This past weekend I did several things I haven’t done in a long, long time.

The first was something I haven’t done in 22 years: I went camping!

I think the last time I stepped foot in a tent was in 1991 when I worked at a Boy Scout summer camp in North Carolina. It’s definitely been a long time.

This camping trip came about as a result of the Monday Beveraging gang—The Fabulous GypsyBiscuit, Mike, Dwayne, and myself—somehow deciding while out beveraging one Monday that we should all go camping. Decisions like that tend to be made when beveraging is involved. 😉

Plans were made about a month ago to get the trip scheduled, as some of us have to really, really plan our calendars in advance since we work weekends. We figured late April would be a nice Spring weekend on which to take our camping adventure, since typical temperatures around this time consist of highs around 73° and lows around 47°.

We were a little wrong:

The day before our adventure was to begin, a storm system brought in a massive cold front. And with it enough rain that it washed out our driveway beyond basic repair and brought some water in to part of our home. (I skipped writing about that, mostly because there wasn’t time.) Because of that storm system, the high on Friday would be only 55 and the low would be right around freezing. Erik doesn’t like the cold, let alone having to be outside in it and sleep in it! This would be a mental challenge for me.

But we pressed on.

GypsyBiscuit, Mike, and Dwayne all headed out early Friday to secure and set up our camping location in the Ozark National Forest, southwest of Devil’s Den State Park. Then later but still early in the afternoon, GypsyBiscuit’s husband MAG, the Husbear, the housemate Interloper, and myself all headed down to meet them.

The campsite was in a gorgeous location: Fall Creek babbled down below us; bluffs to one side; a large hill to the other; trees everywhere in between.

The Husbear and I set up our tent, which we purchased for this trip as we didn’t have one. Actually, I had one at some point, but it’s been lost in the shuffle of moves we have made over the years. Hopefully the purchase of this will result in more camping trips. But this tent is huge. I think an entire small country could easily fit inside of it.

After that, we wandered around and explored the area for a bit.

We then settled down to some dinner and beverages around the campfire. The Husbear spent a lot of time dragging trees down from the surrounding area and chopping wood to keep the fires burning. Something he seems to have a knack for. And I’m grateful for. It kept us warm in the freezing temperatures.

We eventually all made our way to our respective beds, where we attempted to not freeze during the night. Lucky for me the Husbear grew up in a cold environment. He brought hot rocks from around the fire into the tent to help keep us warm through the night. Well, at least the first part of it until the rocks cooled. But he kept me warm. 😉

And before I forget, this lovely piece of art was found in the wood:

The second thing I hadn’t done in a while was to totally unplug from the network. I really didn’t have a choice in this case. Where we went camping there was absolutely zero cellular coverage. Meaning the Husbear and I also had to unplug from our businesses. If there was an issue or question, there was no way we could be reached. Period.

That was a difficult thing to do. Or let go of. But sometimes one has to be forced into such things.

It also meant I couldn’t blog. Which means you’re getting this post after I’ve returned home….

More on this camping trip coming soon!