Memory Snapshots from Camping with Boo

Here are some random memories I took notice of while camping out with my son Friday night.

- It sure takes a whole lot of crap to go camping for just one night.
- Driving the 50 minutes to the campsite over winding roads, with all the windows down, the moonroof open, and 'Freebird' blasting on the stereo.
- The tiny doe watching us pull into the campgrounds, unafraid, as if she were welcoming us inside her home.
- We are actually getting pretty good at erecting our tent. It only took us one attempt this time and amazingly it resembled the picture on the box when we first bought it.
- Food, any food, taste ten-times better when it's cooked over an open flame when your camping.
- Sitting on the bluff's by the lakeshore, switching your ears from active mode to passive and letting various sounds drift in on thier own. The water gently lapping against the rocks. An outboard motor sputtering in the distance. Acorns tumbling from the tree-tops or other mysterious snaps and cracks from the forest.
- Watching my son toss large rocks into the lake, smiling everytime it elicits a louder 'ka-thunk' sound when it breaks the surface on its way to the chilly depths.
- Stumbling across a camper with a satellite DISH hooked up and no longer feeling bad about dragging along a small TV and DVD player.
- Watching the sun slip below the horizon and having the presence of mind to snap a picture with my cell phone to send to wife at home. Seeing the moon climbing over my shoulder and suddenly craving the darkness. Boys at all ages love to play with flashlights!
- The beam of a flashlight through the billowing smoke of a campfire, and how it resembles a light saber.
- Being amazed that a glow-in-the-dark stick can still hold so much fascination for a ten year old.
- Fulfilling the time honored tradition of no matter how organized you are and how many checklists you keep, you will still forget something important. This time it was pillows.
- Amazement that there are campers out there who don't realize that one of the reasons people come to the woods is for peace and quiet! Block parties don't belong at family campsites.
- The chill on the back of your neck from a cool breeze and the comforting warmth on your face from a perfectly constructed campfire, is unequaled anywhere.
- Air-mattresses are made in heaven!
- The mist floating hypnotically above the lake in the early morning is simply waiting for a wizard to summon it for a greater purpose.
- Packing up to return back home was best descibed by my son. "It Sucks!"
- Boo still looks forward to our next outing, which tells me I must be doing something right.