursions in the military past to go there (Sir T, LOA..remember) Once in my younger exploits a group of 3 freinds and I dedicated ourselves to a week end camping trip spur of the moment. Sounds right from the start huh. We all new it was a little early in the year but what the hay. We all jumped in my VW bug and headed to the Wisconsin Dells. Our gear consisted of a tent, cooler full of beer and a flashlight. We started off so sparky,so alive I ended up on some dirt mountain trail climbing all the way to a hill top in the bug. We looked at each other and staked our spot. We proceeded to Enjoy hiking, frisbee throwing, just plain fun...well, after all this activity we were thirsty We hit the tent and started in with the ghost storys. After all the beer was gone we fell asleep. Only to wake up in the middle of the night to massive water puddles inside the tent..thinking to myself that mybe I should not have done this. Wet all night I guess we generated enough heat to at least melt the ice that was on the tent.Thinking that it was just rain, we opened the flap to a ice age! There was a 1/4 of ice on everything! Cold,wet and still muddy from the day before we broke camp slipping and sliding everywhere. How was I going to drive the Bug down an ice slope.. Well, a couple of 360s and alot of luck we made it to the highway. No one said a word all the way home. 2 days after we were laughing at ourselves but it was crazy.
Sounds like you didn't do half bad Larry. I am a much more experienced camper now thow. Sounds like many of you here are also! Ice man lives!

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*\Conan/*

[Redblueflare]

That's horrible Larry! Just don't quit camping because of one bad trip. I haven't been camping (except in my yard.) but I have taken overnight boat trips. I hated the last one. My parents, my little brother 14, and my little sister 12, all went on an overnight fishing trip. The fish obviously weren't interested in our bait that night, and we turned in. When we woke up the boat had drifted about a mile. Yup that's right, drifted from the spot where we had *supposedly* anchored. (Seems the anchor wasn't quite heavy enough.) The fish weren't interested in eating that day either, and I was ecstatic that I just happened to bring Sojourn from the dark elf trilogy. I couldn't enjoy that as much as I should have. I found out big waves have a nasty habit of making me dizzy. We headed home around 5 PM that day.

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Everyone is entitled to their own opinion, I just don't have to listen.