Camping 101

I just returned from my first camping trip in, oh....say... 10 years?

The last time I went camping, I was with Diane, and we ate well, but spent both nights sleeping in a jeep because the first night it rained and we had a tent full of water, and the second night because we had left food in the tent and it was full of ants.

To see the rest of the pics from this trip, go here.

Dev and I left Alamosa around 5:30 Friday afternoon, anticipating the fun that awaited us in South Fork. We had decided to go to a forest service campground between South Fork and Creede. I believe the name of it is Palisades.

So much cheaper than a hotel.....$16 per site per night! And it was so beautiful. For apartment dwellers, it was a much needed respite from the loud music of our daily lives. Had it not been for the sound of the generator powering the HUGE HULKING HOLIDAY INN ON WHEELS next to us, all we could hear was the rushing of the mighty Rio Grande River. Thank god they didn't run in all the time.

It began raining just as we drove into South Fork. We found the campground, staked out our spot right next to the river, and sat in the truck, waiting for the rain to stop. 6 games of Uno later, it was getting dark and the rain was still coming down. Dev decided we couldn't wait any longer, so we got out and pitched our little tent by the river....

We were both starving, so we lit the gas lantern and made sandwiches out of the cooler while sitting under a huge tree, which proved to be our only refuge from the rain. After dinner, we retired to the tent to listen to the storm. To me, that's one of my favorite things about this trip...lying in the tent, listening to the thunder and the rain drops hitting the top of the tent. For some reason, even the voices in my head are more peaceful when I'm out in the woods. And I'm glad to say that our new tent from REI is waterproof. It would have been an ugly trip if the tent had leaked

Saturday morning we got up bright and early. I thought it was a bit strange that there were no birds singing. I expected to hear quite a cacophany of wildlife. Apparently in Colorado, the wildlife likes to sleep in on the weekends as well.

We were both starving, so I pulled out the home-made buttermilk pancake batter I made before we left Alamosa and Dev lit the campstove for me. I burned the bejesus out of the first couple, but the rest came out ok.

Dev also put some water on to heat up so we could wash our faces. I had forgotten about that part. Somehow I was thinking there would be a bath house.....but there wasn't. It did have a restroom, if you consider a hut built over a huge plastic pan of waste and chemicals a restroom. Next time I'll take pics so you can judge for yourself.

While we were eating breakfast, I noticed this huge blue bird (which I correctly identified as a bluejay) sitting in the tree right near our table. This bird was really big. I named him "Fatbird." He hung out at the site the whole time we were there. I was able to identify him because in the girls' "restroom," there was a poster of all different kinds of wild birds in the area. Dev told me the boys' had pics of animals. I didn't look, though. Our campsite was also frequented by a cute little chipmunk. He didn't get a name. I got a pretty good look at him with the binoculars, but no pic. Maybe next time.

Our spot was really nice. It was right along the river (Dev got 3 chances to fish), and it had 2 big, beautiful trees. Next time we are going to bring a hammock! There are lots of things we will bring next time that we didn't have this time- warmer clothes and better food, chief among them.

I had a great time on this camping trip. I can't wait til we get to go out again, especially since I will be better prepared. Oh- and I'll take more pics as well!