Tenting Tonight

On our camping trip out West, we arrived at a dry camp, Kings Creek Campground, Utah, near the town of Tropic. A dry camp means the campsite had no water for showers. The site did have potable water, water for hand washing, and for flushing of the commodes in the restrooms. The campsite was unusual because it had an amphitheater area with bleachers that stepped up from a concrete surrounded fire pit. The site we had been assigned was at the amphitheater section of the camp.

We were old pros at setting up camp. We had put up our tents and cooked our food in the dark of night and this one was easy. The girls set up their tent, the guys set up theirs, and the boys, set up the tent for the women chaperones while the women started the meal. The men built the campfire

It was Saturday night and we had our church service that evening. There would be no time in the morning. We sat on the bleachers and the walls of the sanctuary were pines and the ceiling was a dark star studded night sky.

The boys weren’t satisfied with the fire in the fire pit; they built one close to the spot where they had already erected their tent. Along our drive, they had bought hot dogs and marshmallows. It was their plan to stay up late and snack on them later that night. The boys could sleep during the drive on the morrow and weren’t concerned that their laughter and noise would bother others, especially those who would have to drive the vans.

Despite several warnings, they kept the fire and laughter going until late or should I say early morning. When I woke, I was talking to another driver, Joy. She was sleepy and tired because of the boys late night antics.

In the morning, the boys were still sleeping and we decided to lower the center frame of their tent, dropping its roof to the point they couldn’t stand when they finally awoke. Unwittingly, we had set into motion a civil war between the boys and girls. The boys blamed the girls and locked tent zippers, powdered sleeping bags, and shaving cream bombs ensued.

But back to the sights of the campsite that morning, Pastor Johnston had moved his sleeping bag closer to the fire pit. Apparently he had gotten cold during the night. His bag was covered in gray flakes of wood ash. It looked as though it had snowed dingy snow during the night.