Camping Tricks

“What do we do with the toilet paper?,” asked Eleanor.  She and Chauncey were camping with their friends Trent and Olivia and their 4 month- old rottweiler Stella.  They were high up in the Sierras, away from bathrooms and most other campers. Olivia and Eleanor had known each other since they were four but this was their first camping trip together.

Stella

“Throw it in the campfire,” replied Trent.  He had been camping in the wilderness since he was a teenager and knew that leaving used toilet paper in the woods was not a good idea for many reasons.  Stella disagreed with Trent and frequently came back from her wanderings with the white stuff in her mouth.

Eleanor and Chauncey were in a Coleman tent designed to sleep 10. It even had a flap in the middle which could be zipped to create two rooms. They had bought the tent to take their two daughters camping many years ago and were surprised that it could still stand.  Olivia and Trent were in their pop up camper equipped with a stove, refrigerator and lots of storage compartments with all the food for the week.  Totally bear proof.

Coleman tent

Granite Creek

Many hours were spent by the river.  Everyone seemed to have a project or two.  Olivia worked on a quilt, Chauncey read his novel, Eleanor drew, and Trent tried to make it through, Excuse Me Your Life is Waiting for You, a self-help book which Eleanor and Chauncey had recommended.  When he got fed up, he went fly fishing or lay in the hammock.

In the evenings, there was the usual beer tasting, meal preparing, mosquito swiping and pinochle.  Hoyle’s Book of Rules was close by to settle any arguments about scoring.  The most successful team of Pinochle players was Olivia and Eleanor.  They were able to keep count even in the most trying of circumstances.

One evening, Eleanor put her purple scarf around her shoulders and became Izolda, the Tarot reader.  Olivia, Chauncey and Trent each brought a question, and Izolda used the cards to guide them towards an answer.  Being new to Tarot reading, Izolda had to consult with her book as she struggled to interpret the cards.  Olivia, Chauncey and Trent were patient, though, and pretended, at least, to have been enlightened by the experience.

On the last night, the campers went down to the river and looked up at the sky.  Eleanor lay down on a large, flat rock and, within moments, saw one of several shooting stars.  She felt deep gratitude for Trent and Olivia who had led her to this place and helped her feel safe in the wild.